Over the falls

Over The Falls

Bobby Leach and his barrel after his trip over Niagara Falls, 1911

In October 1829, Sam Patch, who called himself The Yankee Leaper, jumped from a high tower into the gorge below the falls and survived; this began a long tradition of daredevils trying to go over the Falls. In 1901, 63-year-old school teacher Annie Edson Taylor was the first person to go over the Falls in a barrel as a publicity stunt; she survived, bleeding, but virtually unharmed. Soon after exiting the barrel, she said, "No one should ever try that again." Unfortunately, the fortune she hoped to make from a later lecture tour was never realized, as her manager was a con-man who took everything she owned. (Legend says that a small kitten rode in the barrel with her, but this seems to have been a whimsical myth. Still, when she posed with the barrel afterwards, the kitten sat placidly on top of it.) Since Taylor's historic ride, 14 other people have intentionally gone over the Falls in or on a device, despite her advice. Some have survived unharmed, but others have drowned or been severely injured. Survivors of such stunts face charges and stiff fines, as it is illegal, on both sides of the border, to attempt to go over the Falls.

Other daredevils have made crossing the Falls their goal, starting with the successful passage by Jean François "Blondin" Gravelet in 1859. These tightrope walkers drew huge crowds to witness their exploits. Their wires ran across the gorge, near the current Rainbow Bridge, not over the waterfall itself. Among the many was Ontario's William Hunt, who billed himself as "Signor Fanini" and competed with Blondin in performing outrageous stunts over the gorge. Englishman Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, drowned in 1883 after unsuccessfully trying to swim across the whirlpools and rapids downriver from the Falls with nine other people. Two others drowned with him, and the other seven gave up before finishing their course.

Mr. Roger Woodward and Mrs. Deanne Woodward Simpson meeting with the two heroes.

In what some called the "Miracle at Niagara", Roger Woodward, a seven-year-old American boy, was swept over the Horseshoe Falls protected only by a life vest on July 9, 1960, as two tourists pulled his 17-year-old sister Deanne from the river only 20 feet (6 m) from the lip of the Horseshoe Falls at Goat Island.^[21] Minutes later, Roger was plucked from the roiling plunge pool beneath the Horseshoe Falls after grabbing a life ring thrown to him by the crew of the Maid of the Mist boat. His survival, which no one thought possible, made news throughout the world.

On July 2, 1984, Canadian Karel Soucek from Hamilton, Ontario successfully plunged over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel with only minor injuries. Soucek was fined $500 for performing the stunt without a license. In 1985, he was fatally injured in a practice session for a stunt attempting to re-create the Niagara drop at the Houston Astrodome. His aim was to climb into a barrel hoisted to the rafters of the Astrodome and to drop 180 feet into a water tank on the floor. After his barrel released prematurely, it hit the side of the tank and he died the next day from his injuries.

In August 1985, Steve Trotter, an aspiring stunt man from Rhode Island, became the youngest person ever (age 22) and the first American in 25 years to go over the Falls in a barrel. Ten years later, Trotter went over the Falls again, becoming the second person to go over the Falls twice and survive. It was also the second-ever "duo"; Lori Martin joined Trotter for the barrel ride over the Falls. The first two-person trip over the brink goes to Jeffrey Petkovich (25) and Peter Debernardi (42) on September 27, 1989.

Kirk Jones of Canton, Michigan became the first known person to survive a plunge over the Horseshoe Falls without a flotation device on October 20, 2003. While it is still not known whether Jones was determined to commit suicide, he survived the 16-story fall with only battered ribs, scrapes, and bruises.

No human has ever survived a plunge over the American Falls, owing to the many boulders and the relatively weak current. A newspaper account in the late 19^th century does cite a bulldog believed to have successfully, though accidentally endured the passage. All survivors and daredevils have passed over the Horseshoe Falls, where there are fewer boulders and the current can "throw" a person farther away from the brink and avoid the boulders.