The Great Farini

Shane Peacock
Biographer, Novelist, Playwright, Journalist, Screenwriter
Author of The Great Farini - The High-Wire Life of William Hunt

The Lives of Farini Hunt... The High-Wire (Part One)

When Monsieur Blondin took Niagara Falls by storm, Bill Hunt’s competitive side took over! Blondin challenged that “anyone else to try it” (rope walking over the Falls)! In Hope Township, Bill Hunt “was practicing”, and becoming very competent. In the nearby Town of Port Hope, the editor and publisher of the Port Hope Guide, Hugh Crea, had an idea that would likely change Bill Hunt’s life for ever! Crea was also the Secretary of the East Durham and Township of Hope Agricultural Societies. The fair was becoming tired and needed something with “drawing power”. He approached Hunt with the idea of “rope walking” over Smith’s Creek (now the Ganaraska River) between two downtown buildings. After negotiations and assurances that Bill could actually complete the performance; a “deal was struck”. Hunt would complete two walks, one at the beginning of the fair and the other at its close. The performance took place as scheduled, but not by local boy William Hunt, but by “Signor Farini”! This was what Bill was now calling himself! The performances were not without flaws. Here is an excerpt from Peacock’s book … “He lifted his other foot off the roof and stood out on the rope, surrounded by the crowd’s silence. The next few steps were slow, but he didn’t shake…he kept going without pause…moving steadily until he was all the way to the centre, directly over the river. If he indeed had been nervous before, he seemed supremely condiment now. But suddenly there was an unforeseen problem. Without warning the rope slipped under his weight and began to sway. The crowd felt themselves falling. Farini halted, steadied the rope with his powerful legs, and continued along the incline to the other building. People looked up at the bottoms of his feet and marveled. It seemed like a dream: a man virtually suspended in midair, a fantasy in three dimensions. When he reached the building on the east side and got onto the roof safely, applause erupted from the crowd like thunder and rang up and down the street. As Bill Hunt reveled in it, on the ground people felt a sense of enormous relief, as though they too were safe now.”

NOTE: Mr. Peacock has written several books. His latest series is about "The Boy Sherlock Holmes" This is a wonderful look at the legendary Sherlock Holmes, in the beginning! To learn more about Shane and all of his works, please visit his website at www.shanepeacock.ca.
(To Be Continued)