The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-01-10

themselves Tor their great leap. But
the more notable series Is further,
down. Below the falls the river moves
sleepily alcng for a while, but pres
emily it is compressed into a narrow
gorge through which 1t makes It's de-
scent to Lake Ontario This sudden
narrowing into defile whose bed is,
studded with rocks churns the Inn
mense volume of water into q mass Of
turbulent waves, where the main cur
rent, travelling at 80 miles an hour, Is
swung backward and forward and
from side to side like drunken thing.
These whirlpool rapids. as they are
called, empty the stream into the
whirlpool itself, from which 1t has
still to surge through the DEVILS Hole
rapids, no less triumphant. before it
once more becomes navigable near
Lewiston.
The Whirlpool rapids were safely
threaded in 1861 by the Maid of the
Mist, but the ordeal turned the cap
tain of the steamer into an old man.
Many years later a man named Perry
made the same trip in lifeboat. A
rival, R. w. Flack, challenged him to
race over the course, and lost his
life in a preliminary rehearsal. But
the most tragic story Niagara has to
tell Is that of Captain Matthew Webb
The son of an English country doc
tor, he entered the mercantile marine
as lad, but before he was thirty he
abandoned seafaring life to become
a professional swimmer. In 1876 he
swan from Dover to Calais. In 1883.
though warned that physically he was
not what he had been, he made the
desperate resolve to swim the Whirl-
pool rapids. In describing his plans
he explained that when he found the
water very bad he would go under,
and would remain under until COM
PEELED to come up for breath. He In
tended at the whirlpool to strike out
with all his strength to keep out Of
the suck hole in the center. my ufe,"
he added, will then depend upon my
muscles and my breath. with little
touch of science behind them" On
the afternoon of July "a he took the
plunge from a small boat. On enter
ing the whirlpool rapids he was al
most turned over by the force of the
water. but he recovered himself, and
in about five minutes he had trav-
ersed the mile and quarter from the
old suspension bridge to the entrance
of the whirlpool. Here he seemed for
a moment to be doing we'll Then he
80 hi. orrnc ond dioo proorod
Swimming Whirlpool Rapids.
In July. 1890. John Soules was more
fortunate than Captain Webb. for his
defeat came earlier. While he was in
the whirlpool rapids the breakers
dashed him against the rocks, and he
was washed ashore, badly bruised, be-
fore reaching the whirlpool Other
swimmers who have attempted the
massage have hesitated to trust their
nnaided strength and skill w. y.
Kendall, q Boston policeman. got
through in 1886. but he wore q cork
vest. He reported at the end Of his
tourney that he had found his swim
ming abilities useless. The current
took him into its main eddy and
sucked him down Hike a fash. When
he reached the spot where Webb lost
his life the water went from under
him and wave knocked him uncon-
acious. He was seen to be shot out
from the pool so feet from the center.
On regaining consciousness he swan
ashore. thus avoiding being dashed
down the devils hole rapids. On Sep
temper Z, 1889. Steven Brodie. who
some time before had jumped brook
lvn bridge, descended the falls them
selves. clad In an india rubber suit
surrounded with steel bands and
thickly padded. About week later
another adventurer, Walter CampDeus
80 : cork Jacket, eQualled Ken
dsll,a feat. and even excelled It. for
- made his way as far down .
Lewiston. 4,