The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1882-07-06
Il,
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lble III two, and the boat df=anpe

u D t iii., d!l4 LfiiS i'll t1inG arrived, noFllt
on the shoulders OF about twenty men
anA splendid boat she was-larsc bull
entirely Of sheet iron, with air fight cham
ahrs, boat that could 1of sink Size Vsls
&i:F round will, strong ropes, and Jwo nc "
tWo-incia cables brought with her. nj
this arrangement naturally took Up mHrl
tIine, and the poor Wretch 3 impotence
seemed extreme, so that it was thought atl-
yisable to let him know what was going
on. This was done By means OF a sheet,
upon Nitei1 was written in large letters in
Dutch (ilis native language ssI,he life boat
is coming lie stood up, looked inten1ly
for 4 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, 50 that tI1ev
might have some command III directing
the course Of the boat JloWn the river. She
seemed literally to dance upon the surface
Of The water like i cork. 5....-
The rapid consists Of Il Number Of small
ia!ls distributed uneyenly over all parts of
Sio river, SO that there are thousands OF
cross currents, eddies and vhirIpools.
Wiaich it would be utterly i'm possible to
avoid, and in which was the danger Of
transit for any boat between the bridge and
the log The iite-bOaI's course Was aiea1v Y
at first; She arrived at The first fall 2l,e
tTIpped UP and swung round with a rush.
but continued her course safely. only llait
hlied with water. Again she descended
with safety. but at length approaching the
log she became unmanAgcablc. swinging
either way with Immense force, spinning
completely over, and finally lasIling
against the log with such violence that [
fully expected the whole thing. man and
all, to have been dislodged and hurried
down the rapid. But, no, it stood firm
the boat had reached its destination. Yet.
alas! how useles was its position. It ay
completely onits side above the log, and
with its hollow inside directed toward the
bridge, played upon by the whole force Of
the current, which fixed it's keel firmly
against the log, It seemed imlnOYeabIe.
The man himself climbed toward it, and
i'll 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
disl0dged, and swung down the rapid up
side down, finally pitched headIong be-
1,narh an aIIv ar+ap,rl;no ana nf ;,o,. II,
bles upon the rocks, and there lying be-
meath a heavy fall Of water, unit! in the
course Of a day, one cable being broken by
the efforts Of the men to di&iodge her and
the other by the sheer force Of the current,
she went over the fals--the second sacri-
fee to the poor fellow who still clung to
the log, swayed between hope and fear.
The loss Of this boat seemed q great blow
to hin, and he appeared, as far as we could
Judge at q distance, at times to give way
to the utmost despair. 4 third boat was
now brought-Wooden, very long and fiat
| bOttomed. It's passage was most fortunate,
and as she tioated down, even alongside Of
the log without accident, hope beamed in
every countenanee, and we all felt the
man might be saved. Hope had also re-
/ vived in him. He stood for some time on
the log making signals 10 those who H.
rectea the boat.
! He eagerly seized her, drew her toward
/ him, jumped into her, and made signs to
them to draw him up. This was COM
! "a.
and it was deemed necessary to LET it loose
/ for an instant. This was done; the boat
/ fioated 4 few feet down the rapid, swung
round the lower end Of the log, entangling
the cable beneath it, and there remained
/ immoyabIy fixed. Once more the poor
\ fellows work began. He drew Oft one OF
his boots and baiied the boat, he pushed at
tile log. climbed upon it, and used every
possible eAertion to move the boat, but in
4 vain All hour was spent in these fruit
less etftorts--an hour OF terrible suspense
to a1l who beheid him. lie worked well,
for he worked for his life. Three months
after, this boat retained its position, nor
will it move until the rocks grind its cable
in two, or the waters tear il pieceneal i'll
| to shreds.
Another plan must be devised, and this,
with American promptitude, was soon
done. 4 raft OF from twenty TO thirty
feet long and five feet broad was knocked
together with amazing rapidity. Itcon-
/ sisted 81 two stout poles, made fast, i've
/ feet asunder, by mailing four or five pieces
I Of tWo-inch board at each extremity; thus
the machine consisted Of a sort Of skeleton
raft, with small stage at either end. On
#one Of these stages-that to which the ca
bles lof which there were tWol We're LASH
ed-was tightly fixed a large empty cask,
for the sake of its bouyancy, on the other
/ a complete network OF cords, to which the
man was to lash himself; also tin can Of
refreshments, he having taken nothing
since the evening before; three OF four
similar cans, by the way, had been.let
down to him already, attached to strong
pieces of new line, but the cords in every
instance had been snapped. and the food
lost.
The raft was finished, launched, and
safely Tot. down to the log. The poor fel-
low committed himself to its care, he LASH
led his legs firmly, and then signaled TO