William "Red" Hill Sr. was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 1888. On May 30th 1930, a large crowd estimated at twenty-five thousand lined both sides of the Niagara River from the Horseshoe Falls to Queenston - Lewiston to witness a spectacular feat performed by legendary river man William "Red" Hill Sr. At the age of 42 years, Hill Sr. was going to fulfil his promise to challenge the Great Gorge Rapids and the Whirlpool from the docks of the Maid of the Mist . Hill Sr.'s barrel was of steel construction, six feet long and three feet in diameter. Its interior was only five feet long because Hill Sr. had built in six inch bulkheads at both ends. This barrel had a fourteen inch by eighteen inch manhole to allow entry which was covered by a sliding steel cover sealed with rubber gaskets. There were air holes on the sides of the barrel with were plugged with cork to allow them to be opened in an emergency. It was weighted by a steel keel welded to its bottom consisting of a one hundred and fifty pound section of railroad track. The barrel was equipped with a harness system so that Hill Sr. would lay prone but suspended away from the walls. The barrel weighed 620 pounds and was painted bright red with gold lettering with "William Red Hill, Master Hero of Niagara inscribed on the sides. At 1:15 p.m. May 30th 1930, Hill Sr. climbed into the barrel and set off on his journey. Because of the eddies it took Hill Sr. one hour and forty minutes before the river released his barrel and he was allowed to continue. His trip through the rapids to the whirlpool took ninety seconds. At the whirlpool, the barrel became stuck in the vortex. After three and a half hours, Hill Sr. and his friends were able to free the barrel so Hill Sr. could resume his trip to Queenston - Lewiston. Hill Sr. arrived at the Queenston docks at 6:15 p.m. where he was met by thousands of people including his wife and sons Red Jr., Major and Norman. He suffered a few minor bruises. He went back to work driving a taxi the next day. This was Hill Sr.'s second trip through the rapids. His first performance occurred in 1910 using the barrel of Bobby Leach. Red Hill Sr. made his third trip through the same rapids on Memorial Day 1931, using the barrel of George Strathakis. Strathakis died in this barrel while attempting to go over the Falls on July 5th 1930. Hill Sr. survived this trip as well but the barrel had sprung a leak and was half full by the time it reached the Whirlpool. Again the barrel became caught in the vortex. Only through the heroic efforts of his son William "Red" Hill Jr. who swam out with a rope attached to his waist to tie onto the barrel did Hill Sr. survive. The next day Hill Sr. went back to the whirlpool and continued his journey in the barrel to Queenston. Red Hill Sr. had officially been credited with saving the lives of twenty-eight persons from drowning. He received more lifesaving awards from the Canadian Government than any man before or since. Red Hill Sr. was the foremost expert in the knowledge of the rivers treacherous tides, undertows, whirlpool and eddies. He had grown up near the gorge and it was his playground. During his lifetime, Red Hill Sr. recovered the bodies of one hundred and seventy-seven persons who had died from accidents or suicides. Hill Sr. was a mighty swimmer, once having swam from the foot of the American Falls through the boiling cauldron to the Canadian shore in a record time of eleven minutes. He won his first Canadian Government lifesaving medal at the age of nine years. In February 1912, a spectacular tragedy known as the "Ice Bridge Disaster" turned the spotlight on Hill Sr. in a large way. Shifting winds sent thousands of tons of ice from Lake Erie over the Falls into the gorge below creating a massive ice jam as thick as a hundred feet. Prior to 1912 both American and Canadian Governments tolerated persons crossing over the ice bridge or building shacks. Near noon on Sunday February 4th 1912, in below zero temperatures, the ice bridge began to shake and groan. Red Hill Sr. was sitting in one of the shacks with several of his friends. Hill Sr. sensed that the ice was breaking up and made a dash to the Canadian shore. A short distance away he saw a small group of tourists who appeared frozen by fear. Hill Sr. went back to them and ushered them to shore with the exception of four people. An ice flow broke loose carrying a pair of newly weds, Mr. & Mrs. Ellwood Stanton of Toronto and an eighteen year old would be rescuer Burrell Peacock of Cleveland. All three persons died as the ice flow on which they were riding reached the Great Gorge Rapids. On August 8th 1918, a scow engaged in dredging had broken loose of its mooring above the upper rapids and drifted out of control towards the Horseshoe Falls. Gustave Luffberg and Frank Harris, both dredging employees were on board the scow. Frantically, they opened the two holes in the bottom of the scow dropping its load. As a result the scow became caught on reef rocks only several hundred feet from the brink of the Falls. A rescue boat could not be utilized to rescue the two men . The United States Coast Guard however were called from Youngstown, New York to assist. When they arrived they mounted their gun on the roof of the Toronto Power House. The first shot to the scow with a rope was successful. A line was strung from the power house to the scow. A breeches buoy followed the line but became snarled half way across. With night approaching, Red Hill Sr. went out hand over hand along the rope as his body was tugged by the current of the rapids. Red Hill Sr. reached the tangled breech buoy and was unable to untangle it in order to allow the rescue of the crew of the scow without any loss of life. Hill Sr. spent the waning years of his life showing off his barrel and selling pictures of himself in a souvenir store. On May 14th 1942, William Red Hill Sr. at the age of 54 years, died of a heart attack at the Niagara Falls Hospital.