Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-05-15
TRAGEDIES AT NIAGARA.
An Intellectual Effort 10 snatch n Man
from Death in the WhirlipS Rapids.
New York Times

New York Times
ITO think that I should have left
Niagara twenty years ago after having
been witness of two terrible TRACE
dies of the Falls, and then upon my
first visitto them in that time be there
in the midst of the excitement of the
Vedder-Pearson horror
The speaker was an old man, who
said his name was Andrew Dalrym-
pie, of Camden. He was a passenger
on an Erie railway train yesterday,
returning from visit TO Niagara
Falls, where he said lie was hickman
and guide for ten years.
Il was greatly surprised to see the
old tree trunk still rising on the
American rapids, between the small
islands Off Goat Island and the Ameri-
can shore. | guess no one remembers
when the tree lodged there, but re-
member it for thirty years, and it
never entered my mind that it could
be there yet But there it was, and
as / stood on Goat Island bridge last
week and looked down at the gnarled
trunk the thought of the earl y sum
mer morning, over twenty years ago,
when | was one of the first people at
the Falls to discover a man clinging
to the log, came back to me with a vi
witness that made me shudier No one
ever knew how lac came there or who
he was, but 1t was supposed that he
h2d been rowing across the river
somewhere above during the night be
fore, and, losing control OF his boat,
had besn swept down into the rapids,
and the boat struck the tree trunk, he
had. by some miracle, gained foot
hold upon it. News never spread so
rapidly as that of the discovery of
THIS MAN IN HIS PERILOUs SITUATION.
Word was telsgraphed at onco to
Buffalo, and a party of life-savers
came on a special train to try and res
cue the man. Before 10 o'clock thou
sands of people were gathered at every
available spot where sight of the un
fortunate man and the efforts to save
HIM could be obtained. All the rail
roads ran special trains, and people
came in conveyances of ali kinds
from the surrounding country. No
one seemed to know how to go to work,
but the chung to the tree, watching
every movement that 0as made. Of
course it was impossible to make him
hear or give him any direction. FL
nally, a life boat was attached to
cable and let down from the bridge
toward him. 1t was drawn toward
the log by ropes attached to 1t aud
handled by men on the island. The
boat was making directly for the spot,
and hope that the poor man would
soon be safely drawn ashore began to
be felt by the assembled multitude
Suddenly, however, it was caught in
a swirl of the rapids, the cable parted
Xix a kite string and the boat rushed
past the man like a flash within two
feet of him and was carried over the
Falls.
after this the lifesavers were all
at sea again. Several plans were sug-
gested, and one was adopted which it
took until late in the afternoon to
get in readiness. In all those long
hours of suspense / don't believe one
of the spectators ever moved from bis
tracks Everything else about Mia
CARA Falls was forgotten except the
terrible scene OF a fellow being hang
ing on the verge of death and patient.
ly awaiting the success or failure Of
the efforts that were being made to res
cue him.
1.-THE plan adopted was to fasten a
strong cable securely to the American
shore. attach a stanch raft to it, carry
the loose end of the cable over to the
island and let it belly down with the
raft to the tree trunk. By this means
it was hoped that the raft could be
drawn steadily to the small island be-
tween the man and Goat Island,
from which no trouble was anticipated
in taking him.
SOME FOOD AND A GLASS OF BRANDY
were placed on the raft, and ropes
were fastened to it by which the man
was to tie himself fast The raft NOV
ed down and reached the man in
safety. As he stepped upon it, dashed
himself fast, and then eagerly seized
the refreshments, such shout az
went up from the thousands of people
that had watched the proceedings
with beating hearts and bated breath,
was never heard before. 1t could be
heard above Niagara. The raft was
moved toward the island. Every
thing seemed to be working like a
charm. The tension that was put up
on the feelings of the spectators was so
great that many tainted away. / was
a strong man, but know l wept like
a child. Suddenly the raft stopped.
The cable, drawn as it was beneath
the water, caught on some obstruction.
All efforts to loosen it were unavail-
ing. One groan of agony arose from
the great crowd. Finally, the man
sprang to his feet, undid the fastenings
that held him secure on the
raft, and kneelng for momentas if
in prayer, sprang into the raging
water and pulled bravely for tho
island, but few feet way. At first
he gained visibly, and the thought
that he would be saved found utter
anee in another joyfsl shout from
the spectators. But when he was
almost within reach Of the shore his
strength began to fail, and steadily
the distance between him and
the shore increased. Then every one