THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

Shortly before 5 p.m., Blondin took his position on the American side, dressed in pink tights bedecked in spangles.  The lowering sun made him appear as if clothed in light.  He wore fine leather shoes with soft soles and brandished a balancing pole made of ash, 26 feet long and weighing nearly 50 pounds. Slowly, calmly, he started to walk.  Children clung to their mothers’ legs; women peeked from behind their parasols. Several onlookers fainted.

Abbott/Smithsonian

Every girl ought to walk a tightrope.  It develops a rare set of muscles and self-confidence and teaches one how to walk properly on the street.

Bird Millman in Milwaukee News

Francis Sprule, nicknamed ‘Blondie’, plunged to his death from a high wire he had strung across the Fryup Gorge. Seeking to emulate his hero, Blondin, Sprule had stopped halfway to cook an omelette; but the heat from his pan melted the wire, sending him over 200 feet to the ground.

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