The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-01-31

Instance OF $50 miles. A week later he
| walked across the choppy East river.
IN January, 1889, he walked through
hunts falls, on the Merrimac river. at
IoMeli, Mass. In February, 1890, he
walked through Lawrence rapids, on
the Merrimac. In December, 1891, he
walked to Minot's Light, from Boston,
| ana then started TO walk back dis
4 lance OF 20 miles, but a thick fog hav-
ing set in ne lost his way and drifted
| in Massachusetts, bay for q hours He
was picked up in an exhausted condi-
tidon by the United States revenue cut
/ ter Hamlin.
In June, 1892. he walked across the
Niagara river, three miles above the
| falls. On one of the coolest days of the
| winter of January, 1896, he again
/ walked from Boston down the harbor
10 Boston Light Amid floating ice he
| performed his nine mile walk with COM
| parative ease.
Captain Oldrieve had the idea of
walking across the ocean forced upon
him. a few years ago he gave an ex-
hibition of his waterwalking off Pablo
beach, Fla. A squall came up and he
was driven out to sea.
A surf boat was manned and the
crew put out TO the rescue. but the surf
was so high that the boat capsized. The
magic shoes of Captain Oldrieve served
| him to great purpose then. To those
anxiously watching him from the shore
ne seemed to step from the top of one
wave to another, as if leaping from
one rock to another. In this hop, skip
and jump manner he came ashore, as
II the whole performance were a stage
scene set for the occasion. 1t was this
succeSsrui experience that first gave
him the idea that he could walk across
the ocean.
HIS theory of mid-ocean walking is
to slide down the side of big swell
and wait for the next one to lift him
up. In this way he says it really re-
quires less exertion to walk on water
far out at sea than it does in a sheltered
bay. The hardest work of all, he says,
is to go in choppy water. as he did in
the East river. He thinks he will be
able to walk from 500 to 1000 of the
way across the Atlantic in a period Of
40 to 80 days. AS the course taken Will
be in the path of steamships, he eX-
poets to speak many passing vessels and
send back letters written While walking
in mid-ocean to his friends in Boston.
Capt. William A. Andrews, who is
going TO accompany Oldreve in a small
boat, is a hardy. why man of 81. He
IS about six feet invheight and weighs
$50 pounds. He is Injured to hardship,
and his great pleasure is in doing some
thing adventurous and out of the ordi-
nary. After having accomplished his
proposed trip he intends to exhibit the
boat at the Paris exposition of 1900. He
expects to make a patriotic start on
July next.
Every man has his speciality these
days" said Captain Andrews, at his
pretty home in Cambridge, Mass, the
other day, land my specially is in cross
ing the ocean in small boats.
= Il shall go across all right this time,
If the Lord is willing-and he will be
more willing than ever before, because
| shall take more precautions. | am
r.ss.
own hands the finest little boat that a
man ever sailed in, to be called the
Phantom Ship. 1t will be IA feet long
and five feet BEAM, -bottomed and
square-sided. ] shall make it of half
inch spruce, covered with canvas, made
to fold up four inches thick | can then
carry 1t under my arm and anywhere
/ want to go check 1t like baggage. I
make it in this way SO I can travel and
exhibit it at small cost after ! have
made the trip. This is how | make my
expenses in travelling around the world.
My boat will carry IL square yafus
of working sails. 1t Will be sloop rugged.
with mainsail. topsail and jb. The
mainsail and topsail are bent together
| can carry all my sail in a squat or [
can drop it all in a second, as / work
it with one halyard and single block
There will be $50 pounds of lead i'm
the keel. l shall put in a fiat deck and
five compartments, one on each side for
grub, two at the ends for clothes and
another for Instruments, a quadrant
and seXtant. We carry our clothes in
water-tight tin case boxes.
Il shall carry three months supply
of food, everything canned. so that
there will be no need of cooking. There
will be canned chicken. beef and beans
oyster crackers for bread and dried
prunes TO chew for dessert. | never
cook ton on f.ttA
drink simply water, which | carry in
bottles. As fast as the bottles are
emptied | write message, put it in
them and throw them overheard.
Il shall carry so yacht cannon salutes.
II scare off whales and sharks After
speaking a steamship I fire a parting
salute while the passengers are cheer
ing me, and this makes pleasant little
diversion or the voyage.
"A first l shall put right out into the
Gulf stream. This will keep both Old
rieve and myself warm and help us
along mile an hour, at least
Il make one observation a day, at
noon. by the sun, TO get my latitude,
and ! rely on passing vessels for my
longitude. ! can keep that in mind
pretty well for days at a time, because
can tell about how fast | am sailing.
] shall act as father to young Oldrieve |
on this voyage. | will go ahea,l and |
show him the way and take him aboard |
at night and during storms. but he has |
got to depnd on his own legs for getting |
most of the way across.