Stunts - Barrels
Carlisle Graham
Carlisle Graham with his 7' barrel before his fourth trip over Niagara Falls.
Carlisle Graham was the first person to perform a barrel stunt at Niagara.
He was an English cooper who had immigrated to America and decided to test his barrel against the force of Niagara.
His event was widely advertised and drew a huge crowd due to its novelty.
The barrel for his first stunt was 5.5' tall made of oak staves and iron hoops. Inside, Graham was completely encased in a waterproof canvas, and held on to metal handles. Due to his height of 6', Graham had to stoop over inside the barrel in order for the lib to be fitted.
On July 11, 1886, Graham went over Niagara Falls, starting from the Whirlpool Bridge. The trip took about 30 minutes.
On August 19th, 1886, Graham made a second trip over the falls, this time with his head outside the barrel. This resulted in him partially losing his hearing, though he did survive the trip intact.
For Graham's fourth trip, he designed a 7' long barrel so he did not have to stoop. This barrel was also successful and resulted in no injuries [9].
Carlisle Graham's obituary published in the Quebec Telegraph on July 9, 1917.
However, for his fifth trip through the whirlpool rapids, on July 14, 1901, Graham became caught in a whirlpool eddy for 20 minutes and nearly suffocated to death [10].
His did not deter him, and he made several more trips and swam through the rapids as other people went over the falls with his barrel.
According to his obituary, Graham had a world wide reputation for his stunts and drew large crowds to his five performances.
Annie Edson Taylor
Annie Edson Taylor next to her barrel.
Annie Edson Taylor was the first women to survive going over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel. Her survival and the fact she was a teacher of physical culture and a dance schoolteacher changed how barrel stunts and Niagara Falls were viewed.
No longer were the falls a dangerous, mystical place that only a few could challenge and survive, because they had been conquered by an ordinary woman.
Her barrel was 4.5' high, 22" in circumference, had an anvil bolted to the underside in order to keep the barrel upright in water, and a small hole was drilled on the top for a snorkel to fit through to allow breathing in the event the barrel ran out of air [11].
The words "Heroine of Niagara Falls" on the side of the barrier signify how extraordinary her trip was due to her status and no matter if she lived or died, her performance marked her as a hero.
Annie Taylor in her barrel before she went over the Horseshoe Falls.
Her trip over Horseshoe Falls took place on October 21st, 1901 and was watched by thousands of spectators.
They came not to see the falls, but to watch her performance not knowing whether she would live or die. However, she did survive and only ended up with a concussion and nervous shock.
The total trip took 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Taylor only performed this feat once, and declared she would never do it again, as she was only after the financial gain associated with barrel stunts.
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[9] "Daredevils of Niagara Falls"
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.