The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1849-10-18
WHOLE NUMBER 422.
A LEAP FOR LIFE.

A LEAP FOR LIFE.
As the supervisor Of inland resehus ct
Aberya with, Mi. J. Miller, his nephew. and
two professional gentleman, geologists, were
last week examining some strata OF rock
in the cliffs between Aberystwish and Lam
rhystid. wales, G. b. they proceeded q
long a narrow ledge Of projecting stone on
the face Of the cliff, about l2O feet above tho
level of the sea, which providentially hap
pened to be at full Gov. In passing round
q projecting angle; (which for ages has
frowned on all below the professors and
the revenue officer had rounded the point,
and the young man was in the act ofdoing
so, when, the rock suddenly breaking from
under his feet, he was whirsed .ouCd with
bis face towards the sea and a. he deacon
ded he seized With one hand the ledge be-
meath his uncle's feet, whilst be extended
the other hand to him, and j: vas firmly
clasped by the revenue officer, who held
him suspended for full FIVE minutes, during
which time be with great difficulty main
tanned bis position, there not being more
than six inches to stand upon. AT length
a besathless pause ensued, whilst Mr.. Mil
Ter gazed on rugged projection Of rock a.
bout 30 feet below them, and on which he
concluded the unfortunate youth was inevi-
tably doomed to be dashed. But the uncle
fwho calls him san awful coward at length
said. With all the calmness imaginable,
Tom, there is but one way for it; I'll save
you, or we will both perish together, and,
with a firm voice, he commanded the young
man to loose bis hold Of the rock, which
was mechanically obeyed, with faint reply,
Yes, uncle At this awful moment Mr..
Miller horizontally sprsng into the air, car
rying the young man with him; and such
was the force with which be leaped, that the
check caused them to perform several
somersets over each other ss they descen-
ded linked together. With the rapidly Of
fash Of lightning they disappeared be-
meath the foaming billows, hssins CLEARED
the craggy ledge. which projected more than
six feet from the perpendicular Of the point
over which the youth was suspended. To
the delight Of their companions, who were
momentariIy horror-struck, they rose about
20 yards apart, bufeting the heavy swells
Of the flowing and returning waves; at
length they struck out for rock that lay
about 20 yards in the Sea, on which they
were seated, and from which they gave
three hearty cheers. Their companions
attempted 10 procure their rescue by OBJ
tanning boat, but, owing to the breach in
the ledge, found it impossible, and had to
proceed EDWARDS for more than three hours
before they were able to extricats them
selves. To their delight the geoIogsts then
fo6nd that their brave and dauntfess tcnt
panions had once more Committed them
selves to the deep, bad swan to an scces-
sible part Of the cliff, and returned to Lam
rhystid, where, with the exception Of the
loss ofhats, the officers boots, (which be
had taken off on first starting on the ledge,)
and few slight cuts and bruises, they sp-
pesred not whit the worse from their peril
Gus adventure. Wekshman.
The Boon ISLAND BIRD-rRAP@He hive
heard many strange stories about the great
number Of birds which, being bewildered
by fheSbrisht glare Of the lamp on Boon
island, fly against the iron railing which
surrounds the light with such force ,as to
kill themselves. We have heard that some
mornings several bushels Of dead birds have
been gathered up around the light, which
had fallen victims to the brilliancy Of the
previous night. s4
A few days since We inquired 'of Capt.
Thompson, the keeper, whether there ID
any truth in the Stories He says that
such devastation was not Of daily occur
renee, but frequently large number Of
dead birds was found around the light
house. One morning, about three months
since. there was . rather larger nunttf
than common. His assistant, Mr.. Fletcher,
gathered in one heap three hxndred and
sirty birds, (which had fallen the prevcds
night. There were in this hesp II least
twenty varieties Of land and sea-brdt-
some Of beautiful piumage, such - he had
never seen before. Walking around the
light, Capt. Thompson saw many more,
which would have added largely to tho
|heap.-af Portsmouth, IN. H.y Journal;
has passed the Legislature Of Maine direct,
ing the clerk Of the Judicial Court 10 each
County in that State to purchase, bind and
preserve, for the use, and at the expense q
the County. a copy oftbe newspapers pub
iished therein, not exceeding three 10 NUM-
Der, commencing with the year l649, ard
giving preference to those most aboundinR
In historical and other information valua-
bic TO the public.
HlLIs AGAINST LEVEL LANDs.-In lee.
ture recently delivered BY French Profess
scr on mathematics, at the college at BIois,
the lecturer informed his audience that in
the purchase Of hiTly or uneven lat6t;.i,s
extent is estimated or measured, not sccor-
ding to the area Of the surface, but accord