The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-05-23
WI GREAT SWIMMERS.
The Motive Which Prompted Odlum
TO Make His Fatal Leap From
Brooklyn Bridge.
How Captain Boynton Proposes to
Blow Up Hostile Men.of.War
With TOrpedoes.

"Bob Odlum, who lost his life In the
,aap from Brooklyn bridge, was not 8
c,ank, as many persons declare. He
studied we'll the chances before he
made the fatal leap, and he was Ger.
tain that he could perform the feat in
safety"
The speaker was Henry Ralston
for many years a prominent official
in the P~ostofice Department al
Washington and one of poor Odlum's
most intimate friends. While visit.
ING friends in Butte, he was corraled
nv a MINER reporter, in quest OF
news.
"Odlum," continued Mr.. Ralston,
awas beyond question the best diver
IN America, if not in the world. He
could stay under the water longer
than any other man I ever knew, and
he delighted in making long leaps.
He was an educated gentleman, born
and reared in st. Louis, and for some
ak wears prior to his death had con-
ducted a large swimming school in
Washington city. Among his pupils
we're the sons and daughters of lead
inv members of Congress. EXPRESS
;dsut Arthur's daughter was one of
b,s nupils. He was an exceedingly
nonular man, and took great pride in
his nrvfession. L knew that he had
in contemplation the fatal leap
fnr over two years. OF course,
ambition prompted the act, but he
firmly believad that it would be of
benefit to mankind to prove that one
could leap into the water from great
heights in safety. He t I'D me that
he had more than once leaped from
poiuts over 100 feet high-in one in
Stance from a height of lis feet. The
distance covered by the last fata! leap
was only 1876 feet. l am satisfied that
he did not entertain ever the slight
est idea thai th>slaapf from the Brook
Iyn brid.e would be attended by even
the slightest danger to his person.
"Were not Oilum and Captain
Paul Boynton very warm friends"
1.-The very warmest friendship ex-
listed between them. They were the
acknowledged champions IN the
swimmlng art, and each one was
ever on the alert TO say a good word
about the other"
"What do you think of Captain
Boynton and his plan to fasten tor
pedoes to war vessels? 2"
81 have had many a talk with
Boynton on the subject. and am sat-
isfed that he al blow up any ship
entering an American harbor with
hostile intent. Why, he has just
issued a challenge, to put a torpedo
she'll to any British vessel in Ameri-
can waters, in spite of all the appa-
ratus It's eff GERS may use to prevent
it, or the strictest watch they may
keep on hoard, he to select the night
and the hour for the experiment, and
he agrees that the officers of the
vessel may be at liberty to treat him
as an enemy and kill him if they
can, while he is engaged in tue
experiment. By-the-way it was not
the first timethat Boynton attempted
the trick when he fastened the
dummy torpedo to the keel of the
British man-of-war "Garnet" in
New York harbor. While the war
between Chile and Peru was in
progress Captain BoyntOn went
dswn to Sputh America to aid
the PeruvIan5. The Chileans had
two powerful iron-clad vessels, said
to have been at the time the strong
est and most invinc.ble adoat. 1t
was B%oyntOn's aim and ambition to
blow these two vessels up with tor
pedoes. By some means the Chilean
authorities got wind Of his mission
AMI kept the vessels out of his reach.
Captain Boynton always insisted
thai his plan was entirely feasible,
maintaining that he could swim out
fully ten miles from shore aud fasten
q torpedo to any hostile ship, no
matter what precautions the ships
Company should take to Illustrate his
plans"