Sam Patch

Sam Patch (1799[1] – November 13, 1829; some sources believed his birth year to be 1807) was known as "The Jersey Jumper", "The Daring Yankee",[2] or the "Yankee Leaper"[3] became the first famous American daredevil after successfully jumping from a raised platform into the Niagara River near the base of Niagara Falls in 1829.

[1] Sam was raised in Pawtucket, Rhode Island,[4] where he began working as a child laborer spinning cotton in a mill.

Bad weather and the delay in his arrival drew a disappointingly small crowd for this jump, so Patch announced he would repeat the feat a second time from the greater height of 120 feet on October 17.

On Friday, November 6, 1829, in front of an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 spectators,[7] Patch went out onto a rock ledge in the middle of the falls.

[4] His first jump into the Genesee River raised a disappointing amount of money,[4] so he decided to repeat the stunt one week later on November 13, 1829, (Friday the 13th).

An autopsy revealed that the sudden change in the temperature of the atmosphere as he descended down the fall had caused his blood vessels to rupture.

[8] Local ministers and newspapers were quick to blame the crowd for urging him to jump, and put the guilt of his death on them.

It is not clear whether Adams based the tale on a real first-hand account or wrote it as historical fiction.