The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-05-30
Miss Carol Lyle Tells Of Her
Terrible Experience.
Sister and Three Other Girls
Lost Their Lives.
HOW SHE WAS RESCUED
The Current Carried Her Int
Still Water.
One Legged Man Who Saved
Two Girls.

| wv
Miss Carol Lytle Of Hartford. one of
| the girls who went over the dam in the
| Neosho river in capsized launch on
| the 9Th Of this month. is visiting in To-
peka the family OF c. c. Rogan at 1912
Kansas avenue. Her parents, Mr.. and
Mrs C. Lyle, arrived yesterday and
It will be remembered that the news
paper dispatches at the time had ac-
counts Of the tragedy which told how
a party of seven girls and two boys
went out riding in a gasoline launch
that fateful night and the boat drifted
down to the swift water in front Of the
dam, capsized and the whole party was
swept into the whirlpool below the wa
terfall. Miss Lytles sister and three
Of the other girls in the party were
drowned.
| In an interview today Miss Lyle,
who is an attractive looking girl OF IA
years, told the story Of her terrible ex-
perience.
| I'VE left the house at 8 o'clock, my
sister and I and seven other girl
| friends and two boys to take boat
ride around the island in the Neosho
river which runs by our town. 1 was
| the youngest member OF the party.
The island is located some distance
| above the mill dam and it is a mile
| around this island. The course is a
favorite one with boating parties. We
passed up to the head Of the island and
started down the river on the far side.
Everything went well and I remember
| that we were having a delightful time;
Suddenly the gasoline engine refused
to work. really do not know whether
| the supply Of gasoline had been ex-
hausted or the engine was out of order.
The launch was drifting down the
river in the moonlight and we appre-
hended no danger. The boys were
swung down past the end Of the island
into the main river. We were laugh
| ing and joking the boys over their fall
ure to make the engine go. The cur
rent suddenly began to get very swift
and then we realized for the first time
| the danger of the dam and the falls
| below us. The water falls over the dam
! distance Of seven feet and 1t is TWEEN
| ty-five feet deep below the dam.
ct all happened SO quickly that
really can not tell you how felt or
what we did. The boys tried to pole
the launch ashore but could do moth
/ ing in the current. One of the boys
jumped out and tried to pull the boat
to the bank, but the effort turned the
| launch over and we were all thrown
| place was so swift that it might be
called a rapids. In second we were
swept over the dam. I remember
when fell into the water and how
| cold it was. I remember the terror
| felt and the darkness. The roar OF
the water seemed louder than thunder.
I do not know the instant went over
the dam. The water runs three feet
deem over its surface. The current
was so swift that it kept me on the
explosion, it seemed, and it threw me
out of the water. That must have
been when I went over the rails. l
went over on the north side and the
whirlpool below the dam swept me
into still water on the south bank OF
| the river. Howard Lyons, the younger
of the two boys in the party. and the
only one who could swim, rescued me
from the comparatively still water
near the bank, and also the girl who
went over the falls by my side. The
three of us were evidently caught by
| the whirlpool in such fashion that we
were thrown toward the bank. That
was all that saved our lives The
| other members Of the party were all
| carried straight down the river. Chas.
Shaw, who was passing on the bank at
the time and heard our screams,
| waded down out into the river up to
his neck and rescued two girls as they
were carried by the current. 1t was
| the bravest act I know Of. Mr.. Shaw
| can not swim and he has cork leg.
The water was up to his chin ana the
| current very strong. I do not know
how he managed to get the girls out
| of the water The other boy in the
party managed to get ashore He
could not swim, but he saved himself
NV sisters body was found at a point
half a mile below the dam.
"I do not believe I shall ever get
over that terrible experience. I must
Keen moving all the time. AS long as
am busy at work or play or in COM
pany and moving about I can ge,
along. but if sit still an instant, Guy
| or night, I go through all Of that ter
rible experience again. in my mind
The girl had tried to tell her story
quietly, but was evidently greatly ar
fected at the close of the narrative,
I,o 70