1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. When the stress of 5 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: life is getting you down, it's normal to want to 6 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: find a quiet place to decompress, somewhere far from the 7 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: hustle and bustle, where your troubles just sort of fade 8 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,599 Speaker 1: off into the distance. Charles Blondine had a place like that, 9 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: and nothing could get to him while he was there. 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: Charles was born in northern France in eighteen twenty four 11 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: and took up gymnastics when he was five. Unlike other 12 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: boys at the time who studied to become doctors or 13 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: bankers or go on to do manual labor, Charles dreamt 14 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: of becoming a performer. He trained as an acrobat and 15 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: eventually debuted to the world as the Little Wonder, a 16 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: graceful performer who enthralled crowds with feats of agility. As 17 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: he got older, though his dreams of stardom grew bigger 18 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: and France was honestly just too small to contain them. 19 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: He got married, had three children and took his show 20 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: on the road well overseas. In eighteen fifty five, Charles 21 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: traveled to New York City to join a family of 22 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: French circus performers. They've been entertaining audiences for four generations 23 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: and often took on outsiders to flesh out their act. 24 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: Now that he was part of a large group, though, 25 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: Charles needed a way to stand out more importantly, he 26 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: had to earn his keep, and then it came to 27 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: him away to put his skills to the ultimate test. 28 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: To draw the largest crowds he'd ever seen, Charles would 29 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: cross Niagara Gorge on a tight rope. The woven hemp 30 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: tight rope he'd walk across would measure feet long and 31 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: about three inches in diaetter, which is smaller than one 32 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: of the credit cards in your wallet. It would be 33 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: suspended on sixty feet over the gorge, with the Niagara 34 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: River churning beneath him, and he refused to use a net, 35 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: claiming that preparing for disaster often invited it. Thankfully that 36 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: stubbornness worked to his advantage by furthering the attendance of 37 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: his audience. One thing was true about performances such as his, 38 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: as much as people wanted to see him cross the 39 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: gorge safely, they also wanted to see him fail. It 40 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: was something he got a kick on of two. He 41 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: loved it when people bet on the odds of him 42 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:40,919 Speaker 1: falling to his death. On the morning of June fifty nine, 43 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: twenty five thousand cheering spectators gathered to watch Charles attempt 44 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: across the gorge. Among them were congressmen, judges, generals, and reporters. 45 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: Anyone who was anyone was at Niagara Falls watching Charles 46 00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: put his life on the line, literally ultimate. For all 47 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: his preparation, Charles couldn't predict the deep sag in the 48 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: middle of the rope. It hung low in the middle, 49 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: and everyone said the dip would throw off his balance 50 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: and that the rope itself couldn't support him. One person 51 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: said he deserved to be dashed to atoms for his desperate, foolhardiness. Charles, though, 52 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: ignored them all. At five pm that afternoon, he took 53 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: his first step off the American side. He carried a 54 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: twenty seven foot long balancing pole in his hands to 55 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: steady himself. The crowd grew silent, Some averted their eyes, 56 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: unable to watch in case he didn't make it. After 57 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: several minutes, though roughly one third of the way across, 58 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: something unbelievable happened. Charles took a seat. Yeah, He sat 59 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: down on the rope and invited the tourist boat that 60 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: made of the mist to stop just below him. Using 61 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: a separate line, he pulled up a bottle of wine 62 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: from the boat and drake it as everyone's stare and awe. 63 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: When he was finished, he tossed the bottle and began 64 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: to walk again, at one point even running. He'd done it. 65 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: Charles Blondine had successfully crossed the Niagara Gorge on a 66 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: tight rope and enjoyed the tasty beverage along the way, 67 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: but his show wasn't over. After a brief rest, he 68 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 1: set out again, this time with something strapped onto his back. 69 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 1: About two feet out from the Canadian side, he stopped 70 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: and fastened his balancing pole to the rope, Then untying 71 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: the load on his back, he set up a Daguero 72 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: type camera on a stand and took a photograph of 73 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: the crowd before packing it back up and finishing the 74 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: journey back to the American side. He repeated his feet 75 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: again a few days later on July four of that year, 76 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: and several more times after that, varying the different tricks 77 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,720 Speaker 1: he performed along the way. He once walked half the 78 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,359 Speaker 1: rope facing forward and the other half backward. On another attempt, 79 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: he pushed a wheelbarrow all the way across, and during 80 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: was perhaps his most daring performance, he stopped in the 81 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: middle of the rope, unpacked a camp stove he'd been 82 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: carrying on his back, and cooked himself an omelet right 83 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: there on the rope. Now that's what i'd call a 84 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: well balanced breakfast. A good card shark can build up 85 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,360 Speaker 1: a kind of reputation. They can be shifty, They know 86 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: how to read people, and they know exactly how much 87 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: trouble they can get themselves into before they're in too deep. 88 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,479 Speaker 1: Joseph Lwell was quite the shark himself, and he was 89 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: known for it all around New York City in the 90 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: early nineteen hundreds. But it wasn't just his prowess with 91 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 1: a deck of cards that earned him a reputation. It 92 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 1: was his other passion, one even more dangerous than any 93 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: ticked off gangster waiting for his loan payment. You see, 94 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 1: Joseph loved the ladies, particularly the newly married ones. Aside 95 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: from the obvious problems with his vice of choicewies, New 96 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 1: York was nothing like current day New York. Women were 97 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: still seen more as virtuous property of their husbands and 98 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: fathers as opposed to people in their own right, and 99 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: if word ever got out about their misdeeds with Mr Elwell, 100 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: their reputations would be dragged down right along with his. 101 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: But Joseph couldn't help himself. He'd flashes bright white smile, 102 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:32,920 Speaker 1: say a few charming words, and they'd fall head over 103 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 1: heels for the bridge King of Manhattan. Yeah that's right. 104 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: Joseph Elwell's game of choice wasn't Texas Hold Him or 105 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: five cards stud the kind of games you might associate 106 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: with a card shark. Now, his game of choice was bridge, 107 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: and if it was a sport, Joseph would be It's 108 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:53,359 Speaker 1: Michael Jordan's. His skills, both at and away from the 109 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: table were legendary, as was the list of men who 110 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: wanted him dead. Jilted lovers and overprotective fathers threatened him 111 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,880 Speaker 1: with all manner of violence. Even his own wife hated him, and, 112 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: as you might imagine, his infidelity eventually caused their separation. However, 113 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: none of the angry husbands ever seemed to seriously threaten him. 114 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: They'd all been angry, or jealous or hateful, but it 115 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: was all for posturing. Joseph just laughed them all off 116 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: and moved on to the next woman he saw, which 117 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: is what made what happened on jule N so strange. 118 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: The night before, Joseph had spent the evening with Viola Cross, 119 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 1: who had recently divorced from her husband and was looking 120 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:37,560 Speaker 1: for some fun. The two head dinner and drinks at 121 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: the Ritz Carlton Hotel, followed by some revelry at Zigfield's 122 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: Midnight Frolic, a late night performance put on by the 123 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: women of Zigfield's Follies, just a less family friendly version. 124 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: Around three in the morning, Joseph arrived back home, where 125 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: he spent a few hours making phone calls. He placed 126 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: the last call just after six am, and then stepped 127 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: outside to fetch his morning paper from his stoop. Later 128 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: that morning, Joseph's housekeeper arrived to begin her daily cleaning. 129 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: As she started tidy and she noticed the door to 130 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: his living room was locked from the inside. She let 131 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 1: herself in and saw a man sitting in a chair 132 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: with the day's newspaper folded in his lap. He was 133 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: nearly bald, had no teeth, and looked deathly ill. For 134 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: a moment, she was taken aback by the presence of 135 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: a stranger in her employer's house. But then she took 136 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,120 Speaker 1: a second look and realized she recognized the man. After all, 137 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: it was Joseph Elwell. The housekeeper said hello to him, 138 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: but he didn't respond, so she went over to check 139 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: on him, and that's when she saw it, the red 140 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: hole between his eyes. She screamed and fled the room 141 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: to call the police, and surprisingly, Joseph shot to the 142 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: head hadn't killed him. He was still breathing when the 143 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 1: authorities arrived to inspect the scene. He was too far 144 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 1: gone to speak, though, and shortly after paramedics carded him off, 145 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 1: he passed away. The NYPD noted that Joseph had been 146 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: shot at point blank range with the forty five, and 147 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:09,200 Speaker 1: yet they ruled out suicide. That's because the police found 148 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: a single bullet on the table in front of him 149 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: and the cartridge on the floor beside him. The gun 150 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: that fired it, though, was gone. Nothing in the room 151 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 1: had been disturbed. Joseph hadn't been robbed, and there were 152 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: no signs of any kind of struggle. And the most 153 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: interesting detail of all was that the blood spatter on 154 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: the walls indicated the shooter had been crouched in front 155 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: of the late bridge player, suggesting that they probably knew 156 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: each other. But despite the evidence left behind, there was 157 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:41,200 Speaker 1: one question still buzzing inside everyone's heads. How had the 158 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 1: shooter gotten away? All the windows in the room were 159 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 1: sealed and the door had been locked from the inside. 160 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: No way in, no way out. Joseph Lwell's murder remains 161 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: unsolved to this day, and after all these years, it's 162 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: unlikely anyone will end up cracking it. Mysterious end to 163 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: a complicated character, if there ever was one. Now that's 164 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: what I'd call curious. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 165 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 166 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 167 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me 168 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make 169 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 170 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 171 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: about it over at the World of Lore dot com, 172 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:41,080 Speaker 1: and until next time, stay curious.