On August 6, 1918, The Niagara Scow carrying two men broke the line that had kept it attached to a tugboat, and the swift current in the upper river brought the scow close to the brink of the Horseshoe Falls.
The two men on the scow, Gustave F Lofberg and Frank Harris of the Great Lakes Dredge and Docks Company, tried to slow the scow.
Some reports suggest that they opened two latches on the bottom of the scow to allow water to enter in order to ground the vessel, but others indicate they did not have time to do so.
In any event, the vessel did become caught on some rocks roughly 750 metres (2,500 feet) upriver from the brink.

Darkness was approaching when the United States Coast Guard mounted their gun on the roof of the Toronto Power House and shot a rope to the scow.

A breeches buoy was then sent out but became tangled and snarled.
Red Hill Sr.
volunteered to try to reach the men.
Using the rope, Red Hill Sr.
set out at 3 a.m. with spotlights glaring to light his path.
A wrong move on his part would bring almost certain death.
Hand over hand Red Hill struggled against the strong current to reach his destination, however, hindered by darkness, Hill was not able to untangle the ropes and gave up at 3 a.m. The rescue was called off until the light of day.
By 8:30 a.m., Red Hill was again attempting to free the ropes, this time being successful with the aid of the men on the scow.

By 10 a.m. the men had been safely returned to the shore.
According to historian Sherman Zavitz, "If it hadn’t been for (Hill’s) willingness, the story might not have had such a happy ending".
 Hill was awarded a Carnegie Hero Fund Carnegie Medal for his role in saving Lofberg and Harris.

At the time of the rescue, Hill had been home for only a few days after four years of service in France during World War I, where he had been gassed and wounded.
He had been awarded two medals for bravery and returned to Canada in a badly underweight condition.

Today visitors to Niagara Falls can still see the badly deteriorated old scow in the river above the Horseshoe Falls, although its location shifted by about 50 metres during a storm on 31 October 2019.
On August 6, 1918, The Niagara Scow carrying two men broke the line that had kept it attached to a tugboat, and the swift current in the upper river brought the scow close to the brink of the Horseshoe Falls. The two men on the scow, Gustave F Lofberg and Frank Harris of the Great Lakes Dredge and Docks Company, tried to slow the scow. Some reports suggest that they opened two latches on the bottom of the scow to allow water to enter in order to ground the vessel, but others indicate they did not have time to do so. In any event, the vessel did become caught on some rocks roughly 750 metres (2,500 feet) upriver from the brink.
Darkness was approaching when the United States Coast Guard mounted their gun on the roof of the Toronto Power House and shot a rope to the scow.
A breeches buoy was then sent out but became tangled and snarled. Red Hill Sr. volunteered to try to reach the men. Using the rope, Red Hill Sr. set out at 3 a.m. with spotlights glaring to light his path. A wrong move on his part would bring almost certain death. Hand over hand Red Hill struggled against the strong current to reach his destination, however, hindered by darkness, Hill was not able to untangle the ropes and gave up at 3 a.m. The rescue was called off until the light of day. By 8:30 a.m., Red Hill was again attempting to free the ropes, this time being successful with the aid of the men on the scow. 
By 10 a.m. the men had been safely returned to the shore. According to historian Sherman Zavitz, "If it hadn’t been for (Hill’s) willingness, the story might not have had such a happy ending".  Hill was awarded a Carnegie Hero Fund Carnegie Medal for his role in saving Lofberg and Harris.
At the time of the rescue, Hill had been home for only a few days after four years of service in France during World War I, where he had been gassed and wounded. He had been awarded two medals for bravery and returned to Canada in a badly underweight condition. 
Today visitors to Niagara Falls can still see the badly deteriorated old scow in the river above the Horseshoe Falls, although its location shifted by about 50 metres during a storm on 31 October 2019.
William "Red" Hill Sr.