Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1908-10-17

u
On what other grounds. for instance
can one explain the extreme non
chalnnce with which the circus per
former follows his professioni lie en- |
dangers life and limb continually--in
billboard 'thrlllers," which grow every |
year more nerve-racklng. The loop the
loop IL already q thing OF the past. by
far too tame for the up.todate circus :
aud IL IL no longer sufficient to have
men place their lives In the balance.
but young women must needs he I'M
pressed also. Take Miss Isabel Butler.
for instance. who day In and day out
Topped the gap in an automobile. turn
Ing upside down In midair.
Modern psychologists declare that
violent contrasts and great nervous
shocks are craved by n large proportion
Of the people. 1t Ia to satisfy this
craving that the circus managers search
the wide world over for men ana wOn-
en- Of daring. to introduce the thrill.
ers." One Of the latest has been
Norwegian. who travels the country
exhibiting In "a leap for life on slender
skees." From a platform more than
100 feet above the ground. he coasts on
narrow wooden runners. eight feet In
length. down a long slippery runway
tilted at an agile Of Is degrees, to with.
In hardly a yard Of the level Of the
arena. and then shoots out one hundred
feet through space. describing In his
digit an arc - feet high at the center.
The high diver who plunges from an
elevation Of 30 or 60 feet Into n tank
Of water as shallow and as narrow. II
would seem. a. can he built and still
allow one chance for life to remain. II
Of course constant attraction. Few
Of those who follow this mild pastimc
live to make use Of an accident In quite
the same way as did one Edward L.
Pape. After receiving an injury to the
NTH vertebra which raised a lump OH
the back Of his neck. he toured the big
cities with two confederntes to serve
a. witnesses and mulcted street rail
way companies Tor large amounts In
damages by falling OF their cars and
Stimulating the actions Of a man whose
spine had Just been injured.
cs~gVsCSWCo s"u sgo" S'"s.~ss
n their managers are to be believed.
men and women that perform these
feats receive proportlonately high sal.
aries. and are thus In measure repaid.
But the steeplejack and the structural;
ironworker labor In really useful fields
for day wages which. to the ordinary
prOsaic mortal Mt least. seem not Mt all
commensurate with the risks they run
Only a year or two ago a nonchnlnni
steepiejack climbed up and down the
face OF the Flntiron building In New
YORK City with no other aid than that
Of his hands and feet-for two dollars
No less needless OF their lives ars
the ironworkers, who. In the every.da!
course Of work. run around on narrow
the level OF the street. throwing red
hot rlvets from one to another, ant
driving them home with giant swing
of sletlges that would cause the ordin
6ry man to lose his balance even OF
terra nrma. Not content with thes
risks they often ride through midai
On the long iron beams that the der
rick raises from the ground and lower
again Into position ten. twenty. storle
above. High In the air without visibl
,neans OF support. they engage In mimi
dghts for the benefit OF the Open-mOutf
el bystanders. They have even bee
known to stand on their heads on tn
very highest upright Of skyscrnper.
The Placid Well shooter.
The business Of well-shoOting d
serves mention. Here the perls centt
not so much about the men that do til
actual work as about those who carr
nitro g,ycerln to the wells. With 10
dozen cans OF this extremely high e.
ploslve on his mule wagon. the drive
sits placldly beside catastrophe cor
parable only 10 the crack o door
Driving through mountainous countr
be Ia In constant danger Of being blow
10 atoms; for the slightest Jar Is llk
~ To cause an explosion.
A few years ago, one Of these mul
teers approaching the town OF Newto
Pa, along a straight road, halted
team and aiighted, Intending to be go
only a moment. Left without guidll
land, however. the mules became frgt
ened. and started toward the town at
wild pace.
Some one saw them coming, and n
ognizing the danger, turned back
ward the village, shouting to the lima
itants to fee for their lives. In
very center OF the town the 70
sservsd In q curve, aud 1t was imp
slbls that the mules could make I
turn without upsettIng the wagon. I
Inhabitants. expecting every minute
destruction OF their homes, fed In hoi
less confusion toward the woods, Il
settlng that at the curve In the ROT
right In the path Of the disaster, sto
q srhoolhouse filled with children
young to make their escape. I
schoolmaster, who had been apprlsed
the danger, saw that II would be
possible to remove them In time, a
seized the only alternative. Grasp
his umbrella, he rushed down the ro
toward the advancing team. Tapping
in their faces. II was one chance II
hundred-and It proved TO be that
The mules slackened their pace vi
one OF those who had not yet left