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Fascinating Horror
  • 09/09/2024
"On the 4th of February, 1912, at the Niagara Falls on the border between America and Canada, three innocent people were swept to their deaths in the raging waters..."

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CORRECTIONS:
► At one point in this video I give the date of this incident as the 4th of August. I should, in fact, have said the 4th of February.

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Transcript
00:00On the 4th of February, 1912, at the Niagara Falls on the border between America and Canada,
00:18three innocent people were swept to their deaths in the raging waters.
00:23The three were tourists who had been enjoying the then perfectly ordinary practice of walking
00:29across the base of the falls on a bridge of ice that sometimes formed there in winter.
00:37The Niagara Falls is actually a set of three waterfalls, the largest of which, known as
00:43Horseshoe Falls, straddles the border between Canada and America.
00:49The site has been earmarked for preservation by both countries since the late 1800s, and
00:54constant efforts have been made ever since to preserve the condition of the area.
01:00Thousands of people visit each year to witness the natural beauty and incredible power of
01:05the falls themselves.
01:07Horseshoe Falls alone is the most powerful waterfall in North America, and when the flow
01:13of all the falls at Niagara is combined an impressive 170,000 cubic meters, or 6 million
01:20cubic feet, of water passes through the falls each minute of the day.
01:28Every winter huge quantities of ice, snow, and slush are also washed over the falls.
01:35Sometimes this mass of frozen material flows on down the river, but sometimes ice flows
01:40crash together and freeze in place, forming a solid ice bridge from one shore to another
01:46at the base of the falls.
01:481912 was one such year, and it was an exciting event.
01:53Enterprising businessmen were quick to erect shacks and shanties on the ice, offering visitors
01:59brave enough to step out onto the frozen falls the opportunity to buy refreshments, have
02:04their photograph taken, ride horses on the ice, or even stay for the night on the falls
02:09themselves.
02:12People came in droves.
02:15While there wasn't quite the same infrastructure there is today back in 1912, there were provisions
02:21for tourists.
02:22You could ride out to the falls in horse-drawn carriages or by train, and once you were there
02:27you'd find a mechanical elevator ready to carry you from the upper reaches to the lower.
02:33The frozen falls were no doubt an entrancing and perhaps intimidating sight, but if you
02:38were bold enough to stroll out onto the ice you could enjoy the kind of wondrous views
02:42you'd never get in summer.
02:45People would visit the falls with their lovers, send home postcards, and play on the ice.
02:51There are even pictures of people sledding on the huge mounds of ice and snow which form
02:55at the falls.
02:58Many of those playing on the ice bridge would have been reassured by its sheer scale and
03:04solidity.
03:05In 1912 the ice was 2.5 meters, or eight feet, thick in places, and was firmly anchored to
03:12both shores, providing a swath of snowy ground almost a mile wide on which to roam.
03:19There seemed no reason to fear its integrity.
03:24And yet at around noon on the 4th of August, with barely a groan by way of warning, the
03:29bridge gave way, dissolving in mere minutes into dozens of moving ice flows.
03:36There were 35 people out on the bridge at the time, many of whom were able to scramble
03:42to safety.
03:43Four were left behind.
03:47Among these four were Ignatius Roth and Burrell Hecock, who were having a snowball fight when
03:53the slide began.
03:55The two friends sprinted for the nearby Canadian shore, but found themselves cut off by a short
04:00stretch of icy water.
04:03Roth didn't hesitate.
04:04He jumped in and waded across to where several onlookers were waiting to haul him out and
04:09warm him up.
04:11Hecock was about to follow, but before he could jump he heard a cry for help coming
04:15from behind him.
04:17He hesitated a moment, and then turned back, giving up his chance of escape.
04:24The cry had come from Mr Eldridge Stanton.
04:27His wife, Clara Stanton, had collapsed from exhaustion as the pair sprinted towards the
04:32Canadian shore, and he was unable to carry her himself.
04:38Seeing this, Hecock ran back towards the pair and helped pick up Mrs Stanton.
04:43Together the three turned again towards the Canadian shore, but it was now too late.
04:50The ribbon of water which separated them from safety had become a stream.
04:55They were trapped on a moving ice flow in the middle of a raging torrent of water.
05:02It was a slow but not peaceful ride.
05:05For at least an hour the flow rocked and pitched as it moved downstream, and at one
05:10stage broke into two giant pieces.
05:14One piece grounded itself on the American shore, but in a stroke of bad luck all three
05:19of the stranded tourists were on the other piece of ice, which continued to surge downstream.
05:26A little later it broke apart again, this time dividing the three, Hecock on one flow
05:33and the Stantons on another.
05:36Witnesses report that they waved goodbye to one another as the river bore them apart.
05:43Further down the watercourse several more permanent bridges spanned the Niagara River.
05:48The trapped tourists passed below one bridge before a rescue effort could be mounted, but
05:53by the time they reached the next bridge firemen, police officers and railway workers had assembled
05:59there with ropes at the ready.
06:02Hecock was first to grab a line.
06:05With his weight, however, the rope stretched enough to dip him into the freezing water,
06:09where he was battered by several moving blocks of ice.
06:13Nonetheless, he managed to hang on as the rope was drawn up towards the bridge.
06:19The watching crowd cheered, anticipating at least one rescue.
06:25Burrell Hecock, however, was exhausted.
06:28His grip failed, causing him to slip down the rope.
06:32Despite a desperate effort, even trying to grip the rope with his teeth for more purchase,
06:37he couldn't hold on and fell before he could be hauled up to the bridge.
06:41He disappeared into the rapids and was never seen again.
06:46This left only the Stantons, whose ice flow was soon to be swept into the rapids too.
06:53As they passed under the first bridge Mr Stanton seized a dangling rope and tried to tie it
06:59around his wife's waist, only for the rope to break when it pulled taut.
07:04At the next and final bridge he grabbed a second line and again began tying it around
07:10his wife before suddenly giving it up as futile.
07:15The Stantons knelt down on the ice, kissed, and held one another as they entered the rapids.
07:22They were, very quickly, swallowed up by the mist and foam.
07:29It is safe to assume that Hecock and the Stantons did not survive their respective plunges into
07:35the Niagara River, although their bodies were never found.
07:39Hecock was remembered as a hero for his willingness to turn back and help someone in need, even
07:45when it meant risking his own life.
07:48But as for the Stantons, who went so calmly to their deaths, they had been married for
07:53six years and had visited the Niagara Falls once in summer and once in winter for each
07:59of them.
08:01They died together, and in a place they clearly loved.
08:08For several weeks a watch was kept on the river and its many whirlpools in the hope
08:13that bodies might be recovered.
08:15They never were.
08:18The Icebridge Disaster marked the last time that people were allowed or encouraged to
08:23cross the Niagara River at the base of the falls when it froze in winter.
08:29Icebridges still sometimes form across the river, although they are rarely as thick or
08:33solid as they were 100 years ago.
08:36Nowadays the tourist amenities at the falls are rather different.
08:41You can enjoy everything from a river cruise to ziplining to a ride on the Niagara Skywheel
08:47or a swim in an indoor water park.
08:51In addition to all these things visitors will find at least one lingering trace of the Icebridge
08:56Disaster.
08:58On an observation deck on the Canadian side of the falls there is a small memorial to
09:03the events of the 4th of February, 1912.
09:06A plaque set into the wall reads as follows.
09:11To the memory of Burrell Hecock of Cleveland, Ohio, aged 17 years, who lost his life in
09:18an heroic attempt to rescue Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge Stanton of Toronto, Ontario, when the icebridge
09:25in the gorge immediately below was swept down the Niagara River and into the Whirlpool Rapids.
09:31February 4th, 1912.

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