Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-08-02

away Ny tlIlo, Ull1Os
/ have never wished myself dead
since then. so b. .aii - 9 eifa
sg A FEMALE SWIMMER
Remarkable Aquatic Performances of a
N'l PiSc<y English Girl. !, saa -.
Po'H From the London Telegraph.
The steamer Volunteer, belong ing to
the London Steamboat Company, left
Westminster Pier for Chelsea yesterday
afternoon with Miss Beckwith and a
company of 200 ladies and gentlemen
on boaro. When the steamer reached
Chelsea Old Bridge, thousands of per-
sors had gathered on the embankment
to see the startof Miss Beckwith on a
Uen-mile swim in. the Tham1
the Old Bridge at Chelsea to Greenwich
| Pier. Without any undue delay the
young girl (for she is not yet tifteen
years of age) made her appearance,
attired in d professional swimming cos
tune, on deck. The company on the
steamer cheered again and again, so
did many hundred spectators on the
bridge, and the many thousands on the
embankment The demonstration we s
renewed when. she jumped into q
waterman's boat, which pushed out in
to mid-strean1. Standing on the stern
she waived her hand to the spectators
and then plunged into the river. The
exact time was nine minutes past three.
There was a fair breeze which made
the water rather lumpy, but the force
of the ebb tide YVES all in her
favor With a gentle breast stroke,
| She young swimmer, with every
encouragement from the curious pub
lie, proceeded on her arduous feat A
pilot in a small boat, in which were her
father AID brother, the latter ready to
jump in aid of his sister in c..se of any
emergency, led the way. She swan
close to IFS stern, and kept that posi-
ton more or less during the whole of
the task. About ten minutes after
starring she placed a straw hat on her
head, but as soon as the sun becam
obscured by clouds she threw it to her
father, and never had occasion to use
it again. A crowd composed of many
hundreds had followed ner from Chez
sea along the embankment, and at Bat
tersea Suspension BRIDGE it became
greatly augmented bv larger crowds, al
though the elimination in the number
of spectators was reached at Westmin-
ster Bridge. Vauxhall Bridge YVES
reached in thirty-four minutes. When
she had passed under it she several
times passed her body through hoop,
a feat which elected special cheer.
At Westminster the sight of an i'm
mense populace upon the bridge was
of itself remarkable But in addition,
the Albert Embankment seemed to be
equally crowded, and on passing under
the bridge, the Victoria Embankment
as far as the eye could reach was dense.
ly thronged. Miss Beckwitn must, how
ever, have been scarcely visible, owing
to- a small shoal of watermen's boats
which crushed into one another with
delightful Indifference in the frantic eff.
forts Of their occupants to get sight
of the swimmer. In 20 minutes she had
reached Blackfriar's Bridge, and from
this point to the end of the course
spectators appeared on mas+s, crowded
wharf windows, and occupied every
available position. So far the young
swimmer had displayed not the least
fatigue. On the contrary, the natura
exuberance of her spirits and conf.
/ dence of manner had not in the least
abated, while there was no change in
the healthy rose hue of her counte.
nance. She proceeded with the ease OF
a skilled swimmer, while the distance
had not impaired the remarkable grace
of her style. London bridge, crowded
/ of course, was passed in an hour and
twenty-five minutes. The boats, after
this, became more unruly than ever
and on several occasions Miss Beck.
with was nearly struck on the head
by their bows. The occupants of two
of them began to quarrel, and fought
with their oars, to the terror of two
women in one, of the boats, whose
screams could be heard on shore. One
of the combatants had his oar smash
ed, and if his craft had not had sub
stantial breadth of beam, the swim.
ming feat might have been accompa-
MED with a fatal disaster. London
Bridge passed, the absence of great
crowds robbed the occasion of much
Of it's interest. Opposite Greenwich
Pier, Miss Beckwith, at five minutes to
six, was taken on board the Volunteer,
having swami the ten miles in two
hours and forty-six minutes. During
the time she was in the water she
declined all offers of, refreshment, and
when she appeared on board the steam
boat she was apparently as fresh and
sprightly as when first she came out OF
her cabin at Chelsea.
A VERY daring Kentucky girl recent
ly rode her horse close ND to the edge