The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1916-01-05
lie RIVER THAMES
London,s Great Artery With lis
Crimes and mysteries. sd
TRAPS FOR UNvvARY VICTIMS
Waterside Houses With Floors Opens,
ing at the Push Of a Lever: te praps
It's Fleeeed Occupant Into a Wsterys
Grave-Ghost Boats o: the River. %

81 E - = 80 -2fs - ~
,erave-Ghost Boats o. the River. ads
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 fnss
cidents Of yesterday. Just as no Others
river has quite the same wonder as bel
longs to the Thames. SO no other riFerk
Is wrapped in mystery, 50 surround; 4
ed with stories of tragedy and crime
Many of the old waterside houses.a
which rise sheer with the bank, con.
tain rooms in which the floor Is builtN
directly over the water floors uponE
which one could stand IN apparently
perfect safety while some one in an adj:
jacent room worked lever which,
caused the floor to open and his yfc
tim to drop into the river
A gambling club is said toehaye rae.
In such room once asyear 10 piay fefS
tremendous stakes. The party playea
on until one of their members wasH
ruined. Then the restsof the men VENT
away in. silence. while the ruined rnanN
went down into the dark waters. g; ;4sss:
One Of the old waterside houses sit
Mapping. too, is among the bits OF thes
Thames with reputation for beangg
haunted. a fight Of steps leads froms
the house to the river, but these steps,
are disused, and the door at the topt
of them Is walled up. Despite his
often people passing by on the srlserE
at night time swear to having seenS
two men come through the WaisedS
door and down the steps. Then after
lowering some bundle into the sTass
ters. they return to the house Esae
identity Of the men and the confenesS
of their bundle remain among the M
soluble stories Of the Thames. .
The Thames police force of abeat !
300 men is employed to guard agaiagfE
all sorts of additions 70 the mysteries
of the Thames. and their task is Of Ear
greater magnitude than might be scasu-
ally imagined Most imperative issdt
that each member Of this force shall
be an expert swimmer and understand
the right methods for dealing with
persons rescued from the water. - e q
A very large number of persons are
saved from intentional and accidental
drowning in the river every Eear. IN q,
average number somewhere between
seventy and hundred. But the NUM-
Der of persons who are found drown
ed strikes still greater a1erage,-N
is never less and often more than f0Q
in a ycar-besIdes which it is well
known that the waters OF the river
close above many persons Of whom
nothing more is ever seen OF heard
But if stones could speak the bridges
across the Thames could tell man
pitiful and grim life stories, especially
Waterloo bridge. which has such SAD
associations as to have gained 1t the
sobriquet Of The Bridge Of sStghs, ,sTs
incidentally. Waterloo bridge Is an
other part Of the Thames which sas saios
to be haunted 1t is not soyey Long
since more than usually clear sighted
man went to the police with the? iaferI
nation that he had seen a woman jump
from the parapet of Waterloo bridge.
He had been crossing tae bridge dstes
one night. when he had noticed q Swo7
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 snlash
following her disappearance, and aeTeS
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. ofEWheIa
nothing is known save that She hannts
the London Bridge Of Sighs.
Another mysterious thing about the
Thames, which 40 amount of police ssu-
pervision will destroy. is the ghost
boats which have been and gre fire.
ouently seen in various partsSNs5f the
river. 1t is fact that river police pas
trolls have actually given chase toSuch
ghost ships. 20 find there is nothing
W IjS iOilIQ O1
place where the ships had seemed tosbe.
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 cne
day, about quarter of century ag0
As she neared the bridge there was a
tremendous explosion. vivid burst
light, and then-nothing! Not3so4nuchs
as a splinter Of wood remained OF e. m
boat which had been. and the stoEs q
It fingers from that day to thissas oEea
Or che hundreds Of tragic unknown
things which form the secrets oe the
river Of mystery.-London Answers; s1.