The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-06-06
SAVED FROM
WATERY GRAVE
SMALL BOAT cAPslzED IN MIS-.
SOURI, RIVER.
DARING RESCUE PERFORMED
Three Great Falls Women Go Boating
for Pleasure and Get a
Ducking.

Great Falls, June 4.-Kittie Grady,
Lille Evans and Trixie Evans, three
women residing in Third alley south,
had as narrow escape from drowning,
shortly before 1880 last night, as will
probably be their lot in life. Had it
not been for the heroic efforts of Fred
Freeman they would undoubtedly now
be either in the Missouri river or at
the morgue.
Early in the evening the three wo-
men went to the boat house on Broad
water bay and engaged a boat for an
hours recreation. None of them were
accustomed to the water nor could
they swim.
After a time they got into the stream
where, owing to the flood of water in
the river the current is swift. Trixie,
who is almost a child and very small,
waR8at the oars, and soon the boat
became unmanagable. As it entered
therstream the girls saw it was about
tosget away from them and Lille
stood up and attempted to take the
oars from her sister. At that moment
the boat went over the old dam, south
of the railroad bridge, and was being
carried at a rapid rate toward the
piers of the structure.
Lille grabbed one of the bars and
tried to steer clear of the pier, but
her strength against the current was
not enough and the boat crashed with
great force against the abutment. Lii
lie realized that nothing could save
them and shouted to her companions
to grab to something, which they at
tempted to do as the boat overturned
and tloated bottom side up.
Kittie was thrown clear of the boat
into the water. Lille and Trixie man
aged to cling to its sides, while the
current carried all three swiftly down
mid-stream.
Several persons on the bank saw the
boat strike the pier and capsize, but
were unable to render any assistance,
as the women were fully 200 yards
from either bank.
at the time of the accident, ~happended
to be in another boat in Broadwater
bay. 300 yards from where the wo-
men were when the boat was first
picked up by the current and sent
owe the old dam. They realized the
women were in danger and started off
to render assistance.
AS the lei were going over the
dam they saw the boat in which the
women were, capsiZe. Another in
slant their own BOAT crashed into the
railroad bridge pier. Johnson, be-
lieving it was also about to capsize,
sprang to the abutment and chung
there until a passenger train went
owe the bridge Then he climbed up
and ran along the structure until he
reached the west side of the river.
Freeman stayed with the boat,
which righted itself, and, taking the
current, started in the direction the
three women were floating in the mid
die of the river. He managed to get
the oar and hurried as fast as he
could to the rescue.
All three women had hoated about
400 yards below the bridge when Free
man reached them. The Grady We
man was about SO feet from the boat
trying to swim as best she could. Free
man first made for her and, grabbing
her by the arm, pulled her into the
boat. Then he started out into the
stream where the two Evans women
were clinging to the sides of their up.
turned boat. They were also pulled
in by Freeman, after an exertion, as
once they got hold of his boat they
refused to let go or render him any as
sistance. Finally he got them in and
started for the west shore, reaching
it in safety.
The women were placed in a hack,
which had been sent over to meet
them by the police, who had been in
formed of the accident and reached
the east bank Just as the women were
being taken out. The fire department
also turned out and reached the east
bank about the same time.
At the point where the women were
upset the water is about six feet deep,
and had it not been for the presence
of Freeman on the river and his dar-
ing, they would surely have been
drowned, as they were benumbed with
cold when rescued.