The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1881-04-07
4 WREsTlE WITn NIAGARA,


4 WRESTLE WITH NIAGARA,
I was standing about thirty or forty
yards in advance of the Clifton that is.
thirty or forty yards nearer the Horse
shoe, along the brink of the rocks, and
opposite the American fall The ground
must have been about the same height
as the opposite fall but, owing to the
immense hill down which the rapids
rush, it was possible to distinguish any
object of the size of boat considera-
BILE distance above the fall, so that, now
it was pointed out to ne, I saw, in the
middle of the rapid, huge log of wood,
the trunk Of tree, which had lodged
there some years before, and upon it o
black speck. This, after some observa-
ton, perceived to move. It was a
man. Yes; he and his two companions
had, on the previous night, been rowing
about some distance above the fall. By
some means or other they had ventured
too near the rapids, had lost all COM
mand Of their boat, and had been hur-
ried away to destruction. It was sup
posed that about half mile above the
fall the boat had upset, and, with two
vretched men still clinging to it, went
over the fall at about or 10 o'clock at
night, while the third man was driven
against this log of wood, climbed upon
it, and sat astride of it through the
darkness of the night, amid The roar,
the turmoil and the dashing spray Of
the rapids. -
I crossed the river, assembled the rock
by the railway, and hurried to the spot,
where found him so near that I could
almost distinguish his countenance. He
was then lying along the log, grasping
it with both arms, and appeared ex-
hausted to the last degree. He was evil
IDENTIFY as wet from the spray as though
he had been standing under water. By
this time people were assembling, and
different plans for his rescue were pro-
posed and discussed on all sides; already.
indeed, one effort had been made. A
small boat had been firmly dashed to a
strong cable, and dropped down to him
from the bridge, which crossed the rapid
between the mainland and Goat island.
about sixty yards above the log. =:
This boat had proceeded few yards
In safety, was upset, spun round like a
piece of cork at the end of thread by
the force of the water, which finally
snapped the cable in two, and the boat
disappeared over the fall.
But now a dispatch mad been sent to
Buffalo "a distance of little more than
20 miles) by electric telegraph, desiring
that life-boat should be sent by the
first train, $50 A. M, and this in time
arrived, borne on the shoulders of about
twenty men, and q splendid boat she
was-large, built entirely of sheet iron,
with air-tght chambers; boat that
could not sink. She was girt round with
strong ropes, and two new two-inch ca
bles brought with her. All this arrange
ment naturally took up much time, and
the poor wretch's Impotence seemed ex-
IRENE, so that it was thought advisable
to let him know what was going on.
This was done by means of sheet, upon
which was written in large letters in
Dutch (his native language) "The life
boat is coming" he stood up, looked
lntently for minute, and then nodded
his head. When the boat was at last
launched, the excitement was intense
Two cables, each held by many men,
were let down from either end of the
bridge, so that they might have some
command in directing the course of the
boat down the river. She seemed liter
ally to dance upon the surface of the
water like cork.
The rapid consists of anumber of small
falls distributed unevenly over all parts
of the river, so that there are thousands
of cross currents, eddies and whirlpools,
which it would be utterly impossible to
avoid, and in which was the danger of
transit for any boat between the bridge
and the log. The life-boat's course was
steady at first; she arrived at the
first fall she tripped up anu swing
round with a rush, but continued her
course safely, only half filed with water.
Again she descended with safety, but at
length approaching the log she became
unmanageable, swinging either way with
immense force, spinning completely over,
and finally dashing against the log with
snch violence that I fully expected the
whole thing. man and ali, to have been
dislodged and hurried down the rapid.
But, no, it stood frm-the boat had
reached its destination. Yet, alas how
useless was its position. It lay COM
pletely on its side above the log, and
with its hollow inside directed toward
the bridge, played upon by the whole
force of the current, whic.- ixed its keel
firmly against the log. It seemed immov-
able. The man himself climbed toward
it, and in vain tried to pull, lift or move
the boat; nor was it moved until, both
cables being brought to one side Of the
river by the united force of fifty or sixty
men, she was dislodged, and swung
down the rapid upside-down, finally
pitching headlong beneath an eddy, en-
tangling one Of her cables on the rocks,
and there lying beneath heavy fall of
water, until in the course of the day,
one cable being broken by the efforts Of