The stories about Red Hill read like hyperbole, like Paul Bunyon or Mike Fink stories. Commended by the Canadian government for a life-saving rescue at the age of nine, rescuing a tourist from a collapsing ice bridge, wounded in World War 1, several trips through the Niagara rapids in a barrel, bootlegging runs from Canada to the United States, the daring rescue of two men stuck on a grounded boat on the brink of the horseshoe falls, and an interstate chase after a stolen turtle.<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

The Hill Family

In the 19th Century, Niagara Falls became not just a beautiful landmark, but an obstacle crossed, dived into, or ridden down. Sam Patch, the first American daredevil, took his pet bear drinking with him and wowed audiences with his unaided jumps into the river. Charles Blondin cooked an omelet on a tightrope out over the roiling water. Annie Taylor, desperate for money, became the first to go over the falls in a barrel. This well-researched podcast tells the stories of these and other extraordinary daredevils.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.