The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-09-25
A SUBMARINE PEDESTRIAN.
He Backs Himself Against the World to
Walk Under Water.


New 1Ork w Ord.
Robert S. Russell of New York is a SUBJ
marine diver who offers to walk mile
under water against anybody for $1,000 and
the championship. a few days ago he told
about some of his exploits. He is 5 feet 9
inches in height and weighs 210 pounds.
Constantly carrying about It's pounds of
divers harness and stamping around on the
bottom Of Long Island Sound has hardened
his muscles and widened his chest. He is
as tough as nails all over and quite the sort
of person to whom you want to be civil.
He is now SO years old. 1t appears that
the idea of walking under water against
time or an antagonist first came into Rus
sells head in 1877. and he then made bet
that he could walk eight miles in less than
five hours. The test took place at RikerS
Island, and he walked the eight miles in
four hours and thirtv-seven minutes, thus
winning his bet. although the course was
very bad and was filled with rocks. The
water was about thirty feet deep the greater
part of the way, hut toward the end il grew
deeper Of course the deeper the water the
greater the difficulty to remain submerged.
His next venture was on May 90 1885
when he walked against William Smith Of
England one mile for $1,000 at Oak Point.
Here also the ground was very bad and Smith
gave up after he had gone 80 yards. Rus
sell kept on and won, doing the mile in one
hour and five minutes. From that time
until now he has confined his submarine
pursuits to the Legitimate business of his
trade. but has now issued a challenge to
the world.
Russell proposes these arrangements for
the race: First, the ground viii be chosen
and the depth Of water over il decided upon
by the referee. Then large float will be
anchored near the shore. and from this float
the start will be made. Two small and ex-
tremely light boats viii be placed with
their sterns against this float. each of
which will contain one man, an air-pump-
ing apparatus and a flag. RuSsell's boat
will have the American flag and that of
his antagonist viii have the flag of what
ever nation he ornaments. This will
give the contest an international character
and add to its interest. At the starting Sig
nal each man will descend his own ladder
ana once on the bottom the race begins
The spectators can see only the moving
boats, which are towed by the contestants,
far below. Curi0nsly enough. the masked
and hooded walkers cannot see anything.
and they are guided wholly by the men in
the boats, who signal them when they are
going out of the course. The signaling is
done by the points of the compass, the man
in the boat telling his walker TO 90 little
to the east or a little TO the west, as the
case may be. And so they go on bhndly,
neither seeing the other until they are sig
nailed that one has reached the finish and
won the race.
In the event of the challenge being ac-
cepted Russell will go through much the
same course Of sprouts that pedestrian
self to- Most of the divers in these parts
are Englishmen. so il is probable that the
flag in the boat of RusSelPs adversary will
be the flag Of Albion.