The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-12-17
MOST THRILLING
RIVER JOURNEY
Russian Family Floated Four Hundred
Miles Down Stream During
the Cold Weather of
December.
HAD ALMOST sUCCUMBED
Finally Escaped After Trip Which
Rivals the Most Imaginative
Tales Of Adven-
ture.

ST. PAUL, Dec. 17.-Levi Frank,
his wife and nine children were
brought in an exhausted condition to
this city from point several miles
up the Mississippi river. In the big |
blizzard Of Friday night the three
open row boats in which they mad
fought their way for 400 miles down
the father of waters were stranded
on an island in midstream.
The doughty Russian braved the
crush of the river ice. endured the
privations of cold, hunger and cries
of his little children and struggled in
vain for days to swim through the
chill currents of the Mississippi from
the island on which they were ma
rooned to secure help for his 13-year-
old daughter Leila, who now lies in
the City hospital at Minneapolis with
typhoid fever.
Frank came northwest seven years
ago with his growing family to OBJ
tain free government land. He set
tied on the farthest headwaters of
Pine river, above 3rainerd. While
the timber on his claim lasted he man
aged to keep his family in fairly good
condition. but as that gradually dis
appeared the family purse grew small
er, and he determined to bring his
family to st. Paul to get work.
Transportation for his large family
would have amounted to a consider
able item, so he butt three rowboats
and loaded his family aboard them.
1--WE will go, said frank, "by river"
"At first all went well, but when we
pulled out on to Whitefish lake my
children complained of the cold. My
wife piled them in blankets in one Of
the boats, but the wind increased and
the water sprayed over the gunwales.
The cries of my suffering children
kept me awake night and day.
''The weather grew colder. Storms
visited us more frequently. In the
seven weeks of our journey the last
were the most horrible.
ice clogged the smaller streams
4 ohCil VIZ SlHCl5Cu llltO CllC lNllOoiooAPPA'
Then the intense cold made of our
boats nnwieldy islands N ice. In or
der to free the boats of their g'rdles
of ice, fought with pike pole and ak,
Twice l fell in. To preserve my
/ life my wife tied rope about my
waist. The water chilled me almost
/ to exhaustion. The cries of my chill
dren alone spurred me on.
Our provisions ran low and hunger
nearly quenched my energies. did
not eat that my babies might moi
starve. I strained my eyes south
through the river hazes of dawn. be
lieving would see at last the spires
of the cities.
Last Thursday we were only few
miles above st. Paul. We had pro
visions for day and half. We
felt relieved, thinking our trip at ar
end That night storm struck us.
Ice locked the boats. A networl
of loose log booms twisted back and
forth in the treacherous current an6
threatened to capsize us. 1t contin
ued until late Friday morning. I be
came half fish, half man. AT last
was exhausted.
my wife and Oldest daughter pull
ed me from the water. The boats
which l had been trying to keep close
in shore. drifted out into the current
They were whirled and jammed abou
until thrown upon an island.
"The storm increased and contin
ued. We dragged up the boats and al
went on short rations, except the
youngest We huddled about little
fire. Everything was wet. My daugh
ter became ill.
81 tried in vain to swim the ice
clogged river. Freeing one of th'
boats, tried to row across to thu
mainland I was too weak and saved
5 my own life with difficulty. l decided
that on the next day would cross t.
the mainland or die, and rested al
night
I'm the morning | found loos
} boom stretched across the river. Al
ter five days on the island | manag
ed to crawl across this and summon
a farmer. to whom / traded the tw'
boats for food, the rescue of my fam
lily and transportation into st. Pau,
1--WE have come to spend Christina
i with cousin. shall try by suit t
, recover damages against the boor
company"
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