The Osceola times., 1873-08-02
Terrible Boat Ride.

Clear Creek is a river that runs
through. the cayon Of the same
name. 1t descends upon a down
grade of four hundred feet per mile
with here and there fall over q
rocky precipico fifteen or twenty
fee Gn height. Large powders,
for and fly feet in diameter,
aS9sweiRking thousands of tons,
limpede tSdashing progress every
two or three yards, wHle its curves
are SO sharp and so Troquent that
the stream cannot be seen for dis
TANGO of q thousand feet. Granite
kc ifs two and three miles high, pro-
ject over it on either side, and give
frightful, romantic and dangerous
appearance to the rushing torrent
beneath.
Just below Black Hawk, on the
side of the stream, small reservoir
has been constructed in which is
kept an ordinary skif' Last Sun
day two little sons Of Martin +.
Walker, aged respectively ten and
twelve years, got into the boat and
were splashing the water with
stick, when the boat went drifting
toward the rapidly running current.
The little boys soon discovered
their danger, but powerless to avert
it, they clutched hold Of the sides
Of the boat, and with paid counte-
nances awaited their doom. Soon
the boat was caught by the current
and began decending q. a fearful
rate over Black Hawk rapids it
went like an arrow, clearing Il dis
tance of sixty feet at a single dash.
Lighting again on the torrents sur
face the boat seemed to have gam
ed n new impetus, and shot by the
powders and around the rocky
points with the celebrity OF a sun
beam.
At distance of about six miles
below the starting point, conductor
Gibson, who was standing on the
rear platform of the c. G. train, saw
the boat coming. All hands repair
ed to the waters edge, and did
everything in their power to arrest
the flying boat, but past them she
went like n bullet from q rifle, and
was cut of sight in moment. The
conductor then ordered the cngin-
ecr to put on Il full head of steam
and follow as rapidly as possible,
which he did, constantly sounding
the alarm Of danger. He did not
get glimpcc of the boat, but the
alarm brought the. employees at
Beaver Creek station to the look
out, and quickly making slip
moose, they sought to throw it over
the beat .as she came under the
bridge. This they succeeded in
doing. but could no m oro hold 1t
than they could have held a thun-
derbolt, and over Beaver Creek !
falls she went with the spood of
lightning. The falls are about thir-
ty feet high, and at the foot are
number of large powders, but the
velocity of the boat was such that
it cleared thom easily, and struck
the water some twenty feet beyond.
From here no one saw the boat
or its living freight until it reach
ed point one hundred miles below
Denver. Through Golden into the
Platte river, under the denver
bridges she went unnoticed, nor
slackcned her pace until she lodged
in drift at the distance below Den
verabove mentioned. A. NJ. Walsh
who lives on a farm near the drift,
where the boat lodged, discovered
the boys still in the boat, which
was nearly full of water, and took
them to his home. They were re-
stored to their overjoyed parents
the following evening, after accom-
plishing the most perilous journey
in quicker time than ever before
made by any human being who es-
capped alive. The distance Travelled
was one hundred and forty miles in
two hours, but how it was done, or
how the boat escaped being dashed
to pieces upon some of the high
powders or rocky cliffs that every
where intercept the course of Clear
Creek, is nothing short of a provi-
Dental miracle. Probably not
again in II thousand years, could
the journey be made with the best
appliances and the most skillful
marines.-[Central City (Col)
Coach.