The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-12-29
HELD BY 4 WATER WITCH.
"A Young Western Hunters Thrilling
Adventure at tho Provo
River, Utah.
His Hard Struggle For Life In q
Swift Flowing
Stream.
W%E EgNT#S@%&I
Grasps and Destroys Ita
Many Victims.

W. y = - III ANA - @WesSA -
when 1 was in Utah. remarked ono Of 4
party Of young men who were seated
around q small table the other evening (no
matter whsre), one Of them being a repre-
sentative OF the New York Times, telling
tales Of adventure by land and sea. In re-
Spouse to the general demand the speaker
told this story:
I'm the month of July, q few years ago. l
camped with a party from Salt Lake City
on the banks Of the Provo river. The
Provo. as we used to say at school, rises
amid the snow-clad peaks of the Wasatch
mountains, flows south and empties into
Utah lake. The track Of a deer discovered
one morning within the borders Of the camp
caused some excitement among ug.
9TH next day Mr.. +. and I shouldered
our guns and went out to shoot the invader.
We crossed the river by I bridge q few
miles below camp and climbed a bold
mountain wall. Al the end Of a long tramp
I found myself on the opposite bank OF the
river, about half a mile above Dull camp. |
was alone, having separated from my COM
panions early in the hunt. ] was in a dis
gustod frame Of mind. ! had started the
deer, had IN excellent shot and = touch Of
tDUGA ACvOEy 0AuAOAkA "a NS~A Wac y ~
and had missed.
1.-The way I had come looked long and
hard, and I resolved to ford the river. At
the time it was ut full bank, deep and swift.
/ crossed one arm Of the stream to a large
island without difficulty, the water not
coming above my knees. From this island
the other branch of tho river looked more
uncertain. The water was certainly waist
deep, and the current was swift. ] noticed
that at the lower end of the island, whor
the two currents Joined again. the waters
foamed up three or four feet high, as if
was a dense growth Of willow bushes. with
long. dropping stems which reached out
over the river, some of the tops reaching
the water.
Though no hunter, I am a good swim
mer, and have always been accustomed to
any personal danger in crossing a stream
not more than twenty yards wide never en-
tered my mind. I thought ! might posi-
bly, drop the gun, and was quite certain to
ruin a box of cartridges / carried IN my
pocket. These considerations alone made
me give any attention to the lay OF tho .
and the course OF the currents.
II entered the water and advanced
toward the opposite bank, holding the CUR
in one hand and high, II was deeper than
/ thought, the water coming quite up to my
shoulders. was about to reach for a of
the bending willow stems whom l made q
misstop and was swept off my feet, the cur
rent carrying me swiftly to the center of
the foaminR water at the end Of the island, |
where I went to the bottom like lead. /
came up far enough to see daylight shining !
through the wateT Thsn ! went to me bot
up the second time / began to spin around
like a top, IN. w".g ~N ". |
sThen I realized that I was in trouble. 1
dropped the gun, and, with the aid Of both
arms, brought nay head above water and
clear Of the whirlpool. ! was gasping for
taken in any water. and although much
e. haugted from the pounding / had re-
ceived by the feroo current, / was con-
graduating myself on my escape, when,
floating easy, with both arms free, I felt
myself slowly but surely going under
again.
.Then something like terror seized me.
I thought my last moments of life had
come. Luckily, there came with this
thought the resolve Of a desperate man to
die by inches and to cling to life until the
last ! Isl. gasp p. Tn o. was hs,a = great san, impulse at
clip of a Mormon farmers hnyrake
in the field on the other side Of the river
and his chirp to his horse. But I
knew in that awful moment that the
call for help was only TO waste the breath
l had resolved to husband. I felt my
strength going rs you can feel a pair of
reins slip through your hands. Every few
feet, slowly but surely, ! would go under.
Then, by desperate exertions of my arms,
] would bring my nose and mouth above
the water again. The river swept mo under
a bunch Of those long, graceful willow
branches, but again | was steady enough
to catch hold of them. I knew that to
do so was to waste my efforts for life in
vain. They were slippery, they were small,
and would not hold me.
''At such a time ones thoughts travel
faster than light. I have heard It said that
drowning is an easy death to die. It did
present that phase to me. In going 100
yards, in spite Of every effort ON my part. 1
vent under several times, but never to tho
''As I was shot along out of reach of the
willows, l saw an old log lying half on the
bank and half in the water. My hopes rose
again and l thought I should certainly save
myself there. Az / came to it / went under
AGAIN and the current swept me up against
it full length. I tried to grasp it, but it
Shiny and / could not hold to it, and l
q bend round a little point there, and
10 I rounded it. not six feet before me a
willow root as thick as my wrist elbowed
out over the water directly in my path and
caught it with both hands.
II doubt il even then l could have drawn
myself out, ! was so nearly used mp; but
10 my legs Strengthened out before the force
OF the current my feet struck against an
,ther root. / caught my wind in q few
and then crawled mp on the bank,
was safe out Of the embrace OF the water