The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-27

does not sound light and frivolous. But
as with acts, so also with names: they
must be made constantly more inspir-
Ing. My new name announced
Eancher, - Is Prodigious Porthos, and
guess that viii stop 'cm all. -
His new ''thriller'' consists of a
narrow. incline about one hundred feet
long pitched at an angle of fortv.five
degrees. At the runway's abrupt ter
mlnatlon is huge tank Of water. On
cycle skates that speed HIM mile or
more minute ''Prodi gious' coasts
down the slide, shoots off the end, up
IN mida1r and then with a half somcr-
sault dives down and into the tank,
from which gasoline flames are spout
ing.
''Is it dangerous ?" I asked.
1T is, answered Porthos. eraveIy,
If YOU don L place the tank in the
right place. You We got TO Judge it's
position according TO the density of the
air, which makes your speed vary down
the incline, That S difficult. Tor you
mt use dummy and so YOU are al
ways taking chances. But that's the
game, he added, cheerfully
What is it, J asked Manager Nc
Cormack,. "that makes a loop the
Nerve said Mccormack promptly,
lust nerve--of Il certain kind-the
brainy kind 1 suppose you might. call
! it.
The High Diver.
"Mere animal courage won't do
You can construct a machine, perfect
mechanically. aud get plenty of men
who are desperate enough to go through
IN a blind way, but you don t want
that kind. They get killed.
= can always size up a performer
by the way he turns in the loop. 7
Iy- tA 1,, L II
Then [ know that he S got his wits
with hJm-constantly.
Take Speedy tho high diver-ker-
nev p Speedy There s not mechan.
zeal move about him. He g acting every
minute.
When he stands on the high plat
form, all ready-and that s the crucial
moment with , performerr-he II weaken
then # there s one soft spot in his
nerve. Speedy Just smiles and 'buf-
faloes the audience. When he leaps
he scissors (waves his arms) all tbe
way down. He s got his eyes open and
knows where he is every foot of the
way.
1.-THE nerviest act We ever seen was
Joe Fancher s trial Of his roller skating
plunge up al Halifax. He was called
TEST his apparatus. When lie dove down
nc had TO throw his body in to catch
the tank, and just missed the edge.
80 \ successful performer never stops
thinking, Some years ago Arthur Wolff
was trying out 4 new loop tho loop
at Coney Island. Just before he went
down he turned TO me, smiled and said:
90 If / make il, Mac, il s steak and
mushrooms for dinner tonight
Steak and mushrooms, You re on,
said T.
"Well, he didn { make IT, He took
terrible fall and ! thought it was all
over with him, He Law still for a mo-
meut where he had fallen and then be-
gan to crawl toward the loop on hands
and knees.
''I thought he was dazed and did not
realize what he was doing, But when
/ got down from the platform, and into
the loop ! found him IN the act of light
ing a cigar butt. He had dropped it
when he fell, and simply crawled back
to get it.
|'Hc smiled coolIv at me as came
up and said: You can change that or
der, Mac, 10 liver and bacon.
The ''loop the looper" looks at his
calling il a very practical way He is
willing to put his nerve aud trained
muscles against desperate deeds, but
only for what he considers requisite
sum of money. If he can t get that sum
be goes quietly back to his orderly
trade and waits. Fancher is doing that
now.
''It is kinda hard. - said Volo, gently.