will permit, and then, wheeling, drives headlong
against the rock, and 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 him the line.
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 down stream, 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. Hawkins, 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, and 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 again, and row to
the cliff and wait until Sumner and Powell can come. After a difficult
climb they reach us. We run two or three miles farther and turn again to
the northwest, continuing until night, when we have run out of the
granite once more.

_August 29.--_We start very early this morning. The river still
cont