A Daredevil Well Before His Time

The Tallulah Gorge in north Georgia has been carved out of the stone of the Tallulah Dome by the Tallulah River over millions of years. Now nearly 1,000 feet deep, it is called one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. Protected as a state park, its river, rock formations, waterfalls, and natural beauty make it a popular tourist destination. In the past, many have been most creative in bringing tourists to the area.

Click here to sign up for our free newsletter and get exclusive subscriber-only content

The area became a resort destination in 1882 when the rail line to access the nearby town was completed. The falls there were considered superior to New York’s Niagara Falls.

In 1913, the waterfall that had been a top tourist draw was reduced to a trickle when the fueling stream was diverted for a hydroelectric project to power streetcars in Atlanta. The area fell on tough times.

Click here for the story of Cowboy Coward, the “toothless man” from Deliverance.

Fast forward to 1970, when a local non-profit organization set out to raise money for a new amphitheater and bring tourism to the region. Their event drew national attention when famed tightrope walker Karl Wallenda was scheduled to cross the gorge on a cable, stretched for over 1,000 feet, 750 feet above the craggy rocks that formed the gorge’s bottom. As unique as the idea was, reporters covering the event soon learned that Wallenda would not be the first to cross Tallulah Gorge on a tightrope.

In 1886, a tightrope walker and menagerie owner named J.A. St. John, known professionally as Professor Leon came to Atlanta and began entertaining crowds with his highwire exploits. He had walked across the lake at Atlanta’s Grant Park on a rope and done the same with a rope stretched between two of the city’s tallest buildings.

A Tallulah businessman, Colonel Frank Young, saw Leon’s hotel walk in Atlanta and enticed him to attempt to cross the gorge. His walk would take him from Point Inspiration to Lover’s Leap. Unlike Wallenda, decades later, Leon walked on a hemp rope across the gorge. He had to string the rope himself. Having only twenty-eight guy wires as opposed to the fifty-six that would later support Wallenda’s efforts, Leon faced much less stability in his narrow pathway.

Click here for the story of Nancy Ward, a strong Cherokee woman.

A makeshift grandstand was erected to accommodate the curious crowd of around 6,000, coming from as far away as Alabama and Florida to watch the spectacle. One hundred passenger coaches shuttled the curious to the event site.

At 5:30 PM on July 24th, Professor Leon left the platform’s safety at his starting end and ventured onto the rope. According to reporters observing, he was taking thirty-three steps per minute.

Suddenly the rope swayed in a large arc as he neared the one-quarter point in his journey. Leon struggled to stay in the rope, relying on his forty-five-pound balance pole. A guy wire had apparently snapped, although rumors quickly spread that it was cut by a gambler wagering against Leon completing his walk.

Leon sat down and waited for a group of men to tighten the rope. After about nine minutes, the line was again secured, but the rope was less stable than before. He resumed his walk, but the remaining portion was much more physically challenging on the still-swaying rope.

It took thirty minutes for Leon to complete his crossing. Observers watching through telescopes noticed his perspiration and look of fatigue. He had planned to cross the gorge again and return to his starting point, but exhaustion prohibited that attempt. It was said he couldn’t have gone ten paces further.

The Young Men’s Library had sponsored the event, and a collection was taken up as Leon completed his crossing. He was paid $250, according to newspapers covering the event. The Atlanta Journal called it “The greatest feat of rope walking on record.” Local rumors persist that another tightrope walker, Professor Bachman, crossed the gorge in 1883, but no records or newspaper article documenting his feat could be located.

Wallenda’s 1970 preparation was much more organized. Large towers were erected over a three-week period at the gorge’s north, and south ends to anchor the 1 11/16-inch-thick steel cable.

On July 18th, watched by a crowd estimated to be as many as 100,000, the 65-year-old Wallenda crossed the span, stopping to do two headstands. His journey took only 18 minutes.

As impressive as Wallenda’s feat was, and it was heralded in the press across the globe, it may pale compared to that of the daredevil, under much more primitive conditions, some eighty-four years earlier.

Less than eight years after crossing Tallulah Gorge, Wallenda fell to his death from a cable stretched between two towers in Puerto Rico. Leon only walked a tightrope one more time after Tallulah. He died in 1912.

In 1972, the film Deliverance again cast North Georgia in the spotlight. Some publicity was negative, as the local population was portrayed as dangerous and unwelcoming to outsiders. Positively, outdoor lovers flocked to the area for the activities the area’s terrain and rivers offered.