William "Red" Hill Sr. and the Niagara Ice Bridge Tragedy; Historic Booklets Are Valuable For Numerous Reasons

Photo of 1912 Niagara Ice Bridge Tragedy; the arrow near middle of the photo shows Mr. and Mrs Stanton on the ice slab moments before their drowning death in the rapids of the Niagara River.  Red Hill tried to save them but they opted to go towards the New York side instead of the Canadian shore.

Images from the 1940's Memorial Tribute Booklet to William "Red" Hill Sr.

THE OLD BOOKS AND PAPER YOU CAN FIND ON REGIONAL GAD-ABOUTS - IMPORTANT HISTORY TO RE-DISCOVER

WHETHER IT IS A RELIC 0F HISTORY FROM MUSKOKA, ONTARIO, CANADA, THE UNITED STATES, OR THE WORLD, I MIGHT WANT TO USE IT!

     GOING BACK TO MY EARLIEST YEARS, WORKING FOR THE COMMUNITY PRESS, HERE IN MUSKOKA, I USED TO INSIST OF OUR NEWS STAFF, THAT WE RUN ORIGINAL EDITORIAL COPY AS MUCH AS HUMANLY POSSIBLY. WE ALL WANTED THE HERALD-GAZETTE TO BE A MIRROR OF OUR TALENTS, AND THAT MEANT, WE WOULDN'T RUN, FOR CONVENIENCE, PRE-WRITTEN AND "CAMERA READY" COPY (OR CANNED FEATURES AS WE CALLED THEM), SENT BY THE PROVINCE, FOR US TO PUBLISH AS A SORT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE. MAYBE YOU'VE SEEN THEM. TITLES LIKE "ONTARIO ASPARAGUS MAKES GREAT SOUP," AND "ONTARIO STRAWBERRIES MAKE GREAT JAM." THEY'RE OKAY AS FILLERS, IF AN EDITOR IS REALLY STUCK, BUT IF ALL THE LOCAL PAPERS WERE RUNNING THE SAME CAMERA-READY PRESS RELEASES, IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE WE WERE OPERATING WITH HALF STAFF.

    IF WE EVER NEEDED TO USE THEM, TO FILL IN A WHITE SPACE BETWEEN THE ADVERTISEMENTS, I WOULD ASK FOR A STAFF WRITER TO MAKE A RE-WRITE, JUST IN CASE OUR COMPETITOR DECIDED TO RUN THE IDENTICAL COPY THAT EACH NEWSPAPER HAD A BOX FULL, AT ANY ONE TIME. I HATED WHEN THIS HAPPENED, THAT WE NEEDED ASSISTANCE FILLING THE HOLES IN OUR SMALL PAPER, BECAUSE WE WANTED READERS AND ADVERTISERS TO KNOW THAT WE WERE CREATIVELY DIFFERENT, AND MORE AMBITIOUS, THAN THE BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER, OR THE GRAVENHURST NEWS. COMPETITION, FOLKS, MADE OUR PAPERS BETTER, AND IT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TODAY, HERE IN THE MUSKOKA HEARTLAND.

   SO ONE DAY-OFF, I DECIDED TO HIT THE ARCHIVES IN THE BASEMENT, WHERE FORMER PUBLISHER, BOB BOYER, HAD STORED BACK EDITIONS OF THE NEWSPAPER, GOING BACK MANY DECADES. SO I WOULD PULL UP A STOOL, AND CONTENT MYSELF FOR HOURS, IN THE DIM LIGHT, GOING THROUGH THE OLD NEWSPAPERS, LOOKING FOR STORY IDEAS. BOY OH BOY, DID I FIND A TREASURE TROVE DOWN THERE. THIS WAS IN 1980, OR SO, AND UNTIL I LEFT THE EMPLOY OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, IN THE FALL OF 1989, I WAS A FREQUENT ARCHIVE'S GHOST; BECAUSE I HAUNTED IT NIGHT AND DAY, FINDING HUNDREDS OF GREAT FEATURE STORY IDEAS, AND LEADS, THAT OFTEN INVOLVED A SUCCESSION OF TWENTY OR MORE ISSUES, FROM THAT PARTICULAR YEAR. CRIME STORIES, OR ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS, OFTEN CARRIED OVER MULTIPLE ISSUES, AS NEW INFORMATION WAS RELEASED FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION.

     WHAT THIS LED TO, OF COURSE, WAS A LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP WITH BITS AND BOBBS OF HISTORIC INFORMATION, HARVESTED FROM OLD NEWSPAPERS, TO BOOKS, BOOKLETS AND EVEN PAMPHLETS, TO GIVE THEM A RE-PLAY IN THE MEDIA, FOR THE INFORMATION OF A MODERN AUDIENCE. THESE WERE IMPORTANT STORIES, THAT WERE, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, UNAVAILABLE FOR TODAY'S READERSHIP; WHO I THOUGHT WOULD ENJOY READING SOMETHING THEY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT (WITHOUT HAVING TO BUY AN EXPENSIVE BOOK); THAT ALL HAD SOME POIGNANTLY INTERESTING SIDE-BARS ATTACHED, MUCH LIKE THE STORY OF WILLIAM "RED" HILL SENIOR, OF NIAGARA FALLS. WHILE I HAVEN'T READ MY NAME ATTACHED, AS REFERENCE, TO THE RECENT DISCOVERY AND RECOVERY, OF TWO CANADIAN AIRCRAFT, THAT CRASHED ON A PILOT TRAINING EXERCISE, (THROUGH THE ICE OF LAKE MUSKOKA, NOT FAR FROM THE FORMER ARCHER MARINA, DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR), I WROTE A LENGTHY FEATURE ARTICLE, BASED ON THE ARCHIVE NEWSPAPERS, STORED IN THE BASEMENT OF THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE BUILDING, IN BRACEBRIDGE. IT WAS A FASCINATING STORY, THAT I OPENED TO PUBLIC SCRUTINY, IN 1981 IF MEMORY SERVES. I'VE PUT MY NAME TO HUNDREDS OF THESE HISTORIC FEATURES, DURING THOSE NEWSPAPER YEARS. NOW I'M ENJOYING ROUGHLY THE SAME EDITORIAL RECREATION, JUST NOT WITH THE NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES, WHICH WERE THROWN OUT SOME YEARS BACK (NOT BY ME). I'M GLAD I USED THEM WHILE I HAD THE CHANCE, BECAUSE A LOT OF LOCAL STORIES WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST FOREVER. THEY HAD NEVER BEEN REFERENCED IN ANY OF THE MANY BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT MUSKOKA HISTORY. SO IF YOU WONDER WHY I CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT THESE LITTLE SNIPITS OF CANADIAN HISTORY, FROM FIRST PRINTING SOURCES, WELL, IT ALL BEGAN IN THE MIDST OF A THOUSAND OLD NEWSPAPERS, IN THE MUSTY BASEMENT OF THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE. SO HERE NOW, IS A CONTINUATION OF THE "WILLIAM 'RED' HILL" STORY, THAT I BEGAN IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG.

     AS A POSTSCRIPT, TO THE ABOVE, I SHOULD NOTE, THAT I WAS SHARING THE SPACE IN THE BASEMENT, WITH THE GHOST OF CONVICTED MURDERER, GEORGE CYR, WHO WAS JAILED IN THESE SAME MODEST DIGS, AWAITING HIS EXECUTION, BY HANGING, IN THE COURTYARD ADJACENT TO THE BUILDING. HE COULD ACTUALLY HEAR QUITE CLEARLY, THE WORK OF THE CARPENTERS, BUILDING THE GALLOWS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY SNUFF HIS LIFE. WHILE THERE WAS A PUBLIC JAIL, OTHER THAN THE NEWSPAPER'S BASEMENT, (THE BRACEBRIDGE HERALD, BEFORE THE MERGER WITH THE BRACEBRIDGE GAZETTE) IT WAS A MORE SECURE LOCK-UP, CONSIDERING THE PUBIC INTEREST IN THE CASE (HE MURDERED THREE PEOPLE); AND IN CYR'S BEST INTEREST TO REMAIN. AFTER HIS EXECUTION, HE WAS BURIED NEAR THE TOP OF THE PRESENT CHANCERY LANE, CONNECTING WITH THE MAIN STREET. SO IT WAS A STORIED PLACE IN ITSELF, THAT INSPIRED ME TO GET STARTED ON THIS MULTI-DECADE CAMPAIGN, TO UNCOVER LARGELY UNKNOWN NEWS STORIES OF THE PAST. BY THE WAY, EVEN THOUGH HE MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE IN THE SHOOTINGS, AT A BRACEBRIDGE AREA HOUSE, HE DID CONFESS TO HIS LAWYER, REDMOND THOMAS, BEFORE THE HOUR OF EXECUTION. HE EVEN LET HIM KNOW WHERE THE GONE HAD BEEN HIDDEN. SO HE WASN'T WRONGLY CONVICTED.

     IT'S TRUE, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT NOT A LOT OF CANADIANS KNOW ABOUT THE EXPLOITS OF WILLIAM "RED" HILL SR., AND HIS SON, OF THE SAME NAME. IF YOU HAVE BEEN, OR ARE CURRENTLY, A FREQUENT VISITOR OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO, IT'S HIGHLY LIKELY YOU WILL KNOW OF THE HILL FAMILY. THERE ARE LOTS OF REFERENCES AROUND THE FALLS VICINITY, THAT DETAIL THE HEROISM OF THIS FAMILY, PARTICULARLY THE LIFE-SAVING ACTS, BY RED HILL SENIOR. MOST WOULD KNOW HIM AS THE MAN WHO NAVIGATED THE TREACHEROUS RAPIDS ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS. BUT FEWER KNOW ABOUT THE ACTS OF EXTREME BRAVERY, WHERE THIS VERSATILE CHAP SAVED THE LIVES OF THOSE IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS IN AND AROUND THE FALLS. IF YOU MISSED YESTERDAY'S BLOG, WHICH INTRODUCED A LATE 1940'S BOOKLET, ON RED HILL, THAT I FOUND IN A SECOND HAND SHOP IN ORILLIA, YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TO READ IT.

     THE BOOKLET IS ENTITLED, "TRUE FACTS OF THE DEATH DEFYING, RAPIDS-SHOOTING BARREL TRIPS - WILLIAM 'RED' HILL, AND THE STORY OF THE HILL FAMILY, NIAGARA'S MOST DARING HEROES." THE BOOKLET WAS PUBLISHED AS A MEMORIAL TO RED HILL SR., WHO PASSED AWAY IN 1942. THIS BOOKLET WAS PRINTED PRIVATELY, COURTESY OF HIS FAMILY, IN THE LATE 1940'S. IT CONTAINS A PARTIAL BIOGRAPHY OF RED HILL SR., AND HIS SON, WILLIAM 'RED' HILL JUNIOR; AND TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOU A GLIMPSE BACK, UPON SOME OF HIS LARGELY UNKNOWN EXPLOITS, TO PRESERVE LIFE AROUND THE FALLS. UNFORTUNUATLY, HE ALSO RECOVERED NEARLY TWO HUNDRED DROWNING VICTIMS, AS AN EXPERT ON THE RIVER, WHO WAS CALLED UPON FREQUENTLY BY THE PARKS AUTHORITY TO ASSIST AFTER SUICIDES.

     THE FIRST OF TWO RECOLLECTIONS, OF RED HILL SR., IS ENTITLED "TWO LIVES HUNG IN THE BALANCE," AND IS A FASCINATING ACCOUNT OF HOW THIS MAN-OF-THE-RIVER, COMMENCED A RESCUE OPERATION, TO SAVE THE LIVES OF TWO MEN PRECARIOUSLY POSITIONED ON A BARGE, NEAR THE BRINK OF THE FALLS. THIS IS A WONDERFUL PIECE OF CANADIANA. A STORY OF GREAT INSPIRATION, THAT SHOULD BE KNOWN BEYOND THE HISTORY OF THE NIAGARA FALLS COMMUNITY.

     "THE MOST DARING AND COLORFUL RESCUE FEAT EVER ACCOMPLISHED ON THE NIAGARA RIVER, WAS PERFORMED BY RED HILL, WHEN HE SNATCHED TWO MEN ON A SCOW, FROM CERTAIN DEATH, VIRTUALLY AT THE BRINK OF THE HORSESHOE FALLS, ON AUGUST 6TH, 1918. THE SCOW WITH TWO WORKMEN ABOARD, WAS BEING TOWED BY A TUG FROM AN UPPER RIVER EXCAVATION JOB, WHEN SUDDENLY THE TUG GROUNDED. ANOTHER TUG WAS RUSHED TO THE SCENE, AND IN ATTEMPTING TO FREE THE GROUNDED TUG, A STRAIN WAS PUT ON THE TOW LINE HOLDING THE SCOW, AND THE CABLE BROKE. INSTANTLY THE BIG HEAVY STEEL SCOW, WITH THE TWO MEN, WAS SWEPT BY THE RACING CURRENTS DOWN TO THE UPPER RAPIDS, JUST ABOVE THE HORSESHOE FALLS. THE SCOW WAS SWEPT TOWARD THE CANADIAN SIDE. THE TWO MEN WITH GREAT PRESENCE OF MIND, OPENED THE HOLES IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SCOW, AND PERMITTED WATER TO RUSH IN, CAUSING THE SCOW TO SINK LOWER AND TO GROUND ON A ROCKY REEF, LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YARDS FROM THE BRINK OF THE CATARACTS."

     IF YOU'VE BEEN TO NIAGARA FALLS, YOU KNOW WHAT THIS WOULD LOOK AND SOUND LIKE, AND JUST IMAGINE YOURSELF IN THIS SITUATION, WHERE AT ANY TIME, THE CURRENT COULD SHIFT THE SCOW, AND PUSH IT AND THE MEN OVER THE BRINK. "THEN STARTED THE MOST DANGEROUS PHASE OF THE RESCUE. A BREECHES BUOY WAS RIGGED UP, AND STARTED OUT, TO THE MEN FROM THE TOP OF THE POWER PLANT ON THE SHORE. BUT IN SPITE OF EVERY PRECAUTION THE RESCUE EQUIPMENT WOULD NOT FUNCTION, BECAUSE THE ROPES KEPT TANGLING. RED HILL WAS HELPING THE RESCUE WORK. HE STRAIGHTENED OUT THE LINE FINALLY, AFTER TOILING HOUR UPON HOUR THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON, AND INTO THE EVENING. MANY TIMES, RED HAD TO GO OUT ON THE LINES, RISKING HIS LIFE, AND NEARLY BEING SWEPT AWAY BY THE RUSHING WATERS, AS HE UNTANGLED THE ROPES. AT ONE POINT HE WORKED ONE HUNDRED FEET FROM THE SCOW, FOR NEARLY TWO HOURS, PARTLY IN THE WATER.

     "IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, THE TWO MEN WERE TAKEN OFF THE SCOW. THE TWO MEN HUGGED RED HILL, AS THEY TRIED TO VOICE THEIR THANKS. THE CROWD ROARED A GREAT SALUTE AND SHOOK HANDS WITH THE MAN WHO HAD TAKEN SUCH A GREAT CHANCE, TO SAVE TWO LIVES FROM THE VERY JAWS OF DEATH, OVER THE GREATEST WATERFALL ON EARTH."

     I THINK ONE OF THE MOST TRAGIC STORIES, OF NIAGARA, OF WHICH THERE ARE MANY, INVOLVES THE "ICE BRIDGE RESCUE AND DISASTER." EVEN THOUGH RED HILL, A KEY PLAYER IN THIS EVENT, ASSISTED DOZENS OF PEOPLE TO ESCAPE THE BREAKING ICE, HE NEVER GOT OVER THE DIRE CONSEQUENCE OF NOT BEING SUPER-HUMAN. THAT, YOU SEE, IS WHAT IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN, TO SAVE EVERYONE.

     "EVERY WINTER A GREAT ICE BRIDGE FORMS IN THE LOWER NIAGARA RIVER, AT THE BASE OF THE HORSESHOE AND AMERICAN FALLS, SPANNING THE RIVER FROM SHORE TO SHORE. THE ICE IS PILED UP TO A THICKNESS OF SOMETIMES THIRTY TO FIFTY FEET. FOR YEARS, UNTIL THE WINTER OF 1911-12, IT WAS CUSTOMARY FOR PEOPLE TO WALK ON THIS ICE BRIDGE, AND TO CROSS BACK AND FORTH OVER THE GREAT FROZEN MASS, FROM THE U.S. TO THE CANADIAN SIDE, AND VICE VERSA. SHACKS EVEN WERE ERECTED NEAR THE CENTRE WHERE REFRESHMENTS WERE SOLD TO THE ICE BRIDGE TRAVELLERS.

     "BUT ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1912, DISASTER STRUCK WITH FRIGHTFUL SUDDENNESS. THE MORNING CROWD WAS JUST BEGINNING TO CROSS THE ICE MASS, WHEN THE BRIDGE BEGAN BREAKING AWAY WITHOUT WARNING, AND DRIFTING DOWNSTREAM. TRAPPED TEMPORARILY ON THE ICE FLOES, WITH OTHERS, WAS RED HILL, WHO HAD A SHACK NEAR THE NEW YORK SIDE. WHEN HE FELT THE GREAT MASS OF ICE MOVING, HILL STARTED TO RUN TOWARD THE CANADIAN SHORE, CALLING OUT TO OTHERS ON THE MOVING ICE TO FOLLOW HIM. HILL REACHED THE CANADIAN SHORE, AND REALIZING THE GRAVE PERIL FACING THOSE STILL ON THE ICE, HE CALLED TO PEOPLE ON SHORE FOR HELP. BETWEEN THE SHORE ICE AND THE FLOATING MASS, THERE WAS A CREVASSE OF FIVE FEET. LEAPING BACK ON THE ICE BRIDGE, HILL RAN FAR OUT TO THE PEOPLE STILL TRAPPED ON THE ICE, URGING THEM TO FOLLOW HIM BACK TO THE CANADIAN SHORE. ACTING AS A GUIDE, HE HELPED TO BRING SEVERAL SAFELY TO LAND. BUT FOUR PEOPLE, MR. AND MRS. STANTON, BURRELL HEACOCK AND IGNATIUS ROTH, STILL WERE FAR OUT ON THE ICE. IGNORING HIS OWN SAFETY, HILL RAN OUT TO THEM, AND LED THE WAY TOWARD THE CANADIAN SIDE, BUT WAS UNABLE TO RESCUE THEM AT THAT POINT. AGAIN THEY TURNED TOWARD THE NEW YORK SHORE.

     "CROWDS ON SHORE SHOUTED TO THEM TO RUN UP ALONG THE ICE, BELIEVING THAT THE MOVING ICE WOULD JAM UP AND STOP BEFORE IT REACHED THE RAPIDS. HILL WAS CERTAIN IT WOULD NOT, AND RETURNED TO THE MIDDLE OF THE ICE MASS. HE PLEADED WITH THE STANTONS TO FOLLOW HIM, BUT THE HUSBAND DID NOT AGREE WTIH HILL WHICH ROUTE WAS THE SAFEST, AND TOOK HIS WIFE BACK WITH HIM TOWARD THE NEW YORK SHORE. HEACOCK REMAINED WITH THE STANTONS, WHILE ROTH FOLLOWED HILL AND RAN TOWARD THE CANADIAN SIDE. AS HE REGAINED LAND, RED SHOUTED FOR A ROPE, WHICH WAS THROWN TO HIM. RACING ALONG THE SHORE, HE LEAPED BACK ON THE ICE AT AN EDDY, FOUR HUNDRED YARDS BELOW THE UPPER BRIDGE. HE SHOUTED TO ROTH TO JUMP FROM CAKE TO CAKE. HILL THREW THE ROPE TO THE MAN. ROTH CAUGHT IT, AND HILL PULLED HIM TO SHORE.

     "FRANTIC EFFORTS WERE MADE TO SAVE THE STANTONS AND HEACOCK. ROPES WERE DROPPED FROM THE LOWER BRIDGE, BUT THESE FAILED, AND THE THREE WERE SWEPT ON THE ICE CAKES INTO THE WHIRLPOOL RAPIDS AND TO DEATH. THE LAST SIGHT OF THE STANTONS, WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN SAVED IF THEY HAD FOLLOWED HILL'S ADVICE, THEY WERE CLASPED IN EACH OTHER ARMS. HEACOCK WAS SEEN ON HIS KNEES ON AN ICE CAKE, APPARENTLY PRAYING." THERE IS A FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPH OF THE STANTONS, ON THEIR PARTICULAR CAKE OF ICE, FOLLOWING THE LAST ATTEMPT TO RESCUE THEM. THE THIRD PERSON, MR. HEACOCK CAN'T BE IDENTIFIED IN THE PICTURE. AN IMAGE FROM THE BOOK, IS PICTURED ABOVE.

     ANOTHER CHAPTER OF THE BOOKLET, IS A RECOLLECTION PENNED BY RED HILL SENIOR'S SON, WILLIAM HILL, ENTITLED "MY GAMBLE WITH DEATH," UNDERTAKEN ON SUNDAY, JULY 8TH, 1945, JUST OVER THREE YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF THIS FATHER. HIS ACCOUNT OF A BARREL TRIP THROUGH THE WHIRLPOOL RAPIDS, READS AS FOLLOWS:

     "FIVE INCHES OF WATER WAS IN THE BARREL, AND IT CONTINUED TO LEAK IN SO FAST, THAT I WAS SCARED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE. DID YOU EVER HAVE A BAD NIGHTMARE? THEN YOU PARTLY KNOW WHAT MY FEELINGS WERE IN THAT FLOATING STEEL CASK WHEN I SHOT THE ROARING RAPIDS OF THE NIAGARA RIVER, WITH THE MANHOLE COVER OF THE BARREL LEAKING LIKE A SIEVE, AND I WAS TRAPPED INSIDE. DID I KNOW I WAS TAKING A CHANCE? YES, EVERY MINUTE OF THE TRIP I WAS CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT I MIGHT NEVER COME OUT ALIVE. BUT I COULDN'T CALL OFF THE TRIP; 300,000 PEOPLE WERE ON HAND TO SEE THAT THRILLING STUNT. I COULDN'T DISAPPOINT THEM. AND I WOULDN'T HAVE ANYONE SAY THAT RED HILL JR. WAS A COWARD.

     "HALF AN HOUR BEFORE I WAS CUT LOOSE, JUST ABOVE THE FIRST SET OF RAPIDS, I KNEW THAT I WAS TAKING AN AWFUL GAMBLE. IT WASN'T A CASE OF PITTING A STRONG, LEAK-PROOF BARREL AGAINST A RAGING MALESTROM. BUT IT WAS LIKE GOING TO ALMOST CERTAIN DOOM, BECAUSE I DISCOVERED JUST BEFORE THE TRIP, THAT THE RUBBER MANHOLE COVER PROTECTING THE OPENING HAD BEEN SPRUNG BADLY. THE BARREL HAD CRASHED AGAINST HUGE ROCKS IN GETTING INTO THE GORGE, AND THE MANHOLE COVER WAS TORN AND TWISTED. I KNEW THAT IT WOULD BE ALMOST SUICIDE TO GO ON WITH THE TRIP WITH THE BARREL IN THAT CONDITION. THE POLICE HAD TRIED TO STOP THE TRIP. AND THE SPOT WHERE THE BARREL WAS HIDDEN IN THE GORGE, WAS KNOWN ONLY TO MYSELF, MY BROTHERS AND A FEW TRUSTED FRIENDS. WE HAD SECRETLY LOWERED THE BARREL WITH ROPES INTO THE GORGE IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, AT A SELECTED SPOT, A FEW HOURS BEFORE DAYBREAK, ON SUNDAY, JULY 8TH, (1945), THE DAY THE RAPIDS-SHOOTING STUNT WAS SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE. DURING THE FEW HOURS THAT IT WAS SUSPENDED AT THE RENDEZVOUS SPOT, THE HEAVY BARREL APPARENTLY HAD SNAPPED THE ROPES, AND IT CRASHED DOWN OVER HUGE BOULDERS, RIGHT TO THE WATER'S EDGE, LANDING IN A CLUMP OF BUSHES. THE STEEL CASING OF THE BARREL WAS ONLY SLIGHTLY DENTED, BUT IRREPARABLE DAMAGE HAD BEEN DONE TO THE RUBBER MANHOLE COVER. THAT IS WHAT I DISCOVERED WHEN I ELUDED POLICE IN PATROL CARS, AND ON FOOD WATCHING THE BANK, AND SLIPPED DOWN INTO THE 200 FOOT GORGE AT THE APPOINTED HOUR TO MAKE THE TRIP."

     RED HILL JUNIOR WRITES, "I HAD A DIFFICULT DECISION TO MAKE. CALL THE TRIP OFF, AND BE BRANDED A COWARD, OR GO AHEAD AND POSSIBLY DROWN IN THAT STEEL CASK. I HAD NO WAY OF GETTING A NEW RUBBER MANHOLE COVER. ANY MINUTE I FEARED THE POLICE MIGHT SIGHT OUR RENDEZVOUS PLACE AND COME DOWN INTO THE GORGE AND STOP THE TRIP. SO, I QUICKLY MADE UP MY MIND. I GAVE ORDERS TO MY FIVE HELPERS TO PULL THE BARREL OUT OF THE BUSHES AND PUSH IT INTO THE WATER. I DECIDED TO TAKE THE CHANCE OF SHOOTING THE RAPIDS IN THE BARREL JUST AS IT WAS. I WAVED FAREWELL TO THEM, POSSIBLY MY LAST. THEN I SLAMMED SHUT THE MANHOLE COVER, AS THE POWERFUL CURRENT OF THE RIVER CAUGHT THE BARREL AT ONCE. IT SHOT OUT INTO MID-STREAM LIKE AN ARROW. AND A THOUSAND THOUGHTS RACED THROUGH MY MIND. I THOUGHT OF MY WIFE, MY CHILD, MY BROTHERS AND MY MOTHER. MAYBE I WOULD NEVER SEE THOSE DEAR ONES AGAIN. THEN I THOUGHT OF MY DAD, AND ALL MY WORRIES SEEMED TO DISAPPEAR. EVEN THOUGH HE HAD BEEN DEAD FOR MORE THAN THREE YEARS, FATHER SEEMED VERY NEAR TO ME THEN. I EVEN IMAGINED HE WAS RIDING IN THE BARREL WITH ME. THE BARREL GAVE A SHARP LURCH, AND THEN IT COMMENCED TO ROLL. I KNEW WHAT WAS COMING NOW; THIS WAS THE RAPIDS. SUDDENLY THE BARREL SHOT INTO THE AIR, AS IT HIT THE FIRST WAVE, AND THEN CAME SPINNING DOWN.

     "THEN THE WATER STARTED LEAKING IN ON ME. A FEW DROPS AT FIRST, AND THEN A STEADY SHOWER OF WATER HIT MY FACE, SOAKING MY CLOTHES AND BODY. THE BARREL ROLLED, PITCHED AND TOSSED LIKE A CORK. IT LEAPED INTO THE AIR. ONE MINUTE I WAS RIGHT SIDE UP, AND THE NEXT, I WAS HURLED UPSIDE DOWN, AND ALL THE WATER IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL SHOWERED OVER ME AGAIN. I GASPED FOR BREATH AS THE WATER STRUCK MY NOSE AND MOUTH. IT WAS WORSE THAN ANY NIGHTMARE I HAD EVER HAD. I WAS POSSIBLY DROWNING AND TRAPPED IN THAT BARREL. FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE AGES, I WAS SUBJECTED TO THE WORST POUNDING I HAD EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. THE BARREL CRASHED SHARPLY AGAINST THE ROCKS, AND IT SOUNDED INSIDE AS THOUGH THE WORLD HAD COME TO AN END. MY ELBOW, KNEES, AND SHOULDERS WERE BATTERED AND BRUISED, AS THEY STRUCK AGAINST THE STEEL INSIDES OF THE BARREL. I WAS SURE THAT I WAS DOOMED.

     "THEN CAME THE SMOOTH WATER; I WAS THROUGH THE FIRST SET OF RAPIDS. THIS WAS THE GIANT WHIRLPOOL, AND POSSIBLY I WAS IN FOR A LONG STRUGGLE TO GET OUT OF ITS GRASP. I SLID THE MANHOLE COVER BACK CAUTIOUSLY AND LIFTED MY WEARY, BRUISED BODY TO LOOK OUT. IT WAS A GREAT SIGHT. THE CURRENT HAD TAKEN THE BARREL TO THE EDGE OF THE POOL, AND COMING TOWARD ME WERE MY TWO BROTHERS, MAJOR AND NORMAN IN A ROWBOAT. THEY CAUGHT HOLD OF THE BARREL BEFORE THE SUCTION OF THE POOL SWEPT ME TO THE CENTRE. WITH A STOUT TOW ROPE FASTENED TO THE BARREL, THEY TOWED ME TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE POOL. I LOOKED INSIDE THE BARREL WHEN THEY BROUGHT ME TO SHORE. FIVE INCHES OF WATER WAS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL. AND THE NEXT SET OF RAPIDS, I KNEW, WERE WORSE THAN THE FIRST."

     ACCORDING TO RED HILL JUNIOR, "WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW? TO CONTINUE SEEMED MADNESS. IT LOOKED LIKE SHEER SUICIDE TO GO ON. BUT IN SPITE OF THE PROTESTS OF MY BROTHERS AND FRIENDS, I DECIDED TO COMPLETE THE FULL TRIP AS MY DAD HAD DONE BEFORE. WE BALED OUT AS MUCH WATER AS WE COULD, AND THEN I PUSHED OFF FOR THE SECOND SET OF DANGEROUS, ROARING, CRUEL RAPIDS, AND WHATEVER FATE HAD IN STORE FOR ME. AS I CLOSED THE MANHOLE COVER, I COULD SEE THE STRAINED LOOKS ON THE FACES OF THOSE ON SHORE, AND THAT MADE ME FEEL UNEASY. BUT I WAVED A HAND TO THEM, AND THEN PULLED THE COVER TIGHT. THE CURRENT CAUGHT THE BARREL AND IT SHOT DOWNSTREAM. THEN, THE BARREL WAS WHIPPED AROUND SUDDENLY. IT COMMENCED GOING FORWARD, THEN TWISTING BACK AND SLAMMING HARD AGAINST A PARTLY SUBMERGED ROCK LEDGE. I KNEW THE DANGEROUS PLACE WHERE I WAS, AND DREADED IT. NO ONE COULD HELP ME THERE. I WOULD HAVE TO TAKE A PUMMELING UNTIL THE CURRENT WORKED THE BARREL AWAY. I THOUGHT MY HEAD WOULD BE SNAPPED OFF. MY NECK CRACKED EVERY TIME THE BARREL SMASHED AGAINST THAT ROCKY LEDGE. EVERY PART OF MY BODY PAINED FROM THE SHOCK OF THE FORCE WHEN THE STEEL CASK CRASHED ON THE ROCKS. THAT SEEMED TO CONTINUE FOR AN HOUR, AND THEN THE BARREL SHOT AWAY AND DOWN THE RIVER.

     "NEAR THE GLEN, THE BARREL DRIFTED INTO CALM WATER, AND I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE LANDED ON SHORE. APPARENTLY THE CROWDS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GLEN THOUGHT SO TOO, BECAUSE I CAUTIOUSLY PULLED OUT AN AIR HOLE PLUG. I COULD HEAR VOICES. THEY WERE SHOUTING, 'HE'S COMING IN, HE'S COMING IN!' SO I EASED BACK THE COVER AND I COULD SEE THE TOPS OF THE TREES. I LIFTED MYSELF UP AND WAVED MY HAND TO THEM. JUST AS I WAS GOING TO STAND UP, THE CURRENT CAUGHT THE BARREL AND I DROPPED BACK AND SLAMMED THE COVER TIGHT. THE BARREL SPED TOWARD THE RAPIDS. I HAD NOT MOVED ONE SECOND TOO SOON. JUST AS MY HAND LEFT THE COVER AFTER CLOSING IT, THE BARREL WAS CATAPULTED RIGHT UP INTO THE AIR, AS IF SHOT BY A GIANT CANNON. IT SEEMED TO RISE FOR A GREAT DISTANCE AND THEN CAME CRASHING DOWN. WATER GUSHED IN THROUGH THE LEAKY MANHOLE COVER. I KNEW THAT I WAS IN FOR A VERY TOUGH RIDE. A DOZEN TIMES THE BARREL LEAPED HIGH OUT OF THE WATER AND DROPPED BACK WITH A THUNDEROUS CRASH. THOSE GIANT WAVES LASHED THE BARREL, TWISTING IT OVER AND OVER UNTIL I THOUGHT I WOULD GO CRAZY. EVERY BONE IN MY BODY SEEMED TO ACHE AND I WAS COMPLETELY DRENCHED WITH WATER ALL AROUND ME INSIDE THE BARREL. FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE ETERNITY, THAT POUNDING WENT ON, AND THE MISERY OF BEING WET AND BRUISED NEARLY DROVE ME MAD."

     HE NOTED THAT, "I HAD TO FIGHT TO KEEP MY SANITY. IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THIS SECOND SET OF RAPIDS WOULD NEVER COME TO AN END. ACTUALLY I WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE MORE THAN FIFTEEN MINUTES IN THE GRIP OF THOSE MAD WATERS. BUT IT WAS LITERALLY HELL. THEN CAME CALM WATER. I KNEW THAT I WAS NEAR QUEENSTON. I HAD MADE IT. NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW THE THRILL I FELT AS I REACHED UP TO SLIDE BACK THAT MANHOLE COVER FOR THE LAST TIME. BEFORE I PULLED OPEN THE COVER, I BREATHED A SILENT PRAYER TO MY DAD, WHOM I FELT HAD BEEN WITH ME, AND HAD BROUGHT ME THROUGH SAFELY. WHAT A ROAR WENT UP FROM THE GREAT CROWDS LINING BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER BANK. I WILL NEVER FORGET IT. THEY SEEMED TO SENSE WHAT I HAD BEEN THROUGH. A MOTORBOAT SPED TOWARD THE BARREL TO TAKE IT IN TOW AND I RECOGNIZED FOUR OF MY FRIENDS IN THE CRAFT. THEY GRABBED MY ARMS AND THEY HUGGED ME AS THE BOAT NOSED ALONGSIDE THE BARREL. THEY WERE HAPPY THAT I WAS SAFE AND SOUND. BUT NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW HOW RELIEVED I WAS THAT THE ORDEAL OF THE LEAKY BARREL WAS ENDED. I HAD CHEATED DEATH."

     THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE HISTORIC BOOKLETS I SEARCH FOR, WHEN OUT ON AN OLD BOOK HUNT. MOST OF THEM WERE PRINTED, AS FIRST EDITIONS, IN VERY SMALL NUMBERS, AND IF AND WHEN THEY WERE PUBLISHED IN LARGER NUMBERS, THEY WERE LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN EDITED AND REDUCED IN SIZE, FROM THE FIRST ISSUE. THIS WAS IN PART, DUE TO THE ADDED EXPENSE OF PAGES, AND PRINTING NUMBERS. I LIKE THE FIRST ISSUES BEFORE THERE IS ANY TAMPERING BY EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS, LOOKING MOSTLY FOR MAXIMUM PROFIT FROM SALES.

     IN TOMORROW'S BLOG, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE RARE BOOKLET, ON THE SINKING OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND SHIP, THE "S.S. CARIBOO," WHICH WAS TORPEDOED BY A GERMAN U-BOAT IN THE GULT OF ST. LAWRENCE, IN THE YEAR 1942. THE MEMORIAL BOOKLET WAS PUBLISHED IN 1945, IN A VERY SMALL PRINTING. THE COPY I POSSESS WAS FOUND LOCALLY. NO OTHER COPIES WERE FOUND FOR SALE, AND THE ONLY ONE WE DID FIND, WAS PART OF A MUSEUM'S ARCHIVE COLLECTION. SO I HOPE YOU'LL JOIN ME FOR THIS AMAZING CANADIAN WAR-TIME, EAST COAST NAVIGATION HISTORY.

      I HOPE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, AND ALL SIGNIFICANT OTHERS, WILL HAVE A HAPPY EASTER. IN MUSKOKA, IT JUST WON'T BE A SNOW-FREE EASTER. I ALSO WISH ALL THOSE SHORELINE DWELLERS AND COTTAGERS OUT THERE, A SAFE HOLIDAY, CONSIDERING THE FLOOD WATERS THAT HAVE ALREADY CLOSED SOME COUNTRY ROADS HERE IN THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA.