Show el I f ADVENTURERS ADVENTURERS' CLUB P F o HEAD HEADLINES LI N ES FROM TH THE E LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF The River Road By FLOYD GIBBONS Famous Headline Hunter HELLO ELLO EVERYBODY A I This Tills column has passed out a lot of free advice at atme atone atone one me time or another It seems that everybody who ever has hasan hasan hasan an adventure learns something from it that he wants to pass along to the rest of the world and this seems to be the clearing clearing clearing clear clear- ing house for that kind of information Ive I've issued warnings about everything from jumping off story 40 buildings to getting getting getting get get- ting friendly with the mother-in-law mother of a man-eating man tiger Today Ive I've got another warning for you I dont don't know if you'll ever have occasion to use it but Ill I'll pass It along for tor what its it's worth If U youre you're ever motoring to Niagara Falls at night dont don't go by bythe the River road rand That comes from Jim McDermott 1 New York City Some of you fellows who vho have been to that address before may recognize It as the Mens Men's Night Court Well that's where you'll find Jim Hes He's the fingerprint expert there But In 1926 Jim was a member mem mom ber bet of the Immigration Border patrol stationed at Tonawanda N N. Y half haU way between Niagara Falls and Buffalo That's how V he found Cound out about River road River road rand was dangerous because of the fue way cars sped along it at night But speeding cars weren't the fue only danger folks talks said It was the duty of Jim and another lad Roscoe lad Roscoe Doane to Doane to patrol the road in ina a car Their duty was to prevent the smuggling of aliens allens and of ot contraband contraband con con- goods the principal contraband in that pre repeal day being liquor This Was Vas No Job for a Weak Heart Before I took the job says Jim people advised me ag against it They claimed the bootleggers were desperate and would shoot on sight I found this to be untrue But I did face death i in 1 three vI violent lent forms IIi iri about as many minutes on one particular night of at my service That night came In the spring o of 1926 Jim and Roscoe started out in hi a small roadster with the top down Roscoe was driving for Jim at that time didn't know how to operate a car Fix's Ferry was their starting point They hung around there until un- un ill til about 1115 and then started to drive toward Tonawanda k i i. They had gone about two miles when they came to a point where th the road narrowed down and the Erie canal ran alongside it for a 8 distance An auto with glaring headlights was approaching It was coming straight down the center of the road and it was coming plenty j fast Jim yelled to Roscoe Give this fell fellow w all the room you can can or h hell he'll Ii hit us Roscoe was already turning over on the tho grass at the side side of ot the road But the headlights came rushing on I r t Jim Is Surprised to Find Himself Alive Then Then BANG BANGI The car hit them Says Jim Our car seemed t to soar In the air for tor a moment or two As we were hit Roscoe jumped t to toT i iI I I r j r 1 ii 1 I r S It turned over and landed bottom up N Nget get out and landed in my lap The left front wheel of the big sedan had d caught our front wheel It lifted our light car completely of off ui the ro road road and swung It around At the same time it turned over and larid landed cf bottom up diagonally across the narrow roadway jl Jim says that during the brief moment while they were ium- ium Ing lag over just one question presented itself to to his mind Il That a J a was Will WIlI I be dead when we hit But down there trapped trapp d' d under the overturned car Jim found to his surprise that lie he f wasn't dead Roscoe was wis s on top of me he says with his f c. c back on my face and he be was doing some some som struggling 1 I could couldn't- couldn't t move My shoulders and the back of my neck were on th the tho roars road o fand f- f and I was still on the seat scat albeit upside down My ly back a allied 7 and the weight of the car crushing down on me was increasing 1 r momentarily Y He was in that position when suddenly he heard Roscoe let ut an oath Heres a guy doing fifty and no lights he cried Hell hit Hell hit us sure as helL Jim couldn't j see a thing but it was true h he he knew Their car was lying right across the road A man going at that speed with no no lights could hardly ardlY help but hit them And There Was More to Come L 5 Says Jim For the second time tune I thought the end h had d' d come me 1 l could see only a few feet ahead through the wreckage but I I f. could p l hear the thc roar of the approaching car I gritted my teeth and st struggled to get out but I couldn't move Roscoe was making my position more uncomfortable every second I shouted out Where is h he At same me time I heard the roar of ot the motor diminish and Roscoe yelled Roscoe U back I Hes gone J Two narrow escapes And a third still sUII to come As the night grew grew quiet again Jim discovered that their burning and t the e m motor tor was still running And then su suddenly d nl he e felt something drip down on his face My Iy first thOugh thought v vas vas' that it was blood he says but that couldn't be This fluid was was cold I struggled to get Iet my band hand to my face but before re I g cot of t it it ft there I knew It t was gasoline It was coming from Crom the t tjust just J st outside the dashboard over the engine I h had faced before before and and now I was facing it again in a more ferm rin Our engine was still running At any moment tho car might burst Into flames It didn't didn't occur occur- to Jim to shut of off the switch h. h He did didn't didn t know how to drive a car Momentarily he expected an explosion explosion- fire fire-aBony g y and death And then all at once he heard voices Someone J waff rB Baying Ying All Allon on this side now The car was lifted of oil off them grid arid halt half a dozen men were pulling him out A bunch of ot army officers returning g from tram Buffalo to Fort Niagara had come along and found th them m. m The car that hit them had run through a ditch a and d crashed Into a tree It contained a suitcase full Cull of counterfeit liquor labels but the driver was gone He had walked down doh t road and telephoned ahead for help The second car h hadj had man managed aged to get by them because a farm farmers farmer's rs r's wife wICe who h bd seen the crash ran to the road with a lantern That second car it i jot got t by with bare barely Y two inches to spare But it didn't stop Cart Carf lights along that road never did j JJ hUI j vl Jim was laid up three weeks with a wrenched back but abut Roscoe Rosco Doane Dome got off with a few bruises But eve even so Jim Jt's its it's particularly safe at night on that River road m e Service Jr |