Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-06-10
PERIlS AT NIAGARA.
Some of the Fatalities and Narrow Es.
capes and the Great Falls.


Of accidents at Niagara some very
strange ones are recorded. One lady
stopped for a cup of water, lost her bal
ance and was out of reach and over the
falls almost before her amazed husband
knew what happened.
Another lady stopped to pick flower on
the brink of the Table Rock. She was
taken up dead from the rocks below,
Perhaps the most dramatic accident was
the following: A playful young man
caught up charming child who was
watching the tumbling waves Now,
Lizzie, am going to throw you into the
water" he said, and swung her back and
forth.
She screamed, struggled and slipped
from his hands He gazed after her real
lied what he had done and leaped. Rescue
was hopeless. Perhaps he did not deserve
death, and at least censure may die with
him.
OF escapes, there are one or two narrow
ones almost beyond belief, and which in
wolves skill and bravery we'll worth telling.
Not many years ago painter was at wCrk
on Second Sisters island, when he fell into
the water
He was old and weak, and while his posi-
ton was not very dangerous at first. he
soon fioated down and toward midstream.
when, Just as he seemed lowering on the
brink and exactly forty feet from it, if cen
temporary records are to be believed, ne
caught on a rock.
How long would his muscles endure the
strain? And who would rescue Lel, and
how? The crowd was helpless Until a
guide appeared with a coil of rope. One
end he left in trusty hands, and with the
other he plunged into the boiling tide.
When he reached the poor painter the
old man still held in his hand the putty
knife with which he was working He
shifted the knife to his pocket, tied the
painter to the rope, and they reached the
shore safely.
In another case a boatman was crossing
the river above the falls, when a fog sud
denly came on. He lost his bearings, and
knew he was drifting to death.
His cries alarmed the village, and bells
were rung for him to run toward them.
Then an oar broke. His only hope then
lay in paltry little anchor and a common
rope, which was very thin and moreover
much worn.
He examined every foot, nay, every inch
of it; he tUgged at the knots at each end.
Time was precious, but he could not afford
to make mistake. Then he threw It
over.
1t bumped along the stones, and his
heart beat each time it failed to catch
grip. At last it caught and brought the
boat up standing, while the tense string
throbbed like the bass gut of harp as the
water rushed by it.
For the moment it held. How soon
would it part? He shrank from feeling
along the strands. He was more afraid
not to. lest he should read his fate in the
Irvine, tense and twanging under the cur
rent.
Inch by inch his fingers travelled to his
arms length. So long as it held there he
was safe. Time and time again through
the long night he did this, but never. he
said, without heart like lead and hands
quivering like a leaf. When morning
dawned, as at last it did, he was easily
saved.
In another case the danger to life, though
considerable, was not imminent. A tug
was towing three scows, when one went
adrift. With admirable promptness and
address the captain of the tug cut loose
the rest of his tow and steamed ahead of
the drifting barge
There he held it by steam power and
when the others came along a line was
passed, the throttle was thrown open and
1t was sought to make way up stream.
But they had drifted fairly within the
grasp of the spirit of the waters, and for
a time it seemed as if he would not let 90
his own. Finally a foot was gained, and
in few seconds another, and then the tug
of war was virtually over.
An escape of another sort was that of a
murderer. The sheriff was behind him,
the river in front, and only the wires of the
old bridge at Lewiston to help across.
Hand over hand he began the passage.
His hands quickly blistered, and then
they bled. Again and again he rested his
arms by hanging by his legs. At last he
reached the opposite bank and lay painting
for an hour before he continued his flight.
The feat was certainly remarkable one
for an ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Commercial
Gazette.