Niagara Falls: Annie Edson Taylor
by IanNiagara Falls, a beautiful area with lots of waterfalls. It's a tourist attraction due to its beauty, but it also serves as a place to pull off all sorts of stunts. An example is jumping off the Niagara Falls in a barrel. Annie Edson Taylor was the first person to do this and live.
Anne had no immediate family because her child died at birth and her husband died soon after. She was one of those people that bad luck picks on. She was an etiquette and dance instructor until she had the idea to become a stunt daredevil. She was in her 60s when she had the idea to jump off the falls in a barrel. She falsely claimed she was in her 40s to the reporters. Before her plunge she tested her barrel with a cat that lived. As a child she was not interested in dolls; she preferred adventure (McKinley, 2019). This may have been one of the things that influenced her to make the jump off the falls. Her thirst for adrenaline. She had a bunch of on and off jobs that she could never keep, that is why she tried to secure her later years financially by becoming a daredevil.
The day was a clear one, and lots of spectators gathered around the river to watch this one of a kind feat. A crew of boatmen pushed the barrel into the river and it floated downstream. Towards the end, everything stopped for a moment. Then gravity did its job as the barrel plummeted into the falls (Niagara Falls Info, 2017). “As I reached the brink the barrel did what I predicted it would do...paused for a moment, and then made the awful plunge” (Taylor, 1902).
As the waterlogged barrel was opened up, A cheer rose from the crowd. Annie had lived to tell the tale. She became an instant star, and fame and fortune followed. But as we know, luck is not merciful on Annie. Her fame was about to end, as the stunt faded away from people's minds. Her manager also stole her barrel and ran away, never to be seen again. She made a living selling her memoirs near the falls. She never got enough money to support herself or her friends. Annie died in poverty at 82 years old (McKinley, 2019). This plunge down the falls was the pinnacle of her life.
Out of the thousands of people that have made the plunge, whether they be suicide, accidents, or on purpose, only 16 people have survived. The chance of survival is less than 1%. “In the following 120 years, thousands of people have been swept over the falls but only sixteen people have reportedly survived the feat. All instances of people having survived the trip over the falls have been over the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Following the death of one daredevil in 1951, stunting at Niagara Falls has been illegal and subject to fines of up to $25,000 USD” (Wikipedia, List of People).
Whether it be seeking fame or fortune, an attempt to kill yourself, or leaning on the rails you were not supposed to lean on, Niagara Falls is a site for all sorts of stunts and stupid stuff.
Works Cited
McKinley, J. (2019, May 1). Overlooked no MORE: Annie Edson Taylor, WHO tumbled Down
Niagara falls into fame. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/obituaries/annie-edson-taylor-overlooked.html.
“List of People Who Have Gone over Niagara Falls.” Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 June 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_gone_over_Niagara_Falls.
InternetArchiveWayBackMachine. (2011, July 11). Daredevils of Niagara Falls. Internet Archive Way Back Machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20110723064351/http://www.niagarafallslive.com/daredevils_of_niagara_falls.htm.
Lienhard, J. H. (1997). No. 1007: OVER NIAGARA IN A BARREL. No. 1007: Over Niagara in a Barrel. https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1007.htm.
Niagara Falls Info. (2017, February 8). Annie Edson Taylor. Niagara Falls Info. https://www.niagarafallsinfo.com/niagara-falls-history/niagara-falls-tourism-history/daredevils-of-niagara-falls/annie-edson-taylor/#:~:text=The%20barrel%20was%20146%20cm,and%20upstream%20of%20Goat%20Island.
Parish, Charles Carlin, Queen of the Mist: The Story of Annie Edson Taylor, First Person Ever To Go Over Niagara Falls and Survive (Empire State Books, Interlaken, New York, 1987, ISBN 0-932334-89-X); p. 47.
Serena, K. (2020, June 26). 15 Interesting People That History Forgot. All That's Interesting. https://allthatsinteresting.com/interesting-people#12.
Taylor, Annie Edson. Over The Falls: Annie Edson Taylor's Story of Life: How the Horseshoe Fall Was Conquered . Mrs. Annie Edson Taylor, 1902. https://dr.library.brocku.ca/bitstream/handle/10464/2537/overfallsannieed00tayluoft.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, May 7). Annie Edson Taylor. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Edson_Taylor.
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