Los Angeles herald., 1908-07-19
LONG DISTANCE
SWIMMER DIES
IN 2-MILF RACE
SIX OTHERS ARE SEIZED WITH
CRAMPS
WATERS OF CHICAGO RIVER
TOO COLD
One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Per-
sons See Participants In Mara
thon Swim Battle for
Their Lives
b. Associated Press.

B" Associated Press.
CHICAGO, July 18.-One contestant
was drowned, half dozen were seized
with cramps and rescued with diff
Guilty and two spectators were thrown
into the river when tug collided with
their row boat during the first annual
Marathon swim of the New Illinois
Athletic club in the Chicago river to-
day. The water proved far too cold
for the swimmers and only seventeen
of a field of sixty or more managed
to finish the two-mlle course.
The list of accidents follows:
A. G. Freeze, aged So, seized with
cramps and drowned near Madison
street bridge in view of thousands of
spectators.
H. ]. Handy, Chicago's premier
swimmer, seized with cramps at Rush
street, and hauled aboard a tug in a
semi conscious state.
Jose Bassee of Mexico City; Annie
Harris, Chicago; j. H. Merriman, Chi
cago; ]. Stuart, Belleview, Iowa, all
seized with cramps at various stages
of the race.
of the New Illinois Athletic club. His
official time was A minutes, Al 2-5
seconds. Anton Jaeger and G. A.
Johnson of the same club were sec
ond and third respectively. None Sof
the out of town contestants finished.
Did Not Train
Freeze sank when he was out two
thirds of the course. He was the old
est contestant in the race and is said
to have confessed to the younger swim
mers before the start that he had un-
dergone no special preparation for the
race He has been noted as distance
swimmer at the local beaches, but evil
IDENTIFY found the strain of a long race
too great for his advanced age.
Fully 10000 people watched the race,
lining the banks and crowding the
bridges from the start, at the life
saving station at the mouth of the
river to the Twelfth street viaduct on
the south branch of the stream, where
| the course ended. Although several
men plunged in to aid Freeze, he sank
before any of the rescners could reach
him. Harold Christensen, 17-year-
old boy, dived repeatedly for the body
but failed to find it because of strone
undercurrent, which swept it dowr
stream. The body was later recovered
by the police with graphing hooks
several blocks from the scene of the
| accident.
Has Narrow Escape
Handy had a narrow escape at Rush
street. He was leading by 100 yards
when he suddenly turned on his back
and called for aid. A launch hurried
to him, but when he was taken aboard
he was so badly cramped that his finger
nails had sunk into the flesh of his
hands and his eyeballs were rolled far
back Medical assistance was sum-
moned for him, after he had been
| placed aboard a fire tug.
The others who were stricken as a
result of the cold water had less thrill
ing experiences. Miss Harris the only
woman in the race, became exhausted
Just after she crossed the finish line
in sixteenth place. A line of row boats
blocked the stream and she was unable
to reach the bank. She sank once, but
was seized then by one of several men
who jumped into the water.
Bassee was stricken thirty feet from
the start. Stuart went to his assist
ance and helped him reach the pier
from which he plunged only to be
taken himself with the effects of the
cold water few blocks further on.