The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1882-04-21
PART II.
SIXTY CENTS WORTH.

PART Il
SIXTY CENTS WORTH.
wonder how many passengers on the
Oakland ferry ever speculate seriously
on what they would do-in fact, on what
would happen-should they fall over
board on the trip.
If such gloomy calculations filed their
minds, and, impelled by them, the pas
senger strolled forward or aft on the
main deck to inspect the life-boats, he
would not need to possess a very in
innate knowledge of nautical affairs to
be ominously impressed by what he
would see.
Of course, we all know that general
law requires each steamboat, in addition
to other ife-saving facilities, to provide
a number of life-boats in proportion to
the steamers capacity. These are, in
the language of the specifications re-
lating thereto, "to be slung on the main
deck, kept in constant working order,
ready for instant use, and the deck
hands familiarized with the working of
the same by weekly drills.
The inquiring passengers referred to
would notice, we repeat, that on the
ferry lines referred to the regulations
are practically ignored. The boats, he
would perceive, are slung on dayits,
stout by rust; the lowering tackle solid
fled into iron like rigidity by the use Of
paint; the life boats themselves covered
by an deliberately fastened canvas hood,
and the oars fastened in sort of rack,
and the whole apparatus tied, strapped
and incumbered in a manner perplexing
to the most ready-fngered sailor, much
less to the headed, slow-moving
deckhand of the period.
A very impartial little calculation
would then show the astonished passen-
ger in question that shorld he fail oves-
board, or jump over and then repent
him Of the act, as most suicides do, it
would be at least fifteen minutes, in all
probability, before he could be reached.
Adding this cheerful result to the kct,
statistically proved, that not more than
four persons out of a thousand, in
Guiding swimmers, can keep afoat for
ten minutes in smooth water with their
clothes on, the passengers would doubt
less conclude by keeping as far away
from the side railing as possible, and
even read the next published account of
"A Determined Suicide " on the ferry
line with as much skepticism as interest.
And yet our steamboat inspectors do
not lock as if few hundred indirect
murders weighed very heavily on their
possible minds, somehow.
It was December again, and, lacking
q few days, q year had slipped by since
the lion had reversed the fable by gnaw-
ing the net for the mouse to escape.
That morning the merchant, who, for
some inscrutable reason, resided in that
corporate cemetery known as Oakland,
had fired the imagination of his little
daughter by reading at the breakfast
table the inspiring news that two baby
tigers had just been born at Woodward's
gardens. AS necessary sequence he
had finally yielded to the mandate. Of
the domestic despot that she should be
conveyed forthwith to that realm of
juvenile delight. So papa, mamma and
the golden-haired midget in the family
lead took an early boat for the city-the
grown folks gravely pretending, for
some ridiculous reason peculiar to grown
folks everywhere, that they did not
themselves care to look at the animals,
but that it wouldn't do to trust the
nurse, altogether, in such place.
AS the ferry-boat neared the wharf on
the city side, the mother was in the
cabin engaged in the discussion Of
nursery mysteries with some neighbor-
ing matron, while the merchant, who
had descended to the lower deck with
the child, was head over ears in polit-
ical disquisition regarding the new Cab
met Little Lille, at length getting
tired of hanging to the unresponsive big
forefinger of her fathers hand, trotted
off unnoticed to the side of the boat to
peer timidly from beneath the gangway
rail at the great, tall poles that were
sweeping close past as the boat entered
the slip. They reminded her of SO many
soldiers on parade.
AS the steamers bow crunched against
the piles with more than usually vio-
lent preliminary jar, sudden inarticu-
late shout of terror rose from the pass
engers. The little bundle of chubby
prettiness had tottered and disappeared
over the side.
"My God p shrieked the pafalyzed
father, as the crowding of the boat
against the slip shut the drowning
child from sight and rendered help i'm
possible; "she will be crushed under
the Wheel"
sBack back |" shouted the passen-
gers to the pilot, and, while the frantic
screams of the hysterical mother chilled
their hearts, and dozen kindly hands
restrained the insane father from aim
lessly leaping from the opposite side, the
engine bells iingled furiously, and the
huge mass halted and then began slowly
to move outward again.
Hoping against hope, the coolest of
the passengers crowded to the rail with
boat hooks, until, after what seemed an
eternity of time to the white, Watching
faces above, narrow streak of water
was revealed whiaa grew wider and
wider.
"Well, Tn -" said one of the
deck-hands, who was peering under the
side, "if wharf-rat hasn't got it.
But the shudder caused by this
strange remark was unnecessary, for
presently the eager eyes above beheld
swimming below them a creature whose
close cropped head and bead-like eyes
sufficiently resembled rats, but which
in reality belonged to an understood
boy swimmer, master of the art withal.
Floating behind him with its fair head
upturned and resting upon the wiry lit
tie shoulders that struck out so manfully
through the churning water was the
merchants little daughter. Towing the
insensible infant by means of her long
sunny curls passed over his shoulders,
and gripped firmly in his mouth, the
boy struggled on to the nearest pile, to
which he finally chung like the small,
amphibious animal he really was.
A boat hook twisted In the garments
of the girl soon relieved him of his
charge, which was placed in the trem-
bling arms of its mother, whose heaven
raised eyes told plainly that she felt the
baby's heart still beating against her
own.
As they lowered the hooks again to
draw up the almost equally exhausted
rescuer the men noticed that the drops
that fell bacl, from his clothes made a
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