Why a Woman was the first to go over the Niagara Falls in a barrel - IT'S HISTORY
let's start our journey over the falls with a quote from ann edson taylor the first of niagara falls many famous daredevils to have actually survived her plunge her words are short but may very well be the closest thing we will ever have to understanding the terror she experienced she exclaimed i felt as though i was being knocked to pieces and turned all over i knew when i went over the falls and lost my senses in just a minute since 1901 the niagara falls have been no strangers to thrill seekers wishing to take the harrowing 170 foot drop into the frigid crushing waters below the most recent account occurred in 2012 and as of today 16 people in total have taken the plunge out of those 16 11 have survived two men even survived this incredible plunge twice some even rode the falls without any protective gear but what is it that pulls these ambitious few to take such a dangerous trip over the top of one of the world's greatest natural wonders this is the story of the daredevils of the niagara falls i'm your host ryan socash and you're watching it's history this episode is brought to you by curiositystream a subscription streaming service that offers thousands of documentaries and non-fiction titles from some of the world's best filmmakers including exclusive originals curiosity stream is the netflix for nerds the hulu for history buffs the disney plus for the science and us curiosity stream is also extremely affordable at under 20 dollars a year that's just a dollar 67 per month go to curiositystream.com it's history for unlimited access to the world's top documentaries and non-fiction series and for our fans use promo code it's history and you'll get 25 off which comes out to only 14.99 a year so click the link below or go to curiositystream.com it's history and save 25 right now that is only
14.99 for the whole year that's just a dollar 25 per month and now back to niagara falls between canada and new york there lies a breathtaking waterfall that attracts over 8 million visitors to its park designed by frederick law olmsted who also happened to design new york's central park without a doubt niagara falls is one of the most beloved musty attractions in the world made up of three separate waterfalls that spill into the niagara river the horseshoe falls aka the canadian falls the american falls and the bridal veil falls reaching up to 176 feet in some areas the fall's current erosion rate is around one foot per year though in the future this may be reduced to one foot per decade due to diversions of the flow to generate hydropower and although the falls are now sought after by millions holding selfie sticks and highly manipulated by human engineering it all started out in the hands of mother nature this natural wonder was 12 000 years in the making and can be traced back to the frozen glaciers of the last ice age as the ice began to melt the water drained into what is now the niagara river the water then passed over the side of the niagara escarpment and flowed towards what we now call lewistown new york according to niagara falls usa the falls were formed by erosion the sheer force of the flowing water eroded the rock layers over time and the falls moved upstream to their present location even today niagara falls is a work in progress every year as it freezes and thaws the falls continue to erode gradually a staggering 3160th of water flows over the niagara falls every second and its park is the oldest state park in america this force of water comes from a monumental source the four great lakes all draining into the niagara river lake superior michigan huron and erie while not the tallest waterfall in the world there is little question about the incredible impact it has so you might be wondering with 12 000 years in the making when did people first lay eyes upon it as the story goes with many beloved places in north america the first people to witness the glory of the falls were the native americans who lived in the area the first record of humans on the niagara peninsula can be traced back to natives migrating from southwestern ontario between 1300 a.d and 1400 a.d the name niagara river actually comes from the name another early native tribe called this river the native inhabitants also had many incredible stories stories passed down to modern day one of which presents their interpretation of the fall's creation the legend goes malevolent horned serpents once clashed with the benevolent thunder beings who would emerge from behind the waterfalls to protect humans for them one of these serpents was struck fatally by one of the thunder being's lightning bolts while swimming upstream its massive body was swept away by the rushing currents its horns and tails were caught in the rocks and the serpent died its body solidified in the shape of an arch forming the famous crescent shape of the falls that we can recognize today according to oral tradition the thunder beings left their home behind the waterfalls to travel to the western mountains as more and more travelers settled in the area unfortunately the earliest history of niagara falls is not well documented but we do know that around 13 000 years ago they weren't where they are today they were located nine kilometers away near the present-day lewistown queenston bridge along the border between canada and the united states but if we fast forward to the 17th century we will come upon some rather credible and striking accounts of the falls in december of 1678 the french explorer louis henpin was amongst the first europeans to discover these falls he and his men were awestruck by their incredible strength and it wasn't long before the region was turned into a french stronghold the french built a fort to control access to the great lakes at the mouth of the river which still survives till today as the old fort niagara according to niagara falls usa niagara city was also the birthplace of hydroelectric power a man named daniel john cares was the first recorded person to harness its power in 1759 he dug a narrow ditch above the american side of the falls and used it to turn a water wheel that powered a sawmill though he did not invent the water wheel he developed a new way of using niagara falls incredible strength as before his arrival the widest use of the falls was for washing later on and thanks to nikolai tesla's innovative alternating current system power was generated and transmitted along the niagara river to various homes and businesses in the region the first place electricity was sold as a commodity in the area was the sholdov power station located near what is now the niagara gorge discovery center even today both american and canadian power plants produce almost 2.5 million kilowatts of electricity however while some are content to
admire the majesty of the falls or harness the power safely others wish to be one with them and so now it's time to discuss the elephant in the room the daredevils of niagara falls many who have survived this treacherous trip explain their actions as a kind of beckoning to leap into the hypnotizing swirl of the waters and others reported by officials take the leap to end their lives approximately 20 people a year that is annie edson taylor who we quoted at the start of this episode was a music and dance teacher from modest beginnings born in new york on october the 24th 1838 in a family of eight children later in life she found herself to be the widowed wife of a civil war soldier named david taylor and the grieving mother of their son many say that taylor wasn't a woman you would ordinarily pick out of a crowd she was according to wbur.org a matronly woman who wore glasses and her hair in a bun taylor spent much of her life without roots moving from job to job without truly settling down her money grew thinner and thinner every day and by the time she turned 60 she was heavily relying on her sister-in-law to provide for her financially after losing her teaching job desperate to find a way to stay out of the poor house taylor turned to the newspapers and it was then that she drew particular inspiration from the swimmers and tightrope walkers who risked their lives performing stunts across the more difficult sections of the niagara river the newest trend was riding the whirlpool rapids at the base of the falls in a barrel though taylor took things one massive step forward by deciding to go over the falls herself inside of a barrel to safely ride the falls taylor needed not only to engineer a barrel that could safely carry her but to profit from it she needed to advertise the event to the flocks of taurus coming in to see the falls from buffalo new york's 1901 pan-american exhibition her friends thought it was a crazy idea and can you really blame them this was something that had not only never been done before but was also outlandishly unthinkable by pulling this stunt taylor would be risking her life and attempting to perform what was widely thought impossible in her all-or-nothing approach perhaps this trip was inevitable for taylor who found herself hypnotized by the fall since childhood when asked she had this to say about the mysterious pull that the niagara falls had over her stating you are drawn to this precipice there is an enormous amount of energy that does not stop it's thundering and there is something very compelling and seductive about standing at the edge of the falls there were many structural dangers that taylor had to address as she prepared for the incredible stunt for one the barrel needed to be big enough to hold not only her but also cushioning to pad her fall to address this taylor had a pickle barrel deconstructed and then reconstructed to suit her needs after being rebuilt the barrel was around 4.5 feet high and three feet wide it was just barely enough for her and the cushioning to fit inside the cushioning wasn't anything special though it was just a bunch of old mattresses that were stuffed in all around her for the fall itself a 200 pound anvil was attached to the bottom to ensure that it would right itself as soon as possible when it rolled over the faults to ensure that there would be enough air in the cavity to last until the ride was over the barrel also had multiple emergency air holes drilled into the top cork stoppers were placed inside so that if she ran out of air she would be able to punch through the barrel was otherwise airtight and watertight once she sealed herself inside a bicycle pump was used to pump extra air inside to last for the rest of the journey she also added metal handholds and leather straps now she was the first person to go down the falls in a barrel and survive taylor wasn't the first living thing to go down the falls altogether that title instead went to the domestic house cat she sent down the falls on the same journey this was to test out the barrel and make sure it would survive before she took a gamble herself the cat survived and with that her course was finally set on october the 24th 1901 the day of her 63rd birthday the former school teacher made an incredible leap of faith thousands of spectators gathered from far and wide to watch alongside eager reporters were there to see if annie edson taylor would survive the fall the heir was alive with excitement and chatter as taylor rode out to the brink of the falls with the team she had hired wearing her sunday's finest taylor shed her heaviest garments on the grass island and then climbed into the barrel she was fitted with a makeshift harness to keep her in place as much as possible pillows were placed on either side of her head to cushion it from the blows her landing might cause the top was sealed the air pump in and the emergency openings plugged according to the new york times annie edson taylor was set adrift around 405 pm about a mile from the brink of the falls at around 4 30 the barrel was seen drifting less than a minute later it tipped over the edge taking a heart-stopping drop of 158 feet into the crashing swirling rapids below a moment later the barrel was seen momentarily floating at the base of the falls it took another 15 to 20 gut-wrenching minutes for the rescue boats to finally arrive recover the barrel and check to see how taylor had fared after the lid was sawed off an extremely disoriented but minorly injured tailor emerged from the barrel triumphant but asking one of her rescuers where she was she would later describe the plunge as feeling like oblivion the end of the earth and later when asked if she'd be willing to repeat the feat again she stated i would rather face a cannon knowing that i would be blown into pieces than ever go over the falls again annie edson had done it she had not only made history but she had also set a decided precedent for the future daredevils of the niagara falls that would follow in the century after her plunge however while taylor initially believed that she would find great fortune in traveling across the country selling memoirs and talking about her trip down the falls things didn't quite pan out for her after her ride one of the largest missteps taylor made was that she promoted herself as nearly 20 years younger than she actually was this was because she believed that the public would be more open-minded to someone like her if she was younger though it quickly backfired after the fact many initially flocked to theaters to hear taylor talk about her journey but this didn't last long when theatergoers would arrive and see an old woman standing on stage nobody believed that it was her because she had advertised herself as being 42 years old most got up and left and eventually even taylor's original barrel was stolen leaving nothing but the woman herself to spread the story she returned to the niagara falls souvenir shops with a replica of the barrel selling postcards brochures and photographs of herself making history doesn't always pay and tiller is an impressive though unfortunate example of this she died in poverty in 1921. however a few of her friends raised funds to have her buried in the stunters section of the oakwood cemetery in niagara falls with a headstone noting her incredible accomplishment of 1901. this
cemetery would also become the resting place of multiple other niagara falls daredevils and though the regulations of challenging the falls have since changed and become far stricter those who would make the plunge without a proper permit could even be fined or imprisoned as you'll soon see it didn't stop others from trying and i guess we could suppose that if a 25 mortality rate for the daredevils who attempt to go over the falls isn't enough to discourage them why should the law the second person to survive the falls was bob leach a mere 10 years after taylor took the plunge and exclaimed that nobody should ever do anything like that ever again bobby stepped in a native of cornwall england his first claim to fame was in 1906 when he parachuted into the niagara river after a daring jump off the upper steel arch bridge which was near the modern day rainbow bridge however he wasn't even close to satisfied he had a thirst for an even bigger title to become the second person and the first man to go over the falls in a barrel his journey to such a point was slow and incredibly expensive though leech's preparations would pay off on tuesday the 25th of july 1911. just five years after his parachuting stunt at 54 he made the journey down the falls in a cylindrical steel barrel with wooden bumpers on each end he was cut adrift from the boat around 2 55 pm in front of a massive crowd lined up to watch along the banks of the table rock and the upper bank of the niagara gorge the public clamored to see if he would go through with his attempt after all as the barrel containing leech made its way towards the toronto powerhouse from the chippewa creek the front bumper was torn off when it crashed into a large rock the force of this impact left a large gash in his forehead though he was undeterred in his journey at 3 13 pm the barrel reached the center of the brink and finally slipped over according to the niagara falls museum a daily record reporter referred to the moment the barrel emerged from the rapids as if by magic the massive crowd at table rock falling completely silent as the audience waited with baited breath to witness the results of leech's plunge not a single sound was heard other than the roar of the falls it wasn't until dozens of people shouted out in a triumphant cry of there he is that the audience could breathe out a collective sigh of relief as the barrel resurfaced aside the falls after it was trapped in a swirling circle for 20 or so minutes fred bender a man who worked in the ontario powerhouse company leaped in to grab the barrel he was pulled ashore by his co-workers and the daredevil emerged the mighty cheers of an astonished crowd he was severely bruised and beaten from his journey some reports even say that his kneecaps and jaw were broken but he had survived soon after he was administered oxygen and managed to muster the energy to ask those around him one question has anyone sent word to my wife the plunge skyrocketed him into newfound fame and from that moment leach spent much of his life traveling the world with his barrel and his wife unfortunately he died 15 years after his famous plunge in auckland new zealand when he slipped on a banana peel and broke his leg while walking down the street he died during a surgery to amputate his leg on april the 28th 1926. his headstone in auckland's hillboro cemetery still bears the beloved memory of his famous trip others who survived this incredible trip included gene lussier who went over the falls in a spring steel frame ball on july the 4th 1928. then we have nathan boya who survived the falls in his rubber plungo sphere on july the 15th 1961 and steven trotter who managed to beat the challenge on august the 18th 1985 after having his first attempt foiled by police in november of the previous year however for every person who managed to take the plunge and survive many tragically lost their lives one of these tragic losses was charles stevens a 58 year old barber from bristol england known as the demon barber of bristol stevens came from a lofty reputation as a daredevil a stunt puller with many high dives and parachute jumps under his belt by the time he set his eyes on the niagara falls initially he planned to go over the falls in a russian oak barrel bobby leach with his previous experience advised against such a hasty journey instead recommending that he waited until he was certain that the barrel would hold through the journey but stevens was an incredibly stubborn man who was sure that leach was only trying to prevent his success stevens also refused the suggestion of another niagara fall daredevil williams hill who suggested sending the barrel over unoccupied first as a test so foolishly wearing only padded clothing and with a small oxygen tank he attached an anvil on his feet and set off around 8 15 am on july the 20th 1920 a small group of onlookers had gathered at the base of the falls alongside leech and hill but leech left before stevens reached the edge of the falls fearing a tragedy when the large oak barrel hit the water the anvil stevens had strapped to his feet broke through the bottom of the barrel and the sheer force of the impact then dragged stevens into a watery grave what remained of the barber in the debris that could be recovered was buried in an unmarked grave in the durmont hills cemetery as the first to die attempting to cross the falls in a barrel considering this tragedy and the others that would ultimately follow throughout the decades encouraged both canada and new york to put laws in place that expressly prohibited stunting at niagara falls but you need to understand that the niagara falls story of triumph and tragedy didn't even start with the daredevils we spoke of here many other forms of stunts had taken place over the years prior such as charles blonden a 34 year old acrobat from france he was the first of many tightrope walkers who crossed over niagara falls on june the 30th 1859 he began his famous series of tightrope walks across the niagara gorge though the stunts would only become more and more dangerous with each succession by far the capstone of this incredible series was when he crossed the gorge carrying his manager harry colchord on his back blondin always worked without a net believing that preparing for disaster only made it more likely to occur he used nothing but a 1 300 foot hemp rope to make this harrowing crossing which is likely enough to make anyone's stomach churn in 1876 maria speltarini a 23 year old woman from italy became the first and only woman to cross the niagara gorge on a tightrope she didn't just cross the gorge though to ramp things up she wore peach baskets on her feet later she crossed blindfolded and with her wrists and ankles handcuffed the last tightrope crossing of that century was 21 year old james hardy in july of 1896 who became the youngest person to cross the gorge and made 16 crossings over the summer crossings have also occurred in modern day such as in 2012 115 years later when nick wallenda made history by crossing in front of an audience of more than 13 million people from all over the world fighting the wind and mist it took over 25 minutes for him to cross in the modern day stunting is outlawed by both new york and canada challenging the falls could land a daredevil with a hefty fine or even jail time though this still hasn't stopped countless people from making the plunge one of the most notable of the 21st century was 40 year old kirk jones and his 2003 dive from the fall kirk cited an impulsive one second thing spurred on by an ongoing depression jones was reportedly convinced that there was a way to take the plunge and live with no protection which is exactly what happened surviving a true one in a million chance though he hit the water hard and was violently tossed around the whirlpools jones was able to climb onto a rock and survive as the second person without any protective gear some believed that jones dive was a suicide attempt others a publicity stunt that was meant to gain him fame after he had a friend record the entire stunt and well incredible we must remember that these stories are better admired from afar crossing over the niagara falls in any way is incredibly dangerous surviving such an accomplishment is a romantic notion but a notion that we should only experience vicariously so help these stories live on by sharing this video subscribe to its history and also don't miss my video about california's most famous ghost town this is ryan socash signing off
2021-12-07 20:35
