The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-05-11
Men and Women Have Sought
Fame in the Awful
Rapids.
MANY DEVICES USED
Few Have Lived TO Tell OF u After a
Trip Through the Death Dealing
Waters Of the Rapids-cra.
hams Feat.

made an agreement with william J.
Glover. ST., OF baltimore. TO race
| through the Whirlpool rapids Of Nj
agars some time during the coming
summer. Glover ~ said To be Mary
lan's champion swimmer. but he has
never yet mad any experience In the
waters of the Niagara gorge. Graham
mas IN the past twenty years performed
remarkable feats there.
In 1856 he announced at Philadelphia
that he would go through the whirl-
poor rapids In barrel OF his own con-
struction. The time was three years
after Captain Webb. the English cham
pion. had gone down To- death In the
terrible currents. Graham's state
nent caused people familiar with the
Magyar river to laugh.
The steamer Maid of the Mist had
previously To ;his been the one craft
To carry human freight through the
gorge In safety, and To think that "a
man In barrel would excel the feat
OF Joel Robinson and his boat ON Jun.
8. 1861. seemed ridiculous. The con-
clusion was that the body OF dead
Philadelphia cooper would hav. To be
searched for between the rapids and
falls should Graham attempt the feat.
Said He Was Foolish.
When Graham and his barrel reached
vas Aotu AniN. FsNEI1DOuH
said he wah foolish: that he had no
Idea OF the terrific force OF the waves
that tumble between the mighy ellis
OF the nnrrowcst part OF the famous
gorge just below the great railway
bridges.
Graham looked the rapids and the
gorge over carefully and determined To
make the voyage. He selected the ar
ternoon OF Sunnay. July II. 1856. for his
nprfnffnHn A
many Of them remembering how Webb
went down to death. and expecting To
witness another and similar tragedy.
Graham was on time To the minute,
and, protected only by his barrel a
boat towed him out into the main cur
rent and set him adrift. IL was 4 SO
.. M. and eight minutes later he was In
the Whirlpool. Within two minutes
the barrel had passed out OF the pool
and en- route To Lewiston. where IL was
picked up and Graham Was found to be
alive ana uninjured.
This performance amazed everybody,
IL seemed To- belittie the power of the
great rapids aud the Whirlpool. Ele-
Nator owners, hackmen and those who
made living through the coming OF
visitors TAI see the nnstiest bit OF wa-
ter In the world" began To call for a
stoppage OF such performances I'm the
rapids. realizing that they could no
longer tell people that the waters wee
unconqucrcd. wcbbs death had
brought money tn their Golfers, for
many people lonIcd To look upon tho
waves that had beaten the life out of
EnEland's chapIhion swimmer
Makes Second Trip.
undaunted. Graham showed that he
still had his nerve by announcing a
second trip through the rapids for
HKlN IN
would keep his head out OF the barrel.
- that all who came To witness the
performance might see him. Their. was
a bigger crowd than ut the first cxhI-
billion.
II was a remarkable sight To see the
barrel boat with a human head above
u bob up and down through the waves.
One moment IL would be- high Ia the air,
the next out or sight under the foumy
wash OF the rapids.
This time Graham landed I'm the whlI-
pool on tho Canadian Sitlc - 'he stream
failing To shoot his barrel into ne cur
rents OF the outlet. In the passage
through the rapids the wave that killed
Captain Webb struck Graham "A terrific
blow on one side 81 his head. and from
that day To this he has never heard n
sound Ga that ear, Thus did the rapids
give Graham something To remember
third trip through the rapids and on
August %. 1888. he used. "a much smaller
barrel In making - fourth trip. passing
entirely through the gorge TO Lewis
ton.
Graham's performances attracted
others To- Niagara In search OF fame.
Among them were George HHzlctt. Will
Ham Potts and Sadie Allen. all barrel
uavi-ators.
E,nu, nngfn,, ,.,,. NN-uIt,,, ~,
dali. policeman. who made the swim
through the rapids wearing life pre-
server. James Scott. OF Lewiston, went
down TO death In trying To swim from
the whirlpool OF Lewiston. Charles
Alexander Percy made several boat
trips. on one az which from the pool
To Lewiston he was accompanied by
William 4. DlttriCk.
Robert William Fiacs journeycd
from Syracuse tn Niagara, bringing
with him "a boat about which he threw
much mystery. Strapped To- the seat.
he made the trip through the rapids OF
July I. 1855.
Fiaek's Boat Capsized.
The craft was Clinker shaped. and
just as Fiack was mounting the last
wave ar the rapids and WAS being shot
into the whirlpool. his boat was upset.
Suspended from the seat, held fast by
the life saving harness" he was
drowned. while hundreds stood on the
Ciifr unable To lend "a hand.
For one hour and ten minus his
body drifted about the tossing waters
or the great river pocket. until finally
his boat was caught on the Canadian
side and towcd To shore.
ON sunday. September IL. 1883. Wal
ter O.. Campbell Of Youngstown went
through the rapids IN "A small boat. lie
was thrown out and forced To battle
for life with the waves. but he landed
ln the whirlpool. His dog companion
was lost.
Next came John Lincoln Soulc.,. who
was unable To get into the main cur
rent and landed on the rocks on the
Canadian side with an injured leg.
For ten years the waters Of the rap
ids knew no seekers after fame. until
on June >. 1900 Peter Nisscn OF Chi
Dago made the trip seated In the open
cockpit OF q boat he had made. This
again turned attention To the rapids
and on September :, 1901, Graham
swan from the whirlpool To- Lewiston.
Miss wiItiard's Death.