Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1868-12-11
lashing himself to the raft, and advised
Strobe to do likewise.

1
old Mississippi boatman, and can stick to
the raft wherever she goes, without tying.
It isn't much of fall, and there is no
danger in running it: but if man is
tied in such place, he might lose his life
before he could get loose. We had better
tie our revolvers, though; they're wet
now, and little more won't hurt them.
And we had better be rid of them"
On swept the raft with rapidly increas
ing speed; the voyagers, silent, stern.
with compressed lips and tense nerves,
boldly facing the peril which they we're
now powerless to avoid. Amoment they
were balanced upon the brink of the
cataract-the next were plunged sheer
twelve feet into the seething waters be-
meath. Emerging at length. White found
himself alone upon the raft, which an
Teddy had caught in the rim of its vortex
and was slowly whirling around. When
be had partially recovered his self-posses-
Ision, which had been seriously disturbed
by the shock of the fall, he looked around
for his companion, and quickly deserted
him in mid-channel, some twenty yards
distant, buffeting the current with feeble
land uncertain stroke. Shouting to him
some words of encouragement, and hastily
freeing himself from bis lashings, White
prepared to make such efforts as be could
to assist and save his comrade; but al
most Immediately poor Strobe. half stran-
lgled doubtless, and bewildered by his
|frightful plunge over the cataract, with
out cry or groan, sank and rose no
more. PARIS
The fate of either of his comrades would
have been a merciful one to White in
comparison to what befel him. Poor fell
low! his troubles had hardly yet begun,
while theirs were ended. at least for this
world. The death of Strobe fell upon
him with crushing weighs. Sticking up
on the raft, which aoated slowly around
with the eddy until it stranded upon the
head of small island, he abandoned him
self for brief period to all the misery Of
despair. But his rugged and energetic
nature would not long succomb to such a
feeling. Recovering himself, he began
to survey as calmly as he might his stu
alton.
And now came back upon his memory
the stories he had heard from some old
prospecters while he Jay in camp at Salt
Lake-idle tales he had deemed them
then, but now he could not resist the con-
viction of their reality-of the terrible
Grand Canon; Of its great length. tre-
mendous depth aud impossible walls; Of
the vain efforts which had been made to
explore its fearful solitudes. Looking a.
round upon the high. steep walls which
hemmed him in on either hand, and
stretched away before, dark and frown-
ling. far as the eye could reach, he no
longer doubted but that he was. in the
veritable Grand Canon, through which
no living human being had ever passed.
He thought of endeavoring to return, but
Ia brief examination convinced him that
would be impossible unless he were gifted
with wings. He thought of attempting
to scale the walls of the canon, but as his
eager eye wandered over their dark fat
Isurfaces, where lizard could hardly gain
a foothold,' he abandoned the idea as too
wild to be entertained. There was no
way open for him except in the course Of
the river through the canon and in that
direction there seemed not the shadow of
a chance that he might succeed and live.
! He only dared to, hope that by carefully
tying himself to the raft, his body might
float through with some portion of it, and
! be identified by means Of pocket MEM
orandum- book, which he endeayored to
secure to. his person, SO that his fate
i might become known to his relatives and
friends. Having considered these things
with the desperate calmness Of man who
regards himself as doomed to speedy and
inevitable death, he nevertheless omitted
nothing which might tend to the preser-
; vation Of his life. First, he overhauled
his raft and frightened its lashings. Next,
he stripped the mezquit bushes which
J grew on the island Of their scanty crop,
) with which he partially appeased his hun
ger. Then. with fervent appeal to the
, Great Father of all, he launched his raft
} and f1oated away to encounter unknown
: dangers and terrors.
!. It is hardly necessary to say that White
flkept no ''log" Of bis voyage, and it would