Niagara has had many different faces since the arrival of the Europeans in the late 17th century. Perhaps the most exciting and missed period of Niagara's rich history deals with the "Daredevils". The late 19th century Niagara saw the arrival of a new breed of adventurer who was ready, willing and able to risk his or her life for a few brief minutes of fame. Here are their extraordinary stories.
Annie Taylor, October 24, 1901 (Survived)
Annie Taylor holds the distinction of being the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. When she made her trip she said she was 43 years of age, however genealogical records confirm she was actually 63 years old.
This Bay City, Michigan school teacher was strapped by her assistants into a special harness in a wooden barrel. Several newspaper people were on hand as a small boat towed the barrel out into the mainstream of the Niagara River and was cut loose.
Slammed by the rapids first one way, then another, Mrs Taylor was sure she hit the rocks. Yet just 17 minutes after the plunge, her barrel drifted close enough to the Canadian Shore to be hooked and dragged onto the rocks. Dazed but triumphant, the first person to conquer the mighty Falls of Niagara found the fame she sought so desperately.
Unfortunately, 20 years after her brush with death, she died destitute in Niagara Falls, New York. On emerging from her barrel after plunging over Niagara Falls on October 24, 1901 Annie Taylor said "No one ought ever do that again."
Bobbie Leach, July 25, 1911 (Survived)
Bobby Leach, a native of Cornwall, England survived a plunge over the Horseshoe Falls in a cylindrical steel barrel on July 25, 1911. As a result of the trip, he spent six months in the hospital recuperating from numerous fractures and other injuries.
Years later, at the age age of 67, Bobby Leach went on a tour with his daughter to Australia and New Zealand when tragedy struck. On April 29, 1925 while walking on a street in New Zealand, he slipped on an orange peel. After developing complications his leg had to be amputated. He contracted gangrene poisoning and died.
Charles Stephens, July 11 1920 (Perished)
Stephens, a barber from Bristol, England was the third person to go over Niagara Falls. He lost his life on July 11, 1920, after going over the Falls at approximately 8:35 a.m. All that remained were a few white staves of the barrel and Stephen's tattooed right arm. The rest of his body, attached to an anvil used as ballast for the barrel, sank to the bottom of the river.
Jean Lussier, July 4, 1928 (Survived)
Jean Lussier, originally from Quebec and living in Niagara Falls, New York challenged the Falls on U.S. Independence Day in 1928. This machinist's successful trip was in a rubber ball. Self designed, this 1.8 metre (six foot) ball was lined with rubber tubes filled with oxygen.
On July 4,1928, after taking some hard knocks in the upper rapids, it skipped perfectly over the Falls. One hour later, Lussier stepped ashore below the Falls none the worse for wear.
Displaying his ball at Niagara Falls for many years, he sold small pieces of the inner tubes for fifty cents a piece.
George Stakathis, July 4, 1930 (Perished)
This Buffalo, New York chef went over the Falls in a large wooden barrel. It is assumed he survived the plunge over the Falls but his barrel was caught behind the curtain of water and remained trap for almost 18 hours.
Finally it broke loose and was towed to shore and opened. Stathakis, with only enough oxygen for three hours, had died of suffocation. However, his pet turtle, taken along for good luck, was still alive.
Wm "Red" Hill, August 5, 1951 (Perished)
In the summer of 1951, William "Red" Hill Jr. rode over Niagara Falls in a flimsy contraption consisting of 13 inner tubes held together with fish net and canvas straps. He reffered to the contraption as "a Thing". Police made no attempt to prevent the trip and thousands lined the river's edge to watch this well-publicized event.
Towed out into the Niagara River from Usher's Creek on the Canadian side of the river, he was set adrift into the swift current. Plummeting down, the "thing" disappeared into the mist and boiling water at the base of the Falls. Seconds later a tangle of inner tubes and torn netting emerged as well as Hill's air mattress. The following day his battered body was recovered.
Nathan Boya, July 15, 1961 (Survived)
Shortly before 11:00 a.m. on July 15, a large dark "ball" floated down the Niagara River and over the Falls. When retrieved by Maid of the Mist employees, the man who identified himself as Nathan Boya emerged from this 544 kg, 3m diameter rubber ball.
Niagara Parks Police were there to greet him and as a result Boya has the distinction of being the first person to be charged and convicted under the Niagara Parks Act.
Boya was fined $100 and costs of $13. He gave no explanation for his trip, simply saying, "I had to do it, I wanted to do it, and I am glad I did it." Today Fitzgerald lives in the New York City area.
Karel Sousek, July 2, 1984 (Survived)
His 2.7m long 1.5m diameter cylindrical-shaped barrel with fibreglass mouldings at either end was insulated with liquid foam. Equipped with a snorkel for breathing and two eye holes to look out, his trip took approximately 3.2 seconds. But he then became trapped in dangerous waters below the Falls inside his bright red barrel. After 45 minutes he was rescued by his ground crew, suffering cuts and bruises, an injury to his left arm and a chipped tooth. He was fined $500 for his stunt.
Steve Trotter, August 18, 1985 (Survived)
Next to go over Niagara was a 22 year old part-time bartender from Barrington, Rhode Island. In a device made of two plastic pickle barrels surrounded by large inner tubes and covered by a tarpaulin, he made his successful plunge at 8:30 a.m. on August 18, 1985. Emerging uninjured from his home-made barrel, Trotter became the youngest man to survive the plunge. Trotter, like previous daredevils, was fined. He made a few television appearances and seemingly disappeared from the public eye until a dramatic reappearance in the summer of 1995.
On June 18,1995 Trotter teamed up with friend Lori Martin, a 29 year old woman from Atlanta, Georgia for the first "co-ed" barrel ride over the Falls.
Their 3.6 m (12ft) barrel was made from two pieces of hot water heater tanks welded together and coated by Kevlar. It weighed together in at 408 kg (900lbs) and was reported to have costs $19,000. A Florida investment banker funded this stunt. The barrel was equipped with 4 oxygen tanks containing enough air to last for up to one hour and 20 minutes.
Launched shortly before 9:30 a.m. approximately 91m from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls, it went over the Falls and became lodged in a rock crevice. Members of the Niagara Falls Fire Department, along with the Niagara Parks Police, had to climb over a guard rail in the tunnels to reach the trapped barrel and secure it to shore with a line. They then undid the hatch and pulled out Martin who was wearing knee pads and protective clothing; Trotter climbed out afterwards.
The barrel was trapped for nine days and was then removed by a crane for safety reasons. It remained with the Niagara Parks Commission for several weeks before weeks before Trotter returned to reclaim it, paying the costs that were incurred in retrieving it from below the Falls.
Dave Munday, October 5, 1985 (Survived)
On October 5, 1985 , two months after his first attempt to conquer the Horseshoe Falls was foiled by the Niagara Parks Police, John "David" Monday finally succeeded. Dressed in blue coveralls, this 48-year-old mechanic from Caistor Centre made his trip in a seven foot long, four foot diameter steel barrel. Lined with aluminum separated by foam, it was painted silver with a red maple leaf on the outside. His barrel, which included video and radio equipment, cost him $16,000 to build.
After the plunge, Munday's barrel was retrieved by his assistants below the Falls just outside the observation platform of the Table Rock Scenic Tunnels. Emerging from his barrel and climbing up over the slippery rocks, he was cheered by his crew and a few local members of the news media. Munday was the tenth person to survive the trip.
On July 15,1990 Munday once again attempted to go over the Horseshoe Falls in a "no frills" 179kg (394lb) steel barrel. The barrel became stranded by low water on the brink of the Falls and was eventually fished out by a cable attached to a crane.
On September 27,1993 John"Dave"Monday became the first person to go over the Falls twice. The 56 year old man accomplished his feat using a red and white home-made steel barrel.
At 8:35 a.m. Munday's 1.2m diameter steel ball, complete with a red maple leaf painted on the side, floated to the brink and plunged 55m into the churning waters below.
He entered the water about 100m above the falls. It took approximately five seconds to make the plunge. Once over the Falls, the barrel was towed by the Little Maid to the Maid of the Mist dock. Before emerging, he remained in the barrel approximately 45 minutes. He sustained no major injuries and he refused to go to the hospital. Munday was not wearing a protective helmet and there was only a 2 inch layer of padding inside the ball to soften the impact.
Peter Debarnardi and Geoffrey Petovic (Survived)
Peter Debernardi and Geoffrey Petkovich both of Niagara Falls were the first team to go over in the same barrel. Positioned head to head in the ten foot steel barrel, the contraption was launched into the Niagara River from the back of a truck at approximately 150 metres (492 ft) above the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.
Once over the Falls, it crested and floated for several minutes close to the base. And nearing the Canadian shore, members of the daredevil's support crew snagged it with grappling hooks. When the hatch was opened, Debernadi and Petkovich emerged with minor injuries. Climbing the bank to the Scenic Tunnels, they refused medical attention and were transported to the Niagara Parks Police Office. Here they were charged with infractions under the Niagara Parks Act.
Jesse Sharp, June 5, 1990 (Perished)
Jessie W. Sharp, a 28 year old bachelor from Ocoee, Tennessee attempted to ride over the brink of the Horseshoe Falls in a 3.6m long kayak on June 5,1990. Sharp, unemployed at the time, was an experienced white water kayaker. Three people who accompanied Sharp to Niagara Falls to video-tape his trip told police that Mr. Sharp had been planning the trip for years. They also told police that Sharp was attempting to go over the Falls in the kayak to advance his career in stunting.
Sharp did not wear a protective helmet so his face would be visible on film. He also didn't wish to wear a life jacket, believing it would interfere with his ability to escape in the event that he was caught underneath the Falls. After"shooting the Falls", he intended to continue down river through the rapids to Lewiston, New York. He had made dinner reservations there. His body has never been recovered.
Robert Overacker, October 5, 1995 (Perished)
Robert Overacker, a 39-year-old man from Camarillo, California, went over the Canadian Horseshoe Falls at approximately 12:35 p.m. on a single jet ski.
Entering the Niagara River near the Canadian Niagara Power Plant, he started skiing toward the Falls. At the brink, he attempted to discharge a rocket propelled parachute that was on his back. It failed to discharge. His brother and a friend witnessed the stunt.
His body was recovered by Maid of the Mist staff. Overacker, married with no children, became the fifteenth person since 1901 to intentionally go over the Falls in or on a device.
Source: travelniagara.org