The River Opened Under Him
A Dalkena man kept himself above the Pend Oreille after the ice gave way and waited for rescue.
A man named Freemeyer, residing at Dalkena, had a narrow escape from drowning on Saturday. He was trying to cross the river on the ice when the ice gave way from under him, precipitating him into the stream. By retaining his presence of mind and spreading his arms on the ice, he held himself above the water until assistance arrived.
“By retaining his presence of mind and spreading his arms on the ice he held himself above the water until assistance arrived.”
Winter river crossings were ordinary risks in 1909, when ice often served as a bridge between settlements. Freemeyer's presence of mind—spreading his arms to stay above the water—is still the kind of survival tactic taught in ice-rescue training. The Pend Oreille's currents and thin ice remain hazards today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.