Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1895-08-12
AN UNCANNY OCCUPATION.
GRAPHING FOR BODIES OF THE
DROWNED AT NEW YORK.

choose an occupation these times. and
if the bodies of the dead eau help to
keep the living alive, the end seems to
justify the means At least this is
the philosophic reasoning of Mr.. Ed.
ward Reardon, who is known all along
the river front rs the right man to
send for when the waters of the East
River have claimed victim and the
sorrowing friends want to recover the
remains Mr.. Reardon is an expert at
recovering drowned bodies, and we'll
he may be, for he has put in lifetime
ut the business, and his father before
him carried on the same unsavory
trade.
These included rescuing misguided
animals who had fallen overheard
from boats, fishing up old iron, old
rope and anchors, and searching the
river for floating corpses.
A Mercury reporter who discovered
Mr.. Reardon sitting on the string
piece of the pier one day last week
found him in rather Respondent
mood. Business was dull and many
of the old branches OF the business
had become dead letter by reason of
the falling off in the rates. Reardon
had just thrown up job in disgust.
He was hired by the father of n child
who was drowned while playing on
one of the docks to recover the body.
After vain search Reardon had re-
signed in favor OF rival, who found
the body near where the child fell into
the river.
''rhere amt nothing in the bust
ness nowadays" sail Mr.. Rearlon.
Cline was when it was worth mans
while to so out on the river nights on
the chance of picking up floating bod
les. AT that time | was paid $40
apiece for every body l brought
ashore. This money was paid by tho
Coroner, who got S25 for his inquest
fee, and after paying me he still had
SIS clear profit on the transaction.
BY and by, the Coroners concluded
that they were paying too much for
corpses and cut the rate to s.. A man
has to live, SO even at this low price |
was glad to go fishing for the drowned,
but the Coroners got another fit of
meanness and cut rates altogether, re.
fusing to pay anything ut all for the
recovery of bodies. Since that time
the river has kept it's dead so far as 1
am concerned, unless have contract
beforehand.
"My usual price for finding a body
is $25. [ make contract before
hand, and whether it takes me day
or n month to find body stick at it
until my graphing iron hooks up
what 1 am after. The longest time it
ever took me to find body was nine
days. l remember being hired by the
father of a young fellow named Gala
CHER. Young Gallagher walked over
board one night from the pier at the
foot of Market street. His father, as
everybody does under these circum-
stances if they eau afford it, sent for
me. [ searched the river for nine
days and hooked up nothing but bar
rel slaves and old iron. After Crap
pling for this length of time, / sat
down in the boat and thought matters
out. After watching the current care
fully and studying the docks in the
vicinity [ concluded that there was
room enough for the body to have
been washed under one of the docks.
l got the pole tongs and began search.
ing underneath the dock and very
soon found the body.
''1t is part of my business to make
a study of the currents of the river,
and it is only by the most careful cal
culation that the location can be hit
upon. Occasionally body can be
found quite near where the drowning
took place, but as a general thing l
begin at spot quite distance off.
In all, L must have rescued at least
hundred bodies in the river.
"When there is nothing to do in
the body graphing business I go out
graphing for anything l can pick up.
This includes old iron (which used
to fetch good price, but doesn't
now, lost anchors, boxes or barrels
from ships, and anything and every
thing that the river contains that will
fetch price. One day was hired
by aman who had accidentally dropped
his watch into the river. My crap.
pling iron fetched it up in about hall
an hour and got SO for the job. At
another time l was sent for to rescue
horse. Rescuing horses is little
out of the ordinary run of business,
but | undertook the job. The horse
had fallen over pier while attached
to a wagon, and the driver, for some
reason best known to himself, had un.
fastened the traces and let him dror
into the water. The animal swan out
into the river and 1 caught him and
hauled him aboard with my rope and
tackle. | had to have five assistants
on that job, and we got 50 apiece
when the money was divided up.
Pretty cheap for rescuing horse
alive. New York Mercury.
A "Sleeping Harness.
A German has invented n sleenino