Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-02-08
WALKS ON water
Swedish Experimenter Strolling
Down Ohio on Way to
New Orleans
TO WIN WAGER OF $4,000
Using Shoes Made by Himself for the
Purpose Wife Accompanies
Him in a Boat.

Professor Charles Odrieve. VINO is
walking the rivers from Cincinnati to
New Orleans on Il wager of 5000 that
he can do it within forty days. arrived
at Cairo. ILL.,. the other afternoon three
hours behind his schedule time. says Il
dispatch to the St Louis PoSt-Dispatch.
Oldrieves gait is Il shuflliEg one. and
the craft which do duty as shoes are
submerged every time he takes Il step
forward. This seems TO add very ma
terially to the work he has to do and
must be tremendously weariSOme. He
propelS himself forward very much
after the manner of man skating,
swinging his arms vigorously and i'll
Ginning his body froward 10 keep bal
anced. TO avoid Il tendency to slip
backward his pedal appendages are fit
ted with Il valve arrangement which
elfectually aids him to proceed.
His wife acts as Il pacemaker, train
er and personal guard. She does the
"boSsing'' and keeps right alongside.
cheering the professor on his way and
rowing along steadily. She is said to
| be Il champion oarswoman and in any
case can handle boat like a Glouces-
| ter fisherman.
Oldrieve. 4 SweIe. about forty years
: of age, five feet four inches in height
and weighing about 13J pounds. is
| walking on the Ohio and Mississippi
| rivers from Cincinnati to New Orleans.
It distance of 800 miles. He started
from Cincinnati on New Years day.
and the start WAS accompanied by eX-
| ceptional demonstrations on the river
front Several thousand persons were
oh the banks TO see the scudding figure
disappear in the distance. with little
| gasoline launch behind ii. manned by
the captains friends, who are to ac-
company him all the way down and
save him from danger or rescue him in
case he gives out.
Watched With Interest.
River men and nautical people gener-
ally are watching the progress of his
experiment with keeneSt interest, for
if he succeeds and demonstrates that
his water shoes are all he claims for
them he will have made a great for
ward step in the life saving problem
| His shoes can he used for Il hundred
purposes. not the least of which would
he by soldiers 10 cross rivers and in
land water i'll wartime. Pontoons are
expensive and hard to provide. and
water shoes would be rnuch superior.
For years he has worked experiment
tally with Il pair of shoes that may bt
used in water. They are light anC
| h1A nd 4 nit n,
ton or to life saving.
Captain Oldrieve recently brOugh
his shoes to such degree of perfec
ton, as he believed. that he was will
ing to show their utility and cntir
practicability by making q trip TO New
Orleans in them. The river men of Gin
cinnati took him up and made Il purse
: against which he placed like amount
If he fails to reach New Orleans o
does not get there within the fort
days specified in his agreement. lie
: to forfeit his money. If he observe
the conditions, he gets all the money.
The wooden shoes Oldrieve wear
\ are Il few inches over four feet i
+ length, six inches wide and six inche
4 deep. They are so arranged that the
Il will not fill with wafer.
I Oldrieve after resting all Nigh
: aboard the large naphtha launch Ro'
: er. which also accompanies him. LEI
II Cairo at IL: 80 the next morning. wall
+ ing off ut four mile an hour gai
/ which. assisted by the swift current i
Il the river. gave him Il speed of eigf
y miles an hour.