June 2023 Dare to Believe by Fran Joyce
This month, I have selected two individuals who were daredevils, Sam Patch and Annie Edson Taylor. One died young performing a stunt and the other lived to be 82.
The latter died penniless still trying to squeeze a living out of their one daring stunt.
It’s not that I want to discourage people from performing death-defying stunts; however, I feel compelled to present the realities of living for the adrenaline rush, and my vehement disapproval of using innocent animals to test the safety of stunts. You may survive, but countless others have failed. Sometimes we need a reminder that fame and fortune can be fleeting and fatal. Enjoy “Be Daring Day,” but stay safe.
Sam Patch (1799-1829) - Patch was known as the Jersey Jumper, the Yankee Leaper, and the Daring Yankee. He became the first famous American daredevil after he successfully jumped from a raised platform near the base of Niagara Falls into the Niagara River in 1829.
Patch was raised in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and was the fifth child in his family. He became a child laborer spinning cotton in a mill.
When he wasn’t working, he often entertained his young coworkers by jumping off the mill dam. After Patch took a job at a mill in Paterson, New Jersey, he began jumping from even higher spots and advertising his stunts to draw large crowds. Successful jumps from the Passaic Falls and jumps in Hoboken led to highly publicized jumps from factory walls, ship’s masts, and bridges.
In an interview Patch boldly claimed, “Some things can be done as well as others.” It became his slogan, and a nation embraced its first daredevil.
In the fall of 1829, Patch attempted a jump from the base of Niagara Falls into the Niagara River. The event drew thousands of spectators and was part of a promotion to encourage more people to visit the falls. On that day, (November 6) the weather was bad, and Patch had to wait to perform his jump. By the time the weather settled down, the crowd had thinned out considerably. Patch had a pet bear cub that jumped (or was pushed) before his jump and landed safely in the river and swam to shore. Patch made his successful jump but was disappointed by the number of spectators who remained to see it.
He decided to recreate his jump on November 13. The day was clear, but much colder. Patch’s bear landed safely again and swam to shore. When Patch jumped, his body hit the water at an odd angle and there was a loud sound. When he failed to resurface, promoters assumed he had swum to a nearby cave and a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. was waiting safely inside to build up the excitement of the crowd before resurfacing. His body wasn’t found until spring. His rapid descent exposed his body to rapidly changing temperatures that caused his blood vessels to rupture. Patch was only thirty years old.
President Andrew Jackson was so impressed with the daring Patch that he named one of his horses, Patch. Plays and stories were written about him. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville described him as a “daring moral hero’ in their works. In 1948, William Carlos Williams paid tribute to Patch in Volume I of his long poem, Paterson. In 2008, the group, Piñataland, paid tribute to Patch in their single, “The Fall of Sam Patch.”
Annie Edson Taylor (1838-1921) was an American schoolteacher.
On her 63rd birthday (October 24, 1901), she became the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
She has been called the Queen of the Falls and the Queen of the Mist. Taylor’s motives were financial at the time. She wanted to secure a comfortable life for her golden years, and she needed the money to live comfortably in her preferred social circle.
Annie Edson was one of eight children. Her father owned a flour mill. After his death when Annie was twelve, he left the family enough money to live comfortably.
Annie received an honors degree in a four-year training program for teachers. She taught dance and music.
She married David Taylor. Their son died in infancy and David died soon after leaving Annie a widow. She struggled after David’s death and often relocated in search of permanent employment. In Bay City, Michigan, she opened a dance studio, but it failed. She went back to teaching music, but often struggled to find employment.
By 1901, her home had burned down, and she had been swindled out of most of her savings by a clergyman. Annie began to lie about her age believing she would have a better chance of finding work if she seemed younger.
She came up with the idea for the barrel stunt as a quick way to get cash and become famous enough to generate cash from personal appearances. She also planned to open a souvenir shop at the falls. It seemed like the perfect solution to her cash flow problems.
Annie even hired a manager, Frank M. Russell, to promote the jump.
She designed a custom-made barrel of wood and steel. Inside she placed a special mattress to cushion her body and straps to hold her securely. She also had an air hole fitted with a rubber tube to make sure she had air to breathe. She sent a cat named Iagara over the falls in it as a test. The poor cat survived the journey over the falls and the impact of landing in the water with only a small wound on its head.
Confident of her success, Annie was sealed in her barrel. It was placed in a rowboat and lowered into the water near Goat Island. The barrel drifted to the Canadian side of the falls (Horseshoe Falls). Annie survived the journey with only a small head wound. Her adventure lasted twenty minutes. Reynolds ran off with the money paid by the spectators and promoters as well as her barrel.
Annie’s only income from going over the falls came from the personal appearances she made afterward and the souvenirs she was able to sell. She vowed never to do it again and advised others not to attempt it.
She used part of her savings to hire private detectives to find Russell and her barrel. The barrel was eventually found in Chicago, but disappeared before it could be returned to her. Annie had hoped having the barrel would bolster demand for her personal appearances and help sell souvenirs.
When she wasn’t posing for photos with tourists at her souvenir stand or providing therapeutic treatments to them, she dabbled in the New York Stock Exchange, considered making a second attempt down the falls, tried to write a movie recreating her plunge, and worked as a clairvoyant.
She died at the age of 82, still claiming to be 57 years old. Annie is buried next to her friend and fellow daredevil, Carlisle Graham in the Stunter’s Rest section of Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls, New York. Annie died penniless. Her funeral and burial were paid for by donations from her fans.
Her life and legacy live on in books, television documentaries, songs, and poems.
Source for this article:
https://www.history.com/news/stunts-throughout-history