White Knuckles over Niagara
By K.C. Tessendorf
Funambulist! Oh, how Harry Colcord rued the day he’d met one.
Eager to horn into the wages of fame, Colcord now feared he had sold his young life to Monsieur Blondin, famous funambulist-high-wire acrobat. Chicagoan Henry (Harry) M. Colcord was no daredevil or athlete, but a slightly built, white-collar clerk and agent who slid along on a smile, a handshake, and a shoeshine, selling his product, “The Great Blondin!”
But on this day, August 17, 1859, Harry stood unwillingly as point man in a crowd crowning the cliffs on the Canadian side of the Niagara gorge below the falls. Trembling and pale, he subdued a clamoring impulse to run away as fast as he could.
Harry’s frightened eyes were presently engaged with Blondin’s friendly encouraging eyes as the slim, muscular aerialist, carrying a long balancing pole, strolled up the final length of the rope pathway stretched 1,100 feet across the wild torrent of the Niagara River 190 feet below. Blondin’s saunter from the United States side had been accented with a few circus-type stunts from his repertoire.
The three-inch braided rope swayed in the wind currents of the gorge behind the nonchalant daredevil. Harry felt sick, for it had been advertised that in half an hour he would ride on Blondin’s back across the fearsome chasm.
“Blondin” was an appropriate stage name for Frenchman Jean-François Gravelet. He was fair, blue-eyed, and light-haired. Blondin was thirty-five and had been in the United States four years with a troupe of acrobats employed by master showman P.T. Barnum. In 1858, Blondin visited Niagara Falls as a tourist. It was there that he conceived a funambulist’s dream of slinging a rope pathway between the two countries over the Niagara gorge.
In the spring of 1859 Blondin left Barnum, and with Colcord came to Niagara Falls determined to create a personal aerialist theater.
Getting tying rights on both shores was difficult and required the hefty sharing of profits. However, a public-spirited merchant agreed to provide the thick, expensive rope for free. He even winked kindly when he said that if Blondin changed his mind and never used the rope, he’d understand.
Installed and anchored at either end by wide-spaced guys (ropes), the heavy strand sagged about 20 feet in the middle of the span. Since the gorge is normally windy, the rope moved sluggishly sideways and up and down.
A huge crowd with mixed emotions of hope and fear was present on June 30, 1859, to witness Blondin’s historic walk. Stepping out at 5 P.M. clothed in silk tights, Blondin revealed early on that he was a showman, not just a hiker.
A quarter of the way out, Blondin stopped, yawned, and stretched before lying down on the rope and placing the 38-foot balancing pole across his chest. He even appeared to snooze for a few minutes. Neatly arising, not using his hands, Blondin casually ambled out to midpoint, pausing on the swaying strand to unroll a coil of thin lead-tipped rope.
He patiently dangled the rope 180 feet down to a waiting boat, where a small bottle was attached. The daredevil reeled the rope back, sat down, and took a drink. Resuming his journey toward Canada, Blondin abruptly performed a backflip somersault, raising the tempos of many hearts throughout the crowd. Then he ran lightly up the mooring as the applause from both banks momentarily suppressed the roar of Niagara Falls.
“The Great Blondin” announced that he’d walk back, too. Carrying a camera, he went out and tied his pole to the rope. Freestanding in perfect rhythm with the rocking footing, he took pictures like an airborne tourist. He then briskly walked to the American side.
Blondin soon reappeared with a chair that he balanced on the rope and stood on. After that he called it a day!
Blondin went on to cross the falls weekly, adding new stunts. All of his crossings were heavily publicized by Colcord. On July 4, Blondin crossed in a heavy sack of blankets, blindly feeling his way. On his return, he walked backward. He bicycled. Once he came out pushing a wheelbarrow bearing a small stove. In midair, Blondin fired the stove and prepared, cooked, and ate an omelet. At least once, he stood on his head on the rope.
The great funambulist crossed at night with Roman candles spouting from his pole tips to mark his progress. A locomotive headlight shining on the rope went dark as Blondin was en route. But it is likely that this had been arranged by the canny daredevil, who emerged unfazed.
The business of daredeviltry requires the addition of new thrills, mostly because the crowds demand it. In early August, Blondin told Colcord, “Harry, here’s a stunt that will complete our fortunes! I’ll find a man and carry him over.” Harry also thought it was a great idea, and advertised a princely sum for the person who completed the trip on Blondin’s back. There were several suitable applicants, but after looking at the swirling depths of the gorge, each one quietly walked away.
Then Blondin proposed, “Harry, you’re a small man like myself. I can carry you. Be a good fellow and come along.”
Harry blushed and stammered—he couldn’t say yes or no. But at a meeting of the star and his agent with the press, Blondin cheerfully announced that he would carry his friend Harry Colcord on his return from Canada on August 17.
The news caused a sensation. It was apparent that a big crowd would come. Harry was hooked—wiggle as he might!
On August 17, after landing on the Canadian side, Blondin realized that Colcord was in a state of terror, hardly responding to him, staring into the gorge where the roiling water sped by at 42 miles per hour. So Blondin firmly took hold and led his companion out to the brink beside the rope as about 100,000 people called encouragement.
In a daze, Harry M. Colcord, apprentice daredevil, mounted Blondin's back, wrapped his arms around Blondin's neck, and placed his feet into harnessed stirrups. It was a load! Colcord weighed a little less than Blondin—136 pounds. The balancing pole added about 40 more pounds. As Blondin walked out, Colcord tightened his embrace. As Blondin barely grunted to release his grip, Harry, by supreme will, obeyed. Harry remembered the moment:
“Out over that horrible gulf I heard the roar of the water below and the hum which ran through the crowd. As we cleared the brink the hum ceased—the strain had spread to them.
“Blondin walked on steadily, pausing for one brief moment at each point where the guy ropes joined the main cable. The line was a trifle steadier at these points . . . Blondin halted at the last resting point before the middle span and yelled above the roar of water and wind,
‘Harry, you are not longer Colcord; you are Blondin. Until I clear this place be a part of me—mind, body, and soul. If I sway, sway with me. Do not attempt to do any balancing yourself. If you do we shall both go down to our death.’”
As the rope really moved, on lookers saw that the pole tops, which usually moved slowly, were now whipping up and down “like the wings of a bird in rapid flight.” And Harry thought they swayed sideways with the river flow!
“Blondin was now running just as a boy runs in order to better keep his balance when walking on a railroad track. We were nearing the point where the joining place of the first guy-line from the opposite shore offered us a breathing space. Finally, Blondin’s foot was planted on the knot that joined the lines. I was sucking in some air when suddenly the rope was jerked from beneath Blondin’s feet.”
The pair, near the end, managed to maintain their balance. Blondin was wringing wet with sweat, almost done in. Ashore, hundreds reached out their hands. The bandsmen were too emotionally overcome to hold a tune as the dogged pair rushed the crowd on American soil.
During the wild celebrations that followed, the president of the New York Central Railroad hailed the heroes. He gave Colcord a $1,000 check. Then the president offered the finest gesture a railroad baron could make. With a twinkle in his eyes he presented a second $1,000 check if Harry would promise not to do it again. Harry eagerly accepted.
What a happy ending!
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Drawing parallel to my life.. at times, I am just like the audience , cheered resoundingly when hearing what Christ can do.. but when I am expected to respond, don't really dare to proclaim and take action as rapidly as I should...
Blondin was a celebrated figure after this walk.. but I think I'm more impressed with Harry Colcord.. He was the one who turned his belief into actions.. though Colcord has his fears and anxiety.. afterall his life was on stake.. he did not start out with the 'purest motive' , but thought that his faith n trust in his friend was commendable.. he is practically entrusting his life into Blondin's hands.. and Blondin is merely human and could fail...
Hmm, imagining that God is Blondin and I'm Colcord haha so now I am not talking about a human whom I am entrusting my life in...I'm 'piggy-backing' on God, who is perfect and would not fail to walk through this tightrope of life, but why is it that at times wld still falter in my trust in Him?
These few months, could see the 'rope' swaying in the 'wind'.. so fearful that I would fall, unsure about the challenges that would come next, clung on tightly onto Him..
God , unlike Blondin would not ask me to loosen my grip on Him, but I believe He wld ask me to do what Blondin had asked Colcord to do at the last rest point:
‘Harry, you are no longer Colcord; you are Blondin. Until I clear this place be a part of me—mind, body, and soul. If I sway, sway with me. Do not attempt to do any balancing yourself...'
It struck me that while clinging onto God, I should not try to do any 'balancing' myself, have to deny my natural tendency or instinct.. and follow His leading, obeying Him, not partially, but completely.. if He' sway', I have to 'sway' with Him...Woah... Tall order.. but have His assurance that as I follow His leading, He would guide me to a place higher than myself.. and granting me the victory...just like the victory which Blondin and Colcord achieved in the end as Colcord followed what Blondin instructed him to do..
