The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-01
PLUCK SAVED HIS LIFE
An Exciting Incident of the Opening
of the Yukon
est. Louis Globe-Democrat,

tSt- Louis Globe-DemOcratl
Inc upheaval Of the ice that binds the
Yukon is always fascinating and exciting
put no greater and more spectacular scene
IN connection with the breaking has been
cnro ;cIed than that at Five Fingers
RAPIDS several days ago. The high rocky
piharS that stand as barriers at the rapids
ChOhed with Ice and cor days sustained
weight of hundreds of thousands of tons
OF Ice and blockaded water. which when
u proke. tore through the gorge with ter
TlIic force and speed of thirty miles an
hour in widest tumult.
All the rocky barriers that form the
channel and the Fingers were sustain
ing an untold weight of ice and water
gathered there as the result of the flow
OF days from the upper Yukon. The water
spread far up the stream. and threatened
70 overflow the banks. and there is no
teiIing what might have been the result
! had not the government blasted the kew
stone of ice from the lower portion and
opened the gorge.
Captain Jack Williams of the White
fass company fired the charge which
opened the jam. He was standing in
front of the Fingers and vet on a
piece OF ice when the telling shot was
fired. With unexpected stIddenness the
great mass of blocked matter forced the
situation. and Williams was sent swirl
ing down the stream before the cracking
maddeninS tumult Of escaping waters and
chaotic ice floes- Fortunately. he was
swept to the base of one of the cliffs
and there found a narrow niche in which
TO cling He seized the projectiIe wall
back turned to the bluff and facing the
wild procession of the clements he stood
IN Tear and trembling. One solid hour he
stood on that rock, the grinding crunch
ing and plunging ice went past him in
mercieSs roar.
Williams fellows had gone to the lower
end of the rapids. expecting TO see him
on some of the floes far down the stream
or, perhaps. most likely, not TO see him
at all. Walter Wensky. German consul
At Dawson. happened along at that time
"A fiRf Of
the canyon WenSky went up stream in
stead of down, and soon located him in
the niche.
The roaring of the rushing ice and
water through the rocky gorge made ii
impossible TO hear anyone speak I'm the
vicinity of where Williams stood and be
heard 1t was all men could do to hear
one another when they stood together
Ihe tremendous force OF miles of ice and
water above the Fingers was driving
the water through the gorge at the hurri-
cane speed of thirty miles an hour. It
was one wild. plunging race, of which
Consul Wensky says:
Never in my life had seen such 4
spectacle of grandeur, such a masnifi-
cent demonstration of natures physical
/ forces exerting their awful power. II
ever there was a scene awe-inspiring in
its effect on man. this was one.
There being no time 20 lose in an ef-
fort to save Williams. We rushed ND the
river, and after travelling some distance
came TO where we could shout across 10
a wood camp man named Ebo was
there. and he heard US. We told him OF
the predicament and he took a rope and
went TO the rescue The line was made
fast and propped fifty feet over the bluff
II fell within the reach of Williams and
he seized it A few seconds later he was
dangling from the line and swinging in
nid-air as he desperately fought and
climbed for life. The struggle did not last
long. Muscular and active that he was
Williams soon scaled the cliff and was
safe
The intensity of that grand escaping
flood and jam thrills me yet The ice
was four hours passing through the gorge.
1t was swollen to fifteen feet above the
normal level of the river as il made its
escape. and went on plunging and grind
ing with the fury of 4 monster Far
below the apids the river travels at
great speed. cutting away in the distance
around bends of the stream with the
white-mailed turbulent crest as far as
the eye can reach. running until finally
worn out and exhausted miles away