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Show Trapper, After Runaway Boat, Swims Lake in Night Blizzard Ralph Coll fettle Lake, Ohio, Scene of Man's Swim for Life in midst of MUl-Winter Storm 1 LEFT on a sinking "island" of willow roots as his boat blew out of reach and disappeared in a night blizzard, Ralph Goll of Montpelier, Ohio, saved his life by plunging into in-to the icy waters of Nettle Lake, near his home, and swimming about luntil he found his runaway craft. Despite wind and driving snow, 'Goll had put out at night in his rowboat to run a trap line on the lake, which is noted for its depth and treacherous shoreline. After several hours he reached a mink trap in a mattress of roots about four feet in diameter. Goll stepped from his boat onto the roots to remove a trapped animal, ani-mal, neglecting to make his anchor rope fast. Slowly the mass of roots began to sink. Goll turned to seize the prow of his boat, but no boat was there. As the roots settled, the boat had become disengaged and the fierce off-shore wind was carrying car-rying it out of sight in the swirU ing snow. "Fob.-a moment," said Goll, "I weighed the three chances of living -or dying-which confronted me. If . the island sank no lower and I manged to live through the storm, help would reach me in the morning ten hours away. To try to reach shore involved even a greater risk. Between me and solid ground was a wide area of semi-liquid semi-liquid muck that could swallow a man like quicksand. "Encumbered by hip boots and heavy trapping equipment, I took the third chance. I plunged into; the icy water and swam desper-j ately, following a straight off4 shore course in the hope of over-, taking the boat. The craft was now. well out of range of my flashlight,! which hung from a cord around myj neck but now dangled from mjn shoulders. I had put fresh bat-! teries in it and the beam stayed bright and clear, even though the light was Xinder water most of the time. In the intervals when I was' not swimming, I tried to see some1 trace of the boat. "At length, my arms were get- ting so numb that I began to think! each stroke must be my last. I was about to give up when I stopped swimming and seized the flashlight flash-light for one more look around. And there at my left, only a few feet away, was the boat. If it hadn't been for the light,, I never would' have seen it." Goll managed to grab the gun-j wales and pull himself aboard. His clothes froze as soon as he ras': out of the water, but he was able! to row to shore and make his. way' home. i |
