The Arizona sentinel., 1895-03-09

length of time, and we had become
 very proficient in our guidance of the
 boat and manipulation of our system
 of telegraphy upon the rope, for the roar of the water and constant falls
 precluded any possibility of conversa-
 tion, even fifteen or twenty feet away.
 And now to our intense delight the canyon began to widen, and our hopes
 of getting safely through enlarged as
 the canyon opened gradually, before
 us. But as the old saying goes, "it
 is often the darkest before the dawn"
 we were destined to prove the truth
 of the adage, for as I was slowly pay
 ing out the rope under tremendous
 strain it suddenly slackened and I
 imagined my partner had secured
 himself on some boulder down stream, and was waiting for me to proceed down to him as before. However, as no preconcerted signal answered
 my pull pulled again, but nothing answered it. With forebodings of disaster l began to pull in the slack ened rope. Imagine my surprise and horror upon pulling in about 40 feet to come suddenly upon the shredded ends ot the broken rope-to say that 1 was dumb-founded would hardly express my feelings. There 1 was ,perched upon that boulder closely hemmed in by the canyon and as l supposed at the time with every
 vestlge of escape apparently cut off from me and my companion drifting away from me, no telling where with also as little chance of escape as my self. l with no possibility of retreat, and only with the chance of progress l ing in the boat above, he was little better off than I.
 My only hope was in joining him down stream. 1 took the rope be- tween my teeth and plunged into the icy water and partly swan and was partly carried by the strong current down stream Down l went some 70 | feet or more suddenly to find myself:{ dashed against the rocky side of the cliff. After many desperate efforts 1 finally caught on to a friendly point of overhanging rock and held on with all the grim determination possible, ss beyond the seething waters washed | against sharp and jagged boulders, and this would certainly have been against the very jaws of death. After recovering somewhat, I cast my eyes upward and discovered a friendly shelf of rock, almost provi- dential it seemed to me in it's position. Drawing myself laboriously upward upon this I looked immediately down stream and beheld a roaring SC ,hting ,hute of water descending at an angle of 45 degrees for a distance of 50 feet and just below it terminated n a calm placid pool, with my com oanion and the boat therein; the boat much the worse for wear After it's plunge down the rapids, one snd being entirely submerged, the compartments in the cen- ,er being all that prevented it's sink ng However it was there and se- ,urely held by my companion, who vas bailing out the water from the stern. Never before did 1 feel happier Il viewing boat than did I at this Ime. My only salvation being in 'eaching the boat 1 cast my eyes around for means to that end, and ound that the shelf of rock upon which 1 was perched wound around he cliff down stream, but with an upward trend of some 10 degrees. Following this 200 feet, I found my eff beyond this roaring chute of water, but some 60 feet above the pool in which the boat was held. With he rope of 40 feet still in my posses ion I tied a knot in it's end, and inding friendly crevicc l wedged it n position to sustain my weight and owered myself over the edge but on eaching the end I was still 20 feet .bove water, so with: Needs must when the Devll drives" 1 showed n.y. elf clear from the ledge with my feet md made drop to the pool. Com ng to the surface l swan to the boat md pulled it with my companion to a sandbar formed by the .bove. We repaired the boat in a ouple of hours and continued our 'oyage thankful for our escape.
 There was nothing worthy of
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