The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-07-28 00:00:00

ATTEMPT TO SWIM NIAGARA FALLS.

CAPTAIN WEBB DROWNED.

The following telegram was received in London on
Wednesday :

"New York, July 25.—Captain Webb, the well.
known swimmer, was drowned yesterday in his at.
tempt to swim through the whirlpool and rapids of
Niagara Falls.

" Captain Webb left the Canada side of Niagara
below the Falls in a small boat, and rowed to a point
about 300 yards above the Old Suspension Bridge.

" He dived into the river at four o'clock in the
afternoon, and on entering the rapids was almost
turned over by the force of the water,

"He swam the rapids, however, with great deter-
mination, being now and again caught sight of by a
few of the spectators.
"When last seen he was entering the whirlpool, and
at first appeared to be doing well, but very shortly
afterwards he threw up his arms and disappeared.
He was not seen again.

"Captain Webb was strongly urged not to attempt
a feat universally declared to be impossible."

The Standard says that it was expected that the
feat would be performed on July 21, but it was suble-
quently arranged that Captain Webb should endeavour
to accomplish his purpose on the 24th. The various
railway companies which run to Niagara Falls sub-
scribed 10,000 doll +rs for Captain Webb, and it was
expected that 100,000 perAons would witness the
undertaking, preparations having been made to have
special excursions from every town and city within
reach of the railways.

In the course of an interview which Captain Webb
had with a representative of the .New York Herald, he
gave particulars of the perilous feat which he proposed
to accomplish in endeavouring to swim the whirlpool
rapids below Niagara Falls :
" Yes," he said, " I am going to swim the whirl-
pool rapids, and I will say that it is about the angriest
bit of water in the world. I came over from England
two weeks ago (this would be about the beginning
of June] to make the trial, and I went to the rapids
last week and made a critical examination. They
are rough, I tell you, and the whirlpool is a grand
one ; but I think I am strong enough and
skilled enough to get through alive. The people
at Niagara Falls tell me that I will be simply com-
mitting suicide. You ought to hear the blood. curdling
stories that were retailed for my benefit. A year or
two ago, a boy who was paddling around in the shore
water was drawn into the rapids and had his head cut
off. A girl fell into the river last summer from the
Suspension Bridge, and when her dead body was
picked up at the other end of the rapids, it was bereft
of all clothing but a pair of strckings. In twenty-
three years they say that eighty persons have lost
their lives in the rapids."

-
"But what i s your object in attempting such a
terrible feat? "
"Ten tuousand dollars."

"How do you propose to pass through the rapids?"
"I'll explain my plan. The current they say,is 39
miles an hour, and the river is 95 feet deep. It is
wide just below the Falls, and narrower at the
rapids. I am only afraid of two awful ledges of
pointed rocks, which jut out from the shores into
the whirlpool. The water fairly shrieks and
hisses as it boils over them. Now I want to avoid
the sides, and yet I dare not go into the middle,
for there lies the vortex, and that means death.
I will go out into the middle of the river in a small
boat just about the Suspension Bridge. The only
clothing I shall -rear rill be the silk trunks I had
on when I swam the English Channel. At the time
app-inted I will leap into the river, and float into the
rapids. Of course, I will make no attempt to go for-
ward, for the fearful speed of the water will carry me
through. When the water gets very bad I will go
under the surface, and remain beneath until I am com-
pelled to come up for breath. That will be pretty
often I'll wager. When I strike the whirlpool
I will strike out with all my strength, and try
to keep away from the suckhole in the centre. I will
begin with the breast strokes, and then use overhand
strokes. My life will then depend upon my muscles
and my breath, with a little touch of science behind
them. It may take me two or three hours to get out
of the whirlpool, which is about a quarter of a mile
long. When Ido get through. I will try to land on
the Canadian side, but if the current is too swift, as I
think it is, I will keep on down to Lewiston on the
American side.

Captain Webb was born in Shropshire, and was the
son of a physician. He took to the sea early. and became
the captain of a merchantman. Many years ago he
jumped from the deck of the Cunard mail steamer
.Russia during a storm tosave a sailor who fell overboard.
For this act he received from the hands of the Duke
of Edinburgh the first gold medal ever given by the
Royal Humane Society. But he first came into pro-
minent notice by several long swims in the Thames.
On the 3ld of July, 1875, he swam from Blackwell to
Gravesend, a distance of 18i miles, in four hours and
52 minutes. This it was understcod wa3 a preliminary
test of endurance prior to attempting to swim across
the English Channel. He also, a fortnight later, swam
from Dover to Ramegate, 17i miles' in eight hours 45
minutes. He failed in his brat attempt to croas the
Channel, but on the 25th of August, 1875, succeeded
in reaching the French coast in 21 hours, 45 minutes,
55 seconds,