Daredevils Take On Niagara Falls

In 1901, just a few years after Dickens visited the Falls, school teacher and daredevil Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to send herself over the waterfall voluntarily. She did so in a reinforced barrel named the “Queen of the Mist.” Believe it or not, Taylor survived the fall! She exited the barrel at the bottom with minor scrapes and bruises, but no major injuries.

“I would caution anyone against attempting the feat,” Taylor said afterward. “I would sooner walk up to the mouth of a cannon, knowing it [would] blow me to pieces than make another trip over the Falls.” Sadly, her warning did not stop other daredevils from recreating the stunt – few of whom survived. And that was just the beginning of the problems!