Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-07-20
ORIGINAL DEFECTIVE
OPEN RIVER BATHS.

OPEN RIVER BATaS.
RELIC OF PRIMITIVE TIMES IN NEW
YORK SOCIAL LIFE.
The Jolly Times Enjoyed by Men and
Women Bathers in East River
Fun and Life.
Few sights in New York have in them
more of the picturesque and unconven-
tional than the view of the open baths
| along East river. These resorts are a
natural evolution from the conditions pre-
vailing when boys and men bathed freely
and without police molestation, at any
point along the shore pre-empted by
trade. When the wharves thickened
and the bathers found their shore more
and more restricted, riparian owners here
and there turned the new situation to
profit. Police regulations required that
no person should bathe without breech-
clout. This regulation, combined with
growing scarcity of bathing shores, made
the riparian owners masters of the situa-
tion. A bit of shore unsuitable for
wharves could be converted into bathing
place. Accordingly, owners or renters
here and there along the shore far nm
town constructed rude wharyes and buiIt
little shelters where bathers could dress
and undress. There was small charge
for towels and breechclouts, and thus
bathing resort was created.
Some of these resorts have become i'm
mensely popular. They open about the
middle of June and are kept running at
least until the first of September, and
later If the season permits. At the height
of the season thousands of men, women
and children enjoy the baths. The man
agement is simple and almost primitive
The bather deposits his valuables, pays
his fee, obtains ticket, and, presenting it
at another window, receives KEY to the
disrobing closet, a breechclout and towels
The closets are tiny little holes, three by
four feet, and about seven feet high. They
stand side by side, separated by rude
plank partitions. A bit of barbed wire is
run along each transom SO that no thief
can get in and steal the bathers clothing.
Each bather comes forth naked, save for a
glngham breechclout covering him from
waist half way to knees. Each man locks
his closet door and ties his key with the
string of his breechclout Each kew has
block of wood for foater, SO that the
key shall not be lost if it be ioosed while
the bather is swimming.
The women and girls dress in a little
covered pavilion set upon the water, and
arranged with small bath closets opening
within the pavilion itself. Those women
who are too timid or too modest to bathe
In the open river can founder about in the
little parallelogram of water surrounded
by the pavilion. At the same time thor
oughly respectable young women bathe
here openly, modestly clad in garments
that rise high about the neck and descend
In skirts rather more than half way from
knee to ankle. The women engaged as
swimming teachers are a little less scru-
pulous about the matters of dress, and
few of the bathers do not disdain an exhi-
bition of charms that makes them the SUBJ
jects of gossip. For the most part, how
ever, all is seemly and modest enough.
Some of the best swimmers are women.
and there are amusing struggles in the
water between girls and men. There is no
end of splashing, screaming and laughter.
Logs, roped together, shut in the bath
ers from the open river, but hundreds ven
ture beyond the inclosure and swim well
into the stream. The tide is exceedingly
strong here, however, and every summer
there are heroic rescues. Every few weeks
a written notice, tackled up in some con-
spicuous place, tells how grateful bather
has given gold watch or some other evil
dence of gratitude to the man who rescued
him from danger. Within its inclosure,
however, there is little or no risk.
Good nature seems to be the prevailing
characteristic of the bathers. TheJere Of
every sort, from poor to rich, but, Tor the
most part, respectable and orderly. There
are boisterous games of leapfrog on the
platforms, contests in diving, and no end of
friendly guying. Every one is too busy
enjoying The fun to stare at stranger, or
in any way disturb the pleasure of those
who do not take part in the prevalent
vulgarity, and even the women are not
greatly annoyed by the staring of the male
bathers. A few habitues have special bath
closets of their own, and some bring towels
| and breechclouts.
The baths are most crowded between
and 6 in the afternoon. A hot midsum-
mer day brings hundreds to each bathing
| place between those hours. Nothing can
be more animated than these places at the
crowded hours. Scores of boys and men
hurry to and fro, their white bodies drip
| ping with salt water and glistening in the
sunshine. The water itself is green, cool
and clear. From the bluff overlooking
the place the whole scene is visible. The
| women seem Indifferent to the fact that
spectator so placed can look right into the
pavilion where they paddle about in drip
| ping garments. At one of these bathing
places the bluff is occupied by beer gar
| den, where scores of men, women and chill
| dren gather to drink beer, enjoy the salt
air and watch the bathers. The spot is up
among the East Side breweries and the
visitors are in large part Germans. Every
body awaits with interest the passage of
the great Sound steamers, and then the
| bathers go out to ride the waves thrown
up by the paddle wheels. There are
cheers and waving of handkerchiefs from
the steamers decks and answering cheers
from cliff and water. Nobody seems con-
cerned that the men are more than half
naked, that the womens' arms are bare to
the shoulder point and their ankles inno-
cent of stockings. The scene at the pas
sage of the steamers is wonderfully lnspir-
| iting. Everything seems in motion. The
waters glisten and crinkle beneath the
brilliant sunlight, the band plays in the
beer garden, the trees and grass of Black
wells Island rustic in the wind, and the
bathers shout and clap their hands. 1t is
all delightfully."- refreshing after the hor-
rors of hot day down town. After all is
over there is time for soothing fifteen
minutes of beer and gossip on the grass
above.
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