Question: Where in Texas is the grave of “Rope Walker,” a one-legged funambulist whose identity was a mystery for over a century?
Answer: Corsicana. According to local legend, a man with a wooden leg fell to his death in 1884 as he attempted to traverse a tightrope strung between two buildings with a stove strapped to his back. Severely injured from the fall, he initially called for a Methodist minister before disclosing he was actually Jewish, prompting those attending to him to summon a local Jewish merchant, who recited a Hebrew prayer with the man before he died.
The performer refused to provide his name when asked, so he was buried simply as “Rope Walker.” In 2016, a genealogist claimed to have discovered the identity of the tightrope walker: a German circus performer named Professor Moses Berg who lost his leg fighting for Kansas during the Civil War.
