The Washington herald., 1909-08-30
SISTERS
SWIM The RAPIDS
Girls Cross Dangerous Chan
mel in Early Morning.
YOUNGEST MAID LIFTED OUT
Daughters OF Brooklyn Engravcr
Fight Tides and Currents for More
Than Three Hours, Swimming from
Fort Hamilton TO Fort Wadsworth.
Little One Wanted Another Try.

New York. Aug. "a twelve-year-O old
girl fought the tide and the varying cur
rents for four hours this morning in an
attempt to swim across the Narrows
She was within 100 yards OF the shore
when her father. seeing that she could
make no further headway, ordered that
she be lifted into boat. Even then she
did not want to give up. and was sure
that she could make. It II she were let
alone
The girl was Beatrice Due. daughter
OF Alfred Due, a photo-engraver. living
ct SiO4 Seventh avenue. South Brooklyn
Mr. Due has four daughters, three Of
whom took part In the swim. The fourth
Is but FIVE years old.
The oldest OF the girls. Ethel, IS seven
teen years. and wears two gold medals
won in swimming races. The second
daughter, Vera, miss OF fifteen, made
her first appearance as an expert swim
mer to-day. along with the third daugh-
ter. Beatrice. None OF the girls Is so
very big, Ethel, the oldest. Weighing but
To- pounds. while Vera weighs JIG, and
the little one, Beatrice. balances the beam
at Just ninety-eight pounds. The last
named is FIVE feet one inch tall
Took Practice Swim.
Some days ago the girls mad a three
mile swim. from Fort Hamilton to the
beach at the foot OF Fifty-eighth street,
as a matter Of practice for to-day's un-
dertaking. The smallest had TO difficulty
in negotiating the distance. and was vel
up with her older sisters when she fin
ished Ethel had done the Narrows trick
last summer. so it was not new TO her.
The start was set for 6 o'clock this
morning.
Since the swim was IN the nature OF
a race among the three girls. handicaps
had been arranged by which Ethel gave
/ Vera fifteen minutes and Beatrice hal.
an hour in the three-mile practice swim
on August s. The oldest had given the
! little one forty minutes start and found
| that she couldn't catch her.
! The little one. therefore. took the water
/ first, at just 5:47. the others following nj
! fifteen-minute intervals. The start wa.
made from an old pier Just below tht
I fOrtifcatiOns at Fort Hamilton. From
/ here to Fort WadswOrth. which had beer
set as the goal, a straight line would
measure just one mile and a quarter
But nobody yet ever swan the Narrow:
IN a straight line. since the tide takes
( you first up the bay and then down the
/ bay. and you tack like single-stlcker.
The smallest of the three girls swan
easily through the Fort Hamilton reach
OF the strait. and then, as she struck
the strong tide OF the channel. begar
to be carried up the bay. All the time
however, she was making progress to-
ward the other shore
The tide had carried her as far NORTH
as Sixtieth street before il turned and
started out with her again Her calcu.
lations had been about right for hel
strength. apparently, and there was every
indication that she would succeed in ac
complishing the stunt she had set fol
herself.
Carried Out OF Course.
Meanwhile, the older girls. carried on
OF their course less than their sister
were swimming strongly toward For
Wadsworth. They landed just below tn,
fort, Ethel leaving the water at 7;27 and
Vera at Sis.
The little ono as soon as she got II
the channel was annoyed by the oil from
the shipping Then she had TO stop be
cause of a steamship and meanwhile
she was being carried past the fort which
was her goal by a tide against which sh,
could not successfully compete. She hat
drifted nearly a mils below the fort, an,
was losing more ground ell the time whel
the men in the boat which was accom-
panying her told her she had bette
give It up. She refused. Her father thel
had her lifted into the boat She thei
had been In the water exactly four hours
| The other sisters were waiting, wrappe,
in blankets, for the little one when sh
was rowed TO the pier on the Slater
Island shore. None OF the girls felt an,
III effects from the swim. When the,
reached home and had dressed Beatric
went out 70 sleep in a hammock. an,
with the break caused by early Dime
slept there most Of the day.
Later in the afternoon she woke up ant
suggested 10 her sisters the advisabillt,
OF going down 70 the shore and jumpinl
in for a little swim-"Just 20 cool of.
Ir1..