THE DARING BUFFALO CHASE

          By M. MAGZETTI

James Butler Hickok, known to history as “Wild Bill” Hickok, was born in Troy Grove, Illinois 5/27/1837. He left home in 1855 to become a wagondriver along the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails. During the Civil War (1861-1865) he was a scout for the Union Army. The Indian Wars found him scouting for Custer’s famed 7^th Cavalry. Known for courage and marksmanship, he gravitated to law enforcement after his military service. Paradoxically he was also a gambler and a gunfighter with a quick temper and an even quicker trigger-finger. 

In 1871, while serving as Marshal in Abilene, Kansas, Hickok was invited by Buffalo Bill Cody to share the stage in a play entitled “Scout of the Prairie.” Disillusioned with acting, he quit the play and went back west. Still wanting to capitalize on the public’s fascination with Western adventure, Hickok came up with the idea for a Wild West Show. Calling the event “The Daring Buffalo Chase”, he decided to stage it at Niagara Falls, Canada. He amassed $1000 in capital and hired 3 cowboys. Together they roped 6 Buffalo in Nebraska. He also hired 4 Commanche Indians who insisted on bringing along a bear and a pet monkey. Hickok contracted with Sidney Barnet, a Niagara Falls, Ontario museum curator, to stage the performance on Barnet’s property. Barnet also arranged for special excursion trains to transport the huge amount of people expected to attend.

After a name change “The Great Buffalo Hunt” opened 8/28/1872 plagued with problems from the start. Expecting 50,000 people, only 3 to 5 thousand were in attendance. Bleachers hadn’t been provided and a short wire fence enclosing the area gave the crowd a free view. Hickok began the show by firing his pistol into the air, causing the Buffalo to charge around the enclosure. The four Commanche, a pack of stray dogs and a group of small boys followed them. Suddenly the Buffalo broke through the fence and rampaged through a residential neighborhood before being reined in. The Commanche’s pet bear broke loose, attacked an Italian sausage vendor’s cart and ate every last sausage before being recaptured. Once order was restored, a group of Mexican Cowboys gave a demonstration of cattle roping techniques. The highlight of the show was an impromptu lacrosse game played by local Tuscorora and Cayuga Indians.All told the performance had been a disaster. No admission had been charged and the crowd disappeared when the hat was passed. Only $126 was collected! Hickok sold the Buffalo to local butchers and the proceeds were just enough to pay the performers’ train fare back to Nebraska.

                Buffalo Bill Cody had watched from the sidelines, and despite the fiasco, had decided to form his own Wild West show. Cody’s version was very successful and a form of it exists to this day. He even convinced Hickok to appear with the show a year after the Niagara Falls debacle. After a while with Cody, “Wild Bill” became disillusioned with show business once again. He decided to seek his fortune in the Black Hills of South Dakota where gold had been discovered in 1876. Failing at prospecting gold, he took up gambling again. On 8/2/1876, Hickok died when he was shot in the back during a barroom poker game in Deadwood, South Dakota.

BOSSY SIMMS

By M. MAGZETTI

     In the summer of 1860 the “Great Blondin” amazed audiences with daring tightrope performances over the ferocious Whirlpool Rapids. One of Blondin’s daredevil competitors that summer was a wonderful cow named Bossy Simms. Bossy belonged to the operator of the Prospect Point Inclined Railway who maintained a farm nearby. The bovine performer would leisurely wander from her pasture into the swift water at the brink of the American Falls. Occasionally Bossy would wade to Goat Island and back along the edge of the mighty cataract. Her antics thrilled and amused locals and tourists alike. She wasn’t without detractors however. Her casual defiance of the “mad waters” infuriated local promoters who felt she made a mockery of Niagara’s fearsome reputation. As if to challenge her critics, Bossy continued her aquatic excursions to the delight of numerous spectators. Her final outcome was never recorded but the local legend’s legacy was passed down through a photo, which captures Bossy Simms posing nonchalantly at the “Brink of Doom.”

Virus X "Niagara's 1st Punk Rockers 1983-1989"
 

Virus X (Clockwise: Jarid Sinn, Rick Miami, Lee Lazer, Rick Miami, Smash Thrash)

Niagara's Black History

Nathan Boya: Only Black DareDevil to go over the falls.

Niagara Movement

Pictured above: Founders of The Niagara Movement at Niagara Falls: Left to right:

Top row: H. A. Thompson, New York; Alonzo F. Herndon, Georgia; John Hope, Georgia; _?_.
2nd row: Fred McGhee, Minnesota; Norris Bumstead Herndon son of Alonzo Franklin Herndonu; J. Max Barber, Illinois; W.E.B. Du Bois, Atlanta; Robert Bonner, Massachusetts;
3rd Row: Henry L. Baily, Washington, D.C.; Clement G. Morgan, Massachusetts; W.H.H. Hart, Washington, D.C.; and B.S. Smith,Kansas.

Niagara Black History

Produced By Sam Fruscione

Adrienne Bedgood, host of Niagara's Black History recites poetry as Larry Burnett accompanies her on the congas. Niagara's Black History was showcased on OSC Channel 21.

To purchase a DVD of the show send $12.00 to Little Italy Niagara LLC 1221 19th St., Niagara Falls NY 14301.

Historic Neighborhood of DeVeaux, Niagara Falls NY

 Robert “Firecracker” Overacker, 10/1/95

Over the Falls

By M. Magzetti

Daredevils riding barrels over the Horseshoe Falls are probably just as famous as Niagara Falls itself.  Offered below is a complete list of these unique individuals, who’ve etched their names forever in Niagara’s amazing history.

10/24/01 Annie Edison Taylor becomes the first person to go over the Horseshoe Falls in her oak barrel. Seeking fame and fortune, she dies penniless in 1921.

7/25/11- Bobby Leach, an Englishman, rides a steel barrel to fame as the first man to conquer the Falls. In 1926 Leach slips on an orange peel. He later dies after surgery to remove his broken, gangrene-infected leg.

 7/11/20- George Stevens, the “English Daredevil”, dies in his attempt to challenge Niagara in a Russian Oak barrel. An anvil used for ballast tore through the bottom of the barrel, leaving only his right arm inside.

7/4/28- Jean Lussier, a French Canadian, survives the falls in a steel reinforced rubber ball. Lussier lived in Niagara Falls, New York until his death in 1971.

7/5/30-George Stathakis, a Greek “Mystic” dies when his heavy oak barrel is caught behind the Horseshoe Falls for 16 hours. His pet turtle survives suffocation becoming a local novelty.

8/5/51-William”Red” Hill Jr. horrifies 200,000 when his inner tube and canvas barrel (named ”The Thing”) breaks apart in the upper rapids, well before plunging over the Falls. Hill’s body is recovered the next day.

7/9/60-Roger Woodward is accidentally swept over the Horseshoe, wearing only a life jacket. The 6 year old’s survival enters Niagara lore as the “Miracle of Niagara.”

7/15/61-William Fitzgerald (AKA Nathan Boya) from New York City becomes the only African American to conquer the Falls. He christens his rubber and steel ball the “Plunge-O-Sphere.”

7/2/84- Karel Soucek survives the Falls in a custom made steel and plastic barrel. Calling himself the “Last of the Niagara Daredevils” the Canadian dies while recreating the stunt 1/20/85 at the Houston Astrodome.

8/18/85- Steve Trotter, of Rhode Island, makes history by riding over the Falls in a foamed-lined pickle barrel surrounded by huge inner tubes. Trotter appeared on The Tonight Show days later after Johnny Carson saw news footage of the stunt.

10/5/85- Dave Munday successfully challenges the Horseshoe after a failed attempt 3 months earlier. The Canadian’s barrel consists of a 400-gallon plastic tank surrounded by 10" of Styrofoam.

9/28/89- Peter DeBernardi and Jeff Petkovich become the first two-person team to conquer the Falls. Their barrel  was a 12-foot steel reinforced tank. Petkovich emerged from the barrel completely naked except for cowboy boots and hat.

6/5/90- Jessie Sharp, an expert canoer from Tennessee, plunges to his death in a 12-foot red kayak called “Rapidman.” Sharp’s body was never found.

9/26/93- Dave Munday becomes the first person to go over the Horseshoe twice and live. After a failed attempt 7/15/90, Munday successfully completes his second attempt in a converted diving bell.

6/18/95- Steve Trotter becomes the second person to survive the Horseshoe twice in a barrel. Accompanied by Lori Martin (of Georgia) they were the second 2-person team to conquer the Falls. The pair also made history as the first male/female team and Martin became the second woman to make the trip. Their barrel consisted of two water heaters welded together and wrapped in Kevlar and expansion foam.

10/1/95- Robert “Firecracker” Overacker rides a Jet Ski to his death over the Falls. A tourist snaps a picture of the Californian at the brink of the Horseshoe moments before his death.  His body was recovered minutes later in the lower river.

10/20/03-  Kirk Jones, a Michigan native, survives a feet-first plunge over the Horseshoe Falls without any protective device. His failed suicide attempt amazes the world. Jones made history as the second person to survive a plunge over Niagara Falls with only the clothes on his back.