Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1857-04-16
A Man in the Rapids of Niagara

Core spondenee of the Rochester Daily Democrat.
NIAGARA LITY, March 3i-23 O'clock.
! have just returned from a most exciting
and thrilling scene, which happily termina-
ted in the rescue of man who had fallen
into the furious rapids near the great Sus.
pension Bridge.
1t appears that he was guest at the Lud.
low Hotel, and after breakfast went out tc
view the bridge, and proceeded down the
perllOu- steps near Winners Touring mill
on the bank of the river. On reaching the
bottom he slipped and fell into the water
just above the bridge, and when discovered
was IN Ir'y O. forty ,ods below the bridge
near the shore, rolling over and over, Dor Q
along by the resistiess current until he
Caught mold Of large rock, and alter some
fruit ess struggles succeeded in reaching The
top.
The alarm Was immediately given in the
neigh h0UrhCod, and it was SOON decided that
there was no way ot reaching him but by
means OF rope ladder. This was immedl-
ateiy procured, and, after much hesitation
delay, and alteration, occasoned by the diff
ficulty ., determining where to place it, in.
asmuch as the man cou. ID not be seen from
the projecting bank over his head, it WIS
lowered to the depth Of perhaps hundred
tee:, and became eDtangled amorg the rock,
and trees. IL was 1T once decided that some
one must 60 down TO disentane lie it and con-
duct il down as lar as Tue shelving rock over
The mans head. iiut who among the crowd
Was wiling TO undertake the hazardous and
doubtful exper,me In a lew moments
Willard b. Coburn, porter of the Ludlow
Hotel, volunteered his services, and pro-
ceeded to the place where the ladder was
attached to the trees. He needed assist
ance, and soon two more brave men, An
,hony Sailey and Mats Crans, offered to GO
d. wn. The three courageous men worked
braveiy for more than an hour in conduct
ing the ladder down the precipice, while
men at The Top carefully let it down.
At length the waving of handkerchiefs
and cbeerings OIL the Canada side indicated
to us that the man had sprung to the shore
from the rock and had begun to ascend the
ladder. Crane, the old Dutch butcher, went
down over the shelving rock to meet and
help the man up the ladder. But he pre-
ierred to climb up without help. Crane
went below him, and in few moments his
bald head was seen emerging from below.
What thrill Of joy and dread at once per-
vaIed the hearts OF the multitude that wit
messed the exciting scene! Joy because OF
his success thus far, and fear lest, wet, cold
and almost exhausted, he should lose his
hold on the ladder and be dashed to frag-
ments on the rocks hundred feet below
But cautiously, and with firm grasp and STEP
he climbed up the ladder, three hundred
feet in length, anc was greeted by the
shouts and acc lamations of the hundreds O!
spectators who had assembled 20 witness
the exciting scene. He was for a few mo-
ments burne on the shoulders of the excited
multitude, all were SO anxious to congratulate
HIM.
AS might have been expected, the mass
of the people seemed to forget that the
faithful, brave Dutch butcher was vet be.
low. A few remained near the top of the
ladder to see him safe up and to speak words
of commentator for his self-iorgetting cou-.
age.