THE DAVENPORTS' £50 CHALLENGE FEAT.

Inangahua Times, Volume III, Issue 97, 2 April 1877, Page 2

THE DAVENPORTS' £50 CHALLENGE FEAT.

(OTAGO OTA IUT AN) We do not. remem ier to bave witnessed an audience m>r • intensely excited and interested in the result o- any -ierf>rmance than was that assembled in 'he Princess Theatre. The occasion wa< *he «cceptanc n, the Daven»>nrt Brorhera ot the challenge made hy Captain Bim--— viz.. that he would lay a sum of £50 that he would so tie the Brothers that they would nounloose themselves. The terms of the challenge advertised were as follows j— "I Captain William J teksou Barry, ot Cromwell, having tied one of tipDavenport Brothers at the Princess Theatre, Dunedin on Mon lay evening. 12th March, and having found out the way in which th' y gp< themselves loose. I am anxious to tie them again, hut must be allow to bring my own ropes. If the above gentlemen will allow me this ehanee, I will put down £50 that I tie them in such ti way that the> cannot get loose. If the} doubt this, lam r--ady -nd willing lo put down the above amount, and them to name time and plaoe for the above challenge to take place." The reply was as follows. — '■ Challenge accepted. — To Captain W. J. Barry; In reply to your challen re published iv tbe Guardian of the 14th

inst.. I beg to state that the Davenport Brothers and Professor Far are willing to meet you on the following conditions— viz : that you sball And your own ropes, bnt it mnst be tbe same kind of ropes or similar to that nsed by the Davenocts and Professor Fay ; also that there be no brutal tying. The same to tike place on the sage of t c Prince -s Theatre, on Friday "nisht next. 16th March 1877, in presence of tbe audience nnd two medical gpntlemen— one appointed b? Ca-»tain W. J. Barry. and thp otlier by the Davenport, and Professor Fny. So if you mean business you must come up to time, as j this will be the last n ; ghf but one »f onr j performance* in Dunedin.— R. D Davies, ; for the Davenport Brothers and Pro- ! fessor Fay." In accordance witb tbese terms tbe Brothers were introduced to the audience, which crowded every part of the theatre, by Professor Fa 7. Mr Driver responded to the «mll of the audience to aot as one of the judges. Dr Batcbelor represented the Bro-bers as melical referee, and Captain Barry. considering '* bis own right a-rn " nnd a coil nf we snffl-i-'nt to guard '.is £50 from abstraction, ippomel so 7 us. and commenced proceedings by saying: "Ladies and gentlemen, last Monday evening I came on the stage with Mr Coiiz^ns. I then assisted Mr Couzpns tn tie the Brothers, but I was not saii>fr»d, and wanted to tie tbe two men alone; therefore I gave 'be challenge. That challenge has been accepted, and I rome here to meet i» on fair grounds ; but I will obj-ct to any other party tying either of the Brothers, 1 must tie the two or I walk off the stage. Professor Fay . The reason f bat we harp .w.i gertlemen separately to lie the Broth -rs is that 'he audience might not wait so long. Oaptain Birry: That don't suit me. Professor. (Oes of " We'll wait.") You may eet a party »o ti<» one brother loosely, and then he'll help tbe o'her. This point was conceded at the wish of the audience. PanMn Barry: Another thing f sp-dje of, I want »o tip the Brothers outside the ca'dnet and lvforp th» public. Professor Fiv: Thp captain can have his own wav in evervthtng. ( \nplaosp.) Cantain Barry then co-nmenced th* work of tvin.', a proceeding we cannot of course describe, bpvond savins that be u*pd e^e'-v d"serii't ; on of knof known to a saihr, making a perfect wphwork of ropp around each, and afterwards " mooring " tbem to tbp seats o f tb" eab'npt. whiob he first had spaled so that he might b*> satisfied they were not f«ls« or movpable ones. Having occupied 54 minntes in •naking all tait. fhe ca ta\n stoned forward and concluded some ramblin? rpmarks by saving, " T bay»» now ti*«d theese gpnMpmpn, and I bave moored tbem. and I can assure you ladies and gentlemen, that if they gpt out our of that without undoing 't with their *eeth, between now and five weeks, they will do wpII. and they must have some ouNidp agency of which I know nothing. I hive been tying knots h this country for 42 years. and I assure ym if those two gpntlemen eet out, thpre 'S no one on »his side th<* line will tie tbem securely." The o*'»»iM»f doors werp th^n clo*pd, an 1 scarcely hid the' b'pn so when »h» musical instrnm-nts bpgan to niav «nl thhells to ring, a fact which pffeefu div disposes of the hvpothe-ds that thp Brothers slip thei' hands from their fastenings in | orde- 'o S"t the instruments in motion The cabinet b«ing op» led ani reohv»pl. the pxei'eni°n!' as t ! »c time fl *w began to heighten. In 7min- Seethe first hand appeared at tb^ pe»p»hnle of the cabinet amidst lond applause, a satisfactory nroof bat at least one hand wis five, fi' Bnm. 40spc. two hands npnearpd. and in I2min. 35-Ie •, the fonr hands appeared, a f w'.inb sign the applause was de»fenmg From this forward it wis only a mat er .'' time when th rt remaining Wn »is would b» untipd. Captain Barry walked pervoush about, and tbp audience eom>nen»« < to show signs of impatience. In 19nm. 4^><ec however, the doors flew open and tbe Brothers stepped forward free from their bonds, not free by merely shaking them off, but witb every knot undone, and the rope perfectly free fro n tangle. Thp apnlaase was deafening, such as is seldem beard in a theatre, and the feat wis pro* ninnced on all hands to be a most ettraordinary ono. In rep'y to vf P F*y's reqne<t io makp auv staem "it. Captain B..Ty said : " Weil, gentl.. men. I have had every fair play. (Applause.) The way I tied those men is a way no other man this side the line could tie them. Yo can take that for granted. I s'artpd with a torn fool's kno» overt p shoulders and arou-il Mie n^'k ; I ollowei this witb »lid hitch on thei. wii*'s, and T put clever k'iots and timber birches, an ' fastened them down with a mooring \ and there must have been an agency or something outsi !e assistin •' them to get out of that lot." After the applause bad been repeated and had snbside I, tlie usual per ormm^e was proceeded with. W« may mpntion in connection with this tying feat, that it is now ten ypars since the Brother* accepted a similar challenge. This was «n New Orleans wben tor a wager of 5000 dollars they were tied up by a Yankee planter, who consumed one hour and »hr»e minutes in the tying process, «nd in 14 minutes Ihe Brothers' stepped from the cabinet to claim »hp moner. The ordeal they were subjected to by Cantain Barry ia "tbe greatest tying up" they «ye- had.