Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-09-26
W U HEROES.

need 10 go DICK into history. Near
lly every day we read in the papers of
brave deeds which people are doing,
and it very often happens that they are
done by boys anu girls.
William and Frank Hardina are the
sons of a Bohemian cigar-maker in
West Farm, just above New York
City. Frank, who's twelve. years old,
still goas to school, but William, being
two years older, helps his father at
home. In the family they speak the
bohemian tongue, but to thegentleman
who interviewed them for this article
their language was pure American.
Most street boys in New York have a
dialect Of their own-a sort of English
as she is spoke"-which improves upon
the ordinary tongue by turning tn into
d., and using a great many words which
neither Mr.. Webster nor Mr.. Worcester
eve heard of. From these faults the
speech Of the Hardina boys. is quite
free; neither is. it marked by any for
eign accent.
Before coming to. New York. thew
lived in Springfield. Mass. and Detroit,
Mich, and it was. in the latter place
that. they learned to swim. :
They'd chuck us into the walec,"
said the elder, by way of explanation,
land we'd either have to swimor sink"
So by practice in the art the. boys, be-
came as much. at home in the water
as out of it,, They were told, too, by
their father that if they ever saw any
one drowning they must not hesitate to
jump. in. Don't wait to take your
clothes. off," said the father; even if you
do get them, wet l sha'n't punish you"
So instructed, they knew what they
were to do when the time came. I
don't suppose they ever imagined it
would come; but all the same they
were prepared; and. being ready to use
ones knowledge is quite as, necessary
as to have the knowledge itself. I
don't suppose, either, that Annie Over
packer and Mamie Carol ever mag
ined that they would owe their lives to
the circumstance of the Bohemian boys
being tossed into the Detroit River.
But u lives hang together by very
queer threads. and this is what actually
happened.
Annie and Mamie, who, live in Ire
mont, a short distance from West
Farms, had gone on. a picnic one after
noon in July. with Annie's aunt and
some other friends. The picnic was
held in a grove on the banks of the
Bronx River, and near by q Sunday
school picnic was also being held. Any
one who has travelled on the Harlem
& New Haven Railroad will recollect
the winding. little stream, that follows
the course of the road, as one nears
New York, with as many twists and
turns as if it were a serpent. Near the
shore the river is shallow enough, and
in parts of its course it drifts lazily
along, and clearly shows the pebbly
bottom. But here and there are
tr%eacherous, holes, where the water is at
least thirty feet deep, and where one
might drown. as>easiIy as. il the little
brook were Long. Island Sound or the
Atlantic Ocean,. With care. however,
bathing is not unsafe, but whether it
was or not, the. girls had promised
themselves this. sport as a part of the
picnic: So, having put on their bath
ing-dresscs, they waded out into, the
water, and stood there for q time
watching the motions OF Annie's broth
Ell, who had swum out beyond them,
and was vainly urging them, to, '-come
ahead"
By-and-by the brother got tired, and
struck out down the stream. The girls
then turned their attention to them
selves, and playfully tried to see which
could ''duck'' the other, Moving back
ward step. by step, they were getting
out into the river, and, without know
ing it, one OF the great holes was yawn-
ing behind them. Now they II on the
brink of it. Suddenly one steps over,
and with % loud cry, striving to recover
herself, grasps the other and drags her
into the watery depths. Before those
who are watching from: the shore can
realize what has taken place, the chill
dren have disappeared, and only the
widening rjpples show where they have
sunk. Wild shrieks go up from the
shore, and one woman, who is Annie
aunt, becomes frantic with terror, and is
about to leap in after them. Two
mounted policemen gaze stupidity on
the scene, unable to. do anything, for
neither a swim.
No one had noticed two barefooted
boys who were fishing on the bank not
tar away. All at once there is a cry;
..We'll save them!!' followed by a
splash, and two heads are seer swim
ming in the water. The two boys are
The Hardinas, and they have remem'
oered their fathers advice.
Quick as they were, however, thu
girls had already risen and sunk twicB
Only one more chance remained, and a
,ne of the girls came up for the thire
md last time to the surface, William
grasped for her. and holding her tigght
made Jog the shore. 1t was Mamie Car
coll, the smaller OF the two, leaving tn
older and heavier girl to the twelve
year-old boy, Frank, however, was no
unequal to the task, and rs Annie
aeai came to the surface he clutehe'
1t the long hair. But it slipped through
! his wet fingers and the girl went down
clutching al his foot and dragging hin
4 ~ H. LID