Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1914-11-13

Ielllng tales of adventure exper-
fenced in taking the widest boat ride
in America and of miraculous escapes
from being dashed to death on the
treacherous rocks as their barge
twisted and turned and shot through
the cataracts and seething torrents
OF the lower Salmon river, number
of Idaho nimrods have arrived in
Butte for a visit with Montana
friends while enroute to their homes.
The party is the first that ever risk
ed the dangerous trip on what is said
to be the wickedest water in Amer
ica," solely for the outing and pleas
ure and to hunt wild game in the re-
mote section of central Idaho. Not
more than a half dozen men have
made the deathdefying journey be-
fore them.
Those who composed this adven-
turous party are DIR. w. B. Hart,
Carl Clark, w. K. Harwon, Ray Irv-
in, Martin Mulkey and Grover Brodt.
Most Of the men reside at Salmon
city and are now engaged il busin IS
there. They are enthusiastic s orts-
men and each year make extended
trips into the hills in search of big
game. Clark, who is manager of a
hardware firm in Salmon, spent sew
eral years in Alaska in the late '90s,
exploring that country with party
of United States geological survey
ors. DIR. Hart has travelled extern
sively and has hunted in all the big
game counties of the west and Can
ada, while the others also have had
considerable experience in the noun
tains. Capt. Harry Guleke, known
in Idaho as the "conqueror of the
Salmon river" and the only man
who has ever successfully pitted his
skill and strength against the sinis-
ter power of the rapids, was ir
charge of the boat, with George
Smith, another experienced river
man, at the rear sweep.
The boat in which the trip wa
made was built in Salmon. 1t was ;
fiat bottomed barge and had the ap
pearance of being a rather clums.
affair, but it is the only kind tina
can be made to ride the rough wa
ters and skim the bars and rock
that lie close to the surface. 1t wa
% feet long, feet wide and 5 fee
high, and was equipped with tw
poles or sweeps, 20 feet long and 81
inches in diameter. At the end Q
each pole plank 10 feet long wa
attached. One pole was balanced o
a pin at the front end of the bos
and the other at the rear.
With camping outfit and supple
the party drifted from Salmon eli
on October 1st. The Salmon rive
flows through the longest canyon
the United States, and for about 2(
miles along its course the country
practically uninhabited. Betwet
the whirlpools below the Deadw
ters" where danger first turks, al
the ''Whiplash" rapids, the last
the treacherous deseents before t
= Salmon flows into the Snake, the
are more than 100 rapids in any o.
of which had the men at the swee
made a false move, the boat Won
have been crashed TO splinters. !
these rapids with one exception, we
successfully passed.
It was in the Black Canyon rapi
that death momentarily stared t
voyagers in the face. They VIC
drifting along the still water of
eddy into the channel. All on bos
were happy and singing Justify.
old "sniper" panning sand near
river bank heard the boisterous 50
and putting his hands to his MOI
called out:
Wait till you hit them thar riff
and yon won't feel 80 durn funn.
His prediction came true.
The current suddenly changed ;
the rumbling waters soon becam
deafening roar. The water boi
and ragged as it surged, inside
narrow walls and great rocks,
course making q sharp double t
in the shape Of large 5, where