The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1916-10-03

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on the train.
The nearest came to encountering
danger in these peregrinations was
when our train ran into another, and
several persons were killed, so I de-
cided after several years of this to
get into motion pictures, which then
had just started to "boom," and Sc
cured an engagement with the Pathe
company. This was over three years
ago, and / have stuck to the work
faithfully, not merely because l get
a good salary, but because the life
fascinates me.
The first of the long line Of thrill
ers'' in which 1 have appeared was
the ''Perils of Pauline" which Pathe
put out some two and half years
ago. In this production for the first
time fell in love with my work. Inc
various stunts which my director
called upon me to do offered to me
the most sincere pleasure. A brief
recital of some of the feats which l
did in "Pauline" may be Of interest.
The first was my experience with
the rats. / mention 1t first, not be-
cause 1t is the first in point OF time,
hut because most women, however
courageous, draw the line when 1t
comes to close contact with rats or
mice. The villain, in order to encom-
pass my death, was supposed to have
shut me up in a cellar with the hero
and then turn the water of canal
into the cellar. AS the house was
supposed to be full of rats, naturally
the rising flood would bring them out.
The stunt worked to perfection from
the pictorial standpoint. When the
water got up to our necks, the director
turned loose scores and scores of rats
which had been captured especially for
the occasion and threw them into the
water with US. As / swan around
there were rats everywhere, to the
right of me, to the left of me, before
me and behind me. Several climbed
up into my hair, others chung to my
dress, some bit me in their frenzy.
However, ! had no other feeling save
anger at the little beasts, and did not
mind 1t particularly, although one OF
the other players who was watching
the taking of the scene, q beautiful
young girl, tainted dead away.
Another stunt / did caused much
newspaper comment, but afforded me
really most pleasant time. The story
called for me to get into captive bal
loon and while / was In the basket
alone for the villain to come up and
cut the rope, thus sending me away In
to the unknown. A balloon was hired
and anchored on the edge Of the Pail
sades on the New Jersey side of the
Hudson River. The aeronaut before
the taking of the scene instructed me
on how to use the ripping cord. Ev
erything went off to perfection. The
villain cut the rope, and the balloon
Hudson River, sailed majestically sew
eral thousand feet high above New
York, crossed the East River and theI
went out over Long Island. / was 81
pleased with the beautiful view al
the balloon fioated along, that / for
got all about the ripping cord unit
/ sighted the Atlantic Ocean and be
came conscious that If did not quick
ly descend, l would soon be far on
over the water. l pulled the core
and the balloon descended into {
Long Island marsh only few step
from the ocean. 1t was surely a mar
row escape In no time at all tn
roads were jammed with automobilist
coming up at full tilt to see what
was all about. In the meantime m,
director, Mr.. Cashier, was nearly era
~ with worry. He wired to ever.
point he could think of on Long Islam,
asking for information about me. Ii
due time he was notified of my sue
cessful descent and five or six hour
later had joined me, making recor'
breaking trip by motor car from Ney
Jersey.
Speaking of the balloon makes m
think of another stunt we wOrke
with that same balloon. 1t was an
chored on the edge Of the Palisade
again and they worked something In
to the script which made 1t impers
tive for me to go down the anchO
rope hand over hand. As the balloo
was a good many feet in the air,
was not a particularly nice stunt t
do. but, protecting my hands wit
gloves, made the trip without acc
dent. The worst thing about 1t wa
the way that balloon swayed in tn