The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-11-04
THE RIVER THAMES
London's Great Artery, With Its
Crimes and Mysteries.
TRAPS FOR UNWARY VICTIMS.
Waterside Houses With Floors Open
ing at the Push of Lever to Drop
It's FIeeocd Occupant Into Watery
Grave-Ghost Boats of the River.

Its Fleeccd Occupant into Watery
Grave-Ghost Boats of the River.
London's great artery, the river
Thames. hides many grim story un-
der its murky waters. some of them
centuries old. some of them merely in
clients of Yesterday. Just as no other
river has quite the same wonder as be-
longs to the Thames, so no other river
IS 80 wrapped III mystery. 50 surround
cd with stories of tragedy and crime.
Many of The Old waterside houses,
which rise sheer with the bank, con
tain rooms in which the lloor is built
iirectly over the Watcr-ilOo"s upon
vhi.h one could stand in apparently
crfoct safety while some one III an al
aGcal room worked a lever which
ausel tie lour TO open and his vie
in to crop in;a The river
y grabbing cub is said to have met
u s,lt II rGem once year 10 play for
tremendous stakes TIE party played
ON until one Of their members was
rulnrd Tlelt.c rest OF TIE men went
away IN silence Wife The ruined man
went down into the dark waters.
Onc OF the old waierS.de houses at
WapplGg too is among the bits of the
Thames With a reputation for being
haunted y flight of steps leads from
the house to the river, but these steps
are disuScd, and the door at the top
Of them is walled up Despite this.
often people passing by 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
tcrS. 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
800 men is employed to guard against
all sorts of additions TO the mysteries
of the Thames. and their task is of far
greater magnitude than might be casu-
ally imagined Most imperative is it
that each member of this force shall
be an expert swimmer and understand
the right methods for dealing with
persons rescued from the wafer
A very large number of persons are
saved from intentional and accidental
drowning in the river every year, an
average number somewhere. Z, between
seventy and hundred. But the mum
Der of persons who are found drown
cd strikes still greater average rit
10,
in year-besides which it Is we'll
known that the waters of the river
close above many persons of whom
nothing more is ever seen or heard.
But if stones could speak the bridges
across the Thames could tell many
pitiful and grim life stories. especially
Waterloo bridge, which has such sad
associations as to have gained it the
sobriquet OF "The Bridge of Signs.
incidentally, Waterloo bridge is an
other part of the Thames which is said
to be haunted. 1t is not so very long
since more than usually clear sighted
man went TO the police with the infor-
nation that he had seen woman jump
from the parapet of Waterloo bridge.
He had been crossing the bridge late
one night, when he had noticed wo-
man in black walking in front of him.
Suddenly he saw her make an appeal
ing gesture, but before he could reach
the woman she had disappeared.
That was ALL There was no splash
following her disappearance, and no re-
suit came from the search which was
made. Those who are familiar with the
history of the river said that the man
had seen the ghost of Waterloo bridge
the tragic woman in black, of whom
nothing is known save that she haunts
the London Bridge of Signs"
Another mysterious thing about the
Thames. which no amount of police su-
pervision will destroy, is the ghost
boats which have been and are fire.
qucntly seen in various parts of the
river. 1t is a fact that river police pa
trolls have actually given chase to such
ghost ships. to find there is nothing
substantial to be found on reaching the
place where the ships had seemed be
One Of the most curious stories of
this Kind is that of the mysterious boat
which was seen making its way along
the water toward London bridge one
day. about quarter of century ago
AS she ncared the bridge there was
tremendous explosion, vivid burst of
light, and then--nothing. Not so much
as n splinter of wood remained of the
boat which had been, and the story Of
it fingers from that day to this as one
of the hundreds of tragic unknown
things which form the secrets of the
river of mystery -T ondon Answers