ANNIE EDSON TAYLOR THE WOMAN WHO WENT OVER NIAGARA IN A BARREL Facts and photos : http://www.bay-journal.com/bay/1he/people/fp-taylor-annie.html
Annie was born in 1839. She studied to become teacher. It was at this time that she met David Taylor from New York. He was a few years older than Annie who was 17 at the time. They married and some years later a son was born, but he died within days. In 1864, Annie suddenly became a widow. David was killed in the Civil War and from this point on, life for the 25 year old Annie would dramatically change. Annie was afraid of not having enough money to live a good life. She traveled all over the country to get a job and earn some money. When she was 43 years old she had crossed the American Continent from ocean to ocean eight times.
One day when she was reading an article in a newspaper about Niagara Falls she came up with an idea to make money. �What about going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. No one had ever accomplished this.' " Annie wasted no time. She began working on her plan for success. She focused first on coming up with a barrel design. A man agreed to take on the design work for Annie's special barrel. Then, she contacted a well known man who was known for many successful carnivals and other events in this area of Michigan.
On October 24, 1901 a small audience of river men and reporters gathered upstream at the Canadian Horseshoe Falls of Niagara and watched as two men prepared Annie for her journey over the Falls. At the bottom of the Falls a crowd gather to witness what was about to take place. Many wondered why this middle aged lady was about to do such a crazy thing? (It was learned later that Annie was 63 years old at the time.) Most of the spectators had no doubts that they were about to witness a suicidal stunt that would come to a tragical endings.
Annie's attendants placed the barrel over the side of the boat into the water and held it stable while Annie climbed inside. Annie was now ready to begin her historical trip that would last for about 18 minutes. The barrel was pulled along by the strong currents of water flowing towards the roaring falls. There was no stopping now! Cramped inside the darkness of her tiny vessel, Annie could measure the distance to her fate by the increasing loudness of the thundering roar as she drew closer by the moment to reaching the edge of the Falls. In an instant, the barrel descended rapidly towards the bottom of the fall. Many thought that Annie was dead and the only mystery left for them was whether the barrel survived in one piece or splintered into a hundred or more pieces.
The barrel slowly worked its way clear of the mist and came into view -- it was still in one piece! It survived! But what about Annie? A boat and crew stood by ready to capture the barrel as soon as they could after it cleared the turbulent waters. When they got hold of the barrel they quickly went about getting the lid opened..... "My God, she's alive!" -- shouted a man. According to reports of on the event, Annie's first words were, "I prayed every second I was in the barrel except for a few seconds after the fall when I went unconscious." And, "Nobody ought ever to do that again."
Annie was shaken by her daring deed and had some bad bruises. She was confident that her fame would bring success and the financial security she wanted. Annie tried to raise money by selling things from the event. The sign in front of the table reads, "Annie Edson Taylor - Heroine of - Horseshoe Falls." She had to work to earn some money. For example; She spoke in front of groups about her journey. But, soon she had problems supporting herself. Annie died in 1921 after living out the later years of her life in poverty. Annie's amazing story didn’t make her rich but her daring journey put her into history books forever.