, 1892-01-14
A PERILOUS VOYAGE.
A YOUNG WESTERN HUNTERS
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.

of adventure by land ana sea. IN re-
Spouse to the general demand the speak
er told this story:
I'm the month of July, a few years
ago, 1 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 now clad peaks
of the Wasatch mountains, lows 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 l shouldered
our guns and went out to shoot the in
vader. We crossed the river by a bridge
a few miles below camp and climbed a
bold mountain wall. At the end of a
long tramp l found myself on the oppo-
site bank of the river about half a mile
above our camp. l was alone, having
separated from my companion early in
the hunt. was in a Disguised frame of
mind. l had started the deer, had an
excellent shot and a touch of buck fever,
although the deer was a doe. n had
missed.
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
certainly waist deep and the current was
swift. 1 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 a
rock. On Zach bank there was a den
growth of willow bushes, with long
dropping stems which reached out over
the river, some of the tips touching the
water.
A TERRIBLE VOYAGE.
Though no hunter l am a good swim
mer, and have always been accustomed
Ia the water from boyhood. The thought.
of any personal danger in crossing a
stream not more than twenty yards wide
never entered my mind. / thought |
might possibly drop h gun, and was
quite certain to ruin a box of cartridges
/ carried in my pocket. These consid-
erations alone mad me give any atten-
ton TO the lay of the land and the course
of the currents.
Il 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
up to my shoulders. was about to reach
for one of the bending willow stems
when / made a misstep and was swept
off my feet, the current carrying me
swiftly to the center of the foaming water
mt the end of the island, where l went to
the bottom like lead. 1 came up far
,.,,ar 80 nAn In,1t-1N .Is,-,, 1.A--l,
the water when | went to the bottom
again. still had the gun. AS | came
mp the second time / began to spin lround
like a top.
Then l realized that l was in trouble.
| dropped the n and with the aid of
both arms brought my head above water
and clear of the whirlpool. l was gasp
ing for breath when l got to the air, but
| had not taken in any water, and al
though much exhausted from the pound
ing l had received by the fierce current
| was congratulating myself on
escape when, floating easy with BE- h
arms free, l felt myself slowly but surely
going under again.
Then something like terror seized me.
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 a great i'm.
pulse at first to cry out for help. Icould
neal the clip of a Mormon farmers hay
rake in the field on the other side of the
river and his chirp to his horse. But |
knew in that awful moment that the call
for help was only to waste the breath |
had resolved to husband.
THE WATER WITCH.
Il felt my strength going as you can
feel n pair of reins slip through your
hands. 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 a bunch of those long, graceful
willow branches, but again l was steady
enough not to catch hold of them.
knew that to do SO was to waste my eff
forts for life in vain. They were slip
perry, they We're small, and would no
hold me.
cat such a time ones thoughts trave
faster than light. l have heard it sale
that drowning is an easy death to die
1t did not present hat phase to me. Ii
BOlIS " NdIus, III bpllo VI oNtlg SLOi
on my part, / went under several times
but never to the bottom.
LAS l was shot along out of reach o
the willows l saw an old log lying hal
on the bank and half in the water. NJ,
hopes rose again and l thought l SHOULD
certainly save myself there. AS | cam'
TO it went under again and the curren
swept me up against it full length.
tried to grasp it, but it was Shiny and
could not hold to it, and l pushed my
self free from it. The current made
bend around a little point there, and a
l rounded it not six feet before me
willow root as thick as my wrist elbowet
out owe the water directly in my patti
and l caught it with both hands.
81 doubt if even then l could hav,
drawn myself out, l was so nearly useS
up; but as my legs Strengthened out be
fore the force of the current my fee
struck against another root. | caugh
my wind in a few minutes and the,
crawled up on the bank. / was safe GU
of the embrace of the water witch. -
New York Times