Spray courier. (Spray, Or.) 1???-19??, 1915-11-04
THE River THAMES
London's Great Artery With It's
Crimes and Mysteries.
TRAPS FOR UNWARY VICTIMS.

TRAPS FOR UNWARY VICTIMS,
Wateraide Houses With Floors Open.
ing as the Push Of Lever TO Drop
Il TIC Fieoeed Occupant lntoa Watary
4 Gravo---ohoss Goats OF tho River.
iondous great artery. the river
! Thames, hides many grim story I'm.
der itS mur6y waters. some of them
centuries cid some OF them merely Ia.
ciuehts of yesterday. Just aS NJ other
river has quite he same wonder us he.
longs TO the Thames. so no either river
Is SO wrapped IN mystery. So surround.
cd with stories or tragedy and crIme.
Many of the Old waicrsldc houses.
/ which rise sheer with the bank. con.
tain rooms In which the tlnor Is built
directly over the watcr-iloorS upon
which one could stand IN apparently
perfect safety while some one IN an ad,
jacent room worked lever which
caused the tloor 20 open ,tiid HIS vic
tim Ia drop into the river.
\ gambling club Is said TO have me;
In such II room once Il year 10 PLAY for
tremendous stakes The party played
on until one of their members w,lS
ruined. Then the rest OF the men went
away in silence while the ruined man
went down into the dark waters
one Of the cid waterside houses at
Wapning. too. is among the bits of the
Thames with reputation for being |
haunted flight of steps leads from
the house to the river. bur these steps !
are disiised. and the door mt the top |
of them Is walled up Despite this. |!
often people passing hy on the river |
at night time swear TO having seen \
two men come through the walled |
door and down the steps. Then. after
lowering some bundle into the wa.
tei'S. they return To the house The /
Identity OF the men and the contents
Of their bundle remain among the IN
soluble stories of the Thames.
The Thames police force of about
300 men IL employed 10 guard against
Ill sorts of additions To the mysteries
" the Thames. and their task il OF far
greater magnitude than might be casu.
lily imagined Most imperative is 1t
hat each member of this force shall
,e an expert swimmer and understand
he right methods for dealing with
'ersons rescued from the wafer
very large number of persons are
aved from intentional and accidental :
rowning In the river every year. an
verage number somewhere between
evenly and hundred But the num-
er of persons who are found drown /,
d. strikes still greater average-it
! never less and often more than 100
4 year-besides which II Is well I.
nown that rhe waters of the river "
lose above many persons OF whom
Dthing more n ever seen or heard
But If stones could speak the bridges n
ross the Thames could tell many
iiful and grim life stories. especially q
'aterloo bridge. which has such sad 81
as To have gained II the q
briquet of THE Bridge Of Sighs.. :,
incidentally. Waterloo bridge Is an
Iler part nf the Thames which Il said n
be haunted. 1t Is not so very long n
ice II more than usually clear sighted II
III went to the police with the infor. NJ
,tlon that he had seen u woman jump
'm the parapet OF Waterloo bridge ~
: had been crossing the bridge late VI
@ night. when he had noticed u wO. BE-
IN In black walking in front OF him 4:
ddenly he saw her make an appeal
; gesture. but before he could reach =
. woman she had Disappeared
That was all There was no splash
lowing her disappearance. and no re- r
i came from the search which was :
Ide. Those who are familiar with the
tory of the river said that the man
] seen the ghost of NFaferioo bridge g.
he tragic woman In black. Of whom
hing il known save that she haunts
; London Bridge Gf Si1hs
Another mysterious thing Hboat the
anics, which no amount OF police su-
vision will destroy, IL the ghost
ITS which have leen ana are fire..
entity seen in varions parts OF the
er. II is II fact that river police pa -
* have actually given chase to such
Isl ships. to find there ~ nothing
'stantial TO he found OH reaching the r,
ce where the Ships Ind seemed TO he. -
ne of the most curious stories of
: kind Il that of the mysterious poaf
lch was seen making its way along
water toward London bridge one
. about quarter of II century ago
she neared the bridge there wns d
nend0ns explosion. Il vivid burst Of
t. and then-noflirg. Not so much
I splinter OF wood remnined of the
Which hid been. and the story of
myers from that day 10 This as OGe,
the hundreds Of tragic Unknown
rs which form the secrets of fhe ,
r Of mystery. london Answers n
T-iarA 11r.,ss-aJ Hl