Daily Yellowstone journal., 1884-06-19
ON N,AGARA's BRINK.
A Philadelphia Lawyer Tells @sw
He Crept Out on N lee Prejee.

n Hotlaoelphta Lawyer Tells 0oW
He Crept Out on N lee Prejee.
Philadelphia Press
did you ever hear Of man stand.
ing on top of Niagara falls without
losing his life 2" asked Mr.. G. p. Sher.
man yesterday. Well, ! did. You have
heard of the magnificent ice bridge be.
low the falls. Having business at Buff.
falo i ran up to look at the ice gorge.
The ice, which had poured down from
the upper lakes, piled up at the foot of
the Horseshoe and froze under the
spray. clambered over the bridge,
and, going up on the Canadian
side, went down under the Horse.
shoe fall into the Cave of
the Winds. What superb stalag.
mites and stalactites of ice there
were there: reaching from roof to
floor, with the laundering curtain Of
the fall between us and the light. After
I had crossed the ri, er by the suspen-
sion bridge crossed the bridge above
the American fall to oat island, which
was covered with SNOW and deserted
The shrubbery and trees near the falls
were coated with ice. in places, on some
of the trunks, several inches in thick
ness. looking as if they had been cut
out of marble, or were the ghosts OF
dead trees. Wandering across the
island, crossed over to the Three
Sisters, and. by means OF jam of great
blocks of ice, out to the old canal-boat
past which the water was rushing
swiftly.
Going back to coat island. went
down to the foot-bridge to Terrapin
rock. where the old tower used to
stand, and out on the rock. When
got there | observed that quantity of
ice, covered with snow, had by some
means become fixed upon the project
ing rocks on the edge of the Horseshoe
fall beyond the rock where ] stood.
forming a bridge on the extreme edge
of the fall, aud about loo feet long by
perhaps ten or fifteen feet wide. In
stantly the desire to go upon this
bridge and look over the fall seized me-
| dug out stone from the snow as
heavy as could lift. and, stepping out
as far AS ! dare, threw it with all my
force upon the bridge, which stood
firm, the stone sticking fast in the
snow. Then ran back to the island
and broke off good staff, and. COM
ing back TO Terrapin rock, commenced
the rather trying journey. The snow
which covered the ice was itself covered
with thin coating of ice, which
broke beneath my feet, thus giving me
a good foothold: and as to my
head, ] was sure of that, as ] had thor
oughly tested its anti-dizziness the pre-
ceding summer on shipboard and
among the Swiss glaciers and precipices.
Prodding my staff or alpenstock heavily
into the snow before me to try the way.
1 walked out until had reached about
the middle of my ice bridge, and then l
stopped to look. The sight was the
grandest and the most awe-inspiring
| have eser beheld. As I looked mp
the river the curve on the on-coming
water seemed almost as high as my
head, and steadying my eye upon some
floating particle. the whole mass seemed
coming down upon me with an ire
sistible power that must inevitably
carry me over the brink and into
eternity, but with o swift, kissing rush,
it swept under me, leaped ont, and with
horrible roar plunged into the awful
chasin, whence huge clouds of spray,
like the smoke of its torment, ascend
ing. swept back and over me.
"Steadying myself by my staff, sank
quietly upon my knees. then stretched
myself Hat upon my stomach, and
looked down over the fall. YOu can
imagine what | saw. When the spray
would clear away, the water, rushing so
swiftly as to appear to be drawn into
lines and burrows, and, springing out
under my very face, could he seen to
fall. at first solid, greenish mass, then
broken into foam, into chaos which
the eye could not penetrate. / could
feel my bridge trembling with the rush
of the water. and realizing that any mo-
ment might see it and Inc following the
descending food, | arose, took one look
up and down-a look to last for life.
time and retraced my steps. As l
passed the rock ! hal thrown on the
bridge. ! could not resist the tempta.
ton OF dislodging il and seeing il whirl