The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-12-03
ALMOST DROWNED BY DOGS.
lfotausct's Narrow Escape From Death
in the River.

afotauset's Narrow Escape From Death
in the River.
George Bietauset, New York Ger
man brewer, has n big white bulldog
and lively little Scotch terrier, who
are pets Of the whole neighborhood.
The dogs are fond of the water, and
Bietauset frequently had taken them
down to the river front near his house
to give them little frolic.
One night last summer, accompa-
MED by his wife and two boys, the
brewer took the dogs down to the
Jane street dock. They were fas-
tened together on the ends of a check
rope eight feet long, and he held the
middle of the rope while he stood on
the unprotected slanting gangway
near the street end of the pier He
Intended to KEEP one dog on the pier
while the other had dip in the river.
The terrier had bath first. Bietau-
set held the check rope, while the
bulldog barked and sprang about in
frantic anxiety to join the terrier in
the water. The bulldog, in prancinG
about, got the check rope, which was
stout and tough, so tangled around
one of Bietauset's legs that the brewer
had to let go to free himself. The in
slant he released his grip the bulldog
sprang into the river and its master,
being unprepared, was dragged from
his footing into the water. He fell
head first, and the two dogs, tugging
at the rope, rendered it impossible
for him to keep his head above water
Bietauset weighs about $50 pounds
and does not know how to swim. His
wife, who knew this, became greatly
frightened and screamed to him, when
he got his head out of water, to seize
the piles of the pier. The tide was
low and running out, and the brew
er's frantic efforts to get near the
piles only caused his head to 20 un
der water again. His sons, lads of Z
and s years, and half a dozen other
boys of about the same age, shouted
for help. Their cries brought several
workingmen from the brewery oppo.
site Bietauset's home, but none of the
big fellows could swim. They leaned
over the stringpiece of the pier, and
held their arms down as far as they
could toward the water and yelled to
their fellow workman to give them a
grip of his hand. But the dogs kept
tugging at the check rope, drawing il
more tightly around his legs and dous-
ing him under water.
Bietauset had been more than five
minutes in the water, and was rap
idly becoming exhausted, when II
year-Old William Walsh came dash
ing up. and seeing the brewers pre-.
dicament, promptly sprang into the
water and swan out to aid him. As
he caught hold of Bietausets hair,
and held his head up out of the wa
ter, the two dogs got the idea that he
was going to hurt their master, and
both sprang upon him. He had to
devote almost his entire energy to
beating off the dogs and keeping them
from dragging their masters head un-
der water. 1t was a desperate battle,
and in five minutes Bietauset. who
had swallowed a deal of salt water,
became exhausted and tainted away.
His wife, who had been helpless
spectator of the struggle, gave a loud
scream and fell back upon the pier in
n faint. The urchins around the pier
and the brewers scurried around hunt.
ing for boat, while Walsh kept
shouting for help. Five minutes
passed before the men found a row
boat, a half block away. They
jumped in and rowed to the pier. Bic
tauset was completely unconscious
when they dragged him and Walsh
into the boat.