The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1883-07-28 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

DROWNING OF CAPTAIN WEBB. As most of those who are acquainted with the whirlpools and rapids of Niagara anticipated, Captain Webb has lost his life in attempting to perform the feat which he, no doubt, expected would make him once more a worrier of the world and an object of general conversation. He had been falling from the public view, and since defeated at the Aquarium by young Beckwith there had been an impression that he was a playedout man. It was, therefore, necessary that he should do something to reestablish his unique reputation. It was not unnatural for his thoughts to turn towards Niagara. Blondin there won fortune and fame by his exploits on the tight rope. Why should not Webb also win fortune and fame by mastering the tremendous mass of water which thunders, and shrieks, and boils, and hisses at the rate of twenty or thirty miles an hour through the mighty and immovable masses of rock which hem it in. The mental picture was a pleasant one. If flesh and blood coulci have prevailed over the gigantic and inexorable forces of nature, its realization would have been easy. The railway companies were only too pleased to cooperate with the hero of the Channel. Ten thousand dollars were the seductive bait they held out to him. They knew that they would be more than repaid for their prodigality by the tens of thousands of persons who would use their lines in order to be present at the experiment. Captain Webb himself had prepared the way for a grand reception being given to his exploit. In the course of an interview with a correspondent of the New York Herald, he had expressed himself as follows :—"Yes, 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 good 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 the shore water was drawn in to 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 I other end of the rapids, it was bereft of all clothing but a pair of stockings. In 23 years they say that 80 persons have lost their lives in the rapids." "But what is your object in attempting such a terrible feat? "Ten thousand dellars." "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 narrow at the rapids. lam only afraid of two awful ledges of pointed rocks which jut out from the shores into the whirpool. 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 wear will be the silk trunks I had on when I swam the English Channel. At the time appointed I will leap into the river, and float into the rapi is. Of course, I will make no attempt te 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 bita.th. That will be very 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 muscle and my breath, with a little touch of science behind them. It may. take me two or three hours to get out of the whirpool, which is about a quarter of a mile long. When I do 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." In talking thus, however, there is no reason to suppose that Captain Webb was guilty of mere brag. He was always a man of reckless courage, and his pluck was none the less because he was, perhaps, over fond of dwelling on his achievement. He once jumped off the s.s. "Russia" in a storm and saved a man's life, and it is stated that he was so daring as a ship captain that no crew could be induced to sail with him twice. I All the expectations which he and the speculative railway companies had formed were realized. On Tuesday a vast assemblage lined the banks of the river. Captaio Webb appeared at the appointed time. 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 he