Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1871-08-24
A Wrestle with Niagara.


fall, but, owing to the im,"eusc hill ,lowr
which the rapids rush, it was possible t.
distinguish any Object of the size of {
boat considerable distance above the fall
S" that, now as ii WAS pointed out to me,
SAW IN the middle of the rapids, a huge lo.
OF wood, the trunk of a tree, which In,
lodged thelc some years before, and upnl
II a black specl1. This, after some obstr
vrtion, | perceived to move. It was a man
les. no AND his two companions had, on
Til" previous night, been rowing about
some distance above the fall. by some
means or other they had vcnturcd too near
the rapids bad lost all command of their
boat, and had been hurried away to dc,
slruc'i"n 1t was supposed that about halt
a mile above the tall the boat had been up.
S, t, and, with two wretchtd men still cling
Ing t" it, went over the fall at about nine
or ten O'Clock at night, while the third
man was driven against this log Of wood
climbed upon i, and sat astrldc OF it
through the darkness of the night, amid
the roar, the turmoil, and the >lashug
spray Of the rapids.
l crossed the river, assembled the rock Ivy
the railway, and hurried to the spot, where
| found him SO near that l could almost
distinguish his countcnancc. He was then
arms, and appeared exhausted to the last
degree. He was evidently as wet, from
the spray, rs though he had been standing
under water. by this time people were as
scmbling, and different plans for his rescue
were proposed and discussed on all sides ;
already, indeed one effort had been made.
"A small boat had been firmly lashcd to a
strong cable, and dropped down to him
from the bridge, which crossed the rapid
between the mainland and Goat Island,
about sixty yards above the log.
This boat had proceeded a few yards in
safety, was upset, spun round like piece
OF cork at the end of a thread by the force
OF the water, which finally snapped the
cable in two. and the boat disappeared
over the fall
But now dispatch had been sent to
Buffalo "a distance Of little more than
twenty milcs) by electric telegraph, dcsir-
ING that litr-hOat should be sent by the
first train, 9::iO Il. H. and this in time ar
rived, borne on the shoulders Of about
twenty men, and q splendid boat she was,
large, built entirely of sheet iron, with
air.tight chambers q boat that could not
sink. She was grit round with strong
ropes, and two new two inch cables
brought with her. All this arrangement
naturally took up much time, and the poor
Wretch's Impotence seemed extreme, SO
that 1t was thought advisable to let him
know what was going on. This was done
ny means OF sheet, upon which was
written in large letters in Dutch (his na-
He stood up, looked intently for minute,
and then nod led his head. When the
b'at was at last launched, the excitement
was intense. Two cables, each held by
many men, were let down from either
end of the brid &c, $" that they might have
some command in directing the course OF
the boat down the river. She seemed
literally to dance upon the surface of the
water like a cork.
The rapid consists Of number of small
falls distributed unev, My over all the parts
OF the river, SO that there are thousands
of cross currents, eudies, and whrlpOOls,
which it would be utterly impossible to
AVOID, aud in which lies the danger of
transit for any boat between the bridge
and the log The life boats course was
steady at first: she arrived at the first fall,
she tripped up and swung round with a
rush, but continued her course safely, only
halffilled with water. Again she descended
with safety, but at length approaching the
log she became unmanagcablc, swinging
either way with immense force,
spinning completely over, and finally
dashing against the log with such vio-
lcnce that fully expected the whole
and hurried down the rapid. But, no, it
tination. Yet, alas! how useless was its
position. 1t lay completely on its side
above the log, and with its hollow inside
directed toward the bridge, played upon
by the whole force of the current, which
fixed its keel firmly against the log 1t
seemed immovable. The man himself
climbed toward it, and in vain tried to
pull, lift or shake the boat; nor was it
moved until both cables being brought to
one side Of therivcr, by the united force
of fifty or sixty men she was dislOdgeu
and swung down the rapid upside-down,
finally pitching hi adlong beneath an eddy,
cntangling one Of her cables on the rocks,
and there lying beneath heavy fall of
water, until, in the course Of the day, one
Of the cables being broken by the efforts
of the men to dislodge her, and the other
by the sheer force Of the current, she
went over the falls-the second sacrifice to
the poor fellow, who still chung to the log
swayed between hope and fear. The loss
OF this boat seemed a great blow to him,
and he appeared, as far as we could judge
at distance, at times to give way to the
utmost despair A third boat was now
brought-wooden, very long and flat bot
toned. Its passage was most fortunate,
and as she tloattd down, even alongside of
the log without accident, hope beamed in
every countenance and we all felt the
man might be saved. Hope also had re-
vived in him. He stood for some time
upon the log making signals to those who
directed the boat.
He now eagerly seized her, drew hel
towards him, jumped into her, and made
S CHS to them to draw him up. This was
commenced, but some Of the tackle had
caught, and it was deemed necessary tc
let it loose for an instant. This was
done; the boat floated few feet down
the rapid, swung round the lower end Of
the log, entangling the cable beneath it
and there remained immovably fixed
Once more the poor fellows work began
He drew Of one of his boots and balct
the boat, he pushed at the log, climbed
upon it, and used every possible exertior
to move the boat, but in vain! An hou
was spent in these fruitless efforts
hour Of terrible suspense to all who be
held him. He worked we'll, for he worked
for his life. Three months after, this
D'aI retained llS pOSlLlOu, HOr Will IL move
until the rocks grind its cable in two, OF
the waters tear it riecemeal into shreds.
Another plan must be devised, and this
with American promptitude, was soon
done. A raft of from twenty to thirty
feet long and five feet broad was knocked
together with amazing rapidity 1t con
sisted Of two stout poles, made fast, five
feet asundcr, by railing four or five pieces
Of two inch board at each extremity thus
the machine consisted of a sort Of skeleton
raft with a small stage at either end On
one Of these stages-thtt to which the ca
hlcs (of which there were two) were
lashcd-was tightly fixed large empty
cask, for the sake IF It's buOyancy, on Inc
other complete network Of cords, tC
which the man was TO lash himself; also 6
tin can OF refreshments, he having taker
nothing since the evening before; ,hrt e OF
four similar cans, ~ he way, had been Yet
down to him already, ;.tt*chcd to Strong
pieces of new line, but tho cords had il
every instance been snapped, and the foot
lost.
The raft WAS finished, launched, ant
safely let down TO the log. The poor fcl
low committed himself to its care, he
lashed his legs firmly, and then signalld
to draw him up; thus for the second time
the ropes had begun to be drawn ND, the
RIFT advanced unucr the first pull, but its
head ,,Wnr to tIr li.rLt ~.