The Coconino sun., 1923-07-27
CARNEGIE MEDAL WON
BY COCKROFT In SAVING
EIGHT AT LEES FERRY

Bravery, GOODNESS and fast work on
the part of /. G. Cockroft, who is sta
toned at Lees Ferry for the South
ern California Edison company, is all
that saved the lives of two women,
three men and six boys when the fer
ry boat went bad as they all were
crossing the Colorado river last Mon
day evening. AS it was, they all had
a terrific struggle for life in the mud
dy, turbulent waters of the stream
and their two Studebaker ears and all
their camping and other equipment,
including most of their clothes, were
lost.
The boys, Amos Bjork, Atherton
Bean, Bob Harvey, Jack Harvey and
Reginald Fraser, all of Minneapolis,
Mimi, range in age from IL to II. All
are Boy Scouts except Jack Harvey,
the youngest.
They are in charge of ]. ]. Kovarik
and ]. M. BouZek, both of Moosejaw,
Saskatchewan, Canada, and had been
out for three weeks sightseeing and
getting experience. They came down
from Salt Lake City to Lees Ferry
on their way to Flagstaff. They
reached Flagstaff last Friday, but
only after getting more exper-
ience at Lees Ferry than they ever in
their most vivid dreams anticipated.
The river is high. 1t is swift at
Lees Ferry, though not nearly SO bad
as few miles farther down. They
drove their cars on the ferry boat. O.
r. Clarke, the ferryman, started
across with them, at o'clock Monday
afternoon
The ferry boat, ID feet wide and
40 long, follows an overhead cable
back and forth across the river. The
only motive power is the river itself.
A rope at either end of the boat con-
meets with twin pulleys above, the
pulleys being grovved to run along
the cable. Each rope connects with
its own windlass, which, of course, is
on the boat.
When the boat is to go across, one
rope is let out to put the boat skew
wise with the current. Then the cur
rent works it across. Coming back,
the other rope is loosened, skewing
the boat the other way.
They were pretty we'll out from
shore, in 80 feet or more of water,
when the rear pulley jammed. Per-
haps it split and gTipped the cable, or
the cable may have worked down be-
tween the pulley and standard. Clark
couldn't get the pulley loose. He
started to crank the windlass on that
rope when the current yanked the
threw him overheard. He then saw
he could not control the boat and or
dered the others to pull up the small
canoe fastened on behind, and get into
it.
Cockroft, who with his family live
on the north side of the river, where
the party had embarked, saw their
dilemma and jumping into his one
man skiff, was soon with them. He
pulled two or three out of the water
into the canoe, which would not hold
them all, and helped the others to
hand-holds on the sides of the canoe
where he made them all strip to their
underclothing. He did the same him
self, then one man padding, the others
swimming, they worked back to the
north shore, but were carried down
stream more than mile before they
reached there.
Just as they got to shore the ferry
boat, which had been awash and toss
ing about, capsized and off went the
cars and everything, clean. Clarke
was left hanging to the cable. Cock
roft went back and got him.
Cockroft's car being on the north
side and the ferryboat gone, he took
Novarik and Bruzek in his car to
Jacobs Pools, where they expected
to be able to phone for help. But the
wires were all down. Bill Vaughn, the
guide, was found and he.took Kovarik
and Bouzek horseback to Bright Angel
camp on the north side of the Grand
Canyon, opposite the Ell Tovar hotel
and some 70 miles from Lees Ferry.
The men walked across the Suspen-
Continued on Page 14.)