Oct. 5, 1895.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



289 



were in the midst of the thick, dirty foam dragging for 

 eels. In this method of fishing a cone of lead, in which, 

 about the large end, are arranged six good, strong hooks, 

 is made fast to a strong line and then swished, by the aid 

 of a pole, back and forth through the gathered foam. It is 

 remarkably exciting sport and especially so when enjoyed 

 between the high banks and at the foot of such a tremen- 

 dous fall as that of the Niagara. The awful roar of the 

 falling water, the falling spray and the dangerous nature 

 of the stream make it especially attractive. It requires 

 a firm muscle to swing the pole, for when an eel is struck 



seemed fairly to drop out of it. We knew that the boat 

 was standing almost on end, and then I was thrown out 

 in the river. The boat had been capsized. I heard my 

 cousins yeii, and I cried, '-Swim for the shore;" but there 

 was no reply. I was in my shirt sit eves, for my coat had 

 been thrown off in the boat, and with hurried strokes I 

 made my way across the current, toward which side I did 

 not then know. I encountered more than one whirl and 

 "boiler," but none of them was very big. At last I felt 

 that I had passed from the down current into the more 

 quiet waters of an eddy, and I, if such a thing were possi- 



THE RAPIDS. 



there is considerable resistance until he is in the air. We 

 had good luck, however, and as a result of our evening's 

 sport started down the stream with 150lbs. of the slimy, 

 snake-like fish in a bag we had brought along in anticipa- 

 tion of good luck. 



We had given our attention so wholly to fishing that * 

 we had failed to notice that the sky had become overcast 

 with heavy dark clouds, and that darkness of the deepest 

 kind had settled in the gorge. It was impassible to dis- 

 tinguish the top of the bank from the sky. All about the 

 darkness was dpep and terrible. Terrible because could 

 we have seen the top of the bank we could have told 

 where we were and thus avoid floating through the 

 rapids to certain death. Oa our left we could hear the 

 fall of the water from the mills on the American bmk, 

 and I knew that we were approaching Swift Drift, a 

 place which under the circumstances I dreaded much 

 to pass through. It requires nerve and care to ride it 

 safely in a small boat in daylight, when the whirls can be 

 avoided, but at night to escape them I knew would be a 

 matter of pure luck. As I felt we were nearer the Cana- 

 dian shore, we headed our boat across the stream and 

 pulled for the Canadian side. After reaching it we pulled 

 along down stream until from the points we rounded I 

 knew we were in the eddy immediately above the Drift. 

 We could not drop down close to shore out of this eddy 

 into the one below owing to the roughness of the water 

 and dangerous rocks right at the point. Had we been on 

 the American side it would have been equally as danger- 

 ous to pass through the Drift close to shore owing to 

 the rocks, and besides we would have landed in an eddy in 

 which the current, as strange as it may seem, rushes up 

 stream with all the rapidity the main current far outside 

 rushes down stream. Between these two currents the 

 mass of "boilers" and whirls is terrible and very danger- 

 ous. Had it been daylight we could have followed tbe 

 course of the streak of foam down the river, for the route 

 it takes is between the conflicting currents and always 

 noticeably the most quiet part of the Drift. To the credit 

 of my cousins I will say they retained their nerve re- 

 markably well so far — perhaps, if the truth were known, 

 better than I did. 



Finally we decided that we would pull boldly out into 

 the stream and float down the river until we thought we 

 had passed through the place we so dreaded. Strong 

 strokes of the oars carried us out from the protecting 

 eddy, and soon we knew we were rushing down through 

 the gorge at a rapid speed, and this with the rapids less 

 than a half mile below. To enter them would be death, 

 that we knew to a certainty. No one ha l ever passed 

 through them safely except Joel K Robinson and John 

 Maclntyre on the old Maid of the Mist nn June 16, 1881: 

 Graham, Potts and Hazlett and Sadie Allen in barrels; C. 

 A. Percy in a boat which gave him the protection of an 

 air compartment, and Walter Campbell protected by a 

 life-preserver and a boat. No open boat could live in 

 those waves; there no human being could survive with- 

 out protection.. 



The rapidity of the current was such it seemed as though 

 we were hardly in it before we realized that we were in a 

 big whirl. There was a sudden jerk of the boat, its for- 

 ward motion was changed to a circular one, and the stein 



ble, redoubled my efforts to reach shore, and at last suc- 

 ceeded, but not before I had cruelly injured my left hand 

 and forearm in taking a stroke forward, not knowing I 

 was so close to the shore. I crawled out of the water upon 

 a rocky ledge, and while resting nursed my injured arm 

 and wondered if my cousins had been fortunate enough 

 to escape. It was not long before I had suspected, from 

 the thick underbrush, that I had landed on the Canadian 

 side, and started to make my way along the shore as hest 

 I could up stream to the narrow Indian path which leads 

 to the top of the bank just above Swift Drift. The 

 Canadian bank of the Niagara is not so easy of 



experience, and made in quiry for my cousins, but they had 

 not heard of the accident before. I was well acquainted 

 with the gatekeeper and he lent me an o ] d coat and a hat 

 to wear homo. On my way there, as the hour was early, 

 I met no one I knew. When I arrived at the house the 

 Only person I found there was my mother. She told me 

 that my father and a couple of the neighbors had gone 

 down to the old landing when the time for our return 

 had long passed. They carried lanterns and called our 

 names at different points. They found Sumner c'imbing 

 along the shore below tbe Drift on the American side. 

 He had struck out for shoi-e as soon as he found he was 

 in the water after the boat had caps'zed. He bad reached 

 shore just above what is known as First Point. They had 

 accompanied him to our house, where he secured dry 

 clothing and told them at length of our misfortune, and 

 then they returned to the gorge to make a further search 

 for John and me. My being safe left only John to find. As 

 soon as I got a change of clothing, a bite to eat and some- 

 thing warm to drink, I started to find the searching party 

 to tell them of my safety and aid them in finding John. 

 By this time the news of our experience on the river had 

 spread, and as I made my way to the bank I was joined 

 by several friends, who offered congratulations on my 

 safety and their services in searching for my missing 

 cousin. I soon met my father and Sumner and the party 

 with them, and it was arranged that the line of the shore 

 on both sides of the river should be thoroughly searched. 

 Two men were sent down to the Whirlpool on the Cana- 

 dian side. Later in the day all the parties returned. 

 Those who had gone along the Canadian shore reported 

 having found nothing, and the same story was told by the 

 parties who had searched the American shore. The two 

 men who had visited the Whirlpool reported having, by 

 the aid of glasses, seen what appeared to be pieces of a 

 boat among the debris floating in the pool, and in the 

 evening news came from Lewiston, a village five miles 

 down the river, that a pair of oars had been picked up in 

 the river there. Night fell, and with the closing day all 

 hope of evpr again seeing John alive passed away. There 

 was no doubt that he had been drowned in the Eapids. 

 He was unacquainted with the dangers of the river, and 

 in all probability had managed to get hold of the boat 

 after it was upset and clung to it. In a majority of other 

 streams such a course would mean a rescue and life, but 

 in the treacherous waters of the Niagara it was the worst 

 course to pursue, for the boat, as it drifted toward the 

 Whirlpool Rapids, carried its human freight to certain 

 death in those maddening waters. 



Two days passed and no word came from the watchers 

 we had placed at the Whirlpool and Lewiston to keep a 

 sharp lookout for the body. On the morning of the third 

 day, howevpr, word was received that a body supposed to 

 be that of a man had been seen floating in the pool. Well 

 provided with ropes my father, Sumner and I made our 

 way to the Canadian side of the pool, for that is the only 

 place it is possible to catch a body before it is carried 

 further down stream, No bodies are ever recovered on the 

 American, shore of the pool. This great pocket in the 

 river is not what many who have not seen it imagine it to 

 be, a great maelstrom, the suction of which is all toward 

 the center; on the contrary it is the result of a remarkable 

 change in the course of the stream, the outlet being at a 

 right angle with the inlet. The main current of the river 

 does not shoot out of the outlet as it comes down the 

 gorge, but crosses the pool and divides, part flowing 

 toward the outlet, while a strong current strikes along the 

 Canadian shore toward the inlet. Bodies and logs which 

 once get in the Canadian side of the current generally re- 

 main there tossing about for days, for the water that 

 passes through the outlet is virtually but the overflow of 

 the great and remarkable river pocket. 



It was a long climb along the bank from the foot of the 

 inclined railway to the spot on the shore where we de- 

 cided to await the close approach of the body to shore. 

 All that morning we watched the human form as it was 

 tossed about in the rough waters, and many times it ap- 



THE WHIRLPOOL. 



access as is the American, and therefore there are 

 no broken paths along it for any great distance. My 

 progress was very slow, and though the distance I accom- 

 plished was not long, it took me hours to reach the 

 Drift. By this time it had begun to get a little lighter in 

 the gorge, and standing out on the rock at the Drift I 

 loudly called the names of my cousins until I was hoarse. 

 My climb along the rocky shore had kept me warm until 

 now, when I first commenced to feel cold. This spurred 

 me to hasten to the path and reach tbe top of the bank, 

 which I soon did. A walk of about half a mile brought 

 me to the railway suspension bridge. I briefly related my 

 experience to the customs officer at the Canadian end. It 

 was the first he had heard of our accident, as it was early 

 morning and but very few were stirring. At the Ameri- 

 can end I also told the gatekeeper and customs officer my 



proaohed so close that we felt we were about to catch it, 

 but just as often did the heartless current swing it out 

 from shore to be carried around the pool again. The 

 afternoon hours were passing away and Sumner expressed 

 a determination that if the body again came as close as it 

 had before that he would risk his life in the dangerous 

 waters and swim out and make an effort to bring it to 

 shore. The suspense of the passing hours had been terri- 

 ble on us all. There before our eyes was a body, thought 

 to be that of our companion on the fatal trip, being dashed 

 hither and thither among the great quantity of debris 

 always found in this river sack. Ar one time it was bump- 

 ing against a log, at another sucked out of sight in one of 

 the many whirls. Others beside our party were there, 

 but they were well acquainted with the treachery of tbe 

 current of the pool, and would swim out a few feet f ropa 



