How could anyone stare into the rushing current of Niagara Falls and not consider what fun it would be to pack him or herself into a barrel and get hurled over the edge to his or her watery death? Such have been the thoughts of various nut cases over the years. My favorite of these nut cases was Annie Edison Taylor, the first person to ever survive a barrel ride over Horseshoe Falls. Annie wasn't doing so hot as a professional dance instructor, so she decided her next best option was to become rich and famous by way of barreling over Niagara Falls. She did so on her 63rd birthday, October 24
th, 1901, but not before testing the stunt on her cat
Iagara. The cat didn't die, so of course she wouldn't, thus she lined her custom-built barrel with a
mattress and hopped in. Beyond a gash on the head, she came out of the barrel just fine. As for fame and fortune, shortly after the stunt, her manager made off with the barrel and she spent nearly every dime earned speaking about the plunge trying to track down the barrel, which eventually turned up in Chicago. I love the picture of her, the barrel and
Iagara above.
Bobby Leach was the next person to make the plunge in a barrel, but unlike Annie, he made a living doing reenactments afterwards. I only bring him up because I really like the picture of him and his barrel that I found. I also find it hilarious that he survived the plunge over the falls, but died after slipping on an orange peel 15 years later. There are so many cool stories about people dying, or nearly dying at Niagara Falls. I start reading them and get lost on
Wikipedia for hours. The first guy to ever swim the English Channel, Matthew Webb, actually drowned trying to swim in the rapids below the falls. And there's the dozens of daring rescues at the waterfall by William "Redd" Hill, and the many crossings by tight rope walkers. Not to mention the great Yankee
Leapster, who made a living jumping off of stuff, including the edge of Niagara Falls (sans barrel). I could go on forever. There's actually a separate section in the Niagara Falls, Ontario
cemetery for the daredevils of the region. Had I known about the
cemetery while we were in Niagara Falls, I definitely would have dragged Sara away from making those arrangements with the local coopers to check it out with me.
How could anyone stare into the rushing current of Niagara Falls and not consider what fun it would be to pack him or herself into a barrel and get hurled over the edge to his or her watery death? Such have been the thoughts of various nut cases over the years. My favorite of these nut cases was Annie Edison Taylor, the first person to ever survive a barrel ride over Horseshoe Falls. Annie wasn't doing so hot as a professional dance instructor, so she decided her next best option was to become rich and famous by way of barreling over Niagara Falls. She did so on her 63rd birthday, October 24th, 1901, but not before testing the stunt on her cat Iagara. The cat didn't die, so of course she wouldn't, thus she lined her custom-built barrel with a mattress and hopped in. Beyond a gash on the head, she came out of the barrel just fine. As for fame and fortune, shortly after the stunt, her manager made off with the barrel and she spent nearly every dime earned speaking about the plunge trying to track down the barrel, which eventually turned up in Chicago. I love the picture of her, the barrel and Iagara above.
Bobby Leach was the next person to make the plunge in a barrel, but unlike Annie, he made a living doing reenactments afterwards. I only bring him up because I really like the picture of him and his barrel that I found. I also find it hilarious that he survived the plunge over the falls, but died after slipping on an orange peel 15 years later. There are so many cool stories about people dying, or nearly dying at Niagara Falls. I start reading them and get lost on Wikipedia for hours. The first guy to ever swim the English Channel, Matthew Webb, actually drowned trying to swim in the rapids below the falls. And there's the dozens of daring rescues at the waterfall by William "Redd" Hill, and the many crossings by tight rope walkers. Not to mention the great Yankee Leapster, who made a living jumping off of stuff, including the edge of Niagara Falls (sans barrel). I could go on forever. There's actually a separate section in the Niagara Falls, Ontario cemetery for the daredevils of the region. Had I known about the cemetery while we were in Niagara Falls, I definitely would have dragged Sara away from making those arrangements with the local coopers to check it out with me.
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