The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-25

IL you go, ne SAID.
i then found out, much to my sur
prise, that there is law up there pro-
hibiting women from going through the
rapids. This, of course, made me want
to go all the more.
There were about twenty-five women
in the camp just above the canyon and
all begged and pleaded with me not to
go through the rapids Some of them
shed tears, so earnest were they in
their entreaties. But / was determined
that If the rest of the party and the
boats went through the rapids L would
go too
But 1 was determined to go through
the rapids.
Again 1 resorted to my disguise, but
l guess the old man saw through 1t all
right enough.
Il put on suit of slickers and pulled
my hat down over my eyes. OF course
my husband and the boys knew me and
gave me seat in front. AS the boats
are only allowed to carry so many l
had to do my share of the work. This
was padding of the hardest kind.
Padding for life in fact.
I'VE all crowded into the boat and
several men on shore held the sides
until just the right sweep of current
came along. Then they gave us a
shove and off we went, like a streak
of lightning it seemed to me.
Before we started it was only nat
ural that l should have considered
what | was about to undertake. I
spent hours picturing to myself what
l would have to pass through. / made
the ordeal as bad as l could possibly
conceive it. But the actual trip was
not in the least as l had pictured it.
Where 1 had pictured wildly swirling
eddies we found a maelstrom.
From the instant our boat left the
CHI + hn6 OBJ 70 oil ~
hind me. In some way l realized that
there was no turning back. No earth
ly power could help me now We must
go through the canyon or die In the at
tempt.
Then the thought came to me that
perhaps 1 was on the brink of the
grave. For aught | knew two minutes
hence 1 would be lying drowned and
bruised beyond recognition on the
rocks at the foot of the falls. My
hand trembled. l almost dropped the
paddle. The sight of the seething wa
tiers frightened me.
Suddenly the boat seemed to give
leap and an enormous black cloud
glided past me. A dash of icy water
flew in my face. A deafening roar as
of distant thunder filled my ears. The
air seemed to grow darker. We were
in the canyon and must fight for our
lives.
Somehow this thought that we could
fight gave me strength. l forgot my
fears as soon as l realized that it all
depended on ourselves. If we handled
the boat properly and steered clear of
the rocks we would come out all right
But a single misstroke of the paddles
or an inStant's lack of vigilance meant
death.
Then 1 began to paddle for dear
life, and began to realize what was
|
canyon walls sliding backward as If
some mighty hand were pulling them.
What progress we were making made
no impression on me. l devoted my
self to padding the boat clear of the
rocks and keeping to my seat.
1--WE were pitched around in a dozen
different directions at the same time, it
seemed to me. Now we went up, now
down and then we swung sidewise, and
it took all our strength to keep the
boat under control. Water came
aboard in bucketfuls. In spite of my
oilskin suit I was drenched, but the
great exertion kept me from feeling
cold.
Once we saw patch of smooth
looking water and instinctively 1 felt
as if we must glide through it as slick
as could be.
But this was the worst part of the
trip. Before l realized 1t there came
an awful bump. The boat lifted up
on one side and the waters churned
and foamed around the other. We were
on rock
Push her off. quick! yelled one of
the boys behind me.
Just how I did it 1 don't know, but
I got my paddle in just the right place
and with all my strength pushed our
boat clear. But we were sidewise in
the stream and just ahead a wave
rolled about five feet high. If we
didn't strike it bow on we were
doomed.
ooh. how hard I worked. 1 padded
until my arms were sore and my hands
blistered. But we struck the wave
just right and instantly were raised
down, down. 1t seemed as if we were
going into the bowels of the earth
almost lost my breath and sick feel
ing came over me.
with a mighty struggle I overcame
this and got to work asain. Now we
struck place where the current
seemed to come from the bottom with
boiling motion. We were surround
ed by foam and had to paddle for our
lives. 1t was scarcely possible to
keep our boat head on.
"Then / began to feel tired. It
seemed to me as if we had been in that
seething swirl of waters for a liretime.
mao no lOea OF Wnere we were or how
near we were getting to the end. Then
/ reconciled myself to go on padding
for ever and ever.
Suddenly the motion seemed to
cease, and In a moment there came a
grating sound. What was that?' I
asked myself.
But before / could find out 1 heard
the sound of rifle and a mighty cheer
from a multitude of people standing
near by.
81 looked back in the boat and saw
J. with his watch in his hand.
"'How long were we?' some one
asked; and his voice seemed to come
from far off
GA minute and forty-five seconds"
J. answered, and I knew that we had
made the trip In safety.
''Then I was happy. I was glad that
I had made the trip. / wouldn't have
missed it for thousand dollars But