Evening star., 1938-07-10
Continued From Page C-4.)

who. In pointing out her fathers old
farm. called Dumbarton, which lay
between the Sergeant and Queen
Chapel roads, referred to the time
when Gen. Birney's regiment OF
zouaves took possession Of her fathers
farm. and as child to her seeing at
distance the soldiers In bathing In
a branch which then crossed the
Bunker Hill road about where 1t Is
intercepted by the Sergeant road.
Upon such occasions, she said, as their
team would draw near the bathing
spot. her mother would make the girls
who accompanied her-for she had
six sisters-put their hands over their
eyes.
OF course. even at that early date
there was law governing the bathing
in public places. and it might be in
teresting to point out the restricted
and unrestricted places where bath
ing was and was not permitted, ac-
cording to the act of the Corporal ton
Of Washington Of July q, 1861, which
reads as follows:
TT is not lawful for any person or
persons to bathe, or swim in any of
the rivers. creeks, or the Canal, in
the Jurisdiction Of the Corporation, at
any time between the hours Of six
AM and eight Pm of each and every
day. except in the following named
places. viz: In Rock Creek: in the
Potomac River between Fourteenth
and Twentieth streets: in the Tiber
north Of K street north. and in the
Anacostia, east OF Fifteenth street
east. Any person violating this law
shall forfeit and pay the sum of two
dollars for each and every offence.
and failing to pay such fine. or secure
1t to be paid. shall be committed to
the Workhouse for ten days, unless
the fine and costs are sooner paid"
A THOUGH this law was not al
ways enforced. yet conditions were
much better under it than they were
prior to its enactment. for in the sum-
mer Of 1888, we find Duty" writing
to the National Intelligencer regarding
indecent bathing. in which he says:
"Gnetlemen: Again I must have re-
course to your columns to inform the
officers of our city Of portion OF their
duty that they have shamefully ne
elected. I allude to the indecorous
practice boys have of bathing almost
under the windows of our dwellings.
A notice before from my pen of the
Tiber's being a place of great resort for
them has been, it would appear, wholly
unattended to. Not only Fourteenth
Street Bridge forms the spot for their
pleasure. but they have lately extended
their floatings as far as the Center
Market. Is there not some law to pre-
vent this indecency? It's hoped that
. speedy stop will give us no room for
further complaints"
WASHINGTON in the years gone by
has not been without its cele-
brated swimmers. but, Undoubtedly,
the most important Of all was John
Quincy Adams, sixth President of the
SAhVCN NVoOCo, WIZ 4lS4uC1tly WcIlL
bathing in the Potomac River.
Indeed. there was nothing he liked
better than q good swim, and upon one
occasion 1t came near ending disas-
trously for both him and the country.
1t seems he had attempted to cross the
river with his valet Antoine in q leaky
canoe. In his own account Of the
near tragedy he says:
Before we had got half across the
Hver the boat had leaked itself half
full. and then We found there was
nothing on board to scoop up the water
and throw 1t over. Just ut that critical
moment fresh breeze from the
northwest blew down the river as from
the nose of . bellows. In five minutes
time it made = little tempest and set
the boat to dancing till the river came
in at the sides. I jumped overheard
and Antoine did the same, and lost
hold Of the boat, which filled with
water and drifted away. We were as
near as possible to the middle of the
river and swan to the opposite shore.
Antoine, who was naked, reached it
with little difficulty. had much more
and, while struggling for life and
gasping for breath, had ample leisure
to reflect upon my own discretion.
my principal difficulty was the
lodse sleeves Of my shirt. which filled
with water and hung like two So
pound weights upon my arms. had
also my hat. which soon gave, how
ever, to Antoine After reaching the
shore took OH my shirt and pAnta-
looms. wrung them out and gave them
to Antoine to 60 and look for our
clothes, or for person to send to
the house for others and for the car
riage to come and fetch me-"
"One Of the best swimmers on the
Potomac" 1t is related. was Yarrah,
the celebrated colored Mohammedan,
~ he has been called, Of Georgetown,
who lived to . great age, but who. In
his declining years, when his muscles
were stt1ened with ASe found
pleasure In the exercise"