The cross.

I was cruising around the internet and I found a really neat photo of Christ on the cross.   It is in Lake Michigan, near Petosky, MI.  It got me thinking and I wanted to explore where there may be other places which are out of the way, where the cross might be found.  I hope you enjoy my findings, please let me know which is your favorite 🙂

The city of Siauliai was founded in 1236 and controlled by Teutonic Knights during the 14th century. The tradition of placing crosses seems to date from this period and may have risen as a symbol of Lithuanian defiance toward foreign invaders. Since the medieval period, the Hill of Crosses has represented the peaceful resistance of Lithuanian Catholicism to oppression. In 1795, Siauliai was incorporated into Russia but was returned to Lithuania in 1918. Many crosses were erected upon the hill after the peasant uprising of 1831-63. By 1895, there were at least 150 large crosses, in 1914, 200, and by 1940 there were 400 large crosses surrounded by thousands of smaller ones.

After being captured by Germany in World War II, the city suffered even more damage when Soviet Russia retook it at the war’s end. From 1944 until Lithuania’s independence in 1991, Siauliai was a part of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Soviet era, the pilgrimage to the Hill of Crosses became expression of Lithuanian nationalism. The Soviets repeatedly removed the crosses placed on the hill by Lithuanians.

The hill was leveled three times: during 1961, 1973 and 1975. The crosses were burned or turned into scrap metal, and the area was covered with waste and sewage. Following each of these agonizing experiences local inhabitants and pilgrims from all over Lithuania rapidly replaced crosses upon the sacred hill. In 1985, the Hill of Crosses finally found peace. The reputation of the hill has since spread all over the world and every year it is visited by many thousands of visitors.

The size and variety of crosses is as amazing as their number. Beautifully carved out of wood or sculpted from metal, the crosses range from three meters tall to the countless tiny examples hanging profusely upon the larger crosses.

– See more at: http://www.faithandfacts.com/christianity/lithuania%e2%80%99s-hill-of-crosses/#sthash.5XzaPUP9.dpuf

The history behind the Little Traverse Bay Crucifix

Each year, if the winter weather allows, Denny Jessick – an Emmet County Sheriff’s Office Marine and Snowmobile Officer – welcomes the public onto the ice of Little Traverse Bay to view a most unique sight that might otherwise go completely unnoticed in this region of beauty.

About 800 feet offshore and under 21 feet of water lies an Italian white marble crucifix, the only known freshwater-underwater crucifix. It came to Petoskey in 1962 in a round-about way, and has become a draw for divers and visitors alike ever since.

The 11-foot tall crucifix, with a 5-foot 5-inch figure of Jesus Christ, was placed in the Bay, near the Petoskey breakwall at Bayfront Park, by the Wyandotte-based Superior Marine Divers Club in 1962. Its original intent was to honor Charles Raymond, a Southgate diver who drowned in Torch Lake. Later, the club expanded the focus of the monument to memorialize all those who have perished at sea.

Its origins date back to the late 1950s, when a grieving mother and father from Rapson in Michigan’s Thumb area had it crafted in memory of their son, Gerald Schipinski. Gerald was 15-years-old in 1956 when he was accidentally killed by a shotgun on the family farm.

After being crafted in Italy, the cross was broken during shipping to the Rapson Catholic church; the family rejected the damaged crucifix and it was sold in an insurance sale to the Wyandotte dive club. The crucifix made its way to Little Traverse Bay and was first placed by the U.S. Icebreaker Sundew 1,200 feet off the Petoskey breakwall on Aug. 12, 1962.

The event drew hundreds of people and several dignitaries. The actor Lloyd Bridges was invited, but he sent a telegram to event organizers declining the invitation due to a heavy film-shooting schedule. Bridges’ telegram is kept in a thick binder of memorabilia preserved by Jessick and his wife, Susan.

The city of Siauliai was founded in 1236 and controlled by Teutonic Knights during the 14th century. The tradition of placing crosses seems to date from this period and may have risen as a symbol of Lithuanian defiance toward foreign invaders. Since the medieval period, the Hill of Crosses has represented the peaceful resistance of Lithuanian Catholicism to oppression. In 1795, Siauliai was incorporated into Russia but was returned to Lithuania in 1918. Many crosses were erected upon the hill after the peasant uprising of 1831-63. By 1895, there were at least 150 large crosses, in 1914, 200, and by 1940 there were 400 large crosses surrounded by thousands of smaller ones.

After being captured by Germany in World War II, the city suffered even more damage when Soviet Russia retook it at the war’s end. From 1944 until Lithuania’s independence in 1991, Siauliai was a part of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Soviet era, the pilgrimage to the Hill of Crosses became expression of Lithuanian nationalism. The Soviets repeatedly removed the crosses placed on the hill by Lithuanians.

The hill was leveled three times: during 1961, 1973 and 1975. The crosses were burned or turned into scrap metal, and the area was covered with waste and sewage. Following each of these agonizing experiences local inhabitants and pilgrims from all over Lithuania rapidly replaced crosses upon the sacred hill. In 1985, the Hill of Crosses finally found peace. The reputation of the hill has since spread all over the world and every year it is visited by many thousands of visitors.

The size and variety of crosses is as amazing as their number. Beautifully carved out of wood or sculpted from metal, the crosses range from three meters tall to the countless tiny examples hanging profusely upon the larger crosses.

– See more at: http://www.faithandfacts.com/christianity/lithuania%e2%80%99s-hill-of-crosses/#sthash.5XzaPUP9.dpuf

It is thought that crosses first began to appear at this spot in the thirteenth century, shortly after the city was founded.  Since then there have been varying numbers of crosses at the site.  It was in the 1831 uprising against Russia that the Hill of Crosses became political as well as purely religious.  Crosses were placed here to commemorate the dead and missing rebels of this period and by the beginning of the twentieth century there were 150 crosses. By 1940 there were 400. Today there are over 100,000.  read more here

The city of Siauliai was founded in 1236 and controlled by Teutonic Knights during the 14th century. The tradition of placing crosses seems to date from this period and may have risen as a symbol of Lithuanian defiance toward foreign invaders. Since the medieval period, the Hill of Crosses has represented the peaceful resistance of Lithuanian Catholicism to oppression. In 1795, Siauliai was incorporated into Russia but was returned to Lithuania in 1918. Many crosses were erected upon the hill after the peasant uprising of 1831-63. By 1895, there were at least 150 large crosses, in 1914, 200, and by 1940 there were 400 large crosses surrounded by thousands of smaller ones. – See more at: http://www.faithandfacts.com/christianity/lithuania%e2%80%99s-hill-of-crosses/#sthash.5XzaPUP9.dpuf

The city of Siauliai was founded in 1236 and controlled by Teutonic Knights during the 14th century. The tradition of placing crosses seems to date from this period and may have risen as a symbol of Lithuanian defiance toward foreign invaders. Since the medieval period, the Hill of Crosses has represented the peaceful resistance of Lithuanian Catholicism to oppression. In 1795, Siauliai was incorporated into Russia but was returned to Lithuania in 1918. Many crosses were erected upon the hill after the peasant uprising of 1831-63. By 1895, there were at least 150 large crosses, in 1914, 200, and by 1940 there were 400 large crosses surrounded by thousands of smaller ones.

After being captured by Germany in World War II, the city suffered even more damage when Soviet Russia retook it at the war’s end. From 1944 until Lithuania’s independence in 1991, Siauliai was a part of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Soviet era, the pilgrimage to the Hill of Crosses became expression of Lithuanian nationalism. The Soviets repeatedly removed the crosses placed on the hill by Lithuanians.

The hill was leveled three times: during 1961, 1973 and 1975. The crosses were burned or turned into scrap metal, and the area was covered with waste and sewage. Following each of these agonizing experiences local inhabitants and pilgrims from all over Lithuania rapidly replaced crosses upon the sacred hill. In 1985, the Hill of Crosses finally found peace. The reputation of the hill has since spread all over the world and every year it is visited by many thousands of visitors.

The size and variety of crosses is as amazing as their number. Beautifully carved out of wood or sculpted from metal, the crosses range from three meters tall to the countless tiny examples hanging profusely upon the larger crosses.

– See more at: http://www.faithandfacts.com/christianity/lithuania%e2%80%99s-hill-of-crosses/#sthash.5XzaPUP9.dpuf

 

The city of Siauliai was founded in 1236 and controlled by Teutonic Knights during the 14th century. The tradition of placing crosses seems to date from this period and may have risen as a symbol of Lithuanian defiance toward foreign invaders. Since the medieval period, the Hill of Crosses has represented the peaceful resistance of Lithuanian Catholicism to oppression. In 1795, Siauliai was incorporated into Russia but was returned to Lithuania in 1918. Many crosses were erected upon the hill after the peasant uprising of 1831-63. By 1895, there were at least 150 large crosses, in 1914, 200, and by 1940 there were 400 large crosses surrounded by thousands of smaller ones.

After being captured by Germany in World War II, the city suffered even more damage when Soviet Russia retook it at the war’s end. From 1944 until Lithuania’s independence in 1991, Siauliai was a part of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Soviet era, the pilgrimage to the Hill of Crosses became expression of Lithuanian nationalism. The Soviets repeatedly removed the crosses placed on the hill by Lithuanians.

The hill was leveled three times: during 1961, 1973 and 1975. The crosses were burned or turned into scrap metal, and the area was covered with waste and sewage. Following each of these agonizing experiences local inhabitants and pilgrims from all over Lithuania rapidly replaced crosses upon the sacred hill. In 1985, the Hill of Crosses finally found peace. The reputation of the hill has since spread all over the world and every year it is visited by many thousands of visitors.

The size and variety of crosses is as amazing as their number. Beautifully carved out of wood or sculpted from metal, the crosses range from three meters tall to the countless tiny examples hanging profusely upon the larger crosses.

– See more at: http://www.faithandfacts.com/christianity/lithuania%e2%80%99s-hill-of-crosses/#sthash.5XzaPUP9.dpuf

HAND HILL CROSS

This cross is 10.6cm tall and is known as “the smallest cross on Dartmoor”.
I understand, however, that the Traveller’s Ford Cross is slightly smaller. That cross is in SX5978 but a more precise position is not given, though Explorer OL28 suggests a likely spot. (I say that it ‘is’ in square SX5978, but it has been removed at least twice and may no longer be there. Perhaps Hand Hill Cross is currently the smallest.)
I find it strange that people should want to place ever-smaller crosses on the moor. But I find it even more strange that other people should want to damage or steal them.

GROOM TEXAS

2nd Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere

Bald Knob Cross Illinois

bald-knob-cross

Christ the Redeemer, Rio De Janeiro

Granite Cross, Basílica de la Santa Cruz

Dubrovnik, Croatia

 

Water Toys

 

 

 

 

These photos seriously crack me up! It is really funny the things man becomes obsessed with.  We have tried so many inventions to walk, float, run, glide and ride on water. These are some really cool inventions, from total redneck underwater air breathing to water skiing Queenie the elephant 🙂 I got a kick out of these and wanted to share, let me know your favorites!

THE Vest…..

Soviet steel breastplate SN-42. Armor = 2mm. Weight = 3.5 kg

I ran across an old picture of bulletproof vest testing.  The guy in the vest is either really brave or…….well kind of insane in my opinion.  This spurred me on to take a look at the history of the projectile proof vest which naturally led to the history of fire arms.  I had absolutely no Idea that explosive projectiles have been around for more than a thousand years.  I have included some wiki below:

Early Modern era

In 1538, Francesco Maria della Rovere commissioned Filippo Negroli to create a bulletproof vest. In 1561, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor is recorded as testing his armor against gun-fire. Similarly, in 1590 Sir Henry Lee expected his Greenwich armor to be “pistol proof”. Its actual effectiveness was controversial at the time.^[2] The etymology of “bullet” and the adjective form of “proof” in the late 16th century would suggest that the term “bulletproof” originated shortly thereafter.

During the English Civil War Oliver Cromwell‘s Ironside cavalry were equipped with Capeline helmets and musket-proof cuirasses which consisted of two layers of armor plate (in later studies involving X-ray a third layer was discovered which was placed in between the outer and inner layer). The outer layer was designed to absorb the bullet’s energy and the thicker inner layer stopped further penetration. The armor would be left badly dented but still serviceable.^[3] One of the first recorded descriptions of soft armor use was found in medieval Japan, with the armor having been manufactured from silk.^[4]

Polish inventor Jan Szczepanik. On the photo – the first (and success) test of the invention (1901) done by Mr. Borzykowski

Industrial era

One of the first commercially sold bulletproof armour was produced by a tailor in Dublin, Ireland in the 1840s. The Cork Examiner reported on his line of business in December 1847:^[5]

The daily melancholy announcements of assassination that are now disgracing the country, and the murderers permitted to walk quietly away and defy the law, have induced me to get constructed a garment, shot and ball proof, so that every man can be protected, and enabled to return the fire of the assassin, and thus soon put a stop to the cowardly conduct which has deprived society of so many excellent and valuable lives, spreading terror and desolation through the country. I hope in a few days to have a specimen garment on view at my warerooms.

Another soft ballistic vest, Myeonje baegab, was invented in Joseon, Korea in the 1860s shortly after the French campaign against Korea. Heungseon Daewongun ordered development of bullet-proof armor because of increasing threats from Western armies. Kim Gi-Doo and Gang Yoon found that cotton could protect against bullets if 10 layers of cotton fabric were used. The vests were used in battle during the United States expedition to Korea, when the US Navy attacked Ganghwa Island in 1871. The US Navy captured one of the vests and took it to the US, where it was stored at the Smithsonian Museum until 2007. The vest has since been sent back to Korea and is currently on display to the public.^{[citation needed]}

Testing of new bulletproof vests, 1923

Simple ballistic armor was sometimes constructed by criminals. During the 1880s, a gang of Australian bushrangers led by Ned Kelly made basic armour from plough blades. By this time the Victorian Government had a reward for the capture of a member of the Kelly Gang at £8,000 (equivalent to $2 million Australian dollars in 2005). One of the stated aims of Kelly was the establishment of a Republic in North East Victoria. Each of the four Kelly gang members had fought a siege at a hotel clad in suits of armour made from the mouldboards of ploughs. The maker’s stamp (Lennon Number 2 Type) was found inside several of the plates. The men used the armour to cover their torsos, upper arms, and upper legs, and was worn with a helmet.

The suits were roughly made on a creek bed using a makeshift forge and a stringy-bark log as a muffled anvil. They had a mass of around 44 kg (96 lb), making the wearer a spectacular sight yet proved too unwieldy during a police raid at Glenrowan. Their armour deflected many hits with none penetrating, but eventually was of no use as the suits lacked protection for the legs and hands.

Ned Kelly armour, located at the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia,

World War I german Infantrie Panzer, 1918

In 1881, Tombstone physician George E. Goodfellow noticed that a Faro dealer Luke Short who was shot was saved by his silk handkerchief in his breast pocket that prevented the bullet from penetrating.^[6][7] In 1887, he wrote an article titled Impenetrability of Silk to Bullets^[8] for the Southern California Practitioner documenting the first known instance of bulletproof fabric. He experimented with^[9] silk vests resembling medieval gambesons, which used 18 to 30 layers of silk fabric to protect the wearers from penetration.

Fr. Kazimierz Żegleń used Goodfellow’s findings to develop a bulletproof vest made of silk fabric at the end of the 19th century, which could stop the relatively slow rounds from black powder handguns. The vests cost $800 USD each in 1914, a small fortune at the time the modern day equivalent of $18,710 USD. On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was wearing a silk bulletproof vest when he was attacked by a gun-wielding assassin. He was shot in the neck and the vest did not protect him.

Two American GIs wearing M1951 bullet-proof vests on Triangle Hill

Marines with Security Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 4, Combat Logistics Regiment 3, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, adjust Lance Cpl. Andrew Best’s Modular Tactical Vest

A similar vest, made by Polish inventor Jan Szczepanik in 1901, saved the life of Alfonso XIII of Spain when he was shot by an attacker. By 1900, gangsters were wearing $800 silk vests to protect themselves.^[10]

 

This all naturally led me to the history of firearms which I have included a bit of below:

The direct ancestor of the firearm is the fire lance, a black-powder–filled tube attached to the end of a spear and used as a flamethrower (not to be confused with the Byzantine flamethrower); shrapnel was sometimes placed in the barrel so that it would fly out together with the flames.^[4][5] The earliest depiction of a gunpowder weapon is the illustration of a fire-lance on a mid-12th century silk banner from Dunhuang.^[6] The De’an Shoucheng Lu, an account of the siege of De’an in 1132, records that Song forces used fire-lances against the Jurchens.^[7]

old Chinese Hand Cannon on display at the Shaanxi history museum in Xi’An, China. The placard reads Bronze firearm, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 ACE)

In due course, the proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to maximise its explosive power.^[5] To better withstand that explosive power, the paper and bamboo of which fire-lance barrels were originally made came to be replaced by metal.^[4] And to take full advantage of that power, the shrapnel came to be replaced by projectiles whose size and shape filled the barrel more closely.^[5] With this, we have the three basic features of the gun: a barrel made of metal, high-nitrate gunpowder, and a projectile which totally occludes the muzzle so that the powder charge exerts its full potential in propellant effect.^[8]

The earliest depiction of a gun is a sculpture from a cave in Sichuan dating to the 12th century of a figure carrying a vase-shaped bombard with flames and a cannonball coming out of it.^[1][9] The oldest surviving gun, made of bronze, has been dated to 1288 because it was discovered at a site in modern-day Acheng District where the Yuan Shi records that battles were fought at that time; Li Ting, a military commander of Jurchen descent, led foot-soldiers armed with guns—including a Korean brigade—in battle to suppress the rebellion of the Christian Mongol prince Nayan.^[10]

German grenade rifles from the 16th century (wheellock) and 18th century (flintlock) in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, München

Guns – Safavid dynasty- Iran (Persia) – 17AD

I know that firearms in our society today are a hot point in many conversations and social circles.  I create this post solely as a purpose of history to the devices.  I sincerely hope you enjoy, please be sure to let me know your thoughts 🙂

Related articles

• Body Armor
• Morris sheriff’s dogs get a bullet-proof layer of protection
• ‘Bulletproof’ vest test, then and now

Pulled by…….wait, WHAT??

I was so excited to have found all of these images.  This collection spans quite a bit of time, but the photos are all uniquely interesting. My favorite would have to be the lion pulling the children in the cart, that is awesome!  It is really neat to see the ingenuity of some people in the past.  I could not imagine being in or using a cart being pulled by some of these animals. I did of course, for reference, include a human pulled rickshaw 🙂 What is your favorite?  Please let me know and rate the article at the bottom!

Circus is coming to town…..

Sanger’s Circus Late 19th Century

We all know the names of The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.  They have been one of the biggest Circus troupes of all time.  They truly have an amazing history, particularly if you have a chance to read it in detail. From Wikipedia:

“Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. The company was started in 1919 when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses separately until they were finally merged in 1919.”

There were many circus acts before them, some quite spectacular in their own rights.  I have put together a collection of phots I have pulled from various sources. I hope you will enjoy!

As a side note, what circus is complete without freaks, I included some of them here.   It was hard for me to include these because of the obvious exploitation of these people.  On the other hand, their notoriety brought them a type of respect and fellowship which otherwise would they would not have had.

I included a lot of photos in this post, please enjoy each of them and let me know your favorites!

Walt Disney Circus

The Escalante Circus – founded 1909

Society Circus Horses. It was made between 1910 and 1917

1894 St. Petersburg Russia

a one-of-a-kind photograph of Jack Barrett with Barnum Circus

Henry Bros. Wagon early 1900’s

Circus in Salem 1898

Clowns and Horse. It was made between 1915 and 1917

Clowns On a Horse. It was taken between 1915 and 1917

Gainesville TX Circus 1923

Ruth Davis, the penguin girl had seal limbs a disease called phocomelia. It is what gave her the penguin appearance.

Prince Randian He was known as the living torso, human caterpillar, pillow man, and the human cigar. He was born in 1871 and died in December 1934.

Mademoiselle Gabrielle was born in Switzerland in 1884. She was a perfect lady until you got to her torso, and then she just ended

Born as Simon Metz was born in the Bronx in 1901. He was born with microlephaly a disorder that gave him a small brain and the IQ of a 3yr He was beloved to all and died in 1971

Prince Randian and the Half Man

Prince Randian was actually a pretty interesting man!  He was married and had five children, his amazing story can be found in more detail here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Randian

 

 

Over the falls…..

There have been many people that have dared Niagara falls.  Some went over and survived, many did not.  Here are some of the first to go over, they all made it.

Carlisle Graham

On Sunday, July11th, 1886 Graham Carlisle, a barrel maker from Philadelphia became the first person ever to shoot the Great Gorge Rapids in a barrel. Capt. Joel Robinson had already piloted the Maid of the Mist from it’s landing below the Horseshoe Falls to Queenston in 1861. Carlisle Graham would make his trip in a five and a half foot barrel of oaken staves and handmade iron hoops. Graham, being six feet tall was forced to stoop over once inside to allow the water-tight lid to be secured into place. With the exception of his arms Graham was encased in waterproof sheeting. Metal handles would allow him to grip the barrel. Carlisle Graham’s trip took 30 minutes. When rescued Mr. Graham was unhurt but he had become extremely ill and dizzy from the trip.

Queen of The Mist

This is Annie Edson Taylor, she was the first to go over the falls. A brief account of the aftermath:

The barrel was half filled with water and she had a cut 3 inches long back of her right ear. Her shoulders are strained and she suffered severely from shock.

As the doctors worked over her she said to a correspondent:

“I felt as though I was being knocked pieces in churned all over; that all nature was being annihilated. I thought of trying not to break my neck. I caught on to the side straps. After the men sent me a drift I closed my eyes and prayed God to spare my life. I struck rocks three times and the water seemed to come in the barrel everywhere. I knew when I went over the fall, and lost my senses just a minute. I am not a sporting woman. I have always lived a good life, and am not afraid to face God or man if it was with my dying breath I would warn anybody not to do it. I felt like I was all alone. People here have been good to me and I did this to help those who helped me. I hope some good will come of it. I would rather face a cannon knowing that I would be blown to pieces, then go over the falls again. I feel that I want to offer a prayer to God for sparing my life”.

On Monday October 21st 1901, Mrs. Annie Edson Taylor shot the Horseshoe Falls this afternoon and survived,

Her story is amazing and can be found in much greater detail here: http://www.niagarafrontier.com/devil_frame.html#TAYLOR

Annie Edson Taylor

French tightrope walker Jean Francois Gravelet crossing the Niagra Falls in the 1800s.

The most famous of Niagara’s daredevils was Jean Francois Gravelot, better know as “The Great Blondin”. He was born February 28th 1824 in St. Omer, Pas de Calais in Northern France.

Blondin first came to Niagara in early 1858. He became obsessed with crossing the Niagara River on a tightrope. On June 30th 1859, Blondin successfully walked across the river on a tight rope. For this crossing , Blondin utilized a 1,100 foot long – 3 inch diameter manila rope stretched from what is now Prospect Park in Niagara Falls, New York to what is now Oakes Garden in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He began his first walk from the American side and completed his crossing in 20 minutes. Blondin used a thirty (30) foot (9m) long balancing pole that weighed 40 pounds.

During the summer of 1859, Blondin completed eight more crossing times. His most difficult crossing occurred on August 14th when he carried his manager Harry Colcord on his back. During the summer of 1860, Blondin returned to Niagara for a second successful year of tight rope walking across the Niagara River for hundreds of thousands of sightseers. One of his acts included pushing a wheelbarrow along as he crossed.

 

The Man who challenged Niagara, WON and later died as a result of slipping on an orange peel!

Bobby Leech, after the plunge over Niagara Falls – 1911

Bobby Leach had a reputation in England as a circus stuntman. He had attracted attention to himself by announcing the intention of becoming the first person to complete the “triple challenge”. This included:

1.) making a barrel trip through the rapids to the whirlpool,

2.) going over the Falls in a barrel, and

3.) parachuting from the Upper Suspension Bridge into the  river upstream of the rapids.

On July 1st 1908, Leach jumped off the Upper Steel Arch Bridge using a parachute to become the fourth (4th) person to do so.

During the summer of 1910, Leach returned to Niagara Falls to test his barrel. He attempted to ride the barrel through the Great Gorge Rapids to the Whirlpool. Leach had attached an anchor to his barrel but it was cut loose by rocks. Leach’s barrel bounced from rock to rock through the rapids before becoming stuck in an eddy in the Whirlpool. Leach was rescued by William “Red” Hill Sr.. Hill had to risk his life by swimming out to Leach’s barrel and dragging it into shore. Leach was removed from the barrel unconscious. Hill Sr. climbed into the barrel and rode it through the lower rapids to Queenston. During that summer, Leach made three (3) other successful trips through the famous Whirlpool Rapids.

In addition, Bobby Leach made two aborted attempts to swim across the Niagara River down river from the American Falls.

On the afternoon of July 25th 1911, Bobby Leach climbed into an eight foot long steel drum at Navy Island where the current of the Niagara River veers towards the Canadian shore. The drum was released at 2:55 p.m.. It took eighteen minutes to reach the brink of the Horseshoe Falls before going over. It took 22 minutes to recover the drum. It had become stuck in the river at the base of the falls before Fred Bender (an Ontario Power Company employee) tied a rope around his waist and swam to where the barrel was. Bender tied a rope to the barrel and it was hauled to the Canadian shore. Leach was removed from the drum and rushed to the hospital suffering from two broken knee caps and a broken jaw.

Twenty three weeks later, Bobby Leach left the hospital and went on tour with his barrel throughout North America and Europe. Leach did return to Niagara Falls to parachute from an airplane.

On July 1st 1920, Bobby Leach jumped using  a parachute from an airplane. He repeated this feat again on October 10th 1925. In both cases Leach landed in corn fields on Canadian soil near the Niagara Gorge. Records are vague as to his parachute jump.

While in Niagara Falls, Bobby Leach purchased and operated a restaurant.

In April of 1926, Bobby Leach died at the age of 70 years in Christchurch, New Zealand as a result of an accidental slip on an orange peel while on his daily walk. His fractured leg had become infected and was amputated. Two months later he died in hospital.

There are a lot of men and women who challenged the falls over the past century and a half.  you can find a full and comprehensive list here: http://www.niagarafrontier.com/ (most of my material came from here)

Some would call them foolish, some would call them courageous, I think it takes a certain amount of moxie to pull off any of these stunts.  Please do drop in and let me know your favorites 🙂

Related articles

• A Lesson in Faith – The Charles Blondin Story
• Who was the First Person to Cross Niagara Falls
• Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to successfully survive a plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel today in 1901. Now WE know em