The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1876-09-08
A SWIM FOR LIBERTY.
n Thief Jumps into the Missouri River
A Policeman Follows, and Terrible
Fight Takes Place I'm Mid-stream.

n Thief Jumps into the Missouri River
A Policeman FoiIows, and u Terrible
Fight Takes Place I'm Mid-stream.
From the Omaha Bee.l
Last week some time, pawnbroker
named Rosenfeld, doing business on
Tenth street. had three silver watches,
worth about so each, stolen from him.
No trace of the property or thieves was
discovered until last evening about $50
o'clock. when a colored man named
Joseph Bolts, recent arrival here from
Leayenworth, entered the hat store OF
Mr.. Movers, on Douglas street, and Of
fered for sale three watches. Meyers,
who was aware of the theft from Rosen-
field, recognized the watches, or at least
suspected that they were the property
of Roscnfeld. He examined the best one
of the lot, and delayed Bolts as long as
possible, endeavoring in the meantime
to give an alarm to the police and have
MIN arrested. Bolts suspected that he
was getting trapped, and ran out on the
street, leaving the watch in Meyers pos
session. Meyers Immediately followed
and raised the "hue and cry" of "stop
thief" Policeman Byrne happened to
be in the vicinity, and at once gave
chase. Bolts had about two blocks the
start, and headed northward on Thir-
teenth street. He skipped through the
Union Pacific shop yards, andreappeared
on the north side of North Omaha
slough, and was steering for the ferry
landing, with Byrne still in pursuit.
Byrne, however, got little out OF wind,
and soon lost little distance in the
chase. He called on several persons for
assistance, but their aid was very slow
and didn't help him any.
Arriving at the ferry landing, Bolts
pulled off his coat and shoes, jumped
into the Missouri river and struck out
for the Iowa shore.
Byrne arrived at the spot soon after
ward, pretty well tired out, but never
theless determined, if possible, to catch
Bolts. There was a skill there, put no
oars, so he could not use it, but, beng
an excellent swimmer, he hurriedly d.
vested himself of every stitch of cloth
ing, and then plunged into the stream
after his man. The race now became
decidedly interesting, more particularly
so because, as is a well known fact, the
Missouri river is swift and dangerous
stream, even for the best OF swimmers
to swim in. Bolts had a start OF ten or
twelve rods, and had stick which he
used as float, but Byrne overlook him
at last near the middle of the river.
Bolts swore he would not be arrested, or
go back to the Nebraska shore, but that
he would rather drown first. Bolts took
hold of Byrpe by the neck and showed
him under the water, thing that Byrne
was not expecting. When Byrne came
up he served Bolts in the same manner,
and the black rascal still persisted that
he would rather drown than be captured.
Both men now had hold of the stick,
and after Juggling at it back and forth
for while, Byrne took little rest and
argued the matter with Bolts, telling
him it was very foolish for either of them
to risk their lives any longer over such a
small affair as the larceny of three cheap
watches. But he could not get him to
yield in the least Byrne then sue
ceeded in jerking the stick away from
him and sent it floating down the stream.
Both men then struck out, again swim
ming for the Iowa shore. Byrne exerted
himself to the utmost to reach the land
first, and gained ten or twelve rods on
him. When Byrne got into the swift
eddies he had all he could do to keep
himself up. He had about twenty rods
further to get to shore, and to get that
distance he was forced to swim down
stream distance of half mile, land
ing in the upper rip-raps. This shows
how rapid the current is, and that his
swim, after all the previous exercise that
he had had, was no small undertaking.
He had no clothes to impede him with
their weight, however, and thus had the
advantage Of Bolts, who had on his
shirt, pantaloons and stockings. Byrne,
while making for the shore, did not have
an opportunity of keeping an eye on
Bolts, and when he looked for him after
landing he was nowhere to be seen.
Byrne went up and down the shore for
some distance, but could not discover
him. The last that he saw of him was
when he was in the middle of the stream,
and the probability is that the man was
drowned.