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 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. A mysterious, stranger and 5 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: impossible task. It's a common story and William Barrett's novel 6 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:37,480 Speaker 1: The Lilies of the Field, a young traveling army vet 7 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: named Homer Smith stumbles upon an order of Catholic nuns. 8 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: They are poor and in desperate need of help with 9 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: their fence. Homer fixes it for them, but instead of 10 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: paying him, the nuns believe that he is a gift 11 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: from God, meant to build them a church, and spoiler alerts, 12 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: he does build them that church. The nuns insist that 13 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: he stayed for the grand opening the next day so 14 00:00:57,480 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: that he can be recognized for his work, but Homer 15 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: doesn't need recognition. He's done his job, so he leaves 16 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: in the middle of the night before they wake up. 17 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: The Lilies of the Field is fiction, but Homer's story 18 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: is far from a tall tale. Back in the eighteen seventies, 19 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,119 Speaker 1: there was a small order of nuns living in Santa Fe, 20 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: New Mexico. Their bishop Jean Baptiste Lammy oversaw them a 21 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: group known as the Sisters of Loretto, and had a 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: chapel built for them. The architect, Antoine Moulay sadly died 23 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,759 Speaker 1: before construction finished, so he did not get to see 24 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: the Our Lady of Light chapel in all its glory, 25 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: nor was he able to fix the one glaring problem 26 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: left over. Twenty two ft above the pews of the 27 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: main chapel was the choir loft, with no way to 28 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: get up to it. The chapel well, big enough for 29 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: the most modest congregation living nearby, was too small to 30 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: accommodate a regular staircase. Various ideas were suggested, ladders, lift systems, 31 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: but nothing seemed right. With their options limited, the sisters 32 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: prayed to St. Joseph for an answer. St. Joseph was 33 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: the patron saint of carp Anders, and at that moment 34 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: he was the only thing in the world who could 35 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: have helped them. The nuns had been praying for over 36 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: a week when on the ninth day there was a 37 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 1: knock at their door. It was a man, and he 38 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 1: brought with him a mule carrying carpentry tools. He inspected 39 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: the space and saw a way to provide the sisters 40 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: with access to the loft without having to build an 41 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: enormous staircase that would occupy the whole chapel. He just 42 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: asked for one thing, not payment, only privacy. The sisters 43 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: could not be present while he worked. Whenever Our Lady 44 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: of Light was in use by the nuns or other 45 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: members of the church, the man disappeared. He would return 46 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: when the chapel was empty. It's unclear how long it 47 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: actually took for the visitor to complete his work, but 48 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: the results spoke for themselves. The spiral staircase was a 49 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: work of art. It was steep, and some of the 50 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: nuns could only descend on their hands and knees to 51 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: avoid falling the twenty two ft below, but regardless of 52 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: their fears, they were aesthetic. Their prayers had been answered. 53 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: To thank the man for his work, the nuns insisted 54 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: he stay for a party in his honor. However, when 55 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 1: the time came to celebrate, he was nowhere to be found. 56 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: They reached out to anyone in town who might have 57 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: known or worked with the man, but no one had 58 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: ever heard of him. He simply vanished without a trace, 59 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: and the staircase itself begged more questions than answers. The 60 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: thirty three wooden steps wrapped around two sixty degree turns, 61 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: yet the carpenter didn't use any nails or glue to 62 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: secure them. Each step was fastened to the winding rails 63 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: using only wooden dolls. In addition, the staircase as a 64 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: whole had no support structure to keep it upright. The 65 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: base did all the heavy lifting, making its impeccable construction 66 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: even more of a mystery. And finally, the wood the 67 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: carpenter had used on the staircase had gone unknown until recently. 68 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: A test concluded that the staircase was made of spruce. 69 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: While there are some spruce trees native to the southwestern 70 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: United States, the variety of spruce that was used on 71 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 1: this staircase came from a much colder climate, places like Alaska. 72 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: An unknown visitor showing up to build a staircase in 73 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: a church sounded odd enough, but one with a donkey 74 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: carrying Alaskan wood through New Mexico sounded even stranger. While 75 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: it only took one hundred years, but eventually the truth 76 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: about the bisterious carpenter came to light. Historian Mary straw 77 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: Cook spent almost a decade researching the story behind the 78 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: Seven Sisters and their unique staircase. She even wrote a 79 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: book about them. The man who showed up at the 80 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: chapel with his mule and a toolbox went by the 81 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: name Fressois Jean Rocas. He was a member of the Campaignons, 82 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: kind of a French version of the Freemasons. Rocas arrived 83 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: in New Mexico with the express purpose of assisting the 84 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: nuns with their staircase. But that would that he built 85 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: it with It didn't come from Alaska after all, but 86 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: a place even farther away, France. Sadly, Mr Rocas was 87 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: killed in eighteen ninety four, about ten years after he 88 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: finished building the stair case. He was shot in his 89 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: home in Dog Canyon, New Mexico. But not to worry, 90 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: Rocas would eventually be reunited with his greatest work and 91 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 1: his lasting legacy. His body is buried in the cemetery 92 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: just outside the Our Lady of Light Chapel in Santa Fe, 93 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 1: just feet away from its beautiful wooden spiral staircase. When 94 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: you're born the fifth of six children, you might act 95 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: out to get attention. After all, you're not the baby 96 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: of the family, and you're not the oldest, so it 97 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 1: takes some doing to make your siblings and even your 98 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: parents notice you. Born around eighteen oh seven to Mayo 99 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: Greenleaf Patch and Abigail McIntyre, Sam Patch's childhood, well, it 100 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,840 Speaker 1: really didn't exist. After his family moved from Massachusetts Rhode Island, 101 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: Sam had to help support his large family. He got 102 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: a job in a cotton mill, but on the side 103 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 1: he had a kind of unique hobby. He'd liked to 104 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: jump off of things. He got to start by jumping 105 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:10,599 Speaker 1: into the Blackstone River from the top of the mill 106 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:13,839 Speaker 1: dam and a nearby bridge. The other child workers would 107 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: join him, while some try to keep up with his 108 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: ever growing heights. Only Sam was able to leap deftly 109 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: into the waters below from the highest points in Rhode Island. 110 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: By the time he was in his twenties, Sam had 111 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 1: moved to Patterson, New Jersey, to work in a new 112 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: mill spinning cotton bear. But Sam wasn't the only recent 113 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: arrival to the growing city. A new bridge was being 114 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: constructed over the great falls of the Passaic River. The 115 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: owner of the land, Timothy Crane, had started to gentrify 116 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 1: the area by turning public picnic grounds into upscale eateries 117 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,600 Speaker 1: and gardens, and in order to reach these new establishments, 118 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: he built a wooden bridge for residents to cross. Sam 119 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,839 Speaker 1: wasn't thrilled with the idea of his fellow workers being 120 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: forced out of the area, but the bridge looked promising. 121 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: On the day Crane opened it to the public, Sam 122 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: saw his chance to steal the spotlight for himself. Clad 123 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: in nothing but his shirt and underwear, Sam leapt from 124 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: eighty feet above the falls into the water down below. 125 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: The crowd cheered, and Sam quickly became known around town 126 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: as the Jersey Jumper. He gave a few more performances 127 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: from the bridge before moving on to bigger stunts, from 128 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: taller bridges to the top of a ship's mast. Every 129 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:26,280 Speaker 1: time Sam Patch hit the water, his fame grew skyward. 130 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: But the biggest heights was yet to come. In order 131 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,679 Speaker 1: to drum up tourism for Niagara Falls, Sam was hired 132 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: to perform his most dangerous jump to date. He leapt 133 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: from the base of the falls into the Niagara River below. 134 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: A boat patrolled the area for Patch, who was supposed 135 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: to re emerge where he landed, but he couldn't be found. 136 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: The crowd held its breath as they watched and waited, 137 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: no sign of Sam anywhere. The jump had been too high. 138 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: They thought no one could have survived that, and then 139 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: they saw it movement on the shore. Sam had made 140 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: it out. Everyone cheered for the dared level celebrity. Less 141 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: than a week later, ten thousand people flocked to Niagara 142 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: Falls to see him do it all over again. But 143 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: there were still greater heights to achieve, and Sam saw 144 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: his next challenge in Rochester, New York. The papers ran 145 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: advertisements leading up to the jump on November six of 146 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty nine, asking four donations to cover his travel expenses. 147 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: They also promised another performer would be taking the leap 148 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: as well. Between Niagara Falls and Rochester, Sam gained an 149 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: assistant for his act, a pet bear cub. At two 150 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: o'clock in the afternoon, in front of over seven thousand people, 151 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: Sam led the cub by its collar to the edge 152 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: of High Falls, ninety seven feet above the Genesee River 153 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: and pushed it over. The bear emerged from the water unscathed, 154 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: and now it was time for Sam to take the spotlight, 155 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 1: which he did with a plum The jump was a 156 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: roaring success. The donations, however, were not hoping to squeeze 157 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: a little more money out of them. Sam had a 158 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: tall platform that elevated him drew ft above the river, 159 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: higher than the edge of the falls. The local papers 160 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: advertised the encore performance as Sam Patches last jump. He'd 161 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:12,559 Speaker 1: only intended to take a break during the winter months. 162 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,680 Speaker 1: He didn't realize how right the newspapers would really be. 163 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: The following Friday, Sam climbed up on the top of 164 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: the platform and spoke to the audience, and then took 165 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: his leap. Something was wrong. Though his body tightened, his legs, 166 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: which were usually squeezed together, had separated when he was 167 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 1: halfway down. When his body hit the water hard, it 168 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: disappeared beneath the surface. Boats scoured for signs of him everywhere. 169 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: The crowd watched the shore to see if he had 170 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: swam his way to safety. No one would have an 171 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: answer until four months later, when his body was found 172 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: along the shore seven miles downstream. Sam Patch died at 173 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: the peak of his career as a national celebrity, but 174 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 1: looking back, he might have benefited from the sage advice 175 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: of a popular song that would a I Have about 176 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: one seventy years later, penned by the philosophers known today 177 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: as TLC. Don't go chasing waterfalls. They wrote, please stick 178 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: to the rivers and lakes that you're used to. I 179 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,559 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 180 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 181 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 182 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:31,079 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how 183 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 184 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 185 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World 186 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.