St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-16
FIGHTING FOR LIFE.
Thrilling Experience Of q
Young Hunter Out In
Utah.
Peculiar River Phenomenon
Which Is Said Finds Many
Victims.
The Fierce Clutches Of the
water Witch" Something
to Be Dreaded.
The Scene Of the Adventure
on the River Provo, Near
Salt Lake City.

81 had an encounter with water
witch when was in Utah." remarked
one of a party OF young men who were
seated round small table the other
evening to a New York Tribune re-
porter mo matter where), telling tales
of adventure by land and sea. In re-
Spouse to the general demand the
speaker told this story;
''ln the month of July, a few years
ago, camped with 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 US.
The next day Mr.. F. and | shout
dered our guns and went out to shoot
the invader. We crossed the river by a
bridge Il few miles below camp and
climbed bold mountain wall. At the
end of long tramp l found myself on
the opposite bank of the river, about
half mile above our camp. L was
alone, having separated from my COM
panIou early in the hunt. | was in a
Disguised frame of mind. had started
the deer, had an excellent shot and a
touch OF the buck fever. although the
deer was doe, and had missed.
1.-The way had come looked long and
hard. and [ resolved to ford the river.
At the time it was at 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 the river looked
more uncertain. The water was GER
tainly waist deep and the current was
swift. | noticed that at the lower end
OF the island. where the two currents
Joined again. the water foamed up
three or four feet high, as If breaking
over rock. On each side of the bank
there was a dense growth of willow
bushes, with long, dropping stems
which reached out over the river, some
of the tips touching the water.
Though no hunter, l am good
swimmer, and have always been accuS
toned to the water from boyEood. The
thought of any personal danger i'll cross
ing a stream not more than twenty
wards wide never entered my mind. /
thought l might possibly drop the gun,
and was quite certain TO ruin box OF
cartridges 1 carried in my pocket.
These considerations alone made me
give any attention to the lay OF the land
and the course Of the currents.
II entered the water and advanced to-
ward the opposite bank, holding the gun
in one hand and high. 1t was deeper
than / thought, the water coming quite
nm TO nv shoulders. ! was about to
reach for one OF the bending willow
stems when made misstep and was
swept off my feet, the current carrying
ME swiftly to the center of the foamlng
water at the end of the island, where /
went to the bottom like lead. | came up
far enough to see daylight shining
through the water, when went TO the
bottom again. still had the gun. As
| came up the second time L began to
spin around like top.
"Then | realized that l was in trouble.
[ dropped the gun. and, with the aid of
both arms, brought my head above
water and clear OF the whirlpool. was
gaspng for breath when got to the air
but had not taken in any water. and
although much exhausted from the
pounding | had received by the fierce
current, | was cOngratulating myself
upon nv escape, when. floating easy,
with both arms free, | felt myself
slowly but surely going under again.
Then something like terror seized
me. l 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 gasp. There was great
impulse at first to cry out for help. l
could hear the clip of Mormon farm
er's hayrake in the field Oh the other
side of the river and his chirp to his
horse. But l knew in that awful mo-
ment that the call for help was only to
waste the breath l had resolved to huS-
band. l felt my strength going as you
can feel a pair of reinS slip through
your bands. Every few feet, slowly but
surely, would go under. Then, by
desperate eXertions with my arms,
would bring my nose and mouth above
the water again. The river swept me
under bunch of those long. graceful
willow branches. but again | was steady
enough not to catch hold Of them. l
forts for life in vain. They were slip
perry, they were small, and would not
hold me.
AT such time ones thoughts travel
faster than light. | have heard it said
that drowning is an easy death to die.
1t did not present that phase TO me. In
going 100 yards, In spite of every effort
on my part, | went under several times,
but never to the bottom.
LAS | was shot along out of reach of
the willows. l saw an old log lying
half on the bank aad half in the water.
My hopes rose again, and l thought L
should certainly save myself there. AS
/ came to it l went under again and a
~ 81 full
/ tried to grasp 1t. but it was Shiny and
l could not hold to it. and | pushed my
self free from it. The current made a
bend round little point here, and as l
rounded it not six feet before me will
low root as thick as my wrist elbowed
out over the water directly in my path,
and | caught it with both hands.
81 doubt if even then | could have
drawn myself out, was so nearly used
up; but as my legs Strengthened out be-
fore the force of the current, my feet
struck against another root. l caught
my wind in few minutes. ana then
crawled up on the bank. was safe out
of the embrace of the water WITCH"
The story teller explained that the
name was one applied in some parts of
the West to the undertow or undercur-
rent which prevails in some rivers Of
the Rocky mountain region when at the
flood. The theory, he said. was that in
some way it was created by the myriads
of little rivuletS which creep out from
under the snow banks,run to the mount
ain streams, and go leaping down into
the rivers in the valleys. However that
might be, it was to be found in nearly
all snOw-fed rivers, and was almost il
reSistible in it's force.
He said the Jordan river, as it flowed
by Salt Lake City, ran through a sage
brush desert almost as level as floor.
Its surface was as placid as the bosom
of a little inland lake, and vet each
summer there were many cases of