The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1883-07-28 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

ATTEMPT TO SWIM NIAGARA FALLS.  CAPTAIN WEBB DROWNED.  The following telegram was received in London on Wednesday :  "New York, July 25.—Captain Webb, the well. known swimmer, was drowned yesterday in his at. tempt to swim through the whirlpool and rapids of Niagara Falls.  " Captain Webb left the Canada side of Niagara below the Falls in a small boat, and rowed to a point about 300 yards above the Old Suspension Bridge.  " He dived into the river at four o'clock in the afternoon, and on entering the rapids was almost turned over by the force of the water,  "He swam the rapids, however, with great determination, being now and again caught sight of by a few of the spectators. "When last seen he was entering the whirlpool, and at first appeared to be doing well, but very shortly afterwards he threw up his arms and disappeared. He was not seen again.  "Captain Webb was strongly urged not to attempt a feat universally declared to be impossible."  The Standard says that it was expected that the feat would be performed on July 21, but it was sublequently arranged that Captain Webb should endeavour to accomplish his purpose on the 24th. The various railway companies which run to Niagara Falls subscribed 10,000 doll +rs for Captain Webb, and it was expected that 100,000 perAons would witness the undertaking, preparations having been made to have special excursions from every town and city within reach of the railways.  In the course of an interview which Captain Webb had with a representative of the .New York Herald, he gave particulars of the perilous feat which he proposed to accomplish in endeavouring to swim the whirlpool rapids below Niagara Falls : " Yes," he said, " I am going to swim the whirlpool rapids, and I will say that it is about the angriest bit of water in the world. I came over from England two weeks ago (this would be about the beginning of June] to make the trial, and I went to the rapids last week and made a critical examination. They are rough, I tell you, and the whirlpool is a grand one ; but I think I am strong enough and skilled enough to get through alive. The people at Niagara Falls tell me that I will be simply committing suicide. You ought to hear the blood. curdling stories that were retailed for my benefit. A year or two ago, a boy who was paddling around in the shore water was drawn into the rapids and had his head cut off. A girl fell into the river last summer from the Suspension Bridge, and when her dead body was picked up at the other end of the rapids, it was bereft of all clothing but a pair of strckings. In twentythree years they say that eighty persons have lost their lives in the rapids."  "But what i s your object in attempting such a terrible feat? " "Ten tuousand dollars."  "How do you propose to pass through the rapids?" "I'll explain my plan. The current they say,is 39 miles an hour, and the river is 95 feet deep. It is wide just below the Falls, and narrower at the rapids. I am only afraid of two awful ledges of pointed rocks, which jut out from the shores into the whirlpool. The water fairly shrieks and hisses as it boils over them. Now I want to avoid the sides, and yet I dare not go into the middle, for there lies the vortex, and that means death. I will go out into the middle of the river in a small boat just about the Suspension Bridge. The only clothing I shall -rear rill be the silk trunks I had on when I swam the English Channel. At the time app-inted I will leap into the river, and float into the rapids. Of course, I will make no attempt to go forward, for the fearful speed of the water will carry me through. When the water gets very bad I will go under the surface, and remain beneath until I am compelled to come up for breath. That will be pretty often I'll wager. When I strike the whirlpool I will strike out with all my strength, and try to keep away from the suckhole in the centre. I will begin with the breast strokes, and then use overhand strokes. My life will then depend upon my muscles and my breath, with a little touch of science behind them. It may take me two or three hours to get out of the whirlpool, which is about a quarter of a mile long. When Ido get through. I will try to land on the Canadian side, but if the current is too swift, as I think it is, I will keep on down to Lewiston on the American side.  Captain Webb was born in Shropshire, and was the son of a physician. He took to the sea early. and became the captain of a merchantman. Many years ago he jumped from the deck of the Cunard mail steamer .Russia during a storm tosave a sailor who fell overboard. For this act he received from the hands of the Duke of Edinburgh the first gold medal ever given by the Royal Humane Society. But he first came into prominent notice by several long swims in the Thames. On the 3ld of July, 1875, he swam from Blackwell to Gravesend, a distance of 18i miles, in four hours and 52 minutes. This it was understcod wa3 a preliminary test of endurance prior to attempting to swim across the English Channel. He also, a fortnight later, swam from Dover to Ramegate, 17i miles' in eight hours 45 minutes. He failed in his brat attempt to croas the Channel, but on the 25th of August, 1875, succeeded in reaching the French coast in 21 hours, 45 minutes, 55 seconds,