The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1912-02-05

~ lAGARA FALLS. n. Y, Feb. Z.
The great ice bridge that has
choked the river channel be-
tween the cataract and the up
per steel arch bridge below the falls
for the last three weeks broke from its
g sshoring at noon today and went down
Ethe river, taking with it to their death
a man and woman said to be Mr.. and
Mrs Eldridge Stanton of Toronto. Can.
and Burrell Heacock, II years old, of
Cleveland, o.
Four other persons were on the ice
at the time. but managed to get
ashore in safety.
The bridge was considered safe. For
weeks the great fields of ice had been
coming down the river. piling up
against the barrier until it was from
go to so feet thick and, under the in
s5iuence Of zero weather. the great mass
had become anchored firmly to the
sshore The jam was about 1000 feet
wide.
Hundreds Escape by Hour
For two weeks it had offered safe
passage to the hardy and today an inn
. mense crowd of excursionists came TO
view the winter wonder of the river
Had the accident happened an hour
later hundreds would have lost their
lives, for the crowd was moving into
Prospect park in the elevators that
run down the cliff for the purpose of
venturing out on the ice.
Somewhere deep in the great whirl-
pool tonight sleeps the man. partly
identified as Stanton, who twice put
aside his chances of rescue in order to
remain with his terror stricken wife
and who, in the shadow of death-just
at the break in the rapids-spurned
assistance for himself and attempted
TO bind about the woman's body a rope
dangling from the lower steel arch
bridge
The lad, Burrell Heacock, was in the
same mold. Had he not turned back
on the ice to give assistance to the
man, he. too. might have made the
shore.
On the bridge when it was torn from
a9the shore. besides these three, were
Monroe Gilbert of this city: Ignatius
. Roth of Cleveland, Heacock's compan-
e lon: William HILL an old riverman;
William Lablond, riverman, and an un-
identified Italian.
RiVermen Give Warning
Hin's shack was nearest to the
American shore. When he heard the
grinding and crushing of the ice he
ran at top speed toward the Canada n
seiore, calling TO the others to follow
him. Lablond gave them warning that
safety lay in that direction Gilbert
and the Italian followed their lead, but
the others became confused BY the
tim , they had regained their compos-
ureisthe bridge was going fast down
the river.
The man and woman started first
2 toward the Canadian shore. but they
were stopped by lane of open water.
Back they ran toward the Canadian n
side, turned about and made again for
the American side. When hardly more
than 50 yards from the rocky shore the
woman fell on her face, utterly spent.
Il can't go on. 1 can't go onw she
0Eied. Let us die herer
All the time the great field of ice
went on. breasting the terrible out
J rush of the Niagara Falls Power COM
panys tunnel outflow, the mightiest
current in all the river, without being
broken. AS the woman fell, the man
tried to get her to her feet again and
g tried to drag her along the ice. calling
for assistance to Roth and Heacock.
Heacock turned back to the couple and
helped support the woman The act
cost him his life.
Dragged From Death
Roth struggled along over the hum
mocks of ice, getting close TO the open
stretch of water at the Canadian end
of the jam. There were men on the
q blond, Hill, William Cook and Superin
tendent Harry King OF the Ontario
Power company were stationed at the
bottom of the cliff just at the foot Of
Eastwood street, Niagara Falls, Ont.
Roth was afraid to trust himself in the
icy waters.
Lablond jumped out to the field Of ice
WIFI rope anu Hdil SdiTieu, HdlI
dragged the boy ashore.
The men then made an effort to reach
the other three on the ice foe. but at
point about 600 feet below the upper
steel arch bridge the ice field broke into
two great fields. One section anchored
near the hydraulic power house.
The moving foe with the three help
less beings passed slowly down the
river
Meantime Niagara Falls fremen were
sent to the lower steel arch bridge, and
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