Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-12-24

was half over every one Of Us Of the
feminine. persuagion voted Denton Dar-
win an absolute necessity Ia all future
picnic. boating or woodlawn excur-
sions.
by the merest accident about an
hour previous TO the time fixed for our
return home, five Of us-C Charles Mon
tain, Denton Darwin, Philip Fallonsby.
Mary Watson and myself-met near
where our little feet lay moored TO the
river bank; and at some ones sugges-
ton 1t was resolved that In one OF the
boats we should make an excursion
around the foot OF the island, and, pull
ing up In the eddy on the opposite shore
join the remainder Of our party, WHO
had improvised an extempore bush
concert near the bank on that side.
Entering a light skiff, the smallest
OF the feet, we set out on our minia-
ture voyage, and with Fallonsby, who
was an expert waterman, at the oars,
we went gliding down the swift current
as gracefully and feet as the startled
swan.
1--WE were in mid-channel, and almost
down 10 the foot of the island, when
our oarsman. by a sudden Overstrain OF
his left-hand oar In bringing the. bow
OF the boat round toward the island,
snapped the treacherous blade short
off in the row-lock. The mishap sent
Fallonsby sprawling backwards into
the bottom of the boat and in his tum-
bic he lost overheard the remaining
oar, which in n moment drifted beyond
our reach, and there we We're, helpless,
drifting at the mercy of the current
each moment becoming more power
ful-rlght down toward the Fairfield
dam, over which the river dashed in n
foaming cataract, and where escape
from destruction would be miracle.
For the space Oft might have been
thirty seconds, all remained quiet aud
hreathless with establishment, and ter
ror. The silence was as profound as
that of the tomb, and the frail skiff was
whirled with fearful velocity toward
the yelling dam. Then a boisterous
exclamation Of JOY broke from Mon
tain:
'Fallonsby, there is chance for US.
Down yonder where you see that rock
just above water the depth is not more
thin four feet all the way across the
river. By stripping Off coats and vests.
and holding firmly to each other, we
can gain the shore by wading.'
land would you abandon these help
less girls to destruction without an eff
fort to save themy Indignantly asked
Darwin.
'Self-preservation Is the first law OF
nature replied Mountain. dashing his
coat, hat, and vest into the bottom OF
the skiff.
I'VE can only save ourselves cried
Iallonsby. And down went his coat
and panama, along with Montain's.
. go, then, cowardly wretches that
you are! exclaimed Darwin, contemp-
tuously. 1T is some relief to know thai
our last breath will not be drawn from
IN atmosphere tainted by the presence
Of such poltroons.
1.-The boat had reached the upper
edge of the belt of shallow water, AMI
without reply to Darwin's taunt, Mon
tain and Fallonsby simultaneously
leaped overheard, and grasping each,
other fiercely, began fighting their way
abOrlously towards the shore. But an
escape by fording was far more diff
cult feat to accomplish than they had
imagined: and by the time they had
reached the rock alluded to by Mon
tain, AZ which lay at about One-third
the distance from where they leaped
from the boat to the shore, they We're
both so entirely exhausted that it was
with considerable difficulty they man
aged to drag themselves out of the
water upon the fiat surface, affording
scarcely sufficient room for two per-
sons, and in no place foot above the
water.
I'm the meantime Darwin had not
cffortless resigned himself and us 20
impending fate. You would think that
under the circumstances there was
nothing that human agency coull
achieve to avert our doom. 1t was thus
that Mary and l argued ut the time;
but Darwin thought our lives worth
desperate effort, and he made it.
"A moment after Montain and Fal-
lonsby left us he was overheard also.
striving like a very Hercules for our
salvation. First he endeavored to sus-
tain the boat against tn, current by
setting his shoulder against the down.
stream side, and seeking to force it
gradually endwise towards the rock.
against the upper side of which, If he
could but gain 1t, he quietly Informed
US he could securely lodge the skiff
until some one of the other boats could
come to our rescue. Finding himself
laffied in this attempt by the force OF
the current, he dexterously whirled the
bow Of the skiff up stream. and plant
ing his feet firmly against the projec.
tons of the ledgy bottom, he sought
first to force the boat diagonally across
the stream towards the shore. In this
he for little time made some prog.
ress; but the strength of the current
was too powerful for human endur-
ance, and our brave champion was fas;
becoming exhausted. While we-poor
helpless things-all we could do was sit
there and pray God to spare so gener.
Gus and brave "a hero, even were We
ourselves doomed to perish.
Darwin glanced towards the two
men covering there on the rock, and ex-
claimed in tone eloquent in its very
bitterness:
30, IL those wretches had but re-
NAMED and coupled their strength with