Orange County observer., 1899-03-09
TALES OF PLUCK
AND ADVENTURE.
100000 .s:s s..aosssas .ssss<
Rode Down the klondike Rapids.

Rode Down the klondike Rapids.
Miss Laura Evans, of Oswego. has
performed the feat of riding the ter
riole White Horse Rapids. between
Dawson City ani Bennett, IN the kion-
dixie country. She Is IN Portland.
AMI IN speaking OF her perilous trip.
said:
The day before I Shot the rapids
eight boats hal been wrecked, and IN
a number Of these cases 1t had been
blamed entirely on the women. be-
cause they got excited, made the men
nervous who were rowing. 50 that they
lost control Of the boat Colonel
Steele. head OF the mounted police,
therefore made rule that no more
women or children should 20 through.
They must g around by land. Is most
of the people had been doing right
straight along on account OF the great
peril Of the trip.
This new rule was made tae day |
arrived there OF mv trip 10 Dawson
from Bennett When / heard of ii |
told the Indian pilot to bring the boat
| down and land where there was n big
eddy. this srie Of Miles Canon. tie
| tied the boat there, as / had directed
| him to do, and watched my chance
from the brush. When there was 30
one looking l jumped into the boat,
and, though the Canadian police are
mighty clever, they are not clever
enough 10 stop boat after IT is once
started TO 90 over the falls Besides
myself there We're two men. to row and
the Indian pilot.
1T would be long story to tell OF
my sensations during the next fifteen
or twenty minutes, said Miss Evans,
and her black eyes twinkled with
| laughter at the remembrance. After
the boat was united il noated along
smoothly: then all al once it was
snatched from that eddy as though It
| had been shot from a cannon. The
water seemed to be going up and the
sky seemed to be coming down. We
We're dashed from enc side to the other
). against the rocks This was Miles
Canon, and it took us two OF three
minutes to so through It, distance
| OF n mile.
''After another smooth eddy. We
were again snatchod up III the sans
way as before, the pilot working over
his oors like 4 snake This Is what
made one nervous, for 1t looked rs
though he had lost control Of his boat
''TLen, after passing this secont
canon, We struck the qreerest place
bobbiug up and down and rolling oven
sideways, until it seemed as though
we would all turn a somersault. Thi:
was Squaw Rapids, the most danger
ous place in the White Horse, fo1
there were loose boulders on the bot
tom, which keep turning over, so tha
if they are safe one day they are no
the next TEo pilot never know'
whether he is going to get through
alive or not.
"When we passed tl.ese rapids the
pilot told us to look at the White
| Horse. Sure enough. there seemed t
| be ahead Of US whole herd of whit
| horses, their tails and names all flying
AS we started to go through them th
boat tossed and tumbled every way
the waves washed over US, we wer
drenched, the boat half filled wit
water Suddenly the Indian thre,
down his oars and shouted: Loo
out
The men rowing, when they hear
this, threw down their oars and gay
up completely. One Of them crawle
under the seat.
But this, it seems, was only a jok
on the part Of the Indian, wno, lik
all Indians, had queer idea Of humol
He knew that if the boat vas ono
started all right over the rapids
would come through safely. He tax,
pride in telling that | sat perfect
still. The fact IS, was wonderin
just when the wreck would take place.