A WATER BICYCLE FEAT
♦ . Alphonso King, the water pedestrian, performed the remarkable feat on August 14 of crossing the Niagara river from the American to the Canadian shore on a , water bicycle. There were about 8000 j people present, iaioiudirjg Prince Devawongoe. Mr King's machine Is m appearance like a regular bicycle, except that the wheel has email paddles like those of sidc-svheel steamers. Buoyancy Ib obtained from two cigsr shaped hollow tubeß of zuc, which snnk well Into the water. Mr King wore a dress suit. It was believed that lie would fail, and " Tom" Conroy, the guide, went along m a yawl v to aid him m oase the treacherous torrent ! capsized the bioycle. Fortunately, Mr King succeeded m riding aorose, the trip being made diagonally on account of the torrent drifting the machine m the dlreotion of Whirlpool Rapids. The wheel goes about four mileß an hour, and the risky experiment occupied only four and a-half minutes. The crowd cheered King, and when he returned to the American aide, Dr Lanigan, of Buffalo, presented him with a gold medal on behalf of Ma Buffalo friends. King said that he intended Bhortly to ride from the i Statue of Liberty to the Brooklyn bridge \ on his bicycle.
Whe "Western Star" states that while Mr S Burgess and Mrs Burgess, jun., were driving from Inveroargill to Riverton the horse was struok by lightning, the flash dazzling the eyes of the driver. The horse rolled and fell, and the spring cart was oapsized, Mrs Burgess being thrown out violently, but esoaping with a few bruises. The horse was thought at first to be killed, but after the lapse of some two hours it gradually recovered from the shook,
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG18871005.2.30
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1679, 5 October 1887, Page 3
Word count
Tapeke kupu
288A WATER BICYCLE FEAT Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1679, 5 October 1887, Page 3
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in