St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1864-01-14
forget the sensation or that fearful in
terval Of suspense. ''.''' - r''i.-
Vl, H. a..u4 =, L ~J,<' Ill = J. 1890

The grcy-headeC old man now gasp
ed conyulsively;7 an,b wildly stretch
ing forth his arms, lie ,Auhg himself on
the ca: tn, as if to shut out the scene
OF almost inevitable DEATH. The ;1es-
pairing men we're, with hoarse, faint
voices, hsiling and cllceriug on the In.
!!repid sirl, and giving what snatchcs Of
instruction they, could utter as to the
means l.9 Of approaching them. But, alas!
the utmost strength Of child, forfeit,
ed, as it must have been, oy a power
full feeling of religious confidence and =,
noble courage, was insufficient for so Sc
we're a struggle; and had the deep
anguish Of seeing the wreck, and the
forlorn brothers who hung upon it with
a fierce yet7enfeebled grasp. swept by
within a dozen! yards Of. the ferryboat.
At this moment, old .Reisacher start
ed up, and. he would have plunged into
the merciless river, had I not forcibly
held him back but, screaming louder
than the storm, his voice now reached
Susannah, and it seemed at once to par
alyze her skill Shc cast her looks by
turns on the. wretched object she
would have saved and the halfmad-
dened parent, who seemed rushing in
frantic effort to assist her.
1t this crisis, Merit Buckhoi;zz, one
of The brothers, percciving that their
combined hope Of safety depended en-
tirely on his gaining the ferry boat-for
his companions conld swim-he rcsolv-
cd to trust himself, inexpert exhausted,
aud cncumbcred as he was, to the
chances Ct the torrent lie slipped
down into the water, stuck out his
new-neryea arms to buffet every wave,
and rolling and plunyins with the
fierce energy of despair, be little by
little approached the skiff Susannah
regained her presence Of mind, and
she labored at her oar with renewed
strength aud rcdoubled efforts. She
soon met the bold swimmer: he grasp
ed the prow-heaved himself up the
sidc-caught the oar from his preserv-
er's hands-and though now 4 consid-
erable distance from the heavy rolling
wreck, he came up with it Just as his
brother was fainting from exhaustion
and terror, and lifted him safely into
the skiff. III, 49,,
And how to describe Gid Reisacher's
delight, quick following his despair, as
he, saw the ferry-boat bounding tri-
umphantly across the waves, with its
m;raculously-rescued freight; the
tears, the blessings, the, thanksai Y; ro99
-oi'0 iv-~y r-;an, the gratitude
all fell down in plenteous showers upon
the head of his child, or rose up to
Heaven in fervid but silent thought.
Susannah-calm, modest, and apkar-
emily unconscious in the midst Of all
our united praise and admlration-was
destined to the conviction that she had
done a virtuous and heroic action, with
out knowing, at the time, its uncommon
merit. -. IT,. ...!,.
The GRAND Duke Of Baden, on hear
ing the circumstance, was pleased to
,bestow a gratuity Of two hundred for
lns on our little heroine, together With
a medal as special mark Of distinction,
bearing the inscription, "She trusted
in God" She was, when last saw
her, a year after the adventure, receiv-
ing the full benefit Of an excellent edu-
cation; for; some voluntary subscrip-
tions procured her many additional. .ad-
vautages ); and she walked at the head
of her village schooltellows, III their
daily promcnadcs, with a step as COM
posed, and look as unassuming, as be-
fore the event which had given her
name its local; immortality. :..
But since the year 1s41 friend Refs
acher has lost his old sister, and giveu
up the ferry. Bit the gratitude Of
Martin and George Buckholz does not
allow HIM to want the comfJrts of a
house in his old age; and I should no,
be at all surprised to- hear at any day
(for Susannah is now seventeen) tha,
the gratitude Of Martin, who is still
unmarried, was about to give still
more, permanent expression of his at
tachment to the younger remaining
member of the female brar ch of the
Reisacher family. az. '....