Thru the Year: June 30

June 30 (1859) happens to be the date “The Great Blondin” wearing pink tights and spangles, crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope. And he did it without a net or a harness or any of the other safety features (like rescue helicopters) we’d see today.

Niagara Falls is an iconic body of water on the border between America (New York) and Canada (Ontario). Formed by the Niagara River, which originates in Lake Erie and empties into Lake Ontario, there are actually three waterfalls (Horseshoe, American, Bridal Veil) collectively called “Niagara.”

It’s not the highest waterfall in the world (that’s Angel Falls in Venezuela) or even in the US (that’s Yosemite Falls in CA). But it’s one of the most famous — and one of the biggest magnets for honeymooners and daredevils.

Like Blondin.

Born Jean Francois Gravelet in 1824, Blondin was a world-famous French acrobat who even in an age of Showmen, managed to stand out. Suspended 160 feet above the Niagara River on a rope with a 3-inch diameter, he paused halfway across to drink wine and, on the way back, set up a camera and snapped the crowd.

Blondin went on to perform several more crossings, thrilling the crowd with acts of daring that included wearing a blindfold, carrying his manager on his back, pushing a wheelbarrow, and cooking an omelet.

Blondin’s crossing took place near where the Rainbow Bridge stands today. Like Blondin’s tightrope, the Bridge crosses the Niagara River (though less dramatically) and was built to replace an older structure called Honeymoon Bridge.

Now if you’re thinking that names like Bridal Veil Falls (said to look like a white lace veil) and Honeymoon Bridge are intended to deliberately evoke Niagara’s image as the “Honeymoon Capital of the World,” you’d be right. Legend has it that Niagara has been a destination for newlyweds since the 1800s – and even the famous sight-seeing boat, Maid of the Mist, is associated with a romantic (though tragic) story.

Using the word “honeymoon” to mean “vacation following a wedding” dates to the early 1800s — and pretty much from the beginning, Niagara Falls was a popular spot for such trips. Niagara lore usually credits Joseph Alston (future governor of SC) and his bride, Theodosia Burr (daughter of Aaron), with taking the first honeymoon trip in 1801. Some say another couple showed up a few years later: Napoleon Bonaparte’s younger brother, Jerome, and his American bride. But of course what really cemented Niagara Falls as “the” place for just-married couples was making it accessible to people other than The Very Rich — which the Erie Canal and the Railroads did.

It’s uncertain whether Blondin’s well-attended performances contributed to Niagara’s growing Tourism. What’s more certain is that the first daredevil to walk a tightrope across the River inspired many more risk-takers to follow in his wake. Some even had imitative names like The Great Farini, The Great Houdin, and The American Blondin.

Some, like Maria Spelterina (the only woman to cross Niagara on a tightrope) were fellow funambulists. Others, like Carlisle Graham (an actual cooper from PA) risked their necks going over the Falls in barrels, rubber balls, and boats.

Some survived, many did not.

Anyway, Happy June Moon Spoon Croon…

HomeSchool Go2 Postscript
What Can You Do with this story?

You can read a lot more about Blondin’s event at American Heritage. The Blondin Memorial Trust provides Eyewitness Accounts of the event

When Blondin snapped pictures of the crowd from his tightrope perch, he made a very early type of photograph called a “daguerreotype” – which you can read more about at this multi-page post from the Library of Congress

Thirty years before Blondin made Daredevil History, an American named Sam Patch successfully jumped into the Falls from a height of 80 feet — and not only did he survive, he lived to do it again from an even higher perch. If Sam interests you, read the feature at Atlas Obscura, or the LOC piece about the stunt that actually killed him (not at Niagara!). Alternatively, check out the short story, “Sam Patch’s Fearsome Leap,” by Samuel Hopkins Adams in a 1955 collection called Grandfather Stories

And if you can’t get enough Daredevils, there are good recaps at both the History and LOC sites

One of the circuses performing in the late 1800s featured a “Tightrope- Walking Horse” whose name was (what else?) Blondin. Circus World has posters publicizing this four-legged star among the other big acts

Learn more about the Erie Canal and/or the Railroads that helped create Niagara’s Honeymoon industry

In 1841, a Niagara Honeymoon was so popular, it was set to music. Check out the “song of the year” called “My Niagara Falls Honeymoon”

Flying in the face of the Honeymoon Capital’s romantic vibe is a 1953 film called Niagara starring Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton. Described as a “thriller,” with themes of adultery and murder, this doesn’t seem appropriate for younger students –but for older students interested in old movies, it rates around 70% at both TMDB and Rotten Tomatoes

Bridal Veil Falls is not a name unique to Niagara. You can find similarly named waters in Yosemite CA; SpearFish Canyon SD; and the Central Cascades in Washington state. If the name intrigues you, find out more about one or all of these “other” falls

BTW, there are lots of resources for learning more about Niagara Falls. Youngers could start with the Niagara Falls page at Science for Kids, and for older readers there’s this page at Live Science