100 years ago in Eastern Washington: A young boy narrowly escaped death after falling from a bluff above Hangman Creek

Two small boys, 8 and 6, were sitting on the edge of the high bluff above Hangman (Latah) Creek, watching a train steam by far below.

Suddenly, the sand bank gave way.

Richard Wilson, 6, plunged down the cliff face. He would have fallen to his death onto the railroad tracks below, except for one lucky circumstance. He was sitting down at the time, so he landed “squarely sitting down,” which prevented him from rolling off the narrow ledge where he landed.

“I slid down on my pants,” he later said.

His companion, Martin Newton, 8, tried to go to Richard’s rescue – but then he slid down the bank as well.

“The bank was so steep they could not climb back up nor move to right or left, for fear of sliding to the chasm below,” The Spokesman-Review wrote. “Clinging to the rock, their terrified cries attracted Carl Anderson, across Hangman Creek.”

Anderson called police and then grabbed a rope, raced through the creekside brush, waded Hangman Creek and climbed the bank just to the south of the terrified boys.

Three police officers arrived at the same time. One of the officers lowered himself to the boys on the rope. Then he tied each boy, in turn, to the rope, where they were pulled up to safety. Once the boys were safe, the officer was also pulled to the top.

Richard was in tears over the ordeal, but he “cheered up considerably” after Frances Boyle, a Lewis and Clark High School girl, stopped her car on High Drive and comforted the distraught little fellow.

The boys promised the officers they would never play in that dangerous spot again.