| Show A Foolhardy Feat at Niagara Special to THE HERALD Examiner Dispatch NIAOAKV FALLS July 5 Samuel Smith the Lewiston N Y boatman who was togo to-go through the whirlpool rapids in a rowboat row-boat with John L Soules of North Muskegon Muske-gon Mid flunked and would not undertaKe under-taKe the foolhardy feat Soules not to disappoint the latge crowds that had congregated con-gregated along the banks of both sides ol the river and on the suspension bridge was announced to go through alone The boat which he had concealed up the river and intended to go as far as possible in someone some-one had cut from the moorings and let go through the rapids during the night Not daunted by this he made a start to swim the rapids with only his swimming suit on consisting of a wool shirt trunks and a cork vest At the sound of three shots from a rifle fired by Manager William Leary ol suspension bridge Soules at 318 pm entered the water about seventylive feet on the falls side of the cantilever bridge on the Canadian side At 320 he was seen coming around the abutments of the cantilever canti-lever bridge The force of the volume of water forcing itself through the gorge causes up current along the shore and is known as the Canadian current Scales struggled hard against the breakers that seemed to want to wash him on the large rocks that line the shore all the way down the river When he escaped from the grasp of the current he treaded the water all the way down to the rail way suspension > i1irn Tr vniaoH his lionlc rn f ni tti ira above his head waving them to the spectators spec-tators who seemed to bo paralyzed at the nerve of a man who was tempting providence provi-dence When the swift current caught hold of Soules it swept him under the bridge like a flash Below the railway suspension bridge there are two large rocks At times one of these is covered with water when large breakers wash over it while the other towers above all breakers break-ers The current carried Soules up against the first rock and the spectators gave vent to a simultaneous jell of horror expecting to see the swimmers brains dashed out But luckily just as he came in contact with the rock a large breaker caught him up and he scarped over the obstruction On he went with the current until the second rock was reached when most of the spectators spec-tators covered their faces that they would not see the foolhardy man killed But luck favored him again The current swung him around to the side of the rock and he put out his hand and shoved himself clear of the rock Then a large breaker caused him to turn a somersault submerged him for i few seconds and then kept him stationary in the eddy The spectators yelled out Hes killed In a few seconds he was seen to swim out of the eddy and he went past the Grand Trunk house sometimes some-times submerged and sometimes swimming When near the whirlpool rapids near the incline in-cline railway a large wave washed him into an eddy near the shore and with the assistance as-sistance of several spectators he scrambled out on the racks When he was brought up on the steps leading to the inclined railway rail-way he was greatly exhausted He bad a deep hole in his left knee near the kneecap and a cut on his left foot The first thing he said when he got out of the water was that his knee hurt him so much that he thought he would get ashore when the op rm > fnr > ifi rirocpntpH itself ITo rAPAltrpf big injuries when he was dashed against the last rock His manager asked him how he was and he replied I am all right and askedif hestould continue his trip through the whirlpool as he did not wish to disappoint the spectators that were stationed there watching for him Leary said No not with that leg which was bleeding profusely After receiving re-ceiving some stimulants Soules attempted to walk up the steps to the incline railway car but was unable to lean on his injured leg He was assisted to a car and upon reaching the top of the incline ho wa < driven across to Learys establishment at suspension bridge It is fortunate foe Soules that ho was washed ashore for had he gone through to the whirlpool he surely would have been killed The place where he got out was about one hundred feel above the spot where Webb is supposed to have been killed Smiles was never ores thirty feet from shore during his trip through the rapids He says he will go through again when his knee is all right |
