New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-07-06
One Hundred and Forty NIiies In Two
Hours.

From the Central City (COoradOl COach.1
Clear creek is miniature river that runs
through the canon of the same name. 1t
.escends upon down grade of 400 feet per
mile. with here and there a fall over a
rocky precipice fifteen or twenty feet in
height. Large bOulders. forty and fifty
feet il diameter, and weighing thousands
of TONS impede its dashing progress every
two or three hundred yards. while its
curves are so sharp and so frequent that
the stream can nowhere be seen for q dis
lance of thousand feet. Granite cliffs.
two and three miles high, project over it on
either side. and give frlghtful, romantic
and dangerous appearance to the rushing
torrent beneath.
just below Black Hawk, on the side Of
the stream a small reservoir has been CON
structed in which is kept an ordinary skitf.
Last Sunday two little sons Of Martin +.
Walker, aged respectively ten and twelve
years got into the boat and were splashiny
the water with stick, when the tastenings
gave way and the boat went drifting to.
ward the rapidly running current. The
little boys soon discovered their danger.
but were powerless to avert it: they clutch
ed hold of the sides of the boat, and, with
pallid cOuntenance, awaited their doom.
Soon the boat was caught with the current.
and began descending at a fearful rate. On
she went. the boys hats blew Off. and their
hair stood straight up; over Black Hawks
Rapids they went like an arrow. clearing
distance OF sixty feet at a singl.
dash. Lighting again on the torrent sur.
face the boat seemed to have gained q new
impetus. and shot by the boulders and
around the rocky points with the CELEBRITY
OF sunbeam At a distance of about six
miles below the starting point, Conductor
Gibbons. who was standing on the rear
platform of the down Clear Creek train.
saw the boat coming, and immediately
stopped the train. All hands repaired 70
the waters edge. and did everything in
their power to assist the flying boat hut
past them she went like bullet from a
rifle. and was out OF sight in mnne,lt
The conductor then ordered the engineer
to put on a full head of steam and follow as
rapidly as possible. which he did. constant
!y sounding the alarm of danger. He did
not get another glimpse of the boat. hut
the alarm brought the employees at Beaver
Creek station to the lookout, and quickly
| maxim. slip-nOose. sought to throw ]:
! over the bow of the boat as she came under
the bridge. This they succeeded in doing,
but could no more hold it than they could
nave held thuhderbolt, and over Beaver
Creek falls she wen: with tiIospeeI of the
lightning The falls are about thirty tee.
nigh. and at the foot are number of large
boulders, but the velocity of the boat was
such that it cleared them easily. and struck
Tue water Soiut twenty lceL beyond. From
here no mortal eye saw the boat or its living
freight until it had reached point 100
! miles below Denver. Through Golden into
| the Platte river and under the Denver
! bridges she went unnoticed, nor siackened
her pace until she lodged in drift a. the
distance below Denver above mentioned The
Platte does not run very rapidly but the boat
had acquired such wonderful speed in it's
! descen, from the mountains that it far ONT.
rode the current. A Mr.. Walsh. who lives
! on a farm near the drift where the boar
! lodged. discovered the boys still in the boat.
which was nearly full Of water, and tooE
them to his home. They were restored to
their Overjoyed parents the following eve.
ming. after having accomplished the mos.
perilous journey, IN the quickest time ever
made by any human being who escaped
alive. The distance travelled was one hun.
dred and forty miles in two hours: but how
1t was ever done, or how the boat escaned
being dashed upon some of the huge bould.
ers or rocky cliffs which everywhere inter.
cept the course of Clear Creek is NOTHING
short of Providential miracle. Probable
not again in a thousand years could the
Journey be made, with the best Appliances
and by the most skilltul mariners.