The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-04-26

the open lake. Bat tsss precaution came
too ~late--too late!
For one moment he held his own
against the current, advancing not an
inch, Notwithstanding his desperate
strokes, and then suddenly. Quicker than
eye could follow or pen could describe,
he was seized in the grasp Of d giant
hand. resistless in its might. and whirled
away like Il shaft from the bow.
Down, down! he went, along the speed
ing waters, smooth as glass. into the vor-
tex of the whirlpool, where they writhed
and Missed and Numbered ON the jagged
rocks. A single cry escaped him-a cry
that rolled from shore to shore and died
in quavering, echoes high among the
mountain gorges. Then he ceased to
struggle. and his head fell Imply back as
the mist closed round his sinking form.
May / never feel again the agony of inn
potent helplessness / endured that mo-
ment! My friend, the schoolmate of my
boyhood, the beloved companion of my
later years, rushing to a horrible death
before my eyes and I unable to stretch
out a helping hand. Was there no escape
mo help?
All, yes, brave John noble heart of oak!
As l sit here calmly writing in my study,
how ! long to grasp again that sturdy
hand that may meet mine no more!
He had seen the c~olonel's peril as l
gave my warning cry, and in the mo
ment of my confusion had time to grasp
the situation and discern with unerring
Judgment. the only possible mode of res
cue. A man born and bred to the sud-
den dangers of the wilderness acts with
almost instructive precision, while others
stand helplessly by. And so, even as |
watched with anguished heart the strug-
giles Of my friend, he had sped from my
side, casting away his gun as he went.
He reached the brink of the rapids and
paused. One hasty glance at the %coloners
body, borne on the crest of the speeding
current-one swift scrutiny of the furious
waters that seethed and boiled before
him-and then he gathered himself like
q panther about to spring.
I watched him, spellbound, fascinated
by the noble daring Of the deed he o N
templated. Full 10 feet from the shore
in midstream rose a large rock of rugged
granite, against which the angry waters
roared in impotent fury, and toward this
grim buttress the ~colonel's helpless body
was hurrying head foremost. He must
reach that rock before the drowning man
OF all was lost.
Il seconds pause, during which these
objects flashed before me like a vision,
and then John made the effort. Like a
panther he had crouched, like a panther
he sprung, and as his lean body shot out
over the waters my prayers went with
him. Would he make it? Yes, thank
Godi He cleared the rapids and gained
q foothold ON the slippery rock, clutch
ing it with both hands as he landed.
There was not an instant's pause.
With the agility Of q cat he swung round
the crag just as my friend shot toward
him. / saw him make a desperate clutch
saw q brief struggle in the mist and
turmoil-and the next ] was aware a
limp form lay upon the rock beside him.
How human strength could overcome
the momentum of that furious eddy is
more than can realize, but John was
more than human-he was q man of
iron.
Then / bestirred myself. and under the
Indians calm directions we got the colo
neI's unconscious form ashore by means
of ropes, which we always carried with
MS. John followed next, clinging to the
cord I had attached to a point of rock.
r~V 81 q . n y 4ZL-L q - rs-1A- 2 49,