Maud Willard was a twenty five year old dance hall actress from Canton Ohio who had made a plan with Carlisle Graham that would outdo all earlier stunts through the rapids. She was to ride Carlisle Graham’s barrel through the Whirlpool Rapids and into the Whirlpool. Eventually Graham would intercept the barrel and swim alongside it all the way to Lewiston.

The feat was to be filmed by a movie crew and much publicity had been involved. The two stunters picked September 7th as the day for their trip because of the hordes of tourists that were in Buffalo to see The Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, including President William McKinley.

However fate would not be on Maud’s side that day. Not only was President McKinley assassinated by Leon Czolgosz, that day, but Maud also made a fateful error by including her fox terrier in the trip.

On the afternoon of Septermber 7th Willard crawled into Grahams barrel and a small boat towed her out into the river. A trolley was to follow Ms. Willards barrel along the Great Gorge Route with a film crew inside. The barrel set about on its scheduled course but was not able to break free of the Whirlpool Rapids.

For an hour it bobbed in the current but could not become free and continue on. Carlisle Graham, watching events unfold from the shore decided to make his swim without Maud Willard. With camera crews filming Graham plunged into the Niagara River and completed his swim to Lewiston.

Upon returning to the Whirlpool, he was dismayed to find nightfall setting in and Maud’s barrel still caught in the Whirlpool. By about 9;30 p.m. the barrel came close enough to the shore to be retrieved. It had been in the water for over five hours.

When the lid was removed Maude’s pet fox terrier jumped out apparently unhurt. Maud Willard was not so lucky. All efforts to revive her were in vain and she was pronounced dead. The barrel that Maud perished in only had one air hole. It was believed that her pet dog stuck his nose out the hole depriving her of oxygen and contributing to her death.