Connecticut western news., 1886-07-28
A BOLD LEAP.
X Newsboy Springs from the Brook. lyn Bridge and Escapes with his Life.

TOT lWo yedTS been planning to Jump rom the Brooklyn bridge. He had an idea that there would be glory and money in it. On Friday | he fixed himself up for the exploit, but allowed | only few of his newsboy friends to know of his intentions.
 | Brodie, with friend of his called aBuges'' Waterman, sanntefed leis,ifely lip to the road l way where the teams cross the big bridge. 1 The two men stood near the entrance talking | for few minutes, and then Brodie hailed a | truck driver who was driving up from Park row to the bridge entrance and asked for a | ride over. The two climbed on to the trick, and paid the necessary cent apiece for the priv | ilege of riding. "Buggs" Sat with the driver | Brodie stood up on the back Of the truck hold ing on hy ene of the balesticks As the big one.hofse truck was dragged slowly over the cobblestones "Buggs" kept .upa conversation | with the driver, with the evident intention of | attracting his attention from the proceedings of MT. Brodie. The latter stood very quietly looking at the shining river below, Nearing Brodie looked over the rrist=cuated iron Tail at the side of the bridge, and on the water below saw little boat with some of his friends in it, who were waiting for him. When the red-wheeled truck had passed by the New York pier, and was nearly a bundled feet beyond it, Brodie could keep quiet no longer. Holding on to the bale sticks of the truck with his two hands he danced breakdown, humming nervously the tune to himself as his feet struck the bottom of the truck.
 When the vehicle was fully 200 feet beyond the New York pier Brodie of sudden stopped his dance and leaped from the truck to the roadway. "God will save me" he said. Brodie swung himself over the fence, under the iron guard rail and on the girder below. Rounds man Michael Lally saw Brodie leap from the truck and disappear like a shadow through the ironwork of the bridge's side. The truck driver stopped, stupefed. The newsboy's friend cfied, with laugh, 'vThefe's man ovefboard!' a ftoiin only dull splash in the water below. Brodie had dropped from the iron rail to the girder two feet below it. For second or two he swung like an acrobat on a balloon trapeze. An instant, and the motion was controlled, and the newsbOy's body was as rigid as Q bar of steel The hands close together clinched the iron gir- der and the feet were also pressed against each other. Then as the hearts of the friends below painfully throbbed, the rigid body, like dark when hs eppsa aset e hs atssa sasr hs hs tension of the muscles seerned to relax. The arms, which had been held straight over the head, bent until they formed nearly an arch. The feet, too, separated, and the right one was advanced an inch or two from the left.
 It was said to be only 35 seconds from the time Brodie was standing on the truck before he struck the water. He was Under the water about three seconds befofe he arose within fifty feet of the boat in which his friends were. When he rose to the surface he blew the Bully boy! Bully boyr' he shouted, as he swam for the boat. Butler and Kane, two of the boats crew, leaped into the water and swam out to him. He lay on his back and with his friends. Then he clambered into 1t quite leisurely and took a drink of brandy with his friends They rowed up to the pier near the shore and oppo- site Dover dock. Brodie climbed out and stood for an insant while the water oozed out from in rInfhnu mad rr,f ffN cfn R,,f Ter was found to have been left in the river, and the boat went back for him and found him quite exhausted clinging to an oar. As it left Brodie stood an instant, and then ran and dived into the water again, like street Arab does after pennies. He rose quickly to the sur face and swam across Dover slip with strong steady strokes to the side of the tug, which lay alongside the wharf. A rope was thrown him, and he was quickly drawn mp, and as quickly collared by Policeman Lally Brennan, one of the men who had been in the boat. This was at 2.2O p. m., only twenty minutes after the red-wheeled truck had begun its journey across the bridge.
 When the prisoners were taken to the station house, Bfodie was undressed and examined by Surgeon Frank White. mixture of brandy and whisky he had drunk had gone to his head, and he was incoherent in speech. He groaned several times as the surpeon prodded his ribs with his knuckles. "fhere! there
 
 F" he asked Brennan, who had been arrested with him. The surgeon found only slight con- tusion on the right side, which might have been made while Brodie clambered into the boat after his long fall. There were no otier inju- ries. The clothes he had worn were still on him--a cotton undershirt, drawers and blue colored socks, all evidently new; plain white shirt, over which had been drawn an athletes red and blue jersey; 8 lightweight black short coat and gray stripped trousers, with pair of patent leather pumps, completed his dress. He had on neither collar nor hectic, and his hat fluttered down into the East River as he made his desperate leap.
 Brodie was immediately arraigned before Judge Kilbreth, charged with intent to commit suicide. Brennan was charged with being an accessory. The Judge remanded Brodie for examination.
 Brodie has lived for year or more at Mo- S5 Chrystie street, and his wife felt very proud when she got word late i'll the afternoon of what her husband had done. She took her three children-Irene, who is five years old; Stephen, who is three, and baby Nellie three weeks old-and went to the Tombs to see her hero. In the cell the newsboy kissed his wife aid babies, and ate some fruit that they brought to him. He is 23 years Of age and 5 feet 10 in- ches in height.
 On May 19, 1885, Robert E1nmet Odlum leaped hurriedly from the bridge, broke two of his ribs burst blood-vessel, and died. Other attempts have been made to accomplish the feat, but the parties in all cases were de- clared insane.