is just before
them; so they take a bight around a crag. I send two men back for the
other line. The boat is in very swift water, and Bradley is standing in
the open compartment, holding out his oar to prevent her from striking
against the foot of the cliff. Now she shoots out into the stream, and
up as far as the line will permit, and then, wheeling, drives headlong
against the rock, then out and back again, now straining on the line,
now striking against the rock. As soon as the second line is brought, we
pass it down to him; but his attention is all taken up with his own
situation, and he does not see that we are passing the line to him. I
stand on a projecting rock, waving my hat to gain his attention, for my
voice is drowned by the roaring of the falls. Just at this moment, I see
him take his knife from its sheath, and step forward to cut the line. He
has evidently decided that it is better to go over with the boat as it
is, than to wait for her to be broken to pieces. As he leans over, the
boat sheers again into the stream, the stem-post breaks away, and she is
loose. With perfect composure Bradley seizes the great scull oar, places
it in the stern rowlock, and pulls with all his power (and he is an
athlete) to turn the bow of the boat downstream, for he wishes to go bow
down, rather than to drift broadside on. One, two strokes he makes, and
a third just as she goes over, and the boat is fairly turned, and she
goes down almost beyond our sight, though we are more than a hundred
feet above the river. Then she comes up again, on a great wave, and down
and up, then around behind some great rocks, and is lost in the mad,
white foam below. We stand frozen with fear, for we see no boat. Bradley
is gone, so it seems. But now, away below, we see something coming out
of the waves. It is evidently a boat. A moment more, and we see Bradley
standing on deck, swinging his hat to show that he is all right. But he
is in a whirlpool. We have the stem post of his boat attached to the
line. How badly she may be disabled we know not. I direct Sumner and
Powell to pass along the cliff, and see if they can reach him from
below. Rhodes, Hall, and myself run to the other boat, jump aboard, push
out, and away we go over the falls. A wave rolls over us, and our boat
is unmanageable. Another great wave strikes us, the boat rolls over, and
tumbles and tosses, I know not how. All I know is that Bradley is
picking us up. We soon have all right