Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-01-27

luc UciUS L Ildtl DO1lo AO0E
ing, at the rate of $50 a day, in an
upland farmhouse, and ran no risk OF
damage, either in person or property,
by the inundation that meuaced the
dwellings OF those who lived closer to
the river. | was therefore mere spec
tator, though ready and willing at a
pinch to be useful TO those who were
less fortunate.
There's Il woman on Ship Island,
there, waving something and calling
to US. May | never, but it's young
Nine. Parnell herself! Yes, and there's
the child with her. said one of the
| men on the bank ii
| Can't be- said another incrcdulOusly.
The farmer would never have linger-
ed this long, till he's right ia the grip
of the ice
'Parnell's not tew hum, / tell you,'
answered the other in his New jersey
accent. Hes away this week past to
Philadelphia City. Yes, That's the wife
calling for help, poor young thing!
Guess those cowardly skunks of hired
men hev gone off in the flatboat and
left the woman and child to shift for
| themselves
To explain this 1 may briefly say
that, two miles above Ithaca, and al
most opposite to the bluff on which we
were standing, there 10 en- islet in the
| river shaded by trees, and which takes
| its name from some faucied resem-
blance in its shape to that Of a ship.
On it stood farm house. with bright
ly painted gables of carved woodwork,
tiled roof, and a porch which, in
summer, was festoOned with twining
roses-a picturesque object in the land
scape. Often in the still sultriness of
an August day l had looked admiring.
ly at this house, with its peach and ap-
pie orchards, its grassy meadows, sha-
ded by tall cottonwood pOplars, and
its sunny gardens sloping to the waters
edge, where the great streaked melous
|, and yellow pumpkins lay basking in
l the midst of blooming flowers, and had
considered it as the very abode of
peace. knew The proprietor of this
enviable dwelling-Seth Parnell by
name-but very slightly, and had nev-
er met with the other members of his
family or set foot on his tiny domain.
That the island farm was in great
danger of the advancing ice was but
too manifest; and ] was astonished
when, on demanding who was ready
to assist me in carrying aid TO the de-
serted woman and child, no response
was made beyond deprecatory grOwl
of dissent from my proposal.
THROWN life away as you'd throw
cornsialk, that's what call it, pith-
lily rejoined, after pause, the old yeO-
man from the hills. 'Taint the drift
that's speckling the river now that I'd
value the swapping of gunlock,' he
continued, pointing to the loose ice
floating by; it's the gorge itself, that
would smash in the side of a hundred
ton sloop as boy cracks peanut; and
see, mister, the jams breaking already.
And indeed the ice wall, which had
for some minutes been stationary, hav-
wing probably anchored itself on seme
shOal or sandbank, was again motion,
urged by the resistless pressure of the
flood above it, while the shrieks and
despairing gestures of the lonely occu
pant of the islet showed in what an ag-
Ony of alarm she beheld the near ap-
proach of the destroying wave. Still,
although / made an urgent appeal to-
those around to aid me in manning a
brOadhorn-One of number Of boats
of various build and size that ley
mOored in The creek hard by-noI
volunteer answered TO the call; and
when / declared my intention of going
alone to the rescue of those on the ISL
and, efforts were made to dissuade me
from running the risk of what, to the
bystanders, appeared TO be al but in
evitable death.
Good grit; I'll say that for the Brit
isherp Such were the old farmers
valedictory words as l sprang into
canoe, grasped the paddle, and pushed
off. PITY, too, to see it done. We
oughter hev held him back by force,
neighbOrs.'
However, / was by this time well
out of the creek, which formed sort
of miniature harbor, and plying my
paddle with the vigor necessary to
contend with the force of the current,
now swollen by the long continued
thaw. Luckily, during my residence
beside the Delaware, / had acquired
that dexterity in the hadling of ca
noe which nothing but practice could
confer, and | succeeded in eluding the
shock of those sheets of floating ice
the impact of which might have pro- |
we'd fatal to my slender skiff-and had
almost gained the southern extremity |
of the island, when loud shout of
warning from those on shore made me
turn NY head, to behold, with dismay,
that quantity of Il gigantic masses of
the cleaning crystal had broken away
from the slow-moving gorge, and were
rushing furiously down the stream,
revolving in giddy circles as they came.
Almost mechanically gave one long
sweeping stroke with the paddle, and,
as the canoe darted forward, rose to my
feet and sprang iIto the water, which
proved to be D little more than waist
deep at the spot, so that | easily scram-
bled up thc garden bank, while my
frail bark, caught and crushed between
two of the drifting blocks, fioated a
helpless wreck along the river.
Up to this moment / had achieved
partial, but only partial success. /
had reached the island, but the heavi-
est part of my task, as / was well
aware, lay before me. The canoe WAS
gone, so that unless some boat belong
ing to the farm should be still fastened
to the bank l must depend on my own
ingenuity for the means of conveying
myself and those to whose lives / had
imperiled my own to firm ground.
Had / but time had little doubt that,
by some one of the expedients that
suggest themselves to trained engi- |
neer, could effect q safe passage to the |
shore; but could not avoid entertain
ing some dismal fOrebodings as lnoted
the alarming rapidity with which the
fiood-wave was rising. Another So
called jam had taken place as the ice
gorge touched upon the shadows near
the island, and | could hear the grind
ing and crashing of the ice, as slab upon
slab was piled up by the mighty pres
sure from above.
/ had enough to do to soothe the
tears of poor little Mrs. Parnefl-a gen.
tie, blue-eyed little woman-who had
thanked and blessed me as her preser
yer when we met, but who now, as she
,a M tho riyar r,,shiun nva~ tho iaiNf