The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-01-23
A PERILOUS FEAT.
A Daring Trip Down the Lachine
Rapids in Winter.
Laohiue Special to Chicago Tribun Q.

To shoot the Lachine Rapids in the st.
Lawrence River in fiat boat is no trifiing
matter and live TO tell about il afterward,
but to shoot these wOrld-famOus rapids In
the middle of winter with the boiling tenn
pestuous waters filed with large cakes OF ice
and drftlgood is still more hazardous.
Yet 'Big John" the Caughnawaga Indian,
has for the last fourteen years, on every
New Years day. made this DerilOus trip.
Peculiar as 1t may seem. Big John has
always taken some one with him on these
trips. This year he made the same danger
Gus shoot, but it will be his last. On the
morning Of the 1st of the year Big john.
who lives down the river from Lachine,
came up to the village to see if any one had
come up from Montreal to accompany HIM
He fOunG two young men, utter strangers
TO him aud to each other. one, George
Wait, was from Montreal, while the other.
Frederick GOyer. came from back cOuntre.
The men walked down to Big Johns
house, distance of three miles. Here they
launched their boat, and the party was in
creased by one more. Big Johns son Mnr-
ray. 1t took only half an hour to work out
through the ice AMI heavy water 10 reach
the ton f the rapids. As the boat APP
preached them Big John stood mp In the
stern with his long paddle IN his hand,
ready for the shoot Rocks glistenet on all
sides with their lev coats, huge waves
dashed high, eapPd over the fTail boat,
and threatened to swamp her. Cover was
| kept busy bailng out with Wait, while
Murray Obeyed the commands OF his father.
Dover describes the passage as follows;
From the time we struck the rapids IN
TIL we reached the lower end of them, John
seemed a being inspired. His eyes were
fairly glstening and shooting fire. l
thought they would leap from their sockets
with the tremendous excitement His long,
thin paddle " ould sweep the air like flash
and be buried in the fOamiBg water, swing
ing the boat hither and IhitheT, avoiding
this jutting rock and then that one. A con-
tnuOus stream Of commands in French
flowed from his lips to his son Murray. who
was nearly the equal of his father in dexter
ity Now and then he directed me IN broken
| English to do something. He was picture
that no artist would ever forget and that
would haunt him until he had produced 1t
on canvas"
The trip was one of excitement and peril
from beginning TO end, the boat passing
from one rapid to another in succession III
filed continually with water, ana kept W ait
and Cover busy hailiug. When they reached
the whirlpool, the last and most dangerous
spot, Big John gave his tinal command, and
1t came near also being his last on earth. lie
shouted 10 Murray, the boy, to paddle n3Td,
and as the lad shifted his position to take
longer and stronger stroke he lost his bal
apce and fell over on his back in the bottom
OF the boat. The mighty Indian. quick as
a wink, threw himself down fiat in the boat.
and thus saved II from being capslZed the
heavy waves throwing twenty buckets OF
water all over the party. Big John
was up again in a second, aud with two or
three powerful strokes he spun the boat
around and sent her nose straight into the
waves again. The whole incident did not
occupy more than six seconds, and then we
| shot down into the home channel iu a few
seconds more. Big John threw his paddle
into the bottom Of the boat and, almost eX-
| hauSted from the violent eXertiOn and eX-
| cltement, sank down onto the stern sheets.
All danger was passed, but he fully real
ized what a close shave Ihe party had had,
as he pointed back AT the whirlpool and
said, "Je croyaiS qu'0n ailait au cIel tout
rond," which was translated, 81 thought
we were going to heaven. boat and all"
the boat was pulled out at Jacques Car
tiers landing by willing hands Big John
gave G0yer his paddle as a reminder Of the
trip, and announced that that was the last
time he v ould ever shoot the Lachine Rap
ids in winter.