The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1871-10-10
Wrestle With Niagara,

was standing about thirty or forty
yards in advance of the Clifton, that is
thirty or forty yards nearer the horse
shoe, along the brink of the rocks, and
opposite the American fall. The ground
must have beer about the same height
as the opposite fall, ,bu. owing to the i'm
mense hill down which the rapids rush,
it was possible to distinguish any OBJ
ject of the size of boat considerable
distance above the fall, so that, now as il
was pointed out to me, saw in the mid
die of the rapids huge log of wood the
trunk of tree, which had lodged there
some years before, and upon it a black
speck This, after some observation, !
perceived to move. 1t was man. Yes,
he and two companions had, on the pre-
vious night, been rowing about some
distance above the fall. BY some means
or other they had ventured too near the
rapids, had lost all command of their
boat, and Had been hurried away to de-
struction 1t was supposed that about
half a mile above the fall the boat had
been upset, and, with two wretched men
still clinging to 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 it, and sat
astride of it,through the darkness of the
night, amid the roar, the turmoil, land the
dashing spray of the rapids.
crossed the river, ascended the rock
by the railway, and hurried to the spot,
where found him so near that 1 could
almost distinguish his countenance. He
was then lying along the log, grasping it
with both arms, and appeared exhausted
to the last degree. He was evidently as
wet, from the spray, as though he had
been standing under water. By this
time people were assembling, and differ
ent plans for his rescue were proposed
and discussed on all sides; already, in
deed, one effort had been made. A small
boat had been firmly lashed to a strong
Gable; and dropped down to him from
the bridge, which crossed the rapid be-
tween the mainland and Goat Island,
about sixty yards above the log.
This boat had proceeded few yards
in safety, was upset, spuh round like a
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 miles by electric telegraph, desi-
ring that q life boat should be sent by
the first train, $50 A. NJ, and this in
time arrived, borne on the shoulders Of
about twenty men, and d splendid boat
SHE was, large, built entirely of sheet
iron, with air tight chambers; boat that
could not sink. She was girt 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 impatience
seemed extreme, so that it was thought
advisable to let him know what was 60
ING on. This was done by means of a
sheet, upon which was written in large
letters in Dutch, (his native language,
"The life-boat is coming" He stood
up, looked intently for a minute, and
then nodded his head. When the boat
was at last launched, the excitement was
intense. Two cables each held by many
men, were let down from either end of
the bridge,so that they might have some
command in directing the course of the
boat down the river She seemed lite
rally to dance upon the surface Of the
water like cork.
The rapids consists of a number
of small falls distributed unevenly
over all the parts of the river, so
that there are thousands of cross cur
rents, eddies and whirlpools, which it
would be utterly impossible to avoid ,ana
in which lies the danger of transit for
any boat between the bridge and the log,
The life-boat's course was steady at first ;
she arrived at the first fall, tripped up
and swung around with rush, but con-
tinued her course safely, only halffilled
with water. Again she descended with
safety, but at length approaching the
log she became unmanageable, swinging
either way with immense force, spinning
complely Overland finally dashing againt
the log with such violence that fully
expected the whole thing, man and all,
to, to have ben dislodged and hurried
down the rapid. But MOTT stood firm
the boat had reached its destination
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 seem
ed immoveable. The man himself climb
ed toward it, and in vain tried TO pull,
or shake the boat; nor was it moved un-
til both cables being brought to one side
of the river, by the united force Of fifty
or sixty men she was dislodged and
swung down the rapid upside down, f.
nally pitching headlong beneath an eddy,
entangling one of her cables on rock,
and there lying beneath a heavy fall of
water, until, in the course Of the day,
one of the cables being broken by the
efforts of tire men to dislodge her, and
the other by the sheer force of the cur
rent, she went over the falls-the second
sacrifice to the poor fellow, who still
clung to the log, swayed between hope
and fear. The loss of this boat seemed
great blow to him, and he appeared, as
far as we could judge at d distance, at
times to give way to the utmost despair.
A third Eoat was now brought-wooden,
very long, and fat-bottomed. Its pas
sage was most fortunate, and as sire
foated down, even slong- side of the log,
without accident, hope beamed in every
countenance, and we all felt the man
might be saved Hope also had reviv'
ed in him. He stood for some time upon
the log, making signals to those who di
rected the boat.
He now eagerly seized her, drew hel
towards him, jumped into her, and made
signs to them to draw him up. This wa:
commenced, but some of the tackle hac
caught, and it was deemed necessary &c
let loose for an instant, which was done
In n 4 n y Al,.l -