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WILLIAM AND ROBERT WEST that they almost drowned him. He had to sink below the surface to escape their entangling arms and legs. Then, one by one, he dragged the four to the side of the boat and finally pulled them into it. A few minutes later, somebody noticed that the sixth boy, Harold Jones (a grandson of Hiram Capron) was missing. Bobby dived into the water to find him. But he dived for an hour before he found the body. Jones had a bruise on his forehead. It was thought that he had struck his head on the boat as it sank and so had not risen to the surface. The Star-Transcript spoke of "the heroic conduct of young West", and said that he deserved a medal. When William became old and feeble, Bobby took over the presid- ency of the Nith Navigation Company and the West Boat Works. And he assumed the title of Grand Commodore of the Fleet. In /19Io, according to The Star-Transcript, he launched a new vessel, "The Pride of the Nith", and invited townsmen to inspect her. This vessel was built to carry as many as loo passengers on cruises up and down the river; and to transport large picnic groups, together with their food and equipment, to picnic grounds such as Penman's Grove, Barker's Island, and Cahill's Flats. "The Pride", which was built of logs, was Ioo feet long and eight feet wide, had water-tight compartments, a three-foot railing around the main deck, a large cabin for the storage of provisions, and a great awning over the main deck. The engine, which at that time had not been installed, was to be a five horse-power electric motor powered by three dry-cell batteries. To avoid the problems that would be involved in launching so large a craft, her designer, builder, engineer, captain and navigator had ingeniously laid her keel off-shore and wrought upon the placid waters. One of Bobby's larger boats was really driven by paddle wheels. It was a flat bottomed vessel with a frame-like superstructure decorated with flags and streamers. The paddle wheels were con- nected to the sprocket and pedals of a bicycle. When a party of six or eight passengers had boarded the boat, Bobby would mount to the saddle and get under way. Sometimes he would transport his passengers to the old golf-course across the Nith; at other times, he would take them on a sight-seeing cruise around the islands. The course of the vessel was usually erratic. In I9og, Mrs. West died; in i912, William died at the age of 94. Their passing was mourned by the whole community. Since the two other surviving members of the family had left town, Bobby was now alone. He continued to live on the bank of the Nith, to rent small boats, to make heroic rescues, and to commune with the winding stream. When the waters were covered with a smooth sheet of ice, and skaters came to enjoy themselves, Bobby kept a 249