The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-09-22
fFf06S the afaeabEssd IhStpMdeaH1sss-
A Ma-va,s ans. Reacna, I

| fFfoSx me afaeabEssd lhsepandsau1sss,
A Marssil ss.nsl Rescns,
We have received, Jr OF h0fity that Is
unquesttonabieI naaccouut,r faf 0ae of the
most splendid exhibitions. Of .p.rayery- that
ever came 10 Our know ledge The author 81
his; scconnt knows personally add NE II I'LL
the. parties. to. thea grandt,litllei sffliE ana
vouebes fsr 81, BE entire ,accuracy of, sTery
WORD when describes ,f.3<fa.t.4 .sr-sl t..,a
AT Lock No:;5,on Coal river q man named
BnrWell Harless has resided for d number Of
years. He has been employed By the Coal
River Navigation Com panY 70 attend The
lock, and has devoted bis sspafe itimet to theaS
cultivation of. small, farm In the vicinity!
His family consists of wife, two botfs. aged
respectively nine and eleven " ears, and oil
smaller child or hbout two winters III the
scene we are about to describe, four zof Sthesa
were heroic actors, an d&thea fifth wasfbe ten.
der subject that brought It about. Z IS NJ
I The recent floods of the country were. no.
where more terrible than fn Coal river.
That stream, draininglya! mountainous re.
gion; iand gathering tn its rapid descentfrou
IA thousand turbulent tributaries, dedet by
the. fury of, its rushing watersthe bounds it
had formerly obeyed,1 carried slconsterpa.
zion. to the Inhabitants along Its. borders.
Fields and farms were laidnRaste,J houses
were borne of on the bosom Of its clrre6t,,'
locks and dame were swept out by Ills ruth.
,!esss DO wer seven life itself was endangered
{ by its rapid swell, In one instance steamer
with her barges and crew we're driven over
q dam eighteen feet in height, and in many,
Others results were produced Ct scarcely
less thriTli0g interest. AT Lock, No. 7 the
quiet little, Stream of three. days before as
|sumed the character Of a mighty river, Forty
feet OF mountain-side gave Way before the
constant wsarf:of he.watersj and the back.
lash thus created gave a fearful ASPECT
TO, the raging cross currents Under these.
circumstances 1Burwell: Hairless, faithful
TO his trust, walked the logs Of No. Z, watch.
ing the rise Of the river and the progress of
itsdestructiou. Rain. was falling, in torrents,
and the heavens hung dark, above him.. His
house was hundred. yards below the lock-
He had been absentsome hours, and bis wife
beclms doubtful Of his safety. The river had
risen until it nearly reached the houses: Two
OF The children-the boys-Here large enough
T to keep at safe distance, from the approach.
ing 1aters The third was not; Taking the
LITTLE one in her arms Mrs. Hairless proceed
ed in search OF her husband. The road was
washed away. and she made her steps with
difficulty. Nearing the lock, she saw her hus-
band, wrappedin his great Goa, standing like
sentinel at his post, detyiDg the elements,
and owing allegiance only to his duty. Har.
lie IS walked TO the shore to ascertain the caus g
OF his wife's appareAtalarm, and stood on the
bank. obseryant of her moveme uts, % she
started on her return. Finding short path
along the margin Of the Hriver, and tatigued
sy the burden Of her precious charge, Mrs.
Hairless allowed the child to walk. Its tiny
feet had not measured dozen steps before it
| fell and rolled headong into the river. The
clouds that .btackened the heavens were
scarce darker than the waves that embraced
that tender. form. Who can conceive the
emotions of that frail woman as she saw the
child, hardly yet weaned from Der breast, ga
thered by the furious food And who can
| deuy the Inspiration from heaven that seat
| her at one bound, in that emergency, TO do
! or dles Her scream attrac. ed her husband,
now on bis return to the lock, ind, throw
| ing aside his overcoat Us he ran, be reached
! the spot just in time to leap, with brave
heart and strong hand, TO Lhe rescue of bis
| wife and child. No time was to be lost, and,
ali iucumbered with clothes and boots, be
made the bold attempt. d 49, .r...,aa ..
| The stream had carried them some dis.
lance out, aud was burryipg them of: The
child WAS out of sight, and Mrs. Hairless was
sinking az the strong strokes of her noble
husband brought him within grasp of her
dress. He seized it as she sank, and then
commenced desperate effort to regain the
shore. The child he still bad not seen. De-
spite bis most vigorous struggles the current
bore them on, until, fortunately, beneath the
branches of an old sycamore. that oYerhung
the river, the back-lash caught them, and
with some further effort be reached The bank.
| At this point it was perpendicular aud two
fleet above the water. Hairless was not yet
aware of the fate of bis child. Throwing
one arm over the top of the earth that
oyprhuug- hn,~aDd encircliDg the waist of
his wife with the other, he yelled for as
sistance. No assistance was near save the
two,s, little boys, who hid been left
| at the house These two little heroes
heard the call of their father, and came go-
rIously to his aid. When they arrived be
babe them seize their mothers dress, and for
their lives to hold on. With d GOODNESS that
well might be coveted by older heads. they
neid. without a'word. OF terror Or cry OF
alarm, the slender thread by which was sus-
pebded the fife Of her whose place to'then
in ibis world there could be no other to Dill.
Hairless, depending, as he had to DO, upon
| the pluck and presence Of mind OF bis boys,
let 20 his hold, Sprang TO the top OF the bank,
and in moment more bad drawn from tue
raging waters the almost lifele>s form of bis
wife. With q grip that! death alone could
uerbaps have severed MR.. Hairless held her
child by the foot. Some time, elapsed before
both were entirely restored 10 CONSCIOUSNESS.
They did soon recover, however, aud thus
was consummaled Il deed Of heroI>m whose
equal history has rarely recorded.
Mrs. Hairless was Miss Barker. She and
her husband are both OF plain, worthy, and
respectable families. Tradition will carry
down to many generationsof their descend
ants the narrative of their noble deed. -
,lYery good story. But back-lash," how
about that? In the dictionary lin Wos-
ctsrER lit is used TO define the PREDICTION
upon each other Of a pair of wheels, pro-
duced by Irregularities of velocity, when
ahe moving power is not uniform" We
take it that in the above article It is meant
to describe irregular motions of currents OF
water: TIE baby being thrown by the
winds, current, or eddy shoreWard. This en-
ployment of the word is new to us, and We
suppose to be local. y, ''''l. .-.----
/ lac. - = : = : - t'r Z
In Philadelphia, on Sunday night, Charles
Ricketts,, q discharged Pennsylvania Railroad
conductor, shot himself in the mouth 10