In 1901, 63-year old Annie Taylor was the first person so survive the barrel ride over the falls. Riding in an airtight wooden barrel with air compressed to 30 psi, she toppled over the edge and emerged with just a few bruises and bumps. Taylor expected her stunt to bring her fame and fortune – and, while it may have brought her some fame, she never saw the fortune she expected.
Annie passed away in poverty, but not before warning others that, “no one ought ever to do that again.” But did they listen? Of course not.
Those unfortunate deaths were just two of many that happen around there each year. As beautiful as an area as Niagara Falls is, it attracts quite a few visitors looking to end their lives, just as it attracts those simply looking to witness its beauty. There are an estimated 40 deaths or so to occur at the falls every year. And, out of those 40, more than half of them are deemed to be suicides.
Just earlier this year, witnesses at the falls reported a man who climbed over the ledge, “in crisis,” jumped, and vanished into a watery grave – or did he? As it turns out, bystanders found him sitting on the rocks below not long after.
But not all of the people to topple over the falls are doing so to end their lives. Although, everyone to do it is quite aware of that being a risk. Though some of the people to go over are trained, professional stunt people, who jump in a barrel and ride the falls like some sort of water park coaster.
It may sound insane, but there have actually been quite a few people to attempt the barrel rides.
The second person to attempt the barrel stunt at Niagara Falls was Bobby Leach, 10 years after Annie Taylor’s run. Unfortunately, he wound up busting out both of his kneecaps during the trip over. He did survive, however, only to slip on an orange peel and die of gangrene a few years later.
The attempts continued sporadically over the decades, right into the 1980’s, when Karel Soucek survived the stunt. However, he tried to recreate it a few years later during a thrill show at the Houston Astrodome, when the barrel missed the water tank and killed him upon impact.
And, with what we know about what happened to the unfortunate souls like Soucek, and others who didn’t survive the plunge, there are others still that completely vanished without a trace. Even in more recent years, when search and safety measures have improved, there are still circumstances in which these people disappear.
Take for instance 1990, when a stuntman from the U.S took on the falls in nothing but a red kayak – which coincidentally, was the only thing that they found after his run. The man was never heard from again.