The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-07-30
AThril,tng Adventure.

! YELL0WSroNE-THIRTE DAYS WITHOUT
F0OD-A REMARKABLE EPISODE.
| lChicago Times.l
| A case Of involuntary fasting, which will
excite sympathy where DR.. Tanners SELF
imposed starvation will excite only con-
tempt, is related by gentleman who ar
rived here from Montana on Yesterday. The
name OF the narrator is Louis Cohn. He is
connected with system OF post-traderships
in the northwestern territories, and visits
Chicago once year. He came here direct
from Fort Keogb, which is situated on the
Yellowstone river. Mr.. Cobn descended
the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers to Bis
marck on small steamer that had delivered
a cargo OF military supplies at Keogb.
Mr.. Cohn voucbes. for the truth OF the
story Of suffering which he relates. 1t was
by the hardest work that the steamer reach
ed It's destination at all. The "Jnne
freshet," as it is termed, was on at the time,
and the Yellowstone was swollen to burst
ing. In the g0rges, where, on account OF
the perpendicular walls Of rock-in places
THOUSAND FEET HIGH
the torrent could not spend its enormous
force in overflow, the current had appa-
rently force OF thirty miles an hour. In
one OF these chutes the heroic little steamer,
trembling and creakiDg as If ready TO burst
and fy into a million fragments, breasted
the rapids fer five hours. in which time IL
had moved up stream Just three quarters Of
a mile. Had anything happened at that
moment to deprive the pilot Of his control
OF the craft, the boat, cargo, and crew
would have been smashed against the rocks
as fly can be smashed against wall.
One evening as the boat was emerging
from one OF the narrOwest can0ns in the
river man named Richie, FrenchmaD,
who was working as rOustabout 10 pay for
his passage to the post, caught bis foot IN Il
rope, and, stumbling. pitched over the
guard into the water. lie wasn't much OF a
mariner, nor was he swimmer enough to
cope with a current as tumuluous and bar
barous as that Of the Yellowstone; so, while
as swimmer he didn't make any percepti-
BILE headway, as floater he made wonderful
time. OF course the crew made show OF
trying to
REsCUR THE POOR FRENCHMAN,
but the pilot had too fresh sense OF the
; difficulties OF navigation in that region 10
think Of dropping back down the canon after
having nearly worn out boiler and engine
in getting through it. So, in ten seconds,
more or less, the man overheard had been
swept down into the neck Of the gorge, and
soon disappeared altogether from view. The
crew said, in chorus, "PoOr fellow " and
the boat went grinding on up against the
bounding tide.
1 Thirteen days from that time, at about
the same hour in the evening, the steamer
on its return trip with light cargo OF
pelts, shot down through that same canon
at fearful rate Of speed, the current alone
without the help Of steam, carrying The
light craft with lightning-like velocity. Ir
the deepest part OF the gorge, upon pat
of beach that seemed to have been formed
r of the debris perpetually dropping from th'
E stupendous walls of granite, man wa
e espied in the attitude OF signalling the boa
to stop.
POR SIGNAL HE USED HIS FLANNEL SHIRT.
As soon as possible the boat was brought L
D. a landing near by where the man was stand
D ing.
In the mean time the stranger-no, no
stranger, for, despite his changed appear
ance, he was instantly recognized By ever.
: man OF the crew-had fallen in limps
heap upon the strip OF beach. This maj
was Richie, the rOustabOut," who, to in
: amaZement OF his rescuers, had survived
5 the dive and dash through the perilou
d canon, and by no particular effort OF III
own, had stranded OH the be2garly patci
= OF rocky beach, with terrible river on tw'
sides Of him and granite walls on the oihe
two sides. He remembered falling over
: hoard. and more ylyidly still, he remem
bered rolling up safely on the rocks, some
what bruised and with throat and nostril
gorced with water, but he could give N
idea OF the time spent in the water, nor In
number Of days that had elapsed since th
crew had cruelty abandoned him to hi
fate.
Mr. Cohn says that Riches condition wa
wretched to the last extreme. When foun
and taken aboard the boat he could not arti
culste his words intelligibly. He had take
NOTHING BUT RIVER WATER
into his stomach during the thirteen days Q
his isolation. When, under the iudiciou
application OF stimulating food, he was re
stored sufficiently to be able to converse, h
told them that his only hope had been that
steamer would come along and that he woul
be able to make himself discovered. AS tn
+ pinching pangs OF starvation increased b
would lie for hours with ear close to the wa
ter, momcntarily imagining that he cOul
hear the pulsatiOns Of a steamer breastin
and Drawing the rapids. After few day
his stomach rejected water, and, as tha
was the best and only Offering he had I
give, il was forced to feed upon itself, an
ID was doing this at ruinously rapid rat
when succor came. Richie, who apparent
ly had been man OF one hundred and sixt
pounds weight, was skeleton when res
e cued, and had not strength enough to lif
both hands TO his face at once. He said tina
several times tine, large trout disporte
themselves in the shadows at his feet, an
Z once be threw tamself sprawling into tn
water, and thrust his hands along the grav
lelIed bottem. ia the hope OF clutching on
. i,of the fish, but they eluded his desperat
Igrasp, and he wae left to the despa;ring re
lection that
=. THERE WERE MILLIONS OF FISH
within reach and not even minnow TO ea'
He xas almost hopeiess one night-a dread
fully black and tempestuous night. Th
bolt of lightning seemed TO fill the gorg
from wall 10 wall. Tie wind blew 90 har,
that the river lasbed the rocks with q fur
that terrified him, for he expected ever!
9 momeat 10 be swept from his mooring an,
|, carried out 10 certain death. lie explained
as reason for not taking TO water ant
swimming 10 a landing whence he coult
escape from the canon, that he was not Ger
tain that there was any other place near a
hand where he could effect landing at all
land prudence suggested that, inasmuch a.
he was only an awkward swimmer at best
he bad better stick TO his mooring, des
Iperafe ~ IL was.
The Frencbman was brought down the
Missouri 10 old Fort Berthold, where, IL Dis