Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-09-13
AN EXCITING SCENE.
A Boy and Girl Swept Over q Water

F -e fall.
During the freshet in Troy great guam
titles of driftwood filed the swollen
stream, and hundreds of the poor people
risked their lives in picking it for fuel
The Troy Times gives the particulars of
one fatal case: One boat, containing three
persons, John Powers, a man about 35
years of age, his wife's sister, Maggie
Mccarthy, girl of 13, and John Crow,
aged II. While the three were engaged
In picking up the drift wood, the boy
found himself unable to control the
movements of the boat, and he immedi-
ately turned to Powers, to whom he said
in voice of despair, 'Jack, we're lost.
Crow attempted to head the boat up the
stream. But he soon saw that he was
rapidly losing ground. He gave glance
at the Second street bridge, to which the
boat was fast drifting. Between the
timbers and water there only interviewed
three feet of space. The boat and its
occupants could not pass under it safely.
Twenty five feet below the bridge was g
dam 80 feet high. If the boat and its
passengers went over it they must inevi-
tably lose their lives. Comprehending
the situation at glance, the boy Jumped
into the water, and attempted to swim to
the South shore. But the current carried
him down, and after short struggle he
became exhausted and hoated under
the bridge and over the dam. After going
over his body was not seen again,
and it was supposed that he was hurled
against q stone on the bottom with force
enough to kill him. Immediately after
Crow had taken his fatal leap, Powers
seized the girl, who, seeing the danger,
was crying bitterly, and hurting her into
the creek, followed that action by leap
ing into the water himself. He caught
hold of his relative and essayed to swim
to the shore. He struggled with almost
preternatural strength, but his struggles
svsiled nothing. Making last attempt,
he seized the girls clothing by his teeth
and undertook to swim toward the shore.
But he lost ground. Exhausted and
discouraged he finally gave up
his attempts and fioated with
the current Rapidly he drifted
along to what seemed destruction, and
over the dam he lost his hold on the girls
garments, and she met death on the boil
ing waters. Powers, however, safely
emerged from the cauldron below the
dam, though badly hurt by striking
against stone in the bottom of the
creek. A short distance below the dam
there is strong eddy caused by an inden-
tation of the south bank of the creek,
just above the railroad bridge. In the
centre of this eddy small upright engine
has been placed on platform, and used
for the purpose of eleyating the stone and
other heavy materials to be used in the
construction of the new bridge at First
street. Powers was carried to this engine,
and he managed to grasp one of the rods
and hold on to it with the tenacity of man
who knows that he has taken the last
chance for life. His head was visible,
but the water poured in torrents over his
shoulders. By this time crowd had
collected, and several unsvsiling attempts
to rescue him were made Men set out
in boats to reach him, but the current
snapped the fragile oars before they had
gone 20 feet from the bank, and threw
the boats back to the shore. One or two
men attempted to swim to the platform,
but they were unable to proceed more
than few yards. At last an expedient
was resorted to by which Powers was
saved. Ropes were attached to each ,d
of a skiff, and men standing On E ,,bor ~
side of the indentation n a1sged = r,,;da sa
it to where Powers stood. We C,'isA .e ~
hsusted, the man was sssie ,ad snso A.
boat and was drawn safel- ,a - .1sO .So.o 'I'
p