Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 December 1892 — Blondin’s Daring Feat. [ARTICLE]

Blondin’s Daring Feat.

The walk of Charles Blondin over the Falls of Niagara, 400 yards, was the longest ever made on a tight rope. The first journey across was on the 30th of June, 1859, and he continued the journeys during that and the following year. The rope was about three inches in thickness, made entirely of hemp, and Its adjustment in its place was, in its way, an engineering feat. The rope cost over £I,OOO, and remained in position for nearly two years. Special trains were run on the railroads, while enormous stands on either side of the Falls were crammed with people. Blondin continued giving exhibitions until 1860, when he crossed over on stilts before the Prince of Wales, then making a tour through America and Canada. He was photographed while standing stilb In the center of the rope. He walked across enveloped in a sack made of blankets, wheeled a barrow across, turned somersaults, cooked a dinner, and carried a man over on his back. Blondin, who is the champion tightrope performer of the world, though by birth a Frenchman, now lives at Niagara House, South Ealing, in his adopted country. On the rope, Blondin Says he feels as safe as if walking along an ordinary street. The rope that he performed on at the Crystal Palace was 170 feet high and 249 yards in length. Though now 68 years of age, Blondin has begun a series of tight-rope performances at the botanical gardens at Old Trefford, Manchester. Since his famous exploits across Niagara he has made more than 4,000 journeys along the rope in various parts of the world.