Note 77 — Chapter IX · SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

On March 5, 1923, Harry F. Young, known as “The Human Fly,” fell ten stories from a window ledge of the Hotel Martinqiue, New York City. He succumbed before he reached the hospital.

For the benefit of those who do not know, “A Human Fly” is an acrobat who makes a specialty of scaling tall buildings, simply clinging to the apertures or crevices of the outward architecture of such building for the edification of an assembled throng, for which he receives a plate collection, a salary or is engaged especially for publicity purposes. It is not a very lucrative profession and its dangers are many.