Itinerant pole-jumpers and other tall-grass acts were a welcome addition to the entertainment options as recently as a century ago, or more if one includes such sideshow acts as those guys who ride motorcycles around inside a big cylinder (quite something to see when one is a kid).
Niagara Falls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Patch#Niagara_Falls
In the fall of 1829, Patch gained fame by leaping into the Niagara River near the base of Niagara Falls. Patch was the star attraction at an event designed to draw visitors to the falls. A 125-foot ladder was extended over the river below Goat Island opposite the Cave of the Winds. Less than an hour before the scheduled noon jump, a chain securing the ladder to the cliff wall snapped, breaking 15 feet from the ladder. Rescheduled for 4 PM, Patch jumped on time. A boat circled near the entry point, but Patch did not appear. When he was finally spotted on the shore, a great roar went up from the crowd.
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 October 17. A few days later, 10,000 gathered to watch him keep his word.
Following his feat at Niagara falls, Sam Patch achieved nationwide fame. His name became a household word and his slogan “some things can be done as well as others” became a popular slang expression across the nation.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/405042560213720542/
[snip] Sam Patch was the Evil Knievel of the 1800s. He died on Friday the 13th of November 1829 making a 99 foot jump into the Genesee River. [snip]
And they fished him out of the Genesee in the spring after his tragic leap.