Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 October 1877 — Reckless Capt. Rhodes. [ARTICLE]

Reckless Capt. Rhodes.

At the stipulated time Capt. Rhodes and lady appeared at the falls, (he Captain being clad in his favorite suit. While Mr. Metcalf, the civil engineer of the bridge, was testing the depth of the water preparatory for the Captain’s descent, train No. 9 came along, and Capt. Rhodes, desiring to give the passengers the benefit of a sight as a complimentary, dove from the highest point of the rocks into the unfathomed deep, seventy feet below, before Mr. Metcalf could test its depth. The Captain’s aim was to clear the rocky cliff by at least fifteen feet, but, the height being twice what he judged it to be, the line of descent brought him within four feet of the edge of the seemingly perpendicular ledge. The Captain struck the water like a dart, head foremost, and after going down about twelve feet both his hands struck a smooth rock, which glanced him into deeper water; by the sudden change of his course on striking the smooth rock it caused a snap in his back, which he did not seem to mind at the time. His wife was ready on the ledge below the falls. He swam with her into the canon of wild water, and after enjoying (?) a ride in the icy water for a few minutes she was sai'ely landed on shore without her head or shoulders being wet, which proved conclusively that the Captain’s company would be desirable in case of a marine disaster. After coming out of the water Capt. Rhodes ascended the embankment and walked alone to the Cascade House. —Hornellsville (W. K) Herald.