The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-08-25
THROUGH THE RAPIDS.
The Perilous Trip of Two Coopers
at Niagara Falls.

The Perilous Trip of Two Coopers
at Niagara Falls.
George Hazlett and William Potts, advent
urous Buffalo coopers, have made perilous
trip through the Whirlpool Rapids in queer,
torpedo-shaped barrel They were an hour
only going from the foot of the cataract to
the mouth of the river, distance Of eight
miles
Potts and Hazlett formerly lived in Chip
pewa, Ont, and after the people there had
admired the novel boat, it was taken In
wagon to the hank Of the river, within
few hundred feet of the Horseshoe Falls.
There it was launched, in the presence of
Hazlett's seven brothers, Potts wife,
and and large number Of spectators,
soon after 4 o'clock p. H. The craft was
built of oak slaves an inch and half thick.
1t is ten feet long, with q round PROV COW
vered with sheet iron. A keel runs the whole
length. The stern is fiat and about two feet
in diameter. A twelve-inch propeller wheel,
worked by hand inside the barrel, and
small iron rudder, worked with wires, pro-
ject from the stern. The greatest diane
ter of the craft is three feet, and the
length inside available for the occupants
is six feet, the front being headed off,
SO that if stove in by the rocks the
occupants would be safe. The turret COW
cred an opening just large enough for one
man to get into the craft at one time In it
were two thick glass bulls-eyes, and an inch
and quarter iron pipe, through which air
was taken. The whole contrivance was
bound with twenty two-inch iron bands, and
the wheel was protected by iron rods: Prepa-
rations for the trip were completed by care
fully ballasting the boat with 800 pounds Of
sand, and putting large piece of ice in it to
keep the air cool
At 4.3O Potts and Hazlett stripped, and,
putting on canvas coats and belts, jumped
into the craft and fastened themselves to the
bottom SO securely that they could not be
thrown around inside by the action Of the
waves. A small leak was stopped up. The
craft was towed out into the river by
Hamilton Hazlett, who superintended
Cooper Graham's start, and two other
men. They stayed with the craft as long as
they safely could, and cast off near the canti-
lever bridge.
At 1853 the torpedo was carried down the
surge of the first breaker and hurled stem
foremost over the swell on toward the next
big wave. The surging currents, coming to-
gether in the centre of the gorge in vortex,
turned the craft over: When she righted for
the next breaker, it was seen that
the American flag which had been fast
ened to the stern had not been torn
away. The craft dashed on in the surf being
twirled around, pitched first forward then
downward, and finally the last wave tossed it
into the whirlpool 1t had been in the rapids
a few seconds less than four minutes. The
craft was carried so near the shore in the
outer swirl of the maelstrom that Potts put
out his head and hand. They had escaped the
worst of the whirlpool, and said afterward that
they could have gone ashore. In two min
utes they were close to the second series of
rapids, and just got the opening closed as
they were caught by the waves and tossed
along. Several rocks were grazed, and the
craft got worse shaking up than before.
Some water poured through the air pipe as
they were sucked under by a swell near
DEVILS Hole, and the passage was longer and
harder, lasting sixteen minutes.
At 500 comparatively smooth water was
reached, and a fioatilla of rowboats met the
voyagers. Potts and Hazlett threw open the
manhole, climbed out on the craft, and sat
there while the boats towed them to the
landing at Queenstown, which was reached
at $50, just an hour after they had en-
barked.
In the Monumental Hotel, while the men
were dressing, they said they had experien ced
terrible shaking up, but were unhurt. The
craft was not damaged, and the flag was still
flying. The men have gone on exhibition.