Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-04-26

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This was even harder work than the
other, for they had not the floating
power Of water to help them in the
lifting. AS usual, part Of the men
worked below. part above.
SsunHy Powers, curly haired, laugh
Ing faced, was irrepressible. He bad
gered the others until they threw bark
at him and menaced him with their
peaveys. Always he had at his tongues
end the proper quip for the occasion,
SO that in the long run the work was
lightened by him. When the men stop
ped to think at all they thought Of
Jimmy Powers with very kindly hearts,
for it was known that he had had more
trouble than most and that coin was
not made too small for him to divide
with q needy comrade.
Thorpe approved thoroughly of Jim
my Powers. He thought him a good
influence. He told Wallace so, stand
ing among the spectators on the cliff
top.
He is all right" said Thorpe. 81
wish l had more like him. The others
are good boys too
Five men were at the moment tug
ging futile!y at a reluctant timber.
/ They were attempting to roll one end
of it over the side of another projecting
log, but were continually foiled, because
the other end was damned fast. Each
bent his knees, inserting his shoulders
under the projecting peavey stock, to
Strengthen in mighty effort.
1t was fine spring day, clear eyed
and crisp, with hint of new foliage in
the thick buds of the trees. The air
was SO pellucid that one distinguished
without difficulty the straight entrance
to the gorge. a mile away, and even the
West Bend fully five miles distant.
Jimmy Powers took off his cap and
wiped his forehead.
"You boys" he remarked politely,
"think you are boring with a mighty
big auger."
"My Cod" screamed one of the spec
tators on top Of the cliff.
| At the same instant Wallace Carpen-
ter seized his friends arm and pointed.
Down the bed Of the stream from the
upper bend rushed solid wall Of wa
ter several feet high. 1t flung itself
forward with the headlong impetus of
a cascade. Even in the short interval
between the visitors exclamation and
Carpenters rapid gesture it had doomed
In sight, twisted a dozen trees from the
| river bank and foamed into the en-
tranceo of the gorge. An instant later it
collided with the tail of the jam.
Even In the railroad rush Of those
few moments several things happened.
Thorpe leaped for rope. The crew
working on top Of the dam ducked
instinctively to right and left and be-
gan to scramble toward safety. The
men below, at first bewildered and not
comprehending, finally understood and
ran toward the face of the jam with
the intention of clambering up it. There
could be no escape in the narrow can
yon below, the walls of which rose
sheer.
Then the food hit square. A great
sheet Of water rose like surf from the
tail of the jam; mighty cataract pour
ed down over its surface, lifting the
free logs; from either wing timbers
crunched, split, rose suddenly into
wracked prominence, twisted beyond
the semblance of themselves. Here
and there single logs were even pro-
jected bodily upward, as an apple seed
is shot from between the thumb and
forefnger. Then the jam moved.
Scotty Parsons, Jack Hyland, Red
Jacket and the forty or fifty men had
reached the shore. By the wriggling
activity which is a river mans alone
they succeeded in pulling themselves
beyond the snap of DEATHS jaws. 1t
was narrow thing for most of them
and miracle for some
Jimmy Powers, Archie Harris, Long
Pine Jim, Big Nolan and Mike Mo-
loney, the brother Of Bryan, were in
worse case. They were, as has been
said, engaged in "flattening''. part Of
the jam about eight or ten rods below
the face of it. When they finally un-
derstood that the affair was one of
escape, they ran toward the jam, hop
| ing to climb out. Then the crash came
They heard the roar Of the waters, the
/ wreclling Of the timbers; they saw the
logs bulge outward in anticipation Of
the break. Immediately they turned
and fled, they knew not where.
All but Jimmy Powers. He stopped
short in his tracks and threw his bat
tered old felt hat def1antly full into the
face of the destruction hanging over
him. Then, his bright hair blowing in
| the wind of death, he turned to the
spectators standing helpless and para
lyzed forty feet above him
| 1t wnss an instant's impresson-the
arrested motion seen in the flash Of
lightning-and yet to the onlookels it
had somehow the quality of time. For
perceptible duration it seemed to them
they stared at the contrast between the
raging hell above and the yet peace
able river below.
Yet aftcrward, when they attempted
to recall definitely the impression, they
| knew it could have lasted but q frac-
ton of a second
80 long, boys!" they heard Jimmy
| Powers voice. Then the rope Thorpe
| had thrown fell across caldron of