In June 1859, a French acrobat, Charles Blondin, challenged himself to a feat to surprise the world. It was to cross the Niagara Falls by walking on a tightrope.
Numerous people came to see the exciting scene. He stepped forward step by step, balancing himself with a pole on a tightrope, 160 ft (49 m) above the water. He succeeded in crossing the waterfall. He even showed other feats such as a handstand on a tightrope and a blindfold walk. He asked the cheering crowd,
“Do you believe that I can cross the waterfall, carrying a person on my back?”
The crowd yelled, “Yes, we do believe!” However, when asked who would be carried on his back, no one volunteered. Then, Blondin pointed a man out. The man was his friend and manager Harry Colcord. He did not hesitate and immediately climbed on Blondin’s back.
While the crowd was watching in silence, Blondin stepped on the tightrope more cautiously, carrying Colcord on his back. And he got to the other side of the waterfall safely without disappointing the trust of his friend who had been walking the rough road with him.