The herald., 1922-08-24
Over Niagara
In a Barrel

Ey JAMES SIMONS

Copyright, 1922, western Newspaper Union
1t was very foolish of me to have
wagered that l would so over Niagara
Falls in barrel. l can see that now.
but at the time / was Obsessed with
my determination to win the wager.
remember every detail of the start
perfectly. The banks were crowded
with spectators. There was an aero
bus flying TO and fro overhead; and
what worried me most was the roar
Of the water, and my principals per
sistent injunctions TO keep still
keep still?" l was shivering with
fear, and trying TO put bold face on
1t, but l was certainly still enough al
he strapped me into the barrel to
prevent my rolling.
Odd how | recall that barrel. IL
had seat in 1t, with a soft plush bot
tom, but 1t was so small that my head
was most uncomfortably strained
back. My principal had put some sort
of gag In my mouth, because he said
that there was danger OF my biting
my tongue.
I supposed the truth to be that he
was nervous. I can't blame him for
that It was the most fOolhardy thing
that had ever been attempted. The
spectators were absolutely silent as I
was pitched into the water over the
falls.
| The lid of the barrel had been
clamped on, and 1 was In pitch dark
ness. There was musty smell In my
nostrils, and. rather curiously, the SEN
sation was at first one Of exhilaration,
as II I were flying rather than con-
signing myself TO the turbulent, racing
waters.
Hes orr I heard those words
distinctly, as If every one of the spec
tators lining the shores had shouted In
! unison. l heard their cheers come
through my barrel Then was borne
away upon the rushing river.
I confess that then, for the first
time, fully realized the foolhardy
nature of the Job that l had under
taken. 1t was simply suicide. No
man could go over that cataract Of
boiling water and live. resigned N.Y.
self to death.
wanted to die in a less constrained
position. That was my principal
thought. / tried to free my head, but
l had been strapped as tightly as IL
In a wise. l could only wait.
The roaring of the stream grew
louder. The waves buffeted me about
from one side to the other. And ever
the stream grew swifter. Round and
round I revolved, dizzy, half-stupefied,
and still more rapidly sped toward
the brink.
Now 1 heard the furious thunder Of
the cataract. I seemed TO be poised
for an instant upon the edge Of 1t.
Then-I was tumbling, tumbling into
oblivion.
But that terrific fall seemed to last
thousand years. Down l plunged.
down, down, toward bottomless
depth that always receded as l APP
preached II. The roar Of water about
me was like thunder. tried to scream,
but my voice was as inaudible as that
Of a flittermouse in that shouting Of
the elements.
I reached the bottom. Family my
swimming senses told me that / had
survived the fall-but only to perish
in the whirlpool beneath. For now the
barrel in which I was confined was
spinning round and round with incon-
ceivable velocity, and l spun with it
like a teetOtum. My brain seemed
about to burst from it's containing
skull. My eyes were protruding from
their sockets.
And now again the distant shouts
! Of the spectators reached my ears and
seemed to blend into a single phrase:
Its all overw
1t seemed all over. The top burst
, from the barrel. Daylight streamed
in, smothered by tons Of boiling water
that filed the barrel In an instant. It
sank like stone. I flung out my arms,
gripping at empty air. gasped, took
, In q deep lungful Of air as my head
went under.
This was the end. My staring eyes
looked up through million tons OF
water. The pressure was terrific.
was no longer in the barrel, but.
, straining back, struggled in a dimly
conscious way to reach the surface.
NV face struck a black rock, and II
seemed that all my teeth were shat
tered against the jawbone. One last
/ effort-one hopeless fight for life.
threw my arms forward with all my
strength-and reached the surface.
"Ouch" said voice beside me.
opened my eyes again. The scene
, was now strangely familiar, and yet
5 utterly different. Slowly the four
: walls of a room disclosed themselves
: TO my gaze.
3 "Ouchr' said a voice again. "You
5 sure have got a punch like a mules
D kick, brother! I guess the next time
: you want a tooth extracted Wen have
to put you under prussic acidl"
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