Evening star., 1909-01-24

Cn1Ck In some places the
wire IS more than three hundred feet above the
ground. The cable is stretched at an angle of
from forty to fifty degrees.
Chapuis feat consists simply in sitting
astride this wire and sliding down its entire
length; just as. when an adventurous Young
ster he used to slide down the balusters of
the paternal home The great difficulty is in
preventing himself from going down too rap
idly. The first time he attempted this feat.
Chapuis slid down at hair raising pace. In
his efforts to prevent himself from sliding too
fast he grasped the wire with his hands SO
firmly that they were badly lacerated and
burned by friction. In spite of this, reach
ing his journeys end. his clothes were torn to
gloves and has used specially devised leather
saddle
Deadly Contest of Rivals
ONE of the most singular events in the an
~ nails of athletics occurred few wears ago
at Sydney. Australia The occasion was a
great electric lght" bicycle race, and the
attendance was not less than ten thousand
people. There were fifty entries two of
whom, James Somervile and Percy Cliff, were
not only professional rivals but deadly enc
mics. Both were considered expert riders
From the start Of the race Somerville led.
with Cliff a close second Somerville kept the
lead throughout and came into the last lap
with Cliff only few feet behind him. When
about twenty-five yards from the finish Somer-
willie put on terrific burst of speed, and drew
away from his rival Suddenly at this point
his grip on the handle bar relaxed and he fell
forward. The machine, however, under the
tremendous impulse it had received. raced
ahead like an arrow. the rider hanging Imply
the handebar.
Four yards from the tape the machine
slowed down little. At this point the front
wheel of Cliffs machine struck the hind wheel
of Somerville's s. sending both wheel and rider
across the tape. Somerville won the race;
but he dead several seconds before he
crossed the tape.
The Hazardous Triple Turn
Of all the feats known to gymnasts the most
~ dangerous is the triple turn This
means that, starting with run from spring
board, the acrobat makes three complete turns
in the air. This turn has killed more first
class tumblers than any other trick known to
the profession.
The first man to try the triple turn was a
performer in Van Ambergs circus. He struck
on the back of his head and broke his neck.
This was in IS42. Three years later per-
he was instantly killed. John Aymer, a famous
acrobat, attempted the feat in 1885, he was
killed. The famous Bob Stickney accom-
plshed the feat once in gymnasium in New
York; but got such scare that he never dared
attempt it in the ring.
The only person living or dead who has ever
done the feat more than once is John Wor-
land, who has accomplished it six times.
Last year Dan O'Brien, of the star
leapers at the Hippodrome in New York. found
that he "overthrowing' the double, and
determined to try the triple. He did the trick
to perfection, making clean light and keep
ing his feet. But O'Brien. while naturally
elated at having accomplished a stunt that
places him among a very few of the most dar-
ing and skilful performers in the world, is not
anxious to try it a second time "Never
again" says Little Dam as he is known in
acrobatic circles. "Of course" he added,
g in our business you always likely to break
an arm leg; but in the triple somersault
You are taking a big chance with your life.
Never again for me! It's too dangerous.
THE pHJI OSOpHy OF RJIIv cJyNN