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THE 
 
 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 
 
 OF 
 
 Prof. Robert Emmet Odium 
 
 CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS 
 
 SPLENDID NATATORIUM AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 
 
 His Diary — The Swimming Drill, illustrated — Reminiscences 
 of Great Swimmers — Stories of the Land and Sea — His 
 Great Swims, Jumps, &c., with the Letters of 
 Thanks from Persons he Rescued from 
 Watery Graves — The Life-Sav- 
 ing Service, &c., &c. 
 
 Together With Other Valuable Information. 
 
 BY HIS MOTHER, 
 
 MRS. CATHERINE ODLUM, 
 
 washington, d. c. 
 
 Gray & Clarkson, Printers. 
 
 1885. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1885 by Mrs. Cathebine 
 Odlum, in the office of the Librarian of Ctongress. 
 

 TO THE FRIENDS OF MY LAMENTED SON, 
 
 WHOSE DEVOTION TO HIS MEMORY AFTER DEATH 
 
 PROVED THEIR TRUE FRIENDSHIP, 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 M674350 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 Though many notices have appeared in the pub- 
 lic press of the country of the late Robert Emmet 
 Odium, nothing approaching to a life of the de- 
 ceased has been published. That task has been 
 assigned me. I am his disconsolate mother, and 
 having access to all his papers and memoranda, 
 preserved by him with great care, I am enabled to 
 place an authentic biography before the reader. 
 
 A pride for his profession and a desire for pecu- 
 niary gain, which would better his fortunes and 
 free him from the embarrassments of financial trou- 
 ble, may have impelled him to make the fearful 
 leap ; but it was no foolhardy act, for a nobler 
 motive also actuated him, and he has left the world 
 the wiser for his daring deed. 
 
 The bravery he displayed will be a matter of 
 history, and in after years, when the story of the 
 great bridge connecting the two mighty cities is 
 told, the tale will be incomplete without recount- 
 ing the sad legend of Odium's leap. 
 
 Catherine Odlum. 
 
II^TRODUCTIOK 
 
 At this time, when the sorrow-stricken relatives 
 and mourning friends stand by the newly-made 
 grave of Robert Emmet Odium, the world asks : 
 *' What motive had he for the act of jumping from 
 the Brooklyn bridge?" 
 
 A man is supposed to have a motive for every- 
 thing he does. Certainly Professor Odium had 
 one, and he made it known to his friends more 
 than two years ago. 
 
 It has been accepted by many, even those learned 
 in the sciences, that death would result from pass- 
 ing through the air in falling or jumping from any 
 considerable height — that life would be extinct be- 
 fore reaching the surface of the earth. This Pro- 
 fessor Odium denied. He contended there was no 
 danger in the air in jumping from any ordinary 
 height into tlie water, but that the injury, if any, 
 resulted from a contact with the water, in failing 
 to strike it feet foremost. 
 
 "In cases of fire," said the Professor, '^persons 
 might jump from the roofs of any building in any 
 city, or even be thrown from the windows, into a 
 net-work (which all public resorts and tenement- 
 houses should keep on hand) with comparative 
 safety It would cost but little," said the Profes- 
 sor, " and thousands of lives might be saved every 
 year. But for the fear of being killed in the air 
 they are afraid to jump." 
 
 Apart from the fact of his pride as an athlete, 
 and of his longing to perform a feat of daring which 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 would have rendered him famous if it had been 
 successful, it was to demonstrate the truth of his 
 theory that Professor Odium leaped from the great 
 bridge in the presence of thousands. His physical 
 condition or nervousness, engendered by his excite- 
 ment of evading the bridge police, or currents of 
 air, caused him to lose his balance when within 
 about thirty feet of the water, and he fell upon his 
 side. His passage through the air did not rob him 
 of his breath — did not kill him — for after the jump 
 he manifested some curiosity and asked whether he 
 had made a good one. He tried to steady his head 
 and to wipe the far-away look from his eyes. Only 
 the writer knows the meaning of that look — far 
 away from home and mother, among strangers to 
 die. He had established the great fact, even with 
 the sacrifice of his bright and sunny life. 
 
 His body will sleep in the City of Silence, where 
 faithful friends and loving hearts have consigned 
 it, but the grand fact is left as a legacy to man- 
 kind. The thousands of lives which may be saved 
 from burning buildings by the jump and the net- 
 work will show that Professor Odium did not die 
 in vain. 
 
LIFE AND ADVENTURES 
 
 OF 
 
 PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 It is an old adage that -'Death loves a shining 
 mark." In Washington the people are often called 
 upon to mourn the death of some great public char- 
 acter — some statesman whose oratory has com- 
 manded Senates, or some old warrior who once 
 led armed hosts to battle and to victory. The 
 flag is placed at half-mast ; the Departments are 
 clothed in mourning — their doors closed and busi- 
 ness suspended — but not a tear is shed and a cold 
 formality marks the proceedings. How different 
 was the feeling on Tuesday night, the 19th of 
 May, 1885, when the sad words were flashed over 
 the wires from New York: ''Bob Odium jumped 
 from the Brooklyn bridge this evening and is 
 dead." A genuine, heartfelt sorrow filled the 
 breasts of thousands, for Professor Odium could 
 number his friends by thousands, and the desire to 
 learn the particulars caused a greater demand for 
 the coming morrow's news. Early dawn brought 
 a confirmation of the sad intelligence, and a feeling 
 of admiration for the bravery of the hero lessened 
 the grief for his death. Men spoke in glowing 
 terms of the daring of the man who could under- 
 
12 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 take the hazardous leap with a smile on his brow. 
 To let himself he fully understood, the Professor 
 is said to have told a Herald reporter a few hours 
 before his jump: "If I should die, I don't want 
 the public to think I had no good object in view. I 
 want the Herald to explain that I have for years 
 illustrated the fact that men do not die while fall- 
 ing through the air ; and no matter if men or 
 women were one hundred feet high on the roof of a 
 burning building they would not hesitate to jump 
 into a net if they read that I had jumped one hun- 
 dred and forty feet from the Brooklyn bridge." 
 
 Robert Emmet Odium was born in Ogdens- 
 burgh, N. Y., August 31, 1851, and was conse- 
 quently in his thirty-fourth year. From his very 
 earliest infancy he exhibited an aptitude for the 
 water, and even in his childhood acquired the 
 fame of a bold and expert swimmer. In his boy- 
 hood it was his delight to buffet the waves and 
 tides of the Mississippi for many hours each day, 
 and to swim and dive the happy hours away. He 
 almost lived in the water, and I have heard many 
 incidents related of his feats. Among them I re- 
 call his chase of a wounded wild duck that had 
 been shot through the wing and could not fly, but 
 dived and swam for seven miles on the Missis- 
 sippi. The duck would dive and young Odium 
 would follow suit, until at last he captured and bore 
 the duck home in triumph. The water seemed to 
 be his natural element. 
 
 Many years of the life of young Odium were 
 spent in the South, where he is fondly remembered 
 and sincerely mourned by a host of friends. There 
 are many brave acts of his known to friends 
 in the South that have never appeared in public 
 print. Wherever he lived he made friends, and 
 no word was ever said to his discredit. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 About seven years ago Prof. Odium came to this 
 city from Chicago, where he had been employed on 
 the press of that city, and made for himself quite 
 a reputation for energy and ability. He proposed 
 the establishment of a great Natatorium, and was 
 warmly seconded and indorsed by the journals and 
 public-spirited citizens of Washington. In a short 
 space of time he had perfected the largest and 
 most complete swimming school in this country, 
 and fitted it up at a cost of over $20,000. Every 
 convenience in the way of bathing suits, dressing 
 rooms, &c., were furnished the pupils. 
 
 One of the most graceful and expert swimmers 
 who attended the Natatorium at the commencement 
 was Miss Sallie Horner, daughter of Judge Hor- 
 ner. Miss Horner was a perfect adept in the art, 
 and executed diving and all of the fancy feats of the 
 natatorial science with the utmost ease and facility. 
 Miss Fannie Hayes, daughter of ex-President 
 Hayes, was among the distinguished pupils. Prof. 
 Odium was perfect master of his profession, and 
 his exhibitions of the natatorial art were intensely 
 interesting. He would dive in the basin of the 
 Natatorium, and while under the water completely 
 change his bathing suit and appear after a few 
 minutes arrayed in an entirely different suit. 
 Washington was completely carried away with the 
 swimming school, and scholars flocked around the 
 Professor. One enthusiastic newspaper reporter 
 declared '^that the Professor would live in the 
 memory and esteem of future ages on account of 
 the magnanimous spirit which prompted him to 
 erect in the heart of our city a cooling fountain 
 
14 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 wherein the Aveary and worn may, during the 
 heated term, recuperate the exhausted powers of 
 nature by a refreshing bath." 
 
 The sons of Presidents Hayes and Garfield were 
 his pupils, as also the sons of Hon. J. G. Blaine, 
 General Sherman, and the elite of the metropolis. 
 The reporters of the press vied with each other as 
 to who could say the most complimentary things 
 about the Professor and his Natatorium. 
 
 The correspondent of a prominent journal of 
 Burlington, (Haivkeye,) Iowa, writes: 
 
 ''Ladies bathe in the cooling waters of the 
 Natatorium where thousands learn to swim. The 
 school is patronized by the best people of the city. 
 Mrs. Truckson, the daughter of General Sherman, 
 is one of the pupils of Professor Odium. She is tall, 
 with pale, golden hair, and blue eyes. She was lately 
 married, and is amiable and sweet tempered. It 
 is funny to see Professor Odium take a new pupil 
 into the water, with her pretty little shrieks, 
 as she looks down into the artificial lake about 
 three feet deep. A strap is belted around the 
 chest, attached to a pole, with a hook inserted into 
 this belt, and, when the Professor pulls her along 
 in the water, she looks like a frog^ but with red legs, 
 as most of the ladies wear red stockings. Those 
 who are experts dive off a spring-board into a 
 deeper basin, with a chug and a dash, disappear, 
 and rise like Venus in the foam of the sea, drip- 
 ping, their bathing suits clinging to them like — 
 well, a wet blanket. Bathing suits are mostly 
 made of gray flannel trimmed with red galloon, 
 and in half bloomer style. No gentlemen are ad- 
 mitted excepting Professor Odium, or a man and 
 his wife." 
 
 Descriptions of the Natatorium were published 
 in all the city papers. Everything there was ar- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 15 
 
 ranged in the most orderly and cleanly manner. 
 It was truly the greatest swimming school in the 
 world. A great volume of fresh water was con- 
 stantly pouring into the basin, and this changed 
 and purified it. Every precaution for safety was used, 
 and those who patronized the school were taught 
 by Professor Odium to become such expert swim- 
 mers that they apparently lived in the water with 
 as much ease as out of it. In this model school 
 swimming was not only taught as a useful art but 
 as a graceful accomplishment, and only those who 
 have seen an expert know its possibilities in this 
 respect. No doubt it is on this account that the 
 accomplishment became so fashionable and is so 
 much affected by young ladies in society. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 During the winter months of '80 and '81 Pro- 
 fessor Odium added many conveniences to his 
 splendid Natatorium, and in April, 1881, 
 
 THE SWIMMING SEASON OPENED 
 
 with great eclat. We give the following account 
 from the Washington Post of April, 1881, which 
 will be read with interest: 
 
 Liter esting Opening Exercises at the Natatorium. 
 
 An event in the social life of the capital city was 
 the opening of the season at the Washington Nata- 
 torium, so ably managed for the past three years 
 
16 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 l^y Prof. R. E. Odium, one of the best swimmers 
 in the country, and a most successful instructor, 
 yesterday morning. The large and neat establish- 
 ment was thronged with ladies from the foremost 
 circles of society, prominent in the assemblage be- 
 ing the wife of President Garfield and the families 
 of several Cabinet officers and prominent Senators. 
 The visitors were finely entertained by the Profes- 
 sor and a score of his expert scholars — ladies and 
 gentlemen. The best of the lady swimmers was 
 the wife of a well-known newspaper correspondent. 
 At night the place was again crowded, and the 
 many gentlemen present enjoyed the wonderful 
 feats of the Professor and several of his male schol- 
 ars. At both entertainments the majority of the 
 spectators were graduates of the institution, and 
 their kindly recognition of their teacher. Professor 
 Odium, spoke volumes in his favor. In conversa- 
 tion with the Professor, he stated that under his 
 instruction fully 700 ladies and five times as many 
 gentlemen in Washington had become expert swim- 
 mers. He pronounces it easier to teach a woman 
 than a man, but the women never become as profi- 
 cient in the art. Women are the best floaters, how- 
 ever — you can hardly keep them under water. 
 Washington city has more good lady swimmers 
 than any city in the country. New York not ex- 
 cepted. One of the Professor's best scholars was 
 the daughter of Mr. Hayes, who became a very 
 fine swimmer. The interest manifested this year, 
 he 8ays_, is far greatQr than at the commencement 
 of any previous season . Professor Odium has swam 
 twelve miles without a rest, and has remained un- 
 der the water for three minutes and ten seconds. 
 For the last feat he was presented with a magnifi- 
 cent gold medal. He has dived from a point eighty 
 feet above the surface of the water, and he intends. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. IT 
 
 some time this summer, to dive from the highest 
 point of the great St. Louis bridge — over 110 feet 
 above the surface of the Mississippi river. This 
 will be the greatest dive on record. The Professor 
 is certain to receive most liberal patronage thivS 
 season, and he deserves success. 
 
 The season was propitious, and the liberal in- 
 ducements offered and the utmost confidence reposed 
 in the Professor secured for him a full school of 
 enthusiastic pupils. His proposition to teach the 
 art of swimming to the most timid persons in eight 
 or ten lessons was a popular one, and in every in- 
 stance he fulfilled his promise. 
 
 To the swimming school he now attached a gym- 
 nasium, which was a favorite resort, but whether 
 it added to his financial success is doubted. His 
 fame has gone forth throughout the land, and he 
 was universally admitted to be the champion swim- 
 mer and diver of the world. His ambition yearned 
 for something greater than the proprietorship of 
 the National Natatorium . He desired some broader, 
 deeper stream than the Natatorium. He wished to 
 buffet the waves of Old Ocean, and ride like Nep- 
 tune upon the angry billows and laugh at the sound 
 of the sea. 
 
 CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 About the 7th of May, 1881, notwithstanding 
 the success of his Natatorium, we find Professor 
 Odium growing restless in his position as proprie- 
 tor of his school. His ambition sought a more ex- 
 tended field of operation. He was conscious of his 
 
18 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 skill; his friends fed the flames of his ambition^ 
 and we find that he sent a challenge for publica- 
 tion in the New York Clipper, offering to compete 
 for from $100 to $500 in a half hour's exhibition 
 in the water. 
 
 On the 18th of July, 1881, he challenged any 
 man in the United States to swim him for from 
 $250 to $500 a side. No one would accept the 
 wager offered. It was a bet, as the sportsmen 
 say, "without takers," and the champion floated 
 upon the wave without a competitor to contest the 
 honors. 
 
 It was now the season of the year when the 
 steamers left our wharves freighted with happy ex- 
 cursionists down the beautiful Potomac. There 
 was music and .dancing, fair maidens and brave 
 men, but the chief attraction on these occasions 
 was the presence of "Bob" Odium, as he was fa- 
 miliarly called, and his daring jumps and feats in 
 the water. His exhibitions possessed a fascination 
 it was impossible to resist. Once, at Marshall 
 Hall, in 1881, he remained under the water three 
 minutes and ten seconds, a longer time than that 
 achieved by any swimmer in the world. 
 
 On Wednesday before the great boat race be- 
 tween Hanlan and Courtney, Professor Odium 
 swam over the entire course marked off for the 
 oarsmen. In conversing with Hanlan and Court- 
 ney he discovered that "neither knew how to 
 swim," which astonished him very much. 
 
 The next remarkable feat performed by Profes- 
 sor Odium was on July 4, 1881, at Occoquan Falls. 
 He happened to be one of the party aboard, and 
 was badgered by some of his gentlemen friends 
 about jumping from the top of the wooden bridge, 
 a distance of 90 feet. The Professor determined 
 not to be bluffed, agreed to make the jump, and ac- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 19 
 
 complished the feat without the slightest trepida- 
 tion and in the most graceful manner. 
 
 In June, 1882, a grand excursion was announced 
 to take place from this city to Marshall Hall. The 
 fact that Professor Odium and Captain Paul Boy- 
 ton would give exhibitions of their skill — the for- 
 mer by jumping a distance of 100 feet — attracted a 
 large crowd. On the arrival of the boat at the 
 wharf at Marshall Hall the excitement was in- 
 tense. Professor Odium then performed a most 
 hazardous feat. A ladder was raised upon the 
 deck of the steamer to the height of 90 feet — mak- 
 ing the distance to the water 110 feet — up which 
 the Professor climbed. The strong wind caused 
 the ladder to sway, but, nothing daunted, the Pro- 
 fessor took the leap. He could not keep his bal- 
 ance, and as he cleft the air, rapidly moving his 
 legs to prevent his falling flat upon the water, a 
 cry of fear broke from the multitude upon the 
 deck. When he neared the water, Odium quickly 
 crossed his hands over his stomach and entered the 
 water at a slight angle. He immediately came to 
 the surface, and after giving his wonderful exploits 
 in the water, boarded the boat uninjured. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Robert Emmet Odium was too generous in his 
 nature to retain wealth, even after acquiring it ; 
 and it was perhaps due more to this than to 
 any other cause that the swimming school was 
 a financial failure. There was a disagreement 
 among the property-holders on which the Nata- 
 
20 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 torium was built, the premises were oifered for 
 sale and the swimming school closed. It was 
 then that the announcement was made that Pro- 
 fessor Odium had been employed at Fortress Mon- 
 roe, where we propose to follow him. It was there 
 that he made the great swim from the beach to 
 Ocean View, nine miles and back, in a rough 
 sea. It was there he saved the lives of several 
 persons from watery graves. It was there he 
 made for himself a reputation as a great swimmer 
 and diver. It was there he received testimonials 
 from grateful hearts for services performed, Avhich he 
 treasured above all he possessed. Some of these let- 
 ters we print to show the disposition of the deceased. 
 He saved human life — deemed it but his duty 
 and said nothing about it. In one instance he 
 hardly received thanks. Comment is unnecessary. 
 The coming chapter will reveal the story. The 
 world can read and draw its own conclusions. It is 
 not the first instance on record where ingratitude 
 was the only reward for a favor received. 
 
 The Fortress Monroe correspondent of the Na- 
 tional Bejmblicari, under date of August 16, 1882, 
 writes : 
 
 '' On Thursday, August 10, R. E. Odium, of 
 Washington, D. C, professor of swimming at 
 the Hygeia Hotel, Fortress Monroe, accomplished 
 the very difficult feat of swimming to Ocean View 
 and back, a distance of eighteen miles. He started 
 at 12 o'clock and was watched by the bathers until 
 his red cap faded in the distance^ and arrived at 
 Ocean View at 2:40 p. m., making the nine miles 
 in two hours and forty minutes. After resting an 
 hour and a half the Professor entered the water, 
 gave an exhibition of fancy swimming, diving, 
 floating, etc., and at 5 p. ra., amid hearty cheers 
 from the crowd on the beach, he started for Fort- 
 
PROF. ROBERT ExMMET ODLUM. 21 
 
 ress Monroe. He arrived at the Hygeia Hotel at 
 8:25 p. m., making the longest swim ever made in 
 this country ; and when it is considered that for the 
 last half hour .he was compelled to swim dead 
 against the tide in Hampton Roads, too much can- 
 not be said of his ability as a swimmer." 
 
 This is only the comment of one correspondent. 
 The Washington Post, of August 13, 1882, in 
 commenting on the great swim, says : 
 
 " Professor R. E. Odium, well known in this 
 city, accomplished a splendid swimming feat last 
 Thursday. A wager of $100 was made that he 
 could not swim, without the aid of a boat, 
 from Old Point Comfort to Ocean View, a distance 
 variously estimated at nine miles, inside of three 
 hours. He started from the Hygeia Hotel at 12 
 o'clock noon and arrived at Ocean View at 2:40. 
 He rested at that place for one hour and a half, 
 and then entered the water, giving the residents at 
 Ocean View an exhibition swim. At 5:30 p. m. 
 he commenced his return trip, without a boat, to 
 Fortress Monroe, where he landed at 8:25 p. ra. in 
 good condition. The feat created considerable en- 
 thusiasm at Old Point, and the professor was the 
 recipient of numerous congratulations." 
 
 The Sunday Gazette, Chronicle, Capital and other 
 city papers noticed the remarkable swim in terms 
 complimentary to Professor Odium, and the Nor- 
 folk Landmark, in speaking of the event, says : 
 ^^The only difficulty the Professor experienced 
 during his long and splendid swim was in striking 
 a school of sea-nettles, which made it warm for a 
 time." 
 
 The Fortress Monroe correspondent of the Nor- 
 folk Landmark of July 6, 1882, writes as follows: 
 
 ^^ The people here grow eloquent over the heroic 
 work performed by Bob Odium in saving three 
 
22 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 lives at this place. The first person rescued was 
 ^Sky' Colfax, the sixteen-year-old son of ex-Vice- 
 President Colfax. He jumped from the wharf and 
 was carried away by the strong current. After 
 battling for life, he at last called for assistance, 
 when Bob plunged in and rescued him, just as he 
 sank. Had it not been for this timely assistance 
 'Sky' would have ascended to the skies. Bob 
 also rescued Mr. T. Cooley^ of Nashville, Tenn., 
 and Mr. Morton, of Kentucky." 
 
 The Norfolk Landmark correspondent of July 
 22, 1882, in his letter from Fortress Monroe, says: 
 
 ''At the Hygeia Hotel, where hundreds of am- 
 phibiously-inclined guests go in bathing every day, 
 no accident has ever happened to mar the season's 
 pleasure. It is not because the visitors are more 
 experienced or less reckless in the water, but owing 
 to the fact that a competent person is here in the 
 dual capacity of manager of the swimming -school 
 and life-guard on the beach. Mr. R. E. Odium, 
 who is the gentleman in question^ contributes a 
 great deal by his presence to one of the most de- 
 lightful enjoyments with which a holiday at the 
 seaside is associated, for one feels so much more at 
 ease when he knows that a willing arm is ready to 
 come to his assistance. Mr. Odium, or Bob, as he 
 is familiarly called, has saved 
 
 THE LIVES OF THREE PERSONS 
 
 this summer. The first was that of ' Sky' Colfax, a 
 bright, handsome, sixteen-year-old son of Hon. 
 Schuyler Colfax. This young American had too 
 much confidence in his swimming abilities, and was 
 bold enough to jump from the wharf, not taking into 
 consideration how strong the tide was running. 
 After making a long effort to reach shore, fighting 
 
PROP. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 23 
 
 against the rapid current, and too proud to call for 
 assistance, the boy found himself in an exhausted 
 -condition, and feebly called for help. His father, 
 who was standing on the wharf, did not know un- 
 til his son gave the alarm that he was in distress. 
 The Hon. Scliuyler could not swim and thought 
 his son was doing nicely until the cry for aid 
 reached his ear. Then, with a terrified look, he 
 turned to seek assistance, when the welcome sight 
 of Odium running down the wharf and pulling off 
 his coat the while met his eye. Mr. Odium, for- 
 tunately, had seen the boy's dangej from the hotel 
 and immediately rushed to the rescue. Taking a 
 header, he quickly sped to the drowning boy's as- 
 sistance, who sank just before Bob reached him, but 
 he was quickly brought to the surface, and shortly 
 -after put in the loving arms of his father, a crest- 
 fallen but it is hoped a more discreet boy. 
 
 "The second instance was that of Mr.T. Cooley, 
 of Nashville, Tenn., who is a fair swimmer, but 
 sometimes suffers from an attack of sunstroke he 
 received last summer, and it was while swimming 
 some distance from shore that the last attack came 
 on him. 
 
 "the cry of alarm was sounded, 
 
 •and again Odium came to the front, reaching Mr. 
 Cooley in time to bring him safely to the beach and 
 receive the congratulations of the hundreds of per- 
 sons who saw the act. 
 
 " The last brave performance of this young man 
 was that of yesterday, when he saved Mr. A. M. 
 Morton, of Shelby county, Ky., from drowning. 
 This gentleman had ventured out too far, and not 
 being able to swim, the strong tide took him off his 
 feet. His struggles to regain a footing were un- 
 
24 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 successful, and slowly but surely he was drifting 
 under water and away. Once more the powerful 
 stroke of Mr. Odium's arm sped him on his life- 
 saving mission, and once more he was successful." 
 
 Since the death of Captain Webb, Professor 
 Odium was known and recognized as the champion 
 swimmer of the world. The Washington Uvening- 
 Star of the 15th of August, 1882, says : 
 
 " It will be remembered that R. E. Odium, of 
 Washington, swam nine miles at Fortress Monroe 
 in two hours and thirty minutes on Thursday, 
 beating Captain Webb's time by two and a half 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ART OF SAVIMMING. 
 
 To show the aquatic propensity of Professor Od- 
 ium one need only read his "diary," in which 
 he penned his thoughts and cut and pasted every 
 item concerning the exploits of swimmers and 
 divers, and even the habits of sharks and other 
 monsters of the deep. He loved to read of the 
 Patagonians who threw their children into the sea, 
 and then rescuing them when they could not help 
 themselves. A familiarity with the water he con- 
 tended was necessary to mankind — the art of swim- 
 ming should be a part of the education of every 
 child of both sexes. If his advice should be 
 adopted by mankind generally, very few would 
 find watery graves, and the wild winds and mad 
 waves, shipwrecks and storms would lose half 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 25 
 
 their terrors ; fewer forms would rest upon the 
 beds of green sea-flowers that blossom down 
 fathoms below the surface of the ocean ; and the 
 red coral would no longer grow around the skulls 
 of the dead ; the boy would no longer stand upon 
 the burning deck, but with the knowledge of the 
 art of swimming would plunge in the sea — fearless 
 and free from alarm. 
 
 ''Learn to swim,'" said Professor Odium, '-for 
 neither Providence nor fate is always to be tempted 
 by dereliction of duty or neglect of precaution. 
 The numerous late disasters on our favorite boats 
 for summer travel and excursions would have 
 been devoid of its fearful loss of life did people 
 only possess the slightest knowledge of ' know- 
 ing how to swim.' 
 
 " Within easy reach of succor, with friendly boats 
 and steamers coming to assistance, many unfortu- 
 nates, nevertheless, perished — a sad commentary — 
 not even being able to make an effort to keep afloat 
 for a few seconds ; to sink without a struggle to pro- 
 pel the body by the limbs with which the Creator 
 endowed him. Coroners' juries may make their pro- 
 test — of what avail is it to the dead ? Steamboat 
 captains and companies may be punished for culpa- 
 ble carelessness — can it restore life? Is it not wiser 
 to guard against accidents of this nature by a 
 few practical lessons in the art of swimming ? 
 Remember that only a slight knowledge of it im- 
 parts confidence and coolness — an essential quality 
 in moments of danger. 
 
 " I do not say this as an advertisement for my 
 own gain, but to benefit others. The New York 
 papers since the frightful steamboat disasters, in 
 none of which need any one have been lost if pro- 
 ficient in the art of swimming, are printing the 
 maxim : ' Every boy should learn to swim . ' Every 
 
26 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 girl should learn to swim also." Any person may 
 become proficient by learning the following 
 
 PRACTFCAL LESSONS ON SWIMMING. 
 
 Swimming has now become an art, and certain 
 rules may be given for its attainment, by the aid 
 of which, and a little practice, the most timid may 
 eventually acquire the delightful power of " sport- 
 ing in the silver flood." In addition to its ad- 
 vantages as a healthy and bracing exercise, humanity 
 is one ; the pleasure of being not only able to pre- 
 serve our own lives, but those of others, ought 
 certainly to be sufficient inducement to acquire a 
 dexterity in this most useful art. 
 
 The only obstacle to improvement in this neces- 
 sary and life-preserving art is fear, and it is only 
 by overcoming this timidity that you can expect to 
 become a master. But you will be no swimmer 
 till you can place confidence in the power of the 
 water to support you. 
 
 ENTERING THE WATER. 
 
 A young pupil must not at first venture into 
 the water in the bold and dashing manner of ex- 
 perienced swimmers. He must wait patiently until 
 he can do so without danger. Let him remember 
 that there has been a time when the best swimmer 
 alive tottered, step by step, into the water, and 
 sounded the depth with one foot before he lifted 
 the other from the bottom of the stream. Leander 
 himself, with Whose history and fate our juvenile 
 readers who are tolerably advanced in the classics 
 are doubtless acquainted — Leander himself, we re- 
 peat, who so often swam across the Hellespont, 
 once paddled in a pond, and those who, under their 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 27 
 
 directions, make their first attempt to buoy them- 
 selves up by their own natural powers in a shallow 
 brook, may hereafter become lusty swimmers enough 
 to perform the same feat of which Lord Byron was 
 so proud. Our young friend should be patient as 
 well as persevering during his probation in the art 
 of swimming. He must not feel disgusted and dis- 
 heartened because he seentis to make comparatively 
 but little progress. Let him remember that he is 
 gradually acquiring a new and most important 
 power, and is by degrees obtaining a mastery over 
 the waters. It was well observed by a writer of 
 great discernment that nothing which is worth 
 learning is compassed without some difficulty and 
 application ; that it is well worth some pains and 
 trouble to render one's self fearless of falling into 
 a river, in which two out of three of our fellow- 
 countrymen would, in a similar situation, without 
 assistance, be drowned, must be admitted. Let not 
 that trouble therefore be grudged. 
 
 Previously to entering the water the head and 
 neck should be well wetted ; the pupil should then 
 advance by a clear shelving bank in some stream, 
 the depth of which he has ascertained by plumbing 
 or otherwise until he is breast high ; then let him 
 face about toward the bank and prepare to make 
 his first essay in the art of 
 
 STRIKING OUT. 
 
 With his face turned toward the bank, as above 
 directed, let the pupil lie down gently on his breast, 
 keep hi^ head and neck upright, his breast ad- 
 vanced, and his back bent inward. Then let 
 him withdraw his legs from the bottom and imme- 
 diately strike them out, not downward, but behind 
 him ; strike out the arms forward, with the palms 
 
28 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 closed and the backs uppermost a little below the 
 surface of the water ; draw them back again while 
 he is gathering up his legs for a second attempt^ 
 and thus push forward, making use of his hands 
 and feet alternately. It will, perhaps, happen that 
 he will swallow water in his first efforts, but this 
 should not discourage him ; neither should he 
 fancy that because he makes but little advance he 
 is not as capable of learning to swim as well as 
 others — the same little mishaps occur to all young 
 beginners. 
 
 The writer of these pages has buffeted the bil- 
 lows miles from land, where the waters have been 
 moved by what an angler calls a curling breeze, 
 with a pleasure which those, and those alone, who 
 have reveled in the strong bosom of the sea can 
 imagine; and what is more difficulty he has swam 
 the still, torpid deeps of an inland lake in a dead 
 calm. And this is the manner which he has 
 always followed, and which he recommends his 
 young friends to adopt, of striking out with the 
 arms : The fingers are to be closed and the thumbs 
 kept close to the hand, which should be straight- 
 ened, or rather, a little hollowed in the palm; the 
 hands are then to be brought together, the thumbs 
 touching, or palm to palm — it is little matter 
 which — and raised just under the chin ; they are 
 then to be struck vigorously forward, and when the 
 arms are at their full stretch parted, and carried, 
 slowly and regularly, a little below the surface of 
 the water, at the full stretch of the arms, back- 
 ward as far as convenience will permit; they 
 should then sink toward the hips; by a slight 
 pressure on the water, as they descend, the body 
 will be raised, the head may be thrown back and 
 the breath drawn in for the next stroke. When 
 the hands are at or near the hips, they should be 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 29 
 
 raised, with the thumbs or edges, but by no means 
 the backs, upward to the- first position; while do- 
 ing this, the legs are to be drawn up as near the 
 body as possible, and the soles of the feet struck 
 out against the water with reasonable force at the 
 same moment the hands are thrust forward again. 
 This is, in fact, the whole principle of swimming : 
 the arms are first thrust forward and the body pro- 
 pelled by the force of the soles of the feet striking 
 against the water ; the air in the lungs is expired 
 or breathed forth during this action; the hands 
 are then stretched out and carried around so as to 
 lift the body (which wants no support during the 
 time it is propelled by the legs and the lungs are 
 nearly full of air) while the legs are drawn up and 
 the lungs filled w^ith air for a second effort. These 
 very simple motions will seem difficult and com- 
 j^licated to the young swimmer at first, but by de- 
 grees he will learn to perform them with facility. 
 Above all things let him endeavor to do them de- 
 liberately and without being flurried. It is a fact 
 that a swimmer who is apparently slow in his ac- 
 tion makes more progress by half than one who is 
 quick. The former is deliberate and vigorous; the 
 latter hurried, less effectual, and soon becomes 
 fatigued. A tyro in the art will make ten efforts 
 during the time occupied by an adept in perform- 
 ing one, and at the same time will scarcely make 
 one-half the progress. 
 
 TO TREAD WATER. 
 
 All that is necessary for treading water is to let 
 your legs drop in the water until you are upright; 
 then keep yourself afloat in that position by tread- 
 ing downward with your feet, alternately, and, if 
 necessary, paddling with your palms at your hips. 
 
30 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 TO SWIM ON THE SIDE. 
 
 Lower your left side and at the same time ele- 
 vate your right; strike forward with your left 
 hand and sideway with your right, the bacii of 
 the latter being in front instead of upward, the 
 thumb side of the hand downward, so as to serve 
 precisely as an oar. You will thus, by giving 
 your body an additional impetus, advance much 
 more speedily than in the common way. It 
 will also relieve you considerably when you feel 
 tired of striking out forward. You may also turn 
 on the right side, strike out with the right hand, 
 and use the left as an oar. In either case the ac- 
 tion of the legs is the same as usual. 
 
 THE PORPOISE. 
 
 This is a very pleasant and most advantageous 
 change of action. The right arm is lifted entirely 
 out of the water, the shoulder thrust forward, and 
 the swimmer, while striking out with his legs^ 
 reaches forward with his hand as far as possible. 
 At the utmost stretch of the arm the hand falls, 
 a little hollowed, into the water, which it grasps 
 or pulls toward the swimmer in its return to the 
 body, in a transverse direction, toward the other 
 armpit. While it is passing through the water in 
 this manner, the legs are dra\vn up for another 
 eifort, and the left arm and shoulder elevated and 
 thrust forward as above directed for the right. 
 This is the greatest advancing relief in swimming,, 
 except swimming on the back. Floating on the 
 back rests the whole of the body as well as the 
 limbs, but while floating no progress is made ; 
 whereas during the time a person swims in the 
 manner above directed he will not onlv relieve him- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 31 
 
 self considerably, but also make as great an advance 
 in the water as if he were preceding in the ordinary 
 way. 
 
 TO SWIM AND FLOAT ON THE BACK. 
 
 To do this you must turn yourself on your back 
 as gently as possible^ elevate your breast above the 
 surface, put your head back, so that your eyes, 
 nose, mouth and chin only are above water. By 
 keeping in this position with the legs and arms 
 extended and paddling the hands gently by the 
 side of the hips you will float. If you wish to 
 swim, you must strike out with the legs, taking 
 care not to lift your knees too high nor sink your 
 hips and sides too low, but keeping in as straight 
 a line as possible. You may lay the arms across 
 the breast, keep them motionless at the sides, or, 
 if you wish, strike out with them to help you on. 
 
 To swim with your feet forward while on your 
 back, lift up your legs one after another, let them 
 tall into the water, and draw them back with all 
 the force you can toward your hams, thus you will 
 swim feet forward and return to the place whence 
 you came. 
 
 To turn from your breast to your back, raise 
 your legs forward and throw your head backward, 
 until your body is in a right position ; to change 
 from the back to the breast, drop your legs and 
 throw your body forward on your breast. 
 
 TO TURN WHEN SWIMMING. 
 
 If you wish to turn while on your back, keep 
 one leg still and embrace the water beside you 
 with the other, thus you will find yourself turn to 
 that side on which your leg by its motion embracer 
 
32 LIFE AND ADVENtURES OF 
 
 the water, and you will turn either to the right or 
 left, according to which leg you use in this manner. 
 To turn while swimming in the ordinary way 
 requires no further effort than to incline your head 
 and body to the side you would turn to, and, at the 
 same time, move and turn your legs in the same 
 manner as you would do to turn the same way on 
 land. 
 
 TO SHOW THE FEET. 
 
 While on your back bend the small of it down- 
 ward, support yourself by moving your hands to 
 and fro just above your breast, and stretch your feet 
 above the water. 
 
 TO BEAT THE WATER, ETC. 
 
 When swimming on your back, lift your legs 
 out of the water one after another, and strike the 
 water with them alternately. Those who are most 
 expert at this bring their chins toward their breasts 
 at each stroke of the legs. 
 
 There is a variety of similar feats performed by 
 expert swimmers, such as treading water with both 
 hands raised over the head ; floating on the back 
 with the arms above the surface ; taking the left 
 leg in the right hand out of the water when swim- 
 ming on the back ; pulling the right heel by the 
 right hand toward the back when swimming in the 
 common way ; throwing somersets in the water, 
 backward and forward, &c., for which no particu- 
 lar directions are necessary, as the pupil when he 
 has grown expert in the various modes of swim- 
 ming which have been described will be able to do 
 these things, and any tricks which his fancy may 
 suggest, without difficulty. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 33 
 
 DIVING. 
 
 Diving, by practice, may be carried to astonish- 
 ing perfection. Pearls are brought up from the 
 bottom of the sea by clivers who are trained to re- 
 main a considerable time under water. In ancient 
 times divers were employed in war to destroy the 
 «hips of the enemy, and many instances are related 
 by respectable authors of men diving after and 
 fetching up nails and pieces of money thrown into 
 the sea, and even overtaking the nail or coin before 
 it has reached the bottom. 
 
 Diving may be performed from the surface of 
 the water, when swimming, by merely turning the 
 head downward, and striking upward with the 
 legs. It is, however, much better to leap in, with 
 the hands closed above the head, and head fore- 
 most, from a pier, boat or raised bank. By merely 
 striking with the feet, and keeping his head toward 
 the bottom, the diver may drive himself a con- 
 siderable distance beneath the surface. If he 
 Teach the bottom, he has only to turn his head up- 
 ward, spring from the ground with his feet, and 
 he will soon arrive at the surface. If desirous of 
 making a more rapid ascent, he should strike down- 
 ward with his feet, pulling the water above him 
 toward his head with one hand, and striking it 
 downward by his side with the other. In diving, 
 the eyes should be open ; you must, therefore, 
 take care that you do not close them, as they reach 
 the surface, when you commence your descent. It 
 is almost needless to add, that the breath should 
 be held the whole time that you are under water. 
 
 SWIMMING UNDER WATER. 
 
 Swimming between top and bottom may be ac- 
 
34 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 complished by the ordinary stroke, if you take 
 care to keep your head a little downward, and strike 
 a little higher with your feet than when swimming 
 on the surface ; or, you may turn your thumbs^ 
 downward, and perform the stroke with the hands^ 
 in that position, instead of keeping them flat. 
 
 THE CRAMP. 
 
 These practical directions in the art of swimming 
 would be incomplete without saying a few words as 
 to the cramp. Those who are at all liable to it 
 ought, perhaps, to abandon all idea of swimming ; 
 men of the greatest skill as swimmers, and of pres- 
 ence of mind in danger, have fallen victims to this, 
 which has been well enough called, "the bathers' 
 bane." The cramp may, however, seize a person 
 for the first time in his life when at a distance from 
 land ; this has frequently been known to occur,, 
 but the suiferer can save himself if he should ever 
 be seized with this terrible contraction. Be assured 
 that there is no danger, if you are only a tolerable 
 swimmer and do not flurry yourself. The moment 
 you feel the cramp in your leg or foot, strike out 
 the limb with ail your strength, thrusting the heel 
 out, and drawing the toes upward as forcibly as pos- 
 sible, totally regardless of the momentary pain it 
 may occasion. If two or three eflbrts of this nature 
 do not succeed, throw yourself on your back, and 
 'endeavor to keep yourself afloat with your hands 
 until assistance reach you ; or, if there be no ho})e 
 of that, try to paddle ashore with your palms. 
 Should you be unable to float on your back, put 
 yourself in the position directed for treading water, 
 and you may keep your head above the surface by 
 merely striking the water downward with your 
 hands at youi" hips, without any assistance from 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 35 
 
 your legs. In case you have the cramp in both 
 legs, you may also endeavor to make some progress 
 in this manner, should no help be at hand. ^ If 
 you have one leg only attacked, you may drive 
 yourself forward with the other. In order to endow 
 you with confidence in a moment of danger from 
 an attack of the cramp, occasionally try to swim 
 with one leg, or a leg and a hand, or the two hands 
 only, and you will find that it is by no means 
 difficult. 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 In entering the water, the head should be wetted 
 first, either by plunging in head foremost, or pour- 
 ing water on it. Before you adopt the first method, 
 ascertain if the water be sufficiently deep to allow 
 you to dive without touching the bottom, other- 
 wise you may injure yourself against it. Do not 
 remain in the water too long, but come out as soon 
 as you feel tired, chilly or numbed. It is a good 
 plan to make a plunge, so as to wet the body all 
 over, to return to shore immediately, and an instant 
 afterward enter the water at your ease, and take 
 your lesson or your swim. You do not feel so 
 chilly if you do this, as if you dash in and swim 
 off" at once. Never be alarmed at having a few 
 mouthfuls of water when learning to swim ; be 
 not discouraged at difficulties, but bear in mind, 
 that millons have done what you are attempting to 
 do. Beware of banks which have holes in them, 
 and venture out of your depth only by degrees. 
 
 If one of your companions be in danger of 
 drowning, be sure that, in endeavoring to save 
 him, you make your approaches in such a manner 
 as will prevent him from grappling with you ; if 
 he once gets hold of your limbs, you both will 
 almost inevitably be lost. 
 
36 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Bible tells us that a guardian angel is ap- 
 pointed for each one of us. Dealings with man- 
 kind show that each mortal has an evil genius. 
 Every one has an Eden of his own, and the devil 
 tries to enter there. Paul Boy ton was the evil 
 genius of Professor Odium. When he first entered 
 Washington he found the Professor with a pros- 
 perous Natatorium, patronized by the best people 
 of the city. The world looked fair and pleasant, 
 no debt encumbered his affairs, and but for 
 the entrance of this advertising humbug, how 
 -different would have been the life of Professor 
 Odium ! Boyton came with all his plausibility 
 as an agent of St. Jacob's Oil, and claimed the 
 proprietorship of the stuffed whale. Like Mul- 
 berry Sellers, he boasted that ^'millions were in it." 
 With his boasts of coming wealth, an easy life, 
 and promising fame and gold in the future, he 
 easily induced Professor Odium to leave the 
 •^'even tenor of his way." To follow the un- 
 principled adventurer was now his ambition, and 
 to recover his lost means he made desperate re- 
 solves — to achieve notoriety by big jumps, such as 
 most men would have shrank from in horror. 
 Boyton 's great schemes soon came to an end — 
 there was no merit in them. The " stuffed whale" 
 was pounced upon for debt, and St.. Jacob with his 
 magic oil receded from Boyton 's grasp. He was 
 jealous of Professor Odium and sought to make use 
 of his attainments to enrich himself. He found 
 ready allies in the sports of New York, who are 
 ever on the alert for some chance to fill their de- 
 pleted pockets, and enable them to live fancy and 
 dissolute lives at the expense of the industry of 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 3T 
 
 others. They were familiar with the prowess pos- 
 sessed by Professor Odium, had witnessed his high 
 leaps from bridges and masts of vessels in mid 
 ocean, had heard of his long swims and feats in the 
 water, and here was a golden opportunity for them. 
 The Professor was ambitious, enthusiastic withal ; 
 and by their blandishments, encouragement and 
 flattery induced him to conceive that wealth and fame 
 would attend him in a grand leap from the Brook- 
 lyn bridge. So long did he ponder, that the idea 
 grew upon him, and fastened upon his imagination 
 like a clamp of steel ; it became the dream of his 
 life, and the " sports," headed by Boy ton, chuckled 
 with delight as they anticipated the harvest of gold 
 that would flow into their pockets on the success or 
 failure of the daring of a brave young man_, who 
 unwisely termed these bloodthirsty sports his 
 friends. 
 
 " What is friendship? But a name — 
 A charm that hills to sleep." 
 
 But, alas ! in this instance it was a sleep eternal 
 for one he called his friend, but really his worst 
 enemy in disguise. The jump was a desperate 
 undertaking. In gazing down from the bridge 
 into the East River, the passer-by is struck with 
 wonder that there ever should have lived a man 
 with nerve enough to plunge from its dizzy height 
 into the river. Boyton and his sports cared noth- 
 ing for the danger. Whatever injury resulted 
 would not injure them. In the event of disaster 
 and death, could they not easily capture the letters 
 they had written the unfortunate man? After the 
 catastrophe the letters disappeared, no evidence re- 
 mained, and the coroner's jury would bring in a ver- 
 dict, '^^ there was no one to blame." But fortunately 
 other testimony convicting Boyton and the sports 
 
38 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 remained. The Professor had corresponded with 
 Boy ton for years, as his letters will show. The let- 
 ters and telegrams inviting the Professor to come 
 on to New York and make the jump were in pos- 
 session of the Professor when he left Washington, 
 but got into Boyton's hands after the tragedy, and 
 are hidden away or destroyed. We publish in the 
 chapter of letters the complicity of Boyton in the sad 
 affair, and to convict him of a deliberate falsehood 
 when he penned his letter to the press declaring he 
 'Miad never written R. E. Odium ten lines in his 
 life." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DIARY OF PROFESSOR ODLUM. 
 
 The most interesting chapter of this book is the 
 diary left by the unfortunate Professor. In this we 
 find his thoughts recorded, his adventures, the 
 names of his friends, and articles on swimming, 
 diving, jumping, athletic sports, his private corre- 
 spondence, and reminiscences of men who have 
 become celebrated for the ability they have dis- 
 played in their specialties. 
 
 The following account of some of his swimming 
 adventures is taken from the diary. It shows a 
 fund of humor, and is couched in language alto- 
 gether his own. The narrative is entitled — 
 
 LOOKING FOR WIGGINS' STORM. 
 
 March 11, 1883.— I left Washington last evening 
 on the steamer Excelsior, and this morning about 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 39 
 
 € o'clock jumped into the Chesapeake Bay with my 
 rubber suit ten miles from Fortress Monroe. A 
 few moments after I struck the water I became 
 aware of the fact that my suit was leaking, because 
 of a cold streak across the small of my back. The 
 gentleman who assisted me in adjusting the suit 
 did not understand how to fit it in the back, and 
 ns I was unable to inspect that part of it, was 
 ignorant of its condition until the leak apprised me 
 of the fact. I had with me in a rubber bag two 
 bottles of fresh water and a flask of stimulants. 
 When the leak filled my suit and I became thor- 
 oughly chilled, I resorted to the stimulants, but 
 found in a few moments that the liquor got cold in 
 me and made me feel worse than before I took it. So 
 I discontinued its use and tried to keep up circula- 
 tion by vigorous paddling. The wind was very 
 high and against me, and the tide, which made a 
 ohop sea, was continually breaking over my head. 
 After a hard pull I landed at the Hygeia Hotel, 
 five minutes after eleven a. m., in an exhausted 
 condition — wet through for five hours. 
 
 March 14. — I went into the water to-day and 
 gave the Hygeia guests an exhibition in my suit. 
 Having had three days' rest after my Sunday trip 
 I was feeling pretty good, and did nicely before a 
 large audience. 
 
 March 15. — Went into water to-day. Dumb 
 assistant. Suit leaked. 
 
 March 23. — Left Hygeia Hotel this morning on 
 the Excelsior, and am now on my way to Norfolk, 
 Va. I had a very pleasant time at Old Point, and 
 made some agreeable acquaintances ; among them 
 Mr. Joseph Wild, importer of carpets and linoleum. 
 
40 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 11 and 13 Thomas street, New York, who kindly 
 invited me to call on him. 
 
 Easter Monday, March 26. — I was advertised to- 
 give an exhibition at Boston wharf to-day, but 
 owing to a wet, disagreeable day, the Norfolk people 
 did not turn out to a numerous extent, and after a 
 short swim I came out of the water soaking wet. 
 Another dumb assistant. 
 
 Mai'cJi 27. — I gave an exhibition at ''Campbell's 
 wharf," Norfolk, to-day, after which I paddled 
 over to Portsmouth, where I landed to the delight 
 of a great crowd, answered a number of the regu- 
 lar questions, and then put back to my starting 
 place. 
 
 Friday, 3IarcJi 30. — At three o'clock in the after- 
 noon I left Norfolk from Campbell's wharf on an 
 ebb tide for Fortress Monroe, a distance of eighteeii 
 miles. The wind was against me, and a heavy 
 chop was rolling, which made it difficult to make 
 any progress, and it was only by hard work 
 that I succeeded in getting along about one mile 
 and a half an hour. As I passed the schooners and 
 ships in the Elizabeth river, which were there for 
 harbor and other purposes, the crews would come 
 to their sides and give me a cheer. About seven 
 o'clock I met the steam tug Germania, commanded 
 by a friend of mine, Capt. Sam Contain, and as a 
 gale was then blowing he wanted me to go back to- 
 Norfolk with him, but T concluded to continue my 
 voyage in the storm. So he whistled me a salute 
 and we separated. 
 
 An hour later the gale had become a regular 
 northeaster, and the rain fell in torrents. I was 
 forced ashore near Craney Island, and made 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 41 
 
 application for shelter on a farm that was managed 
 by a man named Dukes. While I was talking 
 to some colored men who worked on the farm, ex- 
 plaining to them my condition, and who and what 
 I wdSj Dukes called them away^ but before I was 
 left alone one of the colored men told me that there 
 was another house a half a mile up the beach, where 
 I could get shelter. A large dog, a savage-looking 
 brute", then came at me, and but for the good-hearted 
 colored man would have done me injury. I then 
 started up the beach. 
 
 The wind was howling and the rain blowing as 
 the big waves washed on the beach, and altogether 
 it was a very dismal hour. But there is truth in 
 the saying "that it is darkest before the break of 
 day," as it was not long before I came in sight of 
 a light shining through a window, up to which I 
 walked, after blowing my fog horn three or 
 four times to apprise the inmates that some one 
 was outside, and that my appearance would not 
 alarm them when I was seen. 
 
 In a moment the door was opened and a young 
 man cautiously eyed me from head to foot as I in- 
 formed him where I came from and that 1 wanted 
 shelter. Another gentleman then stepped to the 
 door, looked at me a few moments, and said: 
 ''Come in," and into a cheerful, large dining-room 
 I was ushered, with a bright fire burning and the 
 table set for supper. My good-hearted German 
 host, Henry Kirn by name, then invited me into 
 the kitchen to remove my rubber suit, when it was- 
 discovered that the clothes under were damp, and I 
 was kindly furnished with dry ones ; then taken 
 into the dining-room and introduced to the family, 
 which consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Kirn and five 
 children — three boys and two girls. After supper 
 I spent a very pleasant evening in general conver- 
 
42 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 sation, and was finally shown to the room that I 
 was to occupy for the night. I have traveled a 
 great deal, but I never before nor never again ex- 
 pect to find myself the occupant of such a luxuriant 
 apartment : Turkish carpet, lace curtains, the 
 finest of china on marble-top furniture, and chairs 
 beautifully upholstered in velvet, oil paintings and 
 a carved bedstead dressed with a fine feather mat- 
 tress that would bring good cheer to a man who 
 was to be shot at sunrise. Mr. Kirn owns several 
 farms in Virginia, and the one he lives on has two 
 hundred and seventy acres, and is considered one of 
 the finest in the State. 
 
 The next morning the storm had somewhat 
 abated, and I concluded, against the wishes of Mr. 
 Kirn, to continue my trip. I had only gone about 
 a mile when an awful hail-storm came down, and 
 to protect my face I had to cover it with the 
 paddle, and I was blown back to Craney Island, 
 below which I landed and walked again to Mr. 
 Kirn's house, where I was gladly received, and 
 spent another pleasant night. The next morning 
 I started early w4th the godspeed of Mrs. Kirn and 
 the family, and with a determination to continue my 
 voyage that time at all hazards. 
 
 The w4nd was still high on the eastern shore, 
 and through a chop sea I commenced a trip across 
 the river, which is about three and a half miles 
 wide at this point. When I got out into the chan- 
 nel I found that the tide had not began to ebb as 
 soon as I expected, and before I reached the other 
 shore I was carried back a good distance. That 
 was Sunday, the first of April, and I never will 
 forget it, as I came near being shot twice. Shortly 
 after I reached the western shore (I suppose that is 
 wdiat it is called from the fact that the opposite 
 side is called the eastern shore) and was i)addling 
 
PROF ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 43 
 
 in water that was made smoother from rain that 
 was then falling, I came in sight of some oyster 
 heds, and saw a little house that was built on piles 
 for the accommodation of a watchman over the 
 oyster beds. About that time some large hail- 
 stones began to fall, and to keep them from strik- 
 ing me in the face I turned and paddled backward. 
 I afterward ascertained that while I was going 
 along, head first, the oyster-bed watchman dis- 
 covered me, and that the day before a large eagle 
 had flown over his place with a long snake in its 
 mouth, seeing which the watchman got his gun and 
 flred at it, wounding the eagle in the wing, which 
 dropped the snake and flew away. On seeing me, 
 
 he said: "There is that d d eagle again," and 
 
 reached for his gun. I fortunately turned around 
 about that time to see if my course was shaped cor- 
 rectly^ when the watchman discovered that it was 
 a man, and quickly jumped into his boat bare- 
 headed and pulled toward me for dear life, as the 
 good fellow thought I was in distress. When he 
 was near I gave him three blows out of my fog 
 horn as a salute, which seemed to greatly surprise 
 liim. When he pulled alongside I satisfied his 
 curiosity by prompt answers to his numerous ques- 
 tions, and accepted an invitation to take a tow to 
 his cabin, where he assisted me out of the water 
 and made me welcome to his one-roomed house. 
 After taking a swig from my flask he told me that 
 when he was going to shoot me he thought that 
 my paddle was the eagle's wings, and that the 
 eagle was trying to pull something out of the water 
 with its claws. I handed the flask to him and he 
 kept out the cold by "tipping the rossey" once 
 more, and the hail having ceased to fall I shook 
 hands with the good fellow and left him to his 
 lonely vigil. It was now about five o'clock p. m., 
 
44 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 and I wanted to make Old Point on that tide, which 
 would last four hours longer. About six o'clock I 
 reached Sewell's Point, where a number of schoon- 
 ers were in harbor, as the weather was too threaten- 
 ing and the Koads so rough that it was dangerous 
 to anchor there. As I reached the point a half rain 
 and hail storm commenced to pour down, and the 
 heavy seas from Hampton Roads rolled over me 
 and made my condition awfully disagreeable. My 
 hands were numb with the cold, and the small of 
 my back and feet were chilled through. I saw at 
 some distance through the storm a large boat with 
 several men in it put out, and felt confident that 
 they were coming after me, so I paddled to a spar 
 buoy that was not far away, and as it had a looped 
 rope hung to it I put my arm through the loop and 
 awaited developments. Having my back to the 
 storm to keep the hail from striking me in the face, 
 and as the boat was coming that way I did not see 
 it again until it got quite close. Then to my sur- 
 prise I found that there were two boats, one with 
 five men and a gun, and the other had four men. 
 The fellow with the gun seemed as though he was 
 disappointed because he did not get a shot at me. 
 The parties in the other boat came up to me and 
 insisted on my coming aboard of their schooner 
 and take something to eat, and I allowed them to 
 tow me over and they hauled me on the deck of the 
 "Golden Hind," of Gloucester, Mass., which is 
 manned by fifteen of as jolly and noble-hearted fel- 
 lows as ever found harbor in Hampton Roads. They 
 told me that some hours before they had passed me 
 in the river on their way from Norfolk ; and when I 
 afterward hove in sight, they watched me as 1 
 neared them until they noticed a fellow put out 
 from a coaster with a gun in hand. Four of them 
 then jumped into a " punkey" and pulled for life, 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 45 
 
 yelling all the while at the other hoat not to shoot, 
 and that it was only when the man was taking aim 
 that they succeeded in attracting his attention, 
 which fact was very fortunate for me, as well as for 
 the conscience of the shootist, who must have been 
 a flighty fellow not to have put his glasses on me 
 before taking the chances of a shot. The storm 
 increased every moment, and as it was impossible 
 then for me to cross the Roads, I accepted the press- 
 ing invitation of all the crew, who shared the fruits 
 of their labors equally and were all as one, to re- 
 main with them for the night, and a very pleasant 
 evening it was. I only regret I did not get all of 
 their names. They were as near Arcadians as any 
 lot of men 1 have ever met. ''There the richest 
 was poor, and the poorest lived in abundance." 
 
 Wm. S. Grady, one of the crew, told me he has 
 an uncle, Henry Odium, who lives at East Booth- 
 berry, Maine. 
 
 I left the Golden Hind Monday morning at 7 
 o'clock. The wind was still against the tide, which 
 made a chop sea. But I was nov\r in good sight of 
 my destination, where I landed after four hours of 
 hard work at 11 o'clock. Mr. Phoebus, of the 
 Hygeia Hotel, gave me a hearty welcome, and 
 did all in his power to make my stay with him a 
 pleasant one. 
 
 3Iay 4. — I left Cumberland's boat house, in 
 Georgetown, D. C, 7 o'clock in the morning for a 
 swim down the Potomac, and got as far as Fort 
 Foote on the ebb tide, when the tide began to flood. 
 It was then 1 o'clock p. m., and I was fourteen 
 miles down the river from my starting point. The 
 sun was shining very hot, and as I' had not any- 
 thing over my face or eyes, it became very disagree- 
 able, so I landed at the long wharf for a short rest. 
 
46 LIFE AXD ADVENTURES OF 
 
 On going ashore I walked down the beacih to see if 
 I could meet any person, for I was very hungry, 
 and on turning a sharp curve found myself within 
 twenty feet of three colored boys, who had been 
 fishing, and were then sitting on a log eating their 
 lunch. As they had their backs to me I could not 
 withstand the chance that presented itself for a little 
 fun ; so I took my fog-horn in hand, and getting 
 down on all-fours, gave a shrill blow and then com- 
 menced jumping toward them. If the devil in his 
 most hideous form had suddenly appeared before 
 those youngsters they could not have been more 
 terrified. Jumping to their feet they ran for life 
 down the beach, where their small boat was fast- 
 ened, and as two of them jumped into the skiff the 
 third one went head first into the water, and catch- 
 ing hold of the stern of the boat pulled for dear life 
 to get clear of the shore. In the mean time I stood 
 up and was enjoying by a hearty laugh the big 
 scare that my rubber suit had caused, and when the 
 boys had got a reasonable distance from shore they 
 turned to take a more minute scrutiny of what had 
 seemed an awful apparition. When they discovered 
 me standing up with a paddle in hand and laugh- 
 ing, their faces turned from fear to wonder, and in 
 a moment they too commenced smiling, but their 
 teeth chattered like monkeys as they smiled, and 
 it was some time before they could comprehend 
 that I was a real man. Then the two who jumped 
 into the boat in the first scare pretended to have a 
 great joke on the third, who had gone into the cold 
 water, and so it was that they enjoyed what a few 
 moments before seemed to them "his royal majesty 
 the Earl of Hell ;" and I suppose if they live to be 
 a hundred, the* impressions formed in that half hour 
 will never leave their memory. 
 
 In a few moments I again took to the water, and 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMxMET ODLUM. 47 
 
 after a hot paddle of five hours once more had my 
 suit removed^ to find that ray face was so badly 
 burned that it looked as though it was painted 
 red, and the next day the skin peeled off. 
 
 The articles in the diary are of a miscellaneous 
 character, relating to many subjects, but they are 
 of such importance that they cannot fail to interest 
 the reader. In the writings of the Professor we 
 find the following admirable article published in a 
 Boston newspaper : 
 
 ALL WOMEN SHOULD SWIM. 
 
 There are few subjects of greater interest bearing 
 on the health of the community than bathing and 
 swimming, and at this time of the year few topics 
 of discussion are so constantly referred to by the 
 newspapers, and our medical contemporaries appear 
 to treat the matter as of the gravest importance. 
 Among the multitudes that flock to the various 
 seaside resorts to spend their holidays, it is some- 
 what surprising to find that a vast number at each 
 recurring season content themselves with dawdling 
 on the beach, inhaling the breezes of the sea, and, 
 either from timidity or dread of the water, or more 
 particularly owing to their inability to swim, re- 
 frain from even entering the sea, and return after 
 their holiday year without having at all indulged 
 in one of the most delightful enjoyments with 
 which a holiday at the seaside is so pleasurably 
 associated. This singular timidity attaches itself 
 even to the sterner sex, though it will be found 
 prevailing naturally in a wider degree among the 
 ladies. The first show of the nervous dread of the 
 water on the part of young boys has been often 
 overcome by the exemplary prudence and gentle 
 
48 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 persuasion of paterfamilias bathing in company 
 with them, and gradually getting them through 
 their difficulty by his encouraging presence and 
 assistance during their "first dip;" and if like 
 measures were adopted in respect to young girls, 
 such timidity and nervous apprehensions as we 
 have before alluded to would doubtless soon disap- 
 pear, and the healthful exercise of swimming 
 would be more widely cultivated, and would speed- 
 ily rank among the most graceful arts and accom- 
 plishments of women. At present swimming 
 among the fair sex seems to be regarded as a most 
 difficult and dangerous science, whereas experience 
 shows that it may easily be acquired. There are 
 certainly many ladies who possess sufficient cour- 
 age to venture into the sea ; but it is amusing to 
 see them dallying with the rope of the bathing 
 machine, struggling and splashing in an unsightly 
 garment that seemingly holds each fair nymph in 
 bondage, when her limbs should be free and grace- 
 fully gliding in healthful exercise through the 
 freshening water. Owing to the conformation of 
 the female figure, it is well known to scientists 
 that an easier flotative power is induced than fol- 
 lows in man, which enables the fair sex to tell us 
 that " out of a class of thirty girls, whose instruc- 
 tion commenced late last season, twenty-five were 
 taught to swim in six lessons, and six of them won 
 prizes ;" and during the bathing season at one of 
 our watering places, it was recorded that three 
 sisters, wh o were unable to swim, having been car- 
 ried out by a receding wave, had sufficient pres- 
 ence of mind to turn ovei' on their backs, and in 
 this position floated safely on shore again. It 
 remains for some one of enterprise and inventive 
 powers to design and introduce, for the benefit of 
 the fair sex especially, some novel and effective 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMxMET ODLUM. 49 
 
 bathing dress, which may enable the art of swim- 
 ming to be more generally practiced, and to the 
 majority it will then become un fait accompli. In 
 the mean time, ladies would do well to bear in 
 mind that anything pressing on the limbs or mus- 
 cles of the chest interferes with the proper circula- 
 tion of the blood, and impedes proper progress in 
 the water ; and that perfect freedom for the limbs 
 und body should be recognized as a necessary ad- 
 junct to the success of their efforts in the direction 
 of learning to swim. At the various seaside resorts 
 there should be an additional number of bathing 
 machines provided for the accommodation of both 
 ladies and gentlemen, but more particularly in the 
 €ase of ladies, as we have known instances where 
 ladies having made up their minds for the first 
 venture, on arrival at the beach, finding the few 
 machines engaged have immediately turned back 
 and perhaps never got so far again in overcoming 
 their repugnance to sea bathing. Sea water swim- 
 ming baths should also be provided in every seaport 
 town ; and they could be made simply by inclosing 
 an area of w^ater with rafts and screens, a grating 
 being fixed on the bottom and sides ; and swim- 
 ming assistants should be in attendance to give 
 encouragement and instruction to those unaccus- 
 tomed to the sea-water bath. Ladies' swimming 
 should also be further encouraged in all large 
 towns during the winter by the establishment of 
 tepid swimming baths, with competent teachers — 
 men in preference. Young children should be 
 taught early to swim, and the sooner they are in- 
 troduced to the water the quicker they will learn to 
 swim, and they will the sooner, perhaps, have the 
 power of saving the lives of their fellow-creatures, 
 should the opportunity occur. It is lamentable to 
 notice the numerous deaths that occur yearly by 
 4 
 
50 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 drowning ; and many lives are lost simply because 
 the agonized spectators are unable to swim, and 
 therefore cannot venture hand or foot to clutch a 
 fellow-creature from the grasp of death. If the 
 art of swimming were more properly understood 
 and encouraged, it would be a boon to the nation 
 at large ; and in these days of school-board enlight- 
 enments it would be well if the educators of the 
 present day would give the question of swimming 
 some consideration, and extend its benefits to every 
 school in the country. The cost of a swimming 
 bath would not be great, and the benefits to be 
 derived are almost incalculable. Public spirit 
 is springing up, but the art of swimming is not 
 followed with that avidity that we should like to 
 see ; and in the interest of the ladies, whose cause 
 we are now advocating, we hope soon to learn that 
 among the many graceful accomplishments of the 
 fair sex the majority of them will be found to excel 
 in the health-giving exercise of swimming. 
 
 Professor Odium observes that probably not one 
 in twenty of the persons who indulge in boating on a 
 holiday can swim . "Nothing, " said he, ' ' is more easy. 
 When the air is out of the body its owner sinks ; 
 when the air is in the body its owner floats. Let 
 any one slowly draw in his breath as he draws 
 back his legs and pushes forward his arms, retain 
 it while he is preparing the stroke which is to pro- 
 pel him, and slowly allow it to go through his lips 
 as his arms are passed back from before his head to 
 his sides and his legs are stretched out. The action 
 of the stroke should not be quite horizontal, but 
 should be made on a slight incline downward. 
 The real reason why people take weeks to learn 
 how to swim is because swimming professors either 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 51 
 
 do not know or do not choose to teach the philoso- 
 phy of breathing, so as to render the body buoyant."" 
 In his diary we find the following sensible re- 
 marks: The late frightful disaster on the Sound 
 furnishes another forcible argument for the neces- 
 sity of acquiring the art of swimming. What a 
 sad commentary on man, whom the Creator en- 
 dowed with magnificent strength to use his 
 limbs, not to be able to " make an efibrt," is that 
 furnished by a passenger on the ill-fated Narragan- 
 sett, who says : "Before rushing on deck to jump 
 overboard I roused several persons, and saw^ one 
 young man deliberately shoot himself through the 
 head when he realized the danger he was in — not 
 being able to swim." Knowing how to swim or 
 keeping the head above water imparts with it the 
 needed self-reliance and coolness so essential in 
 critical moments. 
 
 HYGIENIC SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 1. Do not bathe shortly after eating, an interval 
 of an hour and a half should be allowed at least ; 
 and do not bathe when tired out, either mentally 
 or physically. Always wait till you feel rested. 
 
 2. If overheated when arriving at the bath do 
 not remove your clothes until the excessive feeling of 
 heat has passed, and your breathing and circulation 
 have become regular. Never expose the skin to 
 the direct action of the air when overheated. After 
 resting, a moderate degree of warmth or even per- 
 spiration need not prevent your bathing, but do not 
 lounge around the bath undressed. 
 
 3. Keep in motion after you have gone into the 
 water ; do not stand around chatting and lounging ; 
 as soon as you have swum sufficiently, dry your- 
 
52 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 self thoroughly, put on your clothes, and keep the 
 blood in circulation by exercise. 
 
 4. Do not stay in the water too long. Half an 
 hour is long enough for the strongest man. More 
 delicate persons will find that too much ; for some, 
 ten minutes should be the limit. 
 
 5. Ladies should see that their bathing dresses 
 are perfectly dry before using. 
 
 6. Cramp — Observance of the above rules will 
 most probably prevent the occurrence of cramp. 
 Should a swimmer be seized^ however, he should 
 endeavor not to be alarmed, and should strike out 
 vigorously with the affected limb, or, turning on 
 his back, extend it forcibly into the air. By pad- 
 dling with the hands he can usually reach shore, 
 or keep himself afloat until assistance is rendered. 
 
 Swimming is the most useful of all athletic ac- 
 complishments, as by it human life is frequently 
 saved. It is also useful in the development of 
 muscular strength, as well as highly beneficial to 
 the nervous system, and often repairs the vital func- 
 tions falling into decline, and there are few sub- 
 jects of greater interest bearing on the health of the 
 community than bathing and swimming. Among 
 the multitudes that flock to the various seaside re- 
 sorts to spend their holidays, it is somewhat sur- 
 prising to find that a vast number at each recurring 
 season content themselves with dawdling on the 
 beach, inhaling the breezes of the sea, and from 
 dread of the water, or more particularly owing to 
 their inahility to swim, refrain from ever entering the 
 sea, returning home after their season without hav- 
 ing at all indulged in one of the most delightful 
 enjoyments with which a holiday at the seaside is 
 so pleasurably associated. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 53 
 
 HINTS TO SWIMMERS. 
 
 Captain Webb says : 
 
 " When a swimmer is chilled the blood ceases to 
 circulate in the fingers, the finger nails become a 
 deathly white color, the lips turn blue, and should 
 he persist in staying in the water after these symp- 
 toms develop he is sure to have cramps. So long 
 as the swimmer can discern spots on his finger 
 nails he knows that his blood is in good order, and 
 that he is safe and free from chills. I have been 
 remarkably free from chills, and feel most at ease 
 when in the salt water under a hot sun. Salt 
 water seems to attract the heat, and, no matter 
 what the temperature of the water, under these 
 circumstances I feel warm. I have on some occa- 
 sions swam so as to keep my body under water^ 
 but even in such instances on coming out I have 
 found my back and limbs blistered. This shows 
 the penetration of the heat from the rays of the 
 sun on the water. On one occasion since I was 
 here last I swam for £400 at Scarborough, staying 
 in the water seventy-four hours. I use a prepara- 
 tion of porpoise oil, which I rub all over my body, 
 even my face. The oil fills up the pores of the 
 skin and keeps the salt water from penetrating 
 my vitals." 
 
 PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
 
 It is a well-authenticated fact that the American 
 people in the last twenty years have degenerated 
 physically more than any other nation, unless pos- 
 sibly the French. 
 
 The. causes and reasons for this degeneracy are 
 obvious. 
 
 They have become the most prosperous nation 
 
54 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 upon the face of the earth. They are essentially a 
 money-making people^ and not a few individuals 
 in private life have accumulated fortunes equal to 
 a prince's possessions. 
 
 This has reacted in two ways to their physical 
 detriment. Those who have already become 
 wealthy have settled down into habits of indolence 
 and ease, ' ' doing nothing with masterly inactivity, ' ' 
 while those still engaged in accumulating wealth 
 liave allowed themselves to become slaves to their 
 commercial pursuits or professions, and in both 
 cases are dwindling gradually into an effete race 
 of people. 
 
 Most of the so-called modern conveniences of a 
 liigher civilization conduce, directly or indirectly, 
 toward the evil that threatens them, and indulging 
 in a street-car ride or yielding to the luxury of a 
 close carriage, when they should walk home after 
 a day spent in an office or counting-room, fosters 
 and encourages this evil in an alarming degree. 
 On the growing population we see the effects of 
 this luxuriant self-indulgence and the neglect of 
 physical training most painfully marked. So much 
 3S0 has this become a fact that a school boy or girl 
 of splendid physique is very seldom seen. 
 
 The cramming process of competitive examina- 
 tions, to which budding manhood and womanhood 
 are now subjected, combined with the total lack of 
 physical discipline, another injudicious diet de- 
 manded by a capricious appetite, is creating not a 
 race of intellectual giants but of corporeal pigmies. 
 
 Well directed gymnastic exercise tends to the 
 growth and development of man, favors the preser- 
 vation of general health by calling into direct ac- 
 tion a majority of the vital organs of the body. It 
 also acts powerfully upon the skin by stimulating 
 the pores, through which a vast proportion of the 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 55 
 
 waste matter of the system is carried off. Exercise 
 is likewise important in order to fortify the body 
 against the attacks of unhealthy influences, for it is 
 a well-known fact, admitted by the highest author- 
 ity, that neither typhoid fever, diphtheria or any 
 other of the infectious diseases can be so readily 
 imbibed into the system where the several organs 
 of the body are in full energy and vigor. 
 
 Sedentary habits are the fruitful source of mani- 
 fold disease ; they produce indigestion and dys- 
 pepsia, the utmost degree of physical wretchedness; 
 from these spring nearly '^ all the ills that flesh is 
 lieir to." City life exhibits no more pitiful phase 
 than the pale-faced men with attenuated bodies 
 who perform the clerical duties of the Government 
 departments or the mental labor of the community, 
 and it is to benefit such as these who may be seen 
 on our streets by thousands that human intelli- 
 gence, enlightened by science, recommends the 
 gymnasium. A system of gentle exercise is here 
 provided which calls every muscle into play and 
 distributes the circulation to the utmost and minute 
 fibers, thus infusing a generous glow and impart- 
 ing a tonic which no artificial stimulus can vie 
 with in flavor or efl'ect. If such a thing as perfect 
 health is possible in city life, it is found in the 
 healthful systematic exercise in the gymnasium 
 and bathing. It is well understood that gymnasts 
 ^njoy the very act of living, that they are free from 
 the aches and pains common to the majority of men 
 of sedentary habits, yet their condition is attain- 
 able by all. 
 
 A sound mind in a sound body is the grandest 
 possession mortals can have — better than power or 
 position. Which is the way to get both and keep 
 them? Good education, moral and intellectual, 
 serves for the one ; good air, temperate living and 
 
56 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF _ 
 
 healthful exercise serve for the other. One of the 
 first and most important propositions is to har- 
 monize the conditions of life and business duties 
 with public health. Any one who promotes this 
 harmony is a public benefactor. Hygienic science 
 has discovered that disease even may be cured, and 
 that the debilitating effects of special occupations 
 may be counteracted by the judicious use of par- 
 ticular exercise. 
 
 For these reasons in-door gymnastic and muscu- 
 lar exercises have become to be an institution not 
 onl-y for the invalid but for all ; and especially for 
 persons of sedentary occupation this is found inval- 
 uable. If simply walking up and down a room is 
 relief after protracted desk w^ork, how much more 
 beneficial is a change of muscular action? And 
 after long stooping, a change by which the back 
 muscles are brought into use is a positive rest. 
 
 A popular hygienist says that one-half th6 people 
 in civilized life are either born or become imperfect 
 in some part of the body. This is true enough. 
 It is equally true that this may be remedied by 
 proper training. 
 
 Systematic and healthful exercise consists in fre- 
 quent changes in the position of the body, bring- 
 ing into action at every change a different set of 
 muscles, thereby strengthening and symmetrically 
 developing every part of the body. Thus exercise 
 may become an exhilarating pleasure instead of a 
 tiresome and exhausting labor. By using light 
 weights at first and frequent changing the move- 
 ments, the weight and movement of exercise can 
 be gradually increased without fatigue. 
 
 Physical training is as important to the body as 
 culture is to the mind. Bodily strength may be 
 present and the individual be unable to use that 
 strength with any degree of success. It requires- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 5T 
 
 a trained hand to make a barrel or a boot, and it 
 requires a trained mind to exhibit the highest suc- 
 cess in the arrangement and expression of thoughts 
 and in the successful management of business. A 
 person may have an educated mind in reference to 
 music, and yet not have the trained hand necessary 
 to play the piano forte. But when the hand is 
 trained to perform the dictates of the will, and the 
 mind is also educated in musical science, the mere 
 sights of the notes will send the hands to the requi- 
 site keys almost instinctively. Such is physical 
 training. The expert swimmer is as much at home 
 on the wave as on the land. He delights in the 
 watery element, while the effeminate will view the 
 water with feelings akin to terror. The men and 
 women of England will walk miles before break- 
 fast, and the glow — ;the ruddy glow of health that 
 distinguishes them — will show that exercise is tho 
 best of all medicines. The women of Germany, 
 yoked by the side of dogs to draw heavy loads, are 
 the pictures of health and good nature. Certainly 
 the most striking character which arrests the atten- 
 tion of the traveler in his first rambles about Stock- 
 holm is the Dalecarlian boatwomen. Let him 
 walk in whatever direction he may, if his path 
 leads him to cross any of the numerous arms of the 
 sea or of the Malar, he is sure to find his boat 
 manned by peasant women with stalwart frames 
 and brawny muscular arms, and faces more re- 
 markable for good nature than for beauty, looking 
 out from a close-fitting cap of peculiar form. So 
 strongly formed are these women that they seem 
 more calculated to afford protection than to stand 
 in need of it from the sex ordinarily acknowledged 
 to be the lords of creation. I know not as yet what 
 may be the appearance of the masculine portion of 
 the people of this province, but if the hand of the 
 
68 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 Creator has not endowed them with truly hercu- 
 lean frames, I think they must stand a poor 
 chance with their amazonian better halves. 
 
 Thus we see in' all countries that where the in- 
 hahitants take exercise or have a tendency to phy- 
 sical culture, the men are strong and athletic, and 
 the women wear the bloom of health, if not of 
 beauty, upon their cheeks. Disease is of rare occur- 
 rence, and they can realize the truth of the old 
 adage "that health is greater than wealth;" in 
 fact the greatest of all earthly blessings, for with- 
 out it the richest man is poor indeed. 
 
 MALARIA. 
 
 There is no w^ord that is more thoroughly incor- 
 porated with the sj)eech and thought of the people 
 than malaria. It has become a convenient resource 
 for ignorance, although it is invariably coupled with 
 wisdom and its utterances. It is the familiar des- 
 ignation of many diseases for which no other name 
 or explanation is available. It is the one thing to 
 be avoided in all changes of residence, and it is 
 the dark pall that hangs over some districts of our 
 country, and will be found on investigation that 
 the people have only themselves to blame ; that 
 they have entirely overlooked all sanitary laws, and 
 that malaria in their case means imperfect drain- 
 age, overflowing cesspools, the use of water from 
 filthy wells, and decayed vegetable and animal 
 matter accumulated in the streets and on private 
 premises. 
 
 Malaria simply means bad air, which is the source 
 of disease, and not disease itself The seeds of a 
 complaint may be in the system, the result of im- 
 perfect nutrition or of vitiated blood, and a bad 
 atmosphere may develop the fever or bring a con- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 59 
 
 gestive chill quickly to the surface, but the mis- 
 fortunes occur at all times and in all places ; only 
 appearing in isolated cases and as the result of 
 well-known causes, they are not classed in the 
 usual column, at least by sensible physicians. Yet, 
 the patient and friends are happy in thinking that 
 they have the whole thing in a nutshell ; it is, in 
 a word, malaria. And especially is there a kind 
 of grim comfort to the semi-invalids, to those who 
 are by no means sick, yet not entirely well. They 
 have some flying aches and pains, a little head- 
 ache, a loss of appetite, and they feel a little 
 feverish. It is nothing, only a little malaria. There 
 is both good and evil in these distempered fancies : 
 good when the fear of malarious influences leads 
 to those precautions really necessary to health, and 
 evil when the imagination becomes diseased and 
 every locality teems with fever and kindred com- 
 plaints. It is quite as much a malarious disease as 
 any other. If not generated by a bad atmosphere, 
 it is certainly transmitted from one to another by 
 it, and all predisposing symptoms are thereby 
 heightened and developed. The ^^ cleanliness that 
 is next to godliness " is the great essential in this 
 and many other visitations. Air may be naturally 
 bad, the product of swamps, of marshes, and of de- 
 caying vegetable matter, but we can create an atmos- 
 phere in cities far worse than any to be encoun- 
 tered in the country. 
 
 The air of tenement houses, back yards with its 
 cesspools and other abominations, or even that of 
 the sick rooms, often unventilated for days and 
 weeks, produces the worst form of malaria. 
 
 EFFECT OF MARSHES IN PRODUCING FEVER. 
 
 Warden, in his account of the United States of 
 
60 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 America, remarks : " All low parts of the United 
 States along the banks of rivers and lakes, and 
 near the borders of stagnant waters and in marshy- 
 situations, where vegetable or animal substances, 
 in a state of decay, are exposed to the action of the 
 autumnal sun, are subject to an intermittent or 
 bilious* fever. In every low situation, where the 
 rich vegetable soil is first exposed to the action of 
 the sun, or where the water disappearing presents 
 to its action a muddy surface, deleterious emana- 
 tions are produced, which, ascending to the sur- 
 face of a neighboring hill, become the cause of 
 disease there, as well as near the surface where 
 they originated." 
 
 He gives a great number of instances of fevers 
 having broken out in America in the neighborhood 
 of marshes ; and he also cites from various authors 
 cases showing the pestilential effect of marshes in 
 Europe on the health. The Pontine marshes in 
 Italy are well known to have produced for centuries 
 numerous febrile diseases. Lancisit, physician to 
 Pope Clement XI, relates that in the vicinity of 
 Rome thirty persons of both sexes, and of the high- 
 est rank, being on a party of pleasure near the 
 mouth of the Tiber, the wind suddenly changed^ 
 and blew from the south across putrid marshes ; 
 and that such was its effect that all except one were 
 suddenly seized with tertian fever. An inundation 
 of the rivers of Hungary, which covered many parts 
 of the country with stagnant water, is said to have 
 occasioned the loss of 40,000 of the Austrian army. 
 The annual overflow of the Nile has produced the 
 same effect, from the earliest times, at Alexandria 
 and other places. 
 
 In August, 1765, a continued or remitting fever 
 was produced among the soldiers and marines sta- 
 tioned in the island of Portsea, in the neighbor- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 61 
 
 hood of stagnant waters, and a great number of 
 them were carried off. 
 
 Warden remarks that '' the most extraordinary 
 fact regarding marsh miasmas is that their influence 
 is more sensibly on the summits of the neighbor- 
 ing hills than on the very borders of the marsh 
 whence they emanate. An invisible and piestifer- 
 ous vapor, which rises by its lightness, or is wafted 
 by currents of air, hovers on the summit during 
 the hot season, and soon paralyzes the strongest 
 constitutions." 
 
 He gives several instances where such pestilential 
 exhalations have produced fevers at the distance 
 of two miles. The short duration of human life in 
 marshy districts has been remarked by all writers 
 on population. For example, the average dura- 
 tion of life is at least one-third lower in Holland 
 than in England or France. In Switzerland, ad- 
 cording to the observations of Muret, the proba- 
 bility of life, or the age to which half the born 
 live, was as follows : In nine parishes of the Alps, 
 47 years ; in 41 parishes of the Paysde Vaud and 
 Jura, 42 ; in 12 parishes where grain was culti- 
 vated, 40 ; in 18 parishes among the great vine- 
 yards. 37 ; in one marshy parish, 24 ! 
 
 I know by personal experience that such is the 
 case among the marshes and along the shores of the 
 Chesapeake. I contracted malaria at Lower Cedar 
 Point, and contracted more while at the Hygeia 
 Hotel, Fortress Monroe, and it is still in my sys- 
 tem. I never expect to be the same man physically 
 again. I have expended a great deal of money to 
 get relief, but have failed. I never knew what an 
 hour's sickness w^as previous to my contracting 
 malaria. 
 
62 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 THE WONDERS OF THE DEEP. 
 
 Very few persons, even among those who delight 
 in studying other branches of natural history, are 
 acquainted with the wonders of the deep. I have 
 always taken an especial interest in the subject^ and 
 have often thought while taking my long swims on 
 the surface of the water that I should like to explore 
 the caverns of the ocean, not alone for the treasures 
 they contained, gone down with the wrecks of by- 
 gone storms, with chests of gold, and doomed to 
 molder away beyond the reach of avaricious man, 
 but to see the curiosities and monstrosities of the 
 deep — the monsters and fishes — that no one has 
 ever seen or described. The various phenomena 
 and the inhabitants of the water are not only 
 quite as well worthy our investigation as those of 
 the dry land, but being less familiar from coming 
 under personal observation less frequently, they 
 present far greater novelty, and their variety is 
 inexhaustible. 
 
 Fishes, or^ as they have been fancifully called, 
 ^Hhe birds of the sea," occupy an important place 
 in the animal kingdom. Their classification is 
 simple : they are distinguished from other ver- 
 tebrate animals by their modes of respiration ; they 
 have gills instead of lungs, and they are distin- 
 guished from the Crustacea by having no backbone. 
 
 I have heard of a story of a person who, studying 
 the natural history of fishes, wrote to a friend ask- 
 ing^ him to collect specimens for him. " I shall be 
 delighted to do so," was the reply, " and shall send 
 you all I can catch, from a whale to a shrimp." A 
 very little acquaintance would have shown him that 
 neither of these are fish ; and a little knowledge 
 would not in this case have been so " danoerous a 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 63 
 
 thing" as it is sometimes supposed by the idle 
 and ignorant. 
 
 The contrast and analogy between fishes and the 
 aerial tribes are very curious and inteiesting. Both 
 are fitted to move in a fluid medium — in an ocean 
 of their own. The bird swims in the air, as the fish 
 may be said to fly in the water, by similar though 
 not the same means. The feathers of one are anal- 
 ogous to the scales of the other ; the wings to the 
 pectoral fins, and the tail of both acts the part of a 
 rudder. Many persons have thought that the 
 movements of the aquatic animal are more graceful 
 and elegant than those of the aerial, in consequence 
 of the greater flexibility of its form and the number 
 of its motive organs. Perhaps our own predi- 
 lections may be in favor of the feathered race, 
 because we regard them as the friends of our child- 
 hood ; but undoubtedly there is considerable grace 
 and beauty in the agile movements of fishes, espe- 
 cially in their own pure element, which they rarely 
 though occasionally forsake. The proverbial ex- 
 pression, '' a fish out of water," gives a lively idea 
 of a " false position." The instances in which it 
 actually occurs are well worthy our notice. 
 
 Dr. Hancock mentions a fish (the loricaria) which 
 creeps upon all-fours in the beds of rivers. This 
 little finny quadruped has a very singular appear- 
 ance moving upon its four stilts, which are pro- 
 duced by a bony ray in front of its pectoral fins and 
 of the next pair to them. The callicthys, a Bra- 
 zilian fish, walks in this way for miles in search of 
 water when, as often happens, the pool in which it 
 lives dries up. 
 
 The climbing perch (perca scandens) not only 
 creeps along the shore, but ascends trees in search 
 of the Crustacea upon which it feeds. It is found in 
 Tranquebar. It must have some difficulty in ascend- 
 
€4 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 ing the fan-palms if it were not provided with numer- 
 ous little sjjines or thorns upon its fins, by means of 
 which it suspends itself while climbing, usiiig them 
 like hands. 
 
 In addition to these peculiarities, it has the power 
 of folding up both dorsal and anal fins when not 
 using them, and thus it literally puts its hands in 
 its pockets ; for it deposits them in a cavity in its 
 body, provided by nature on purpose to receive 
 them when they are not needed for progression. 
 Nor are these pockets or troughs peculiar to the 
 climbing perch ; the land crabs also possess them. 
 With respect to the latter, anatomists were for- 
 merly puzzled to account for the fact of animals 
 whose mode of respiration is by gills, being able 
 to exist so long out of water without injury to those 
 organs, but a French naturalists first, and after- 
 ward Milne Edwards, discovered a cavity or trough 
 into which a small quantity of water is kept in 
 order to moisten their gills occasionally. The 
 gecarcinusuca, one species of this tribe, has more 
 than one pocket or vesicle for that purpose ; another 
 species, the orypode, has a different but equally 
 curious apparatus, a small spongy substance, by 
 means of which the animal is supplied with the 
 moisture required. The reason of this remarkable 
 adaptation is fraught with instruction and interest, 
 and it is a beautiful example of the unbroken order 
 and exquisite harmony which pervade all the works 
 of the Divine Author of the universe. Kirby re- 
 marks that God, when he created these tribes, 
 w^ould not separate them from their kind by giving 
 them a different mode of respiration, but provided 
 this compensating contrivance to tit them for the 
 circumstances in which He decreed to place them. 
 
 The perca scandens is not the only kind of fish 
 which ascends trees in search of food. Several 
 
PKOF. ROBERT EM^ET ODLUM. ^5 
 
 species are found in the Polynesian Islands climb- 
 ing the cocoa-palms ; the most remarkable of them 
 is a kind of lobster of gigantic size, and of strength 
 sufficient to open the cocoa-nuts upon which it 
 -chiefly subsists. 
 
 Nor are these the only instances of the inhab- 
 itants of the waters forsaking their native element. 
 Several varieties of fish in the Indian Ocean and 
 in the Mediterranean are adapted to a short flight, 
 and these peculiarities of habit and movement are 
 highly interesting, even were they devoid of grace- 
 fulness ; for they are examples of a contrivance 
 which displays the goodness of the Creator in fur- 
 nishing them with the means of providing for 
 themselves amid the accidents and difficulties that 
 may fall to their lot. 
 
 Fishes have the character of being remarkably 
 stupid, and yet they are not wholly incapable of 
 instruction. In many parts of Germany the trout, 
 carp and tench are summoned to their food by the 
 sound of a bell ; and in the gardens of the Tuileries 
 some fish were kept for more than a century which 
 would come when called by their names. Neither 
 are they as wholly deficient in parental instinct as 
 has generally been supposed. Two species of fish 
 in Brazil, one the calicthys, before mentioned, the 
 other called doras, construct actual nests — the 
 former of grass, the latter of leaves — in which they 
 deposit their eggs, covering them very carefully. 
 They live in Paris, and, like birds, watch and 
 defend their nests by turns till their young are 
 hatched and able to take care of themselves. 
 
 A similar instinct is exhibited by a fish resem- 
 bling the turbot, osphromenus olfax, which is kept 
 for food in ponds in the Mauritius. After making 
 their nest and laying their eggs, the male and 
 female hatch and watch their offspring by turns. 
 
6b LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 The quiet and seclusion of a pond or some such 
 quiet retreat are indispensable to the development 
 of this parental instinct, and accordingly the in- 
 habitants of the great world of waters exhibit na 
 traces' of it. 
 
 The longevity of fish is another remarkable cir- 
 cumstance considered with regard to their constant 
 exposure to injury, and the soft, defenseless nature 
 of their conformation. 
 
 In the year 1754, an old pike in a pond belong- 
 ing to the castle of Kaisenslantern had a ring 
 in his gill with an inscription stating that it had 
 been put there in 1487, two hundred and sixty- 
 seven years before,, by order of the Emperor Fred- 
 eric II. It weighed three hundred and fifty 
 pounds. Knowing the predaceous and remorseless 
 habits of this fresh-water shark, we feel assured it 
 was a monster of rapacity, and no doubt the scourge 
 and terror of the pond in which it reigned as tyrant. 
 The existence of such relentless destroyers is, how- 
 ever, of absolute necessity to check the redundant 
 increase of the finny tribes ; for the cod alone pro- 
 duces more than nine millions of eggs in a year, 
 and if neither man nor shark made it their food the 
 sea would in a short time contain nothing but cod- 
 fish. It has, therefore, been wisely ordered that 
 the larger species should swallow the small fry 
 by hundreds at a time ; they in turn feed upon 
 their minuter brethren, and even the herbivorous 
 ones breakfast upon the eggs of fishes. 
 
 The adaptation of fishes to the circumstances in 
 which they are placed affords a most interesting 
 subject of inquiry ; this variety of form appears in- 
 exhaustible, and it is thought that the sea contains^ 
 the analogous of almost every aerial or terrestrial 
 race. The monsters of the deep are undoubtedly 
 more gigantic and grotesque than any of their rep- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 67 
 
 resentatives on land. Among the former, the whale^ 
 though not a fish, claims pre-eminence as regards 
 magnitude. Its value and usefulness, in a commer- 
 cial point of view, are so well known that we are 
 apt to forget how wonderful it is ; that the huge 
 leviathan should be subservient to man,, ministering 
 in various ways to his comfort and luxury. 
 
 Among marine giants we must not overlook the 
 sun-fish, or mola, with its enormous phosphorescent 
 carcass, shining with a brightness like the reflec- 
 tion of the moon in the water, and measuring 
 twenty-five feet in length. Imagine a party of 
 them (they generally travel five or six together) on- 
 a dark, moonless night, frightening the rest of the 
 fish, scaring the superstitious sailor, and astonish- 
 ing even the veteran naturalist who has left ofT 
 being surprised at anything. 
 
 Next in bulk comes the "requin," which i» 
 thought to be identical with the carcharias of the 
 Greeks, mistranslated the whale, in the histor}r 
 of Jonah. 
 
 The next in size is the ^'sqalus maximus," 
 sometimes more than forty feet in length, to say 
 nothing of the enormous ray-fish, one of which, 
 taken at Barbadoes, required seven pair of oxen to 
 draw it on shore. 
 
 The sailors call it the sea-devil, and naturalists 
 describe it as frightful. But all these are " gentle 
 monsters" compared with the horrible and terrific 
 octopods, the hideousness of which far surpasses 
 anything that imagination could have pictured. 
 
 But if tired of considering mere bulk and deform- 
 ity, let us turn for variety to the ^' treasures of the 
 deep," to the beautiful tribe of shells, the corallines, 
 the sea flowers, and the ocean beds of weeds on 
 which the gregarious fishes graze like land animals 
 in their pastures. 
 
68 LIFE AXD ADVENTURES OF 
 
 Let US contemplate the connecting links between 
 animal and vegetable life ; let us consider the elec- 
 tric fishes from the torpedo and gymnotus down to 
 the aquatic stars which beautify the nights of trop- 
 ical climates ; let us admire the migratory instinct 
 •which at their appointed seasons collects such vast 
 "numbers of edible fish, and brings them within the 
 reach of man for his food or convenience ; we shall 
 then begin to have some idea how inexhaustible is 
 the interest of the subject, and when we consider 
 how wonderful are the works of the Almighty 
 Creator, shall be constrained to proclaim, '' In wis- 
 dom hast Thou made them all ; the earth is full of 
 Thy riches." To which I may add, so is the great 
 deep also — the wide and fathomless deep. 
 
 THE SEAMAN. 
 
 In reference to sea-faring there is, in the minds 
 of most persons, a wild, romantic idea. Poets have 
 sung of the sea — of its might and its mystery ; of 
 its silence and its storms ; of its beauty and its 
 wrath. When the seaman quits the land and 
 trusts his life and fortunes upon the bosom of the 
 ■deep, and has only the vaulted sky and the planets 
 and stars as subjects of permanency and trust, he 
 is hidden, buried, as it w^ere, from all his friends 
 and associations. For months, and, perhaps, years 
 no word reaches his friends as to his safety, and 
 some, alas! are never heard of more. Their death 
 and the place of their sepulture is a mystery for- 
 ever. 
 
 In connection with all that relates to the sea 
 there is uncertainty and mystery, and it is not 
 strange that the stoutest-hearted seamen en- 
 tertain feelings of superstitious fear relative to 
 special days, unlucky ships, the appearance of birds 
 
PROF. ROBERT ExMMET ODLUM. 69 
 
 and other oruens of good and ill. Some of Dana's 
 ^' Three Years before the Mast" and Captain Mary- 
 att's sea stories have been read by boys with more 
 enthusiasm than any thing else. 
 
 The seaman is required to have physical courage, 
 prudence and bodily vigor and endurance ; he 
 should have intellectual capabilities and a good 
 degree of culture. There is no reason why sea- 
 men should be proverbially rough, base, outcast 
 men. True, in large cities there are many tempta- 
 tions to vice and demoralization, and some men, 
 who are seamen, ran away from home before their 
 characters were formed and fell into bad company 
 and bad habits ; yet there are many quiet citizen- 
 seamen who are at home rejoicing with their fami- 
 lies as sober Christian men, saving their wages and 
 building up an enviable prosperity. On a Sunday 
 their brown faces, with the wife and group of pretty 
 children, may be seen in the pews of the churches. 
 The best young men learn the science of the sea, 
 and honor the profession they follow. In the large 
 commercial towns the veterans of the sea — the vic- 
 tims of land sharks and intemperance — may haunt 
 the public imagination, but there is no reason why 
 men of culture and first-class talent and morals, 
 like Nelson and Porter and Farragut, should not 
 be common in this great field of industry. Every 
 seaman should understand the science of naviga- 
 tion, for every officer might be stricken down or 
 washed overboard in a storm, and it would be de- 
 sirable if each seaman were able to take the ship's 
 papers and work her voyage half around the world. 
 This was once the case with a large East India 
 ship which lost every officer by cholera, when the 
 captain's wife, Mrs. Blount, understanding navi- 
 gation, brought the noble ship home to Southamp- 
 ton, England, about the year 1850. 
 
VO LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 The heroic conduct of Mrs. Mary A. Patten, 
 aged twenty years, wife of Capt. Joshua Patten, 
 of Boston, must be remembered with pleasure and 
 pride by many. They sailed from New York in 
 July, 1856. for San Francisco in the clipper ship 
 Neptune's Car. When doubling Cape Horn, the 
 -captain suspended the mate for neglect of duty, 
 ^nd had double duty to perform ; becoming ill of 
 brain fever, Mrs. Patten, understanding naviga- 
 tion, nursed her delirious husband and took the 
 «hip in safety to San Francisco. The underwriters 
 of New York presented her with a purse of a thou- 
 sand dollars. 
 
 During the late war some of the bravest battles 
 Tvere fought and won by the jolly tars of the sea. 
 "The life of the common seaman is necessarily a 
 hard one. Exposed to all kinds of weather, cooped 
 up within the narrow confines of a ship, deprived 
 of th-e comforts of home and friends, they, taken 
 ^s a class, deserve rather the commendation than 
 the condemnation of mankind. They man the 
 ships that fight our battles on the high seas, they 
 oarry our flag into every port of the world, they 
 have made our country respected in every land. 
 They come back to their native land in great ships 
 laden with the products and luxuries of other 
 climes, and they stand as the bulwark of the na- 
 tion's honor when our dominion is disputed on the 
 :great oceans that wash our shores. Too much 
 honor cannot be given the jolly tars, and their 
 comfort, their education and their well being should 
 •engage the attention of us all. 
 
 Refierence has been made in a former chapter to 
 the fondness of the Patagonians for swimming and 
 what estimate they attach to the knowledge of that 
 art. It is only necessary to quote a description of 
 Ihis race of giants to show the benefit derived from 
 
PROF. ROBERT EIMMET ODLUM. 71 
 
 physical culture. Find a person fond of athletic 
 sports and we will show you a healthy frame pos- 
 sessing a robust constitution free from the common 
 ills that afflict mankind : 
 
 ^'Tlie Patagonians, whom some travelers have 
 magnified into giants, are really somewhat larger 
 than Europeans. With an average height rather 
 ■exceeding six feet, they have very broad shoulders 
 and a large head, the ample dimensions of which 
 are set off by a quantity of long matted hair hang- 
 ing in the wildest disorder over their faces. Falk- 
 ner, who lived many years among the Patagonians, 
 «ays that he never saw one of them who was above 
 an inch or two taller than Cacique Cangapol ; and 
 Mie,' observes the Jesuit, 'must have been seven 
 feet and some inches in height, because on tiptoe I 
 could not reach the top of his head.' 
 
 "The exaggerations of those who have repre- 
 sented the Patagonians as a race of giants, eight 
 feet in height and with the voice of bulls, are, after 
 all, less embarrassing than the silence of others 
 respecting the superior stature of the natives inhabit- 
 ing the northern shores of the Strait of Magalhaens. 
 But it must be observed that these people are 
 great wanderers, roving over an immense extent 
 of desert plains. 
 
 '^ The same tribe, which was found by the officers 
 •of the Beagle on the shores of the strait, w^as seen 
 a year after on the banks of the Rio Negro, eight 
 hundred miles further north. It is probable, also, 
 that the various tribes differ in robustness accord- 
 ing to the abundance of their food; and, indeed, 
 Falkner points out the distinction between the 
 large-bodied and the small Huilliches. This cir- 
 •camstance, added to their nomadic habits, will 
 serve to explain why it has not been the lot of every 
 
72 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 visitor to the Magellanic shores to see natives 
 with the herculean proportions of Cangapol. 
 
 INHABITANTS OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO. 
 
 ^' The inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego have bnt 
 little temptation to cultivate the soil ; their solid 
 and habitable land is reduced to the stony beach on 
 which they wander in quest of food ; and, owing to 
 the steepness of the coast, they can only move about 
 in their canoes. These are made of branches inter- 
 twined and covered with bark ; and, though small 
 and frail, the natives are not afraid to venture in 
 them a considerable distance from the shore, and 
 even to hoist a sail of sealskin. The canoe is plas- 
 tered inside with clay, and in the middle of it a fire 
 is kept burning ; yet the Fuegian, in this case at- 
 tentive to his comfort, appears in general insensi- 
 ble to cold. 
 
 " The women dive for sea-eggs in winter as well 
 as summer ; a small skin thrown over the shoulders 
 or round the loins constitutes the whole clothing of 
 either sex ; and their naked limbs are protected 
 from the sharp winds only by being smeared with 
 clay. Their shores supply them with seals and 
 various kinds of shell-fish ; with their slings and 
 arrows they are able to kill sea-fowl even on the 
 wing. In the art of fishing they appear to have 
 made little progress. An old voyager relates that 
 on his hauling a net eighty feet long in the Strait 
 of Magelhaens, the natives, previously on friendly 
 terms with him, grew so incensed at the great 
 quantity of fish thus taken at once that they imme- 
 diately commenced an assault on him with stones." 
 
 While aboard of a steamer on the Chesapeake, 
 some time ago, I had frequent questions asked me 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. ^3 
 
 in relation to the galls and other fowl that skim 
 over the surface of the water. I answered every 
 question as best I could under the circumstances, 
 (having but little time to do so,) but afterward, as 
 a result of the questioning, I gave my attention to 
 the subject and sought information respecting those 
 birds that flap their broad wings over the w^ave and 
 are rocked to sleep on the crest of the billow. There 
 are birds of good and ill omen. Among the latter 
 is the — 
 
 STORMY PETREL. 
 
 This ominous harbinger of the deep is seen nearly 
 throughout the whole expanse of the Atlantic from 
 Newfoundland to the tropical parts of America, 
 whence it wanders even to Africa and the coasts of 
 Spain. From the ignorance and superstition of 
 mariners an unfavorable prejudice has long been 
 entertained against these adventurers and harmless 
 wanderers, and as sinister messengers of the storm, 
 in which they are often involved with the vessel 
 they follow, they have been unjustly stigmatized 
 by the name of Stormy Petrels, Devil's Birds and 
 Mother Carey's Chickens. At nearly all seasons 
 of the year these swallow petrels in small flocks are 
 seen wandering almost alone over the wide- waste 
 of the ocean. 
 
 On the edge of soundings, as she loses sight of 
 the distant head-land, and launches into the depths 
 of the unbounded and fearful abyss of waters, flocks 
 of these dark, swift-flying and ominous birds begin 
 to shoot around the vessel, and flnally take their 
 station in her foaming wake. In this situation, as 
 humble dependents, they follow for their pittance 
 of fare, constantly and keenly watching the agi- 
 tated surge for any floating mollusca, and are ex- 
 tremely gratified with any kind of fat animal matter 
 
*74 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 throAvn overboard, which they invariably discover, 
 however small the morsel or mountainous and 
 foaming the raging wave on which it may happen 
 to float. On making such discovery they suddenly 
 stop in their airy and swallow-like flight, and 
 whirl instantly down to the water. Sometimes 
 nine or ten thus crowd together like a flock of 
 chickens scrambling for the same morsel ; at the 
 same time pattering on the water with their feet, 
 as if walking on the surface. They balance them- 
 selves with gently fluttering and outspread wings, 
 and often dip down their heads to collect the sink- 
 ing object in pursuit. On other occasions, as if 
 seeking relief from their almost perpetual exercise 
 of flight, they jerk and hop widely over the water, 
 rebounc'ing as their feet touches the surface with 
 great agility and alertness. 
 
 There is something cheerful and amusing in the 
 sight of these little flocks, steadily following after 
 the vessel, so light and unconcerned across the 
 dreary ocean. During a gale it is truly interesting 
 to witness their intrepidity and address. Unap- 
 palled by the storm that strikes terror into the 
 breast of the mariner, they are seen coursing wildly 
 and rapidly over the waves, descending their sides, 
 then mounting with the breaking surge which 
 threatens to burst over their heads, sweeping 
 through the hollow waves as in a sheltered valley, 
 and again mounting with the rising billow, it trips 
 and jerks sportively and securely on the surface of 
 the roughest sea, defying the horrors of the storm, 
 and like some magic being seems to take delight in 
 braving overwhelming dangers. At other times 
 we see these aerial messengers playfully coursing 
 from side to side in the wake of the ship, making 
 excursions far and wide on every side, now in ad- 
 vance, then far behind, returning again to the 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 7o 
 
 vessel, as if she were stationary, though moving at 
 the most rapid rate. A little after dark they gen- 
 erally cease their arduous course, and take their 
 uninterrupted rest upon the water, arriving in the 
 wake of the vessel they have left, as I have ob- 
 served, by about nine or ten o'clock of the follow- 
 ing morning. In this way we were followed by 
 the same flock of birds. 
 
 According to Buffon, the petrel acquires its name 
 from the Apostle Peter, who is also said to have 
 walked upon the water. At times we hear from 
 these otherwise silent birds by day, a low weet, loeet, 
 and in the craving anxiety, apparently to obtain 
 something from us, they utter a low twittering pe 
 np or chirp. In the night, when disturbed by the 
 passage of the vessel, they rise in a low, vague and 
 hurried flight from the water, and utter a singular 
 guttural chattering, like, huk, kick, k' k' k' k' k' k' 
 or something similar, ending in a low twitter like 
 that of the swallow. 
 
 These petrels are said to breed in great numbers 
 on the rocky shores of the Bahama Islands and the 
 Bermuda, and along some parts of the coast of 
 east Florida and Cuba. I am informed that they 
 also breed in large flocks on the mu.d and sand 
 islands off" Cape Sable, in Nova Scotia, burrowing 
 downward from the surface to the depth of a foot 
 or more. They also commonly employ the holes 
 and cavities of rocks near the sea for this purpose. 
 After the period of incubation they return to feed 
 their young only during the night, with oily food 
 which they raise from their stomachs. At these 
 times they are heard through most parts of the 
 night, making a continual cluttering sound like 
 frogs. In June and July, or about the time that 
 they breed, they are still seen out at sea for scores 
 of leagues from the land, the swiftness of their 
 
76 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 flight allowing them daily to make these vast ex- 
 cursions in quest of their ordinary prey ; and hence 
 besides their suspicious appearance in braving 
 storms, as if aided by the dark ruler of the air, 
 they breed, according to the vulgar opinion of sail- 
 ors, like no other honest bird ; for taking no time 
 for the purpose on land, they merely hatch their 
 egg, it is said, under their wings as they sit on the 
 water. 
 
 The food of this species appears to consist of 
 gelatinous spora of the Gulf weed, as well as small 
 fish, barnacles and probably many small moUusca. 
 Their flesh is rank, oily and unpleasant to the taste. 
 
 The petrel is about six and three-fourths inches 
 in length ; the alar extent being about thirteen and 
 a half. The bill black ; head black, and lower 
 parts brownish black ; greater wing coverts pale 
 brown, minutely tipped with white; wings and 
 tail black ; legs and naked parts of the thighs 
 black, slight rudiment of a hind toe. The mem- 
 brane of the foot is marked with a spot of straw 
 yellow, and finally serrated along the edges. Iridis 
 dark brown. 
 
 GENIUS. 
 
 There is no one possession or quality so highly 
 estimated or so valuable as this ; other qualities, 
 a cultivated mind, a moral tone of character, etc., 
 are justly prized, and the possessor of any of them is 
 respected, and exercises a commensurate influence. 
 But even these qualities are shadowed, as by a dark 
 cloud, in comparison with genius. No simile can 
 correctly describe genius. The reverence one has 
 for it is not unlike the sensation experienced when, 
 in solitude, we gaze on the waters of the Niagara 
 falling into its dread abyss, and barken to the voice 
 of the terror-stricken river, awful as the roar of a 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMxMET ODLUM. ^T 
 
 multitude of lions. The awe one feels may be 
 likened to that which creeps o'er the mind of the 
 intellectual traveler, as, in the valley of Chamouni, 
 he turns his gaze to the snowy dome of that mon- 
 arch of the Alps, Mont Blanc. Far towering beyond 
 the summits of that lofty range rises that giant 
 form. But seldom has human foot trod on the 
 holy spot ; there, too often, has death joined the 
 adventurous band that has attempted it — so high, 
 so vast, so unapproachable, it seems fit for the throne 
 of the Eternal. The deep breathing of nature, the 
 sounds of muttering thunder, heard with fearful 
 distinctness in tliat still moment which immedi- 
 ately precedes the storm, convey to the mind sen- 
 sations not unlike those awakened by the sight 
 of genius. 
 
 And yet the possessor of it, this priceless, this 
 inestimable gift, passes among his fellows — the man 
 who had stirred the spirit of a nation, whose words 
 have been inlaid in the monuments of national fame 
 and greatness, moves among his kind scarce noticed ; 
 the vulgar, the rough, the uncouth rub against him. 
 It is as if the fish-fag should jostle the graceful per- 
 son of some creature of light and beauty. Ottway 
 died of want. 'Tis told of him that, pressed by 
 hunger, he actually broke into a coffee-room in 
 London, and seized a loaf of bread on a table ! The 
 divine Milton was poor ; and Shakspeare, the in- 
 oomparable, he w^as talked of in his day by some dog- 
 matic magistrate as '^one William Shakspeare." 
 A baronet, one Lucy, caused him to be apprehended 
 as a deer-stalker. 
 
 Into what utter, entire, unspeakable, insignifi- 
 cance sink wealth and rank and title when com- 
 pared to genius, as is here exemplified in the appre- 
 ciation of the two individuals now referred to — Lucy, 
 the great man of his country, the baronet or lord, 
 
7o LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 and Shakspearel Hyperion to the Satyr, indeed. 
 We think of one as a laden vessel, an earthen por- 
 ringer ; of the other as a jeweled cup. Genius is 
 sure to be appreciated by posterity ; but then pos- 
 terity does not minister to the comfort of the phy- 
 sical man. It is a rare treat to see a man of genius 
 petitioning the rich man or soliciting the influence 
 of an official. It is as if the monarch of the woods^ 
 should entreat the wise-looking Jocko! And yet 
 how often is the sight seen. 'Tis pitiful, 'tis laugh- 
 able, 'tis painful. Merriment and indignation 
 go hand in hand together as we contemplate such 
 a scene. 
 
 Pilgrims visit Mecca's shrine — the sepulcher. 
 Religion beckons them to the holy spot. So do fame 
 and honor beckon to the tombs of the sons of genius 
 generation after generation of men. The soil 
 around them is sacred ; one treads softly as if he 
 were intruding; he scrapes together some of the 
 earth, and bears it away to his distant land. 
 
 EARLY ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 The scenery amidst which we are born and 
 brought up, if we remain long enough therein to 
 have passed that early period of existence on which 
 memory seems to have no hold, sinks, as it were, 
 into the spirit of man, twines itself intimately with 
 every thought, and becomes a part of his being. He 
 can never cast it off any more than he can cast off 
 the body in which the spirit acts. Almost every 
 chain of his after thoughts is linked at some point 
 to the magical circle which bounds his youth's 
 ideas ; and even when latent, and in no degree 
 known, it is still present, affecting every feeling 
 and every fancy, and giving a bent of its own to all 
 our words and our deeds. * * * The passing 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 79 
 
 of our days may be painful, the early years may be 
 checkered with grief and care, unkindness and 
 frowns may wither the smiles of boyhood, and tears 
 bedew the path of youth ; yet, nevertheless, when 
 we stand and look back in later life, letting mem- 
 ory hover over the past, prepared to light where 
 she will, there is no period in all the space laid out 
 before her over which her wings flutter so joyfully, 
 or on which she would so much wish to pause, as 
 the times of our youth. The evils of other days 
 are forgotten, the scenes in which those days passed 
 are remembered, detached from the sorrows that 
 checkered them, and the bright misty light of life's 
 first sunrise still gilds the whole with glory not 
 its own. 
 
 BODILY AND MENTAL EVILS. 
 
 It is a terrible thing when youth — the time of 
 sport and enjoyment, the period which nature has 
 set apart for acquiring knowledge and power and 
 expansion, and for tasting all the multitude of 
 sweet and magnificent things which crowd the 
 creation in their first freshness and with the zest 
 of novelty, is clouded with storms or drenched with 
 tears. It is not so terrible by any means when the 
 mere ills of fortune afflict us ; for they are light 
 things to the buoyancy of youth, and are soon 
 thrown off by the heart which has not learned the 
 foresight of fresh sorrows. The body habituates 
 itself more easily to anything than the mind, and 
 privations twice or thrice endured are privations 
 no longer. But it is a terrible thing, indeed, when, 
 in those warm days of youth when the heart is all 
 affection, the mind longing for thrilling sympathies, 
 the soul eager to love and be loved, the faults, the 
 vices, or the circumstances of others, cut us off from 
 
80 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 those sweet natural ties with which nature, as with 
 a wreath of flowers, has garlanded our earl}^ days ; 
 when we have either lost and regret or known but 
 to condemn, the kindred whose veins flow with the 
 same blood as our own, or the parents who gave 
 us being. 
 
 SUBMARINE BALLOON SERVICE. 
 
 Knowing the interest I take in such subjects, a 
 friend of mine, an officer in the United States 
 Navy, wTites me as follows from Europe : 
 
 '' The International Exhibition of Nice is reserv- 
 ing some wonders for the foreigners who may pro- 
 pose to pass a portion of the winter of 1883-'84 
 upon the borders of Mediterranean. 
 
 ^' One of these wonders is a balloon which its 
 inventor, Mr. Toselli, calls ^^ the observatory under 
 the sea." It is made of steel and bronze, to enable 
 it to resist the pressure which the water produces at 
 a depth of one hundred and twenty meters. This 
 *' observatory under the sea" has a height of eight 
 meters, and is divided into three compartments. 
 
 " The upper apartment is reserved for the com- 
 mander, to enable him to direct and watch the 
 working of the observatory, and to give to the pas- 
 sengers the explanations necessary as to the depth 
 of the sea. 
 
 " The second apartment, in the center of the 
 machine, is comfortably furnished for passengers 
 to the number of eight, who are placed so that they 
 can see a long distance from the machine. They 
 have under their feet a glass which enables them 
 to examine at their ease the bottom of the sea, \vith 
 its fishes, its plants, and its rocks. 
 
 " The obscurity being almost complete at seventy 
 meters of depth, the observatory will be provided 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 81 
 
 with a powerful electric sun, which sheds light to 
 s, great distance in lighting these depths. They 
 have at their disposal a telephone, which allows 
 them to converse with their friends who have 
 ■stopped on the steamhoat which transports the 
 voyagers to such places as are known as the most 
 -curious in the neighborhood. They have also a 
 handy telegraph machine. Beneath the passengers 
 an apartment is reserved for the machine^ which is 
 constructed on natural principles ; that is to say, as 
 the vessel of a fish, becoming heavier or lighter at 
 command, so as to enable the machine to sink or 
 rise at the wish of the operator." 
 
 TOWING OF LIFE-BOATS. 
 
 Reproduced from instructions published l)y the Royal National 
 Life-Boat Institution of Great Britain. 
 
 On no account must any life-boat be towed, either 
 by a steamer or sailing vessel, without her crew 
 being in her, or at least a sufficient number of men 
 to manage her in the event of her breaking adrift, 
 or having to cast off from the towing vessel. 
 
 A life-boat may be towed with either one or two 
 tow-ropes. If the former be adopted, it is recom- 
 mended to tow with a long scope, from forty to 
 «ixty fathoms, the tow-rope being rove through a 
 fair-leader or lizard at the stem head, and screwed 
 to a bollard shipped in the trunk or tabernacle of 
 the foremast. 
 
 If towed with two ropes, one from each quarter 
 of the towing steamer, they should not be taken to 
 the stem of the boat, but be made fast, one to each 
 bow, for which purpose some life-boats are fitted 
 with a bollard on each bow. In either case the 
 crew should be seated well aft in the boat to weigh 
 her by the stern, excepting one man forward with 
 G 
 
82 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 a small hatchet by him, ready to cut the tow-rope 
 in a moment if it should become necessary. 
 
 A life-boat will always be found to tow^ better 
 against a heavy head sea than away from one_, ai* 
 there will be a more steady and regular strain on 
 her, and she will tow less wildly and therefore with 
 less violent jerks and strains on the tow-rope. 
 
 Great advantage is found when towing a life- 
 boat before a heavy sea by towing a drogue astern 
 of the boat to prevent her running ahead in front 
 of a sea (at risk of damage against the towing ves- 
 sel) and to keep up a more equable strain on the 
 tow-rope. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR SAVING DROWNING PERSONS BY SWIM- 
 MING TO THEIR RELIEF. 
 
 1. When you approach a person drowning in the 
 water, assure him, with a loud and firm voice, that 
 he is safe. 
 
 2. Before jumping in to save him divest yourself 
 as far and as quickly as possible of all clothes ; 
 tear them off if necessary, but if there is not time, 
 loose at all events the foot of your drawers if they 
 are tied, as, if you do not do so, they will fill with 
 water and drag you. 
 
 3. On swimming to a person in the sea, if he is 
 struggling do not seize him then, but keep off for 
 a few seconds till he gets quiet, for it is sheer mad- 
 ness to take hold of a man when he is struggling 
 in the water, and if you do you run a great risk- 
 
 4. Then get close to him and take fast hold of 
 the hair of his head, turn him as quickly as pos- 
 sible onto his back, give him a sudden pull, and 
 this will cause him to float, then throw yourself on 
 your back also and swim for the shore, both hands 
 having hold of his hair, you on your back and he 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. »r> 
 
 also on his, and of course his back to your stomach. 
 In this way you will get sooner and safer ashore 
 than by any other means, and you can easily thus 
 swim with two or three persons ; the writer has 
 even, as an experiment, done it with four, and gone 
 with them forty or fifty yards in the sea. One 
 gre/it advantage of this method is that it enables 
 you to keep your head up, and also to hold the per- 
 son's head up you are trying to save. It is of 
 primary importance that you take fast hold of the 
 hair* and throw both the person and yourself on 
 your backs. After many experiments, it is usually 
 found preferable to all other methods. You can in 
 this manner float nearly as long as you please, or 
 until a boat or other help can be obtained. 
 
 5. It is believed there is no such thing as a death- 
 grasp, at least it is very unusual to witness it. As soon 
 as a drowning man l3egins to get feeble and to lose 
 his recollection, he gradually slackens his hold un- 
 til he quits it altogether. No apprehension need, 
 therefore, be felt on that head when attempting to 
 rescue a drowning person. 
 
 6. After a person has sunk to the bottom, if the 
 water be smooth, the exact position where the body 
 lies may be known by the air-bubbles, which will 
 occasionally rise to the surface, allowance being of 
 course made for the motion of the water, if in a 
 tide-way or stream, which will have carried the 
 bubbles out of a perpendicular course in rising to 
 the surface. A body may be often regained from 
 the bottom before too late for recovery by diving 
 for it in the direction indicated by these bubbles. 
 
 7. On rescuing a person by diving to the bottom, 
 the hair of the head should be seized by one hand 
 only, and the other used, in conjunction with the 
 feet, in raising yourself and the drowning person 
 to the surface. 
 
84 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 8. If in the sea it may sometimes be a great 
 error to try to get to land. If there be a strong out- 
 setting tide, and you are swimming either by your- 
 self, or having hold of a person who cannot swim, 
 then get on your back and float till help comes. 
 Many a man exhausts himself by stemming the 
 billows for the shore on a back-going tide, and 
 sinks in the eifort, when, if he had floated, a boat 
 or other aid might have been obtained. 
 
 9. These instructions apply alike to all circum- 
 stances, whether as regards the roughest sea or 
 smooth water. 
 
 RULES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OPEN ROW BOATS IN 
 A SURF — BEACHING THEM, ETC. 
 
 Heprodiiced from instructions published by tlie Koyal National 
 Life-Boat Institution of Great Britain. 
 
 I. In roiuing to seaivard. 
 
 As a general rule speed must be given to a boat 
 rowing against a heavy surf. Indeed, under some 
 •circumstances, her safety will depend on the ut- 
 most possible speed being attained on meeting a 
 sea. For if the sea be really heavy, and the wind 
 blowing a hard, on-shore gale, it can only be by 
 the utmost exertions of the crew that any head- 
 way can be made. The great danger, then, is that 
 an approaching heavy sea may carry the boat away 
 on its front, and turn it broadside on, or up end it^ 
 either effect being immediately fatal. A boat's 
 only chance in such a case is to obtain such way as 
 shall enable her to pass end on through the crest 
 of the sea, and leave it as soon as possible behind 
 her. Of course, if there be a rather heavy surf, 
 but no wind, or the wind oif shore and opposed to 
 the surf, as is often the case, a boat might be pro- 
 
PROF. ROBERT ExMMET ODLUM. 85 
 
 pelled so rapidly through it that her how wouki 
 fall more suddenly and heavily after topping the 
 sea than if her way had been checked ; and it may 
 therefore only be when the sea is of such magni- 
 tude, and the boat of such a character, that there 
 may be chance of the former carrying her back 
 before it that full speed should be given her. 
 
 It may also happen that, by careful management 
 under such circumstances, a boat may be made to 
 avoid the sea, so that each wave may break ahead 
 •of her, which may be the only chance of safety in 
 a small boat ; but if the shore be flat, and the 
 broken water extends to a great distance from it, 
 this will often be impossible. 
 
 The following general rules for rowing to sea- 
 ward may, therefore, be relied on: 
 
 1. If sufficient command can be kept over a boat 
 by the skill of those on board her, avoid or "dodge" 
 the sea if possible, so as not to meet it at the mo- 
 ment of its breaking or curling over. 
 
 2. Against a head gale and heavy surf get all 
 possible speed on a boat on the approach of every 
 sea which cannot be avoided. 
 
 3. If more speed can be given to a boat than hs 
 sufficient to prevent her being carried back by a 
 surf, her way may be checked on its approach, 
 which will give her an easier passage over it. 
 
 II. On running before a broken sea or surf to the shore. 
 
 The one great danger when running before a 
 broken sea is that of broaching-to. To that pecu- 
 liar effect of the sea, so frequently destructive of 
 human life, the utmost attention must be directed. 
 
 The cause of a boat's broaching-to when running 
 before a broken sea or surf is that her own motion 
 being in the same direction as that of the sea. 
 
86 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 whether it be given by the force of oars or sails, or 
 by the force of the sea itself, she opposes no resist- 
 ance to it, but is carried before it. Thus, if a boat 
 be running with her bow to the shore and her stern 
 to the sea, the first effect of the surf or roller, on 
 its overtaking her, is to throw up the stern, and 
 as a consequence to depress the bow ; if she then 
 has sufficient inertia (which will be proportional 
 to weight) to allow the sea to pass her, she will in 
 succession pass through the descending, the hori- 
 zontal, and the ascending positions, as the crest of- 
 the wave passes successively her stern, her mid- 
 ships, and her bow in the reverse order in which 
 the same positions occur to a boat propelled to 
 seaward against a surf. This may be defined as 
 the safe mode of running before a broken sea. 
 
 But if a boat, on being overtaken by a heavy 
 surf, has not sufficient inertia to allow it to pass 
 her, the first of the three positions above enumer- 
 ated alone occurs ; her stern is raised high in the 
 air, and the wave carries the boat before it on its 
 front or unsafe side, sometimes with frightful veloc- 
 ity, the bow all the time deeply immersed in the 
 hollow of the sea; where the water, stationary or 
 comparatively so, offers a resistance, whilst the 
 crest of the sea, having the actual motion which 
 causes it to break, forces onward the stern or rear 
 end of the boat. A boat will^ in this position some- 
 times, aided by careful oar-steerage, run a consider- 
 able distance until the wave has broken and ex- 
 pended itself. But it will often happen that if the 
 bow be low it will be driven under water, when, the 
 buoyancy being lost forward, whilst the sea presses 
 on the stern, the boat will be thrown (as it is termed) 
 end over end ; or if the bow be high, or it be pro- 
 tected, as in most life-boats, by a bow air-chamber, 
 so that it does not become submerged, that the 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 87 
 
 resistance forward, acting on one bow, will slightly 
 turn the boat's head, and the force of the surf being 
 transferred to the opposite quarter, she will in a 
 moment be turned round broadside by the sea, and 
 be thrown by it on her beam-ends or altogether cap- 
 sized. It is in this manner that most boats are 
 upset in a surf, especially on flat coasts, and in this 
 w^ay many lives are annually lost among merchant 
 seamen when attempting to land after being com- 
 pelled to desert their vessels. 
 
 Hence it follows that the management of a boat, 
 when landing through a heavy surf, must, as far 
 as possible, be assimilated to that when proceeding 
 to seaward against one, at least so far as to stop 
 her progress shoreward at the moment of being 
 overtaken by a heavy sea, and thus enabling it to 
 pass her. There are different ways of effecting 
 this object: 
 
 1. By turning a boat's head to the sea before 
 entering the broken water, and then backing in 
 stern foremost, pulling a few strokes ahead to meet 
 each heavy sea, and then again backing astern. If 
 a sea be really heavy and a boat small, this plan 
 will be generally the safest, as a boat cannot be 
 kept more under command when the full force of 
 the oars can be used against a heavy surf than by 
 backing them only. 
 
 2. If rowing to shore with the stern to seaward, 
 by backing all the oars on the approach of a heavy 
 «ea, and rowing ahead again as soon as it has passed 
 to the bow of the boat, thus rowing it on the back 
 of the wave ; or, as is practiced in some life-boats, 
 placing the after-oarsmen with their faces forward 
 and making them row back at each sea on its 
 approach. 
 
 3. If rowed in bow foremost, by towing astern a 
 pig of ballast, or large stone, or a large basket, or 
 
88 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 a canvas bag, termed a "drogue" or drag, made 
 for the purpose, the object of' each being to hold 
 the boat's stern back, and to prevent her being 
 turned broadside to the sea or broaching-to. 
 
 Drogues are in common use by the boatmen on 
 the Norfolk coast ; they are conical-shaped bags of 
 about the same form and proportionate length and 
 breadth as a candle extinguisher, about two feet 
 wide at the mouth, and four and a half feet long. 
 They are towed with the mouth foremost by a stout 
 rope, a small line, being termed a tripping-line,, 
 being fast to the apex or pointed end. When towed 
 with the mouth foremost they fill with water and 
 offer a considerable resistance, thereby holding back 
 the stern ; by letting go the stouter rope and retain- 
 ing the smaller line their position is reversed, when 
 they collapse, and can be readily hauled into the 
 boat. 
 
 Drogues are chiefly used in sailing-boats, when 
 they both serve to check a boat's way and to keep 
 her end on to the sea. They are, however, a great 
 source of safety in rowing-boats, and the rowing 
 life-boats of the National Life-Boat Institution are 
 now all provided with them. 
 
 A boat's sail bent to a yard and towed astern 
 loosed, the yard being attached to a line capable of 
 being veered, hauled or let go will act in some 
 measure as a drogue, and will tend much to break 
 the force of the sea immediately astern of the boat. 
 
 Heavy weights should be kept out of the extreme 
 ends of a boat ; but when rowing before a heavy 
 sea the best trim is deepest by the stern, which 
 })revents the stern being readily thrown on one 
 side by the sea. 
 
 A boat should be steered by an oar over the 
 stern, or on one quarter when running before a sea, 
 as the rudder will then at times be of no use. If 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 89 
 
 the rudder be shipped, it should be kept amidships 
 on a sea breaking over the stern. 
 
 The foUowing general rules may, therefore, be 
 depended on when running before, or attempting 
 to land through, a heavy surf or broken water : 
 
 1. As far as possible, avoid each sea by placing 
 the boat where the sea will break ahead or astern 
 of her. 
 
 2. If the sea be very heavy, or if the boat be very 
 small, and especially if she have a square stern, 
 bring her bow round to seaward and back her in, 
 rowing ahead against each heavy surf that cannot 
 be avoided sufficiently to allow it to pass the boat. 
 
 3. If it be considered safe to proceed to the shore 
 bow foremost, back the oars against each sea on its 
 approach, so as to stop the boat's way through the 
 water as far as possible, and if there is a drogue, 
 or any other instrument in the boat which may 
 be used as one, tow it astern to aid in keeping 
 the boat end on to sea, which is the chief object 
 in view. 
 
 4. Bring the principal weights in the boat 
 toward the end that is to seaward, but not to the 
 extreme end. 
 
 5. If a boat worked by both sails and oars be 
 running under sail for the land through a heavy 
 sea, her crew should, under all circumstances, 
 unless the beach be quite steep, take down her 
 masts and sails before entering the broken water, 
 and take her to land under oars alone, as above 
 described. If she have sails only, her sails should 
 be much reduced, a half-lowered foresail or other 
 small head-sail being sufficient. 
 
 III. Beaching or landing through a surf. 
 
 The running before a surf or broken sea, and the 
 
90 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 beaching or landing of a boat, are two distinct 
 operations ; the management of boats as above 
 recommended has exclusive reference to running 
 before a surf where the shore is so flat that the 
 broken water extends to some distance from the 
 beach. Thus, on a very steep beach, the first 
 heavy fall of broken water will be on the beach 
 itself, whilst on some very flat shores there will be 
 broken water as far as the eye can reach, sometimes 
 extending to even four or five miles from the land. 
 The outermost line of broken water, on a flat shore, 
 where the waves break in three or four fathoms 
 water, is the heaviest, and, therefore, the most 
 dangerous ; and, w4ien it has been passed through 
 in safety, the danger lessens as the water shoals, 
 until, on nearing the land, its force is spent and 
 its power harmless. 
 
 As the character of the sea is quite different on 
 steep and flat shores, so is the customary manage- 
 ment of boats on landing different in the two situ- 
 ations. On the flat shore, wiiether a boat be run 
 or backed in, she is kept straight before or end on to 
 the sea until she is fairly aground, when each surf 
 takes her further in as it overtakes her, aided by 
 the crew, who will then generally jump out to 
 lighten her, and drag her in by her sides. As above 
 stated, sail will in this case have been previously 
 taken in if set, and the boat will have been rowed 
 or backed in by oars alone. 
 
 On the other hand, on the steep beach it is the 
 general practice, in a boat of any size, to retain 
 speed right on to the beach, and in the actof landing, 
 whether under oars or sail, to turn the boat's bow 
 half round toward the direction from which the surf 
 is running, so that she may be thrown on her 
 broadside up the beach, where abundance of help 
 is usually at hand to haul her as quickly as pos- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 91 
 
 sible out of the reach of the sea. In such situ- 
 ations, we believe, it is nowhere the practice to 
 back a boat in stern foremost under oars, but to 
 row in under full speed, as above described. 
 
 IV. Boarding a lureck or a vessel, under sail or at 
 ancJior, in a heavy sea. 
 
 The circumstances under which life-boats or other 
 boats have to board vessels, whether stranded or at 
 anchor or under way, are so various that it would 
 be impossible to draw up any general rule for 
 guidance. Nearly everything must depend on the 
 skill, judgment, and presence of mind of the cox- 
 swain or officer in charge of the boat, who will 
 often have those qualities taxed to the utmost, 
 as undoubtedly the operation of boading a ves- 
 sel in a heavy sea or surf is frequently one of 
 extreme danger. 
 
 It will be scarcely necessary to state that, when- 
 ever practicable, a vessel, whether stranded or 
 afloat, should be boarded to leeward, as the prin- 
 cipal dangers to be guarded against must be the 
 violent collision of the boat against the vessel, or 
 her swamping or upsetting by the rebound of the 
 sea, or by its irregular direction in coming in con- 
 tact with the vessel's side; and the greater violence 
 of the sea on the windward side is much more 
 likely to cause such accidents. The danger must^ 
 of course, also be still further increased when the 
 vessel is aground and the sea breaking over her. 
 The chief danger to be apprehended on boarding a 
 stranded vessel on the lee side, if broadside to the 
 sea, is the falling of the masts ; or if they have 
 been previously carried away, the damage or de- 
 struction of the boat amongst the floating spars 
 and gear alongside. It may, therefore, under such 
 
92 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 circumstances, be often necessary to take a wrecked 
 crew into a life-boat from tbe bow or stern ; other- 
 wise a rowing-boat, proceeding from a lee shore to 
 a wreck, by keeping under the vessel's lee, may 
 use her as a breakwater, and thus go off in com- 
 paratively smooth water, or be at least shielded 
 from the worst of the sea. This is, accordingly, the 
 usual practice in the rowing life-boats around the 
 "United Kingdom. The larger sailing life-boats, 
 chiefly on the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts, which go 
 off to wrecks on outlying shoals, are, however, 
 usually anchored to windw^ard of stranded vessels, 
 and then veered down to 100 or 150 fathoms of 
 cable, until near enough to throw a line on board. 
 The greatest care, under these circumstances, has, 
 of course, to be taken to prevent actual contact 
 between the boat and the ship, and the crew of 
 the latter have sometimes to jump overboard and 
 to be hauled to the boat by ropes. 
 
 In every case of boarding wreck or a vessel at 
 sea, it is important tliat tlie lines by which a boat 
 is made fast to the vessel should be of sufficient 
 length to allow of her rising or falling freely with 
 the sea ; and every rope should be kept in hand 
 ready to cut or slip it in a moment if necessary. 
 On wrecked persons or other passengers being taken 
 into a boat in a sea way, they should be placed on 
 the thwarts in equal numbers on either side, and 
 be made to sit down. All crowding or rushing 
 headlong into the boat should be prevented as far 
 as possible ; and the captain of a ship, if a wreck, 
 should be called on to remain on board to preserve 
 order until every other person had left her. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUxM. 93 
 
 TREATMENT OF FROST-BITES, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE 
 SURGEON- GENERAL MARINE HOSPITAL SERVICE. 
 
 1. Do not bring the patient to the fire, nor bathe 
 the parts in warm water. 
 
 2. If snow be on the ground, or accessible, take 
 a woollen cloth in the hand, place a handful of 
 snow upon it, and gently rub the frozen part until 
 the natural color is restored. In case snow^ is not 
 at hand, bathe the part gently with a woollen cloth 
 in the coldest fresli water obtainable — ice-water, if 
 practicable, 
 
 3. In case the frost-bite is old, and the skin has 
 turned black or begun to scale off, do not attempt 
 to restore its vitality by friction, but apply carron 
 oil on a little cotton ; after which wrap the part 
 loosely in flannel. 
 
 4. In all cases, as soon as the vitality has been 
 restored, apply the carron oil, prepared according 
 to service formula. As it contains opium, do not 
 administer morphia or other opiate. 
 
 5. In the case of a person apparently dead from 
 exposure to cold, friction should be applied to the 
 body and the lower extremities, and artificial res- 
 piration practiced as in case of the apparently 
 drowned. As soon as the circulation appears to be 
 restored, administer spirit and water at intervals of 
 fifteen or twenty minutes until the flesh feels 
 natural. Even if no signs of life appear, friction 
 should be kept up for a long period, as instances 
 are on record of recovery after several hours of sus- 
 pended animation. 
 
 Carron Oil — (seivice formula) : 
 Olive oil or linseed oil (raw) ; 
 Lime water, of each 12 parts; 
 Tincture of opium, 1 part. 
 Mix. 
 
94 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 In the New York Sportsman of April, 1883, we 
 find the following publication : fc 
 
 TO PROFESSIONAL SWIMMERS. 
 
 Washington, D. C, April 24, 1883. 
 Editor Sportsman: I am confident a professional 
 swimming organization will be of great benetit 
 to the profession as well as the public at large 
 who are interested in the advancement of natatorial 
 sport. I would like to see all the professional 
 swimmers of this country in one organized body 
 for protection and mutual benefit. A constitution 
 and other laws could be made and adopted that 
 would govern swimming matches and all questions 
 arising from such contests. The association could, 
 at a spring meeting, make out a programme of 
 summer Avork, consisting of tournaments and all 
 kinds of swimming contests that our leading water- 
 ing resorts would gladly off'er liberal purses to wit- 
 ness, and by this means we could bring before the 
 public those who would accomplish feats of daring 
 and endurance, with the guarantee that they were 
 going to be paid for the same. The fact that we 
 were acting under a national association would 
 give prestige to anything we might do, and when 
 some brave fellow at the risk of his life went to the 
 assistance of his fellow-man and rescued him from 
 a watery grave, we could give him honorable men- 
 tion and otherwise reward the noble action, for it 
 is too often the case that such deeds go unrewarded. 
 A sinking fund could be created for the benefit of 
 brothers in distress — perhaps a home established 
 \n\\qyq life savers amia find shelter when in need; 
 and many persons there are in this country philan- 
 thropically inclined who would contribute to an 
 institution of that kind. 
 
 Yours fraternally, R. E. Odlum. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 95 
 
 The idea advocated is a most excellent one. and 
 shows the necessity for such an organization. Risk- 
 ing one's life merely for the fun of it is not a lucra- 
 tive business, and as the officers of the Army and 
 Navy, subalterns and privates, are paid by the 
 Government for performing brave acts, no reason 
 exists why the swimmer who saves a human life 
 should not have his reward Fame is much to be 
 coveted, but does not feed or clothe the hero unless 
 the Government remembers him in appropriations. 
 
 The article shows that Professor Odium was alive 
 to the interests of his profession, and ha 1 there been 
 any concert of action, a union such as he proposed 
 would now be in existence to benefit professional 
 swimmers in distress, thrown upon the rocks of 
 financial misfortune, and a house established 
 where life savers could find shelter from the storms 
 of adversity. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 
 
 The United States is the only government in the 
 world boasting a life-saving service. The service 
 in other countries being all voluntary societies sup- 
 ported by the donations of benevolent people, 
 to this country belongs the eminent distinction of 
 having organized an elaborate system of relief for 
 seafarers wrecked upon its coast. An appropria- 
 tion of $5,000 made by Congress in 1847 was the 
 commencement of the organization. In August, 
 1848, Congress appropriated §10,000 for providing 
 surf-boats and other appliances for rescuing life and 
 property from shipwreck on the coast of New Jersey. 
 In March, 1849, Congress made a further appro- 
 priation of $20,000 for life-saving purposes, and in 
 1850 Congress again appropriated |20,000 for life- 
 saving purposes. The life-saving service continued 
 
96 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 to grow in importance; the stations erected were 
 found to be insufficient, and in the years 1853 and 
 1854 Congress appropriated $42,500, and fourteen 
 new stations were erected on the New Jersey coast, 
 and eleven on the coast of Long Island. Twenty- 
 three life-boats were also placed at points upon Lake 
 Michigan, and several others at various places on 
 the Atlantic and lake coasts. Exclusive of the 
 boats at the fifty-five stations on the New York and 
 New Jersey coasts, there were in 1854 eighty-two 
 life-boats at diff'erent localities elsewhere. Time 
 and the weather soon destroyed these boats, or ren- 
 dered them unfit for service. Heart-rending scenes 
 of shipwreck and drowning occurred off our coast, 
 and the life-boats had not met the public expecta- 
 tions. Public sentiment now^ excited Congress 
 toward doing something in the matter. A bill for 
 the increase and repair of the stations and the 
 guardianship of the life-boats became a law in 1854. 
 The frightful disaster on the New Jersey coast — 
 the wreck of the Powhatan — involving the loss of 
 three hundred lives, hastened the passage of the 
 bill. Under this bill a superintendent at a com- 
 pensation of $1,500 per annum was appointed for 
 each of the two coasts, a keeper was assigned each 
 station at a salary of $200, the stations and their 
 equipments were made serviceable, and bonded cus- 
 todians were secured for the life boats. Partial 
 improvement in the service resulted, but the ab- 
 sence of drilled and disciplined crews, of regula- 
 tions of any kind for the government of those con- 
 cerned, and, above all, of energetic central admin- 
 istration of its affairs, were radical defects, and the 
 record continued to be one of meager benefits, 
 checkered by the saddest failures. In 1869 a bill 
 was introduced in Congress providing for the em- 
 ployment of crews of surfmen at the stations, and 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 9T 
 
 a substitute was adopted which secured the employ- 
 ment of these crews, though only at alternate sta- 
 tions. This was a measure of signal benefit, chiefly 
 because it opened the door to the subsequent em- 
 ployment of crews at all the stations. 
 
 The year 1871 was the date of the organization 
 of the present life-saving system. Order now began 
 to stream from chaos. During the winterofl870-' 71 
 several fatal disasters, some of them occurring near 
 the stations, others at points where stations should 
 have been, and all referable to irresponsible em- 
 ployees, inadequate boats and apparatus or remote- 
 ness of life-saving appliances, roused the Treasury 
 Department to make proper representations to 
 Congress upon the subject, which, on April 20, 
 1871, appropriated $200,000, and authorized the 
 Secretary of the Treasury to employ crews of surf- 
 men at such stations and for such periods as he 
 might deem necessary. In the February previous 
 Mr. Sumner I. Kimball took charge of the Revenue 
 Marine Service, and the life-saving stations being 
 then under the charge of that bureau also became 
 the subject of his consideration. Uniting with a 
 thorough knowledge of his position a zeal and in- 
 dustry in his work, his first step was to ascertain 
 their condition. At his instance Capt. John Faunce 
 was detailed for this duty, and started on a tour of 
 inspection of the stations, Mr. Kimball accompany- 
 ing him a part of the way. Captain Faunce's re- 
 port was submitted in August, 1871, and all the 
 defects found were quickly remedied, and the life- 
 saving service was given a new impetus, and grew 
 in tlie favor of the people, and rendered invaluable 
 service in saving the cargoes and ships' crews from 
 watery graves. Under the able administration of 
 Mr. Kimball the United States Life Saving Service 
 has become a pride to the Grovernment, and with 
 
98 LIFE AXD ADVENTURES OF 
 
 the reforms the new life-saving apparatus, boats^ 
 &c., to be introduced, the dangers of the deep, the 
 dreaded breakers that come rushing in from the 
 sea will be looked upon as comparatively harmless. 
 Knowledge, bravery, and zeal accomplish much^ 
 especially where the Government tenders the aid 
 of its powerful assistance. These traits are pos- 
 sessed by Superintendent Kimball. The record of 
 the past years show how much good has been ac- 
 complished by the life-saving service under its 
 present able management. The future can only 
 add more to the efficiency of the service and confirm 
 the wisdom of Congress in organizing the bureau 
 From the report of the service of the year 1884 
 we find a — 
 
 General summary of disasters which have occurred ii'itJihi the scope 
 of life-saving opercUions from Novemher 1, 1871, {date of intro- 
 duction of present system,) to close of fiscal year ending June 
 30,1884: 
 
 Total number of disasters 2,547 
 
 Total value of vessels $31,665,600 
 
 Total value of cargoes $15,463,714 
 
 Total value of property involved $47,129,314 
 
 Total value of property saved 832,898,346 
 
 Total value of property lost $1 4,230,968 
 
 Total number of persons involved 23,21 7 
 
 Total number of persons saved 22,771 
 
 Total number of lives lost 446 
 
 Total number of persons succored 4,261 
 
 Total number of days succor afforded 11,627 
 
 The United States Life-Savin sj Service is almost 
 perfect in all its working details. The keeper of 
 each station selects his own crew, who are, how- 
 ever, subject to the decision of the examining board. 
 He is an inspector of customs, having the care of 
 all stranded property, and authority for the pre- 
 vention of smuggling. He keeps the station and 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 99 
 
 equipments in order, commands the crew, steers 
 the boats to wrecks, and conducts all the operations. 
 They reside constantly with their crews during the 
 active season. 
 
 The scheme of the service places the long chain 
 of complete life-saving stations on the Atlantic 
 beaches within an average distance of each other. 
 The lack of fresh water on the beaches is one of 
 the hardships of station life. 
 
 The life-boat stations are usually twenty-four 
 feet high from base to peak, forty-two feet long by 
 twenty-two feet wide, exterior measurement, and 
 contain a loft above, and a room below, twelve feet 
 high, twenty feet wide, and forty feet long, for the 
 accommodation of the life-boat and its gear. 
 
 It is not my intention to enter into minute de- 
 tails of the general make-up of the life-saving serv- 
 ice, but it may be interesting to note the cost to 
 the Government in maintaining the system. The 
 Government receives no pecuniary recompense and 
 the grand object is to act the part of the Good 
 Samaritan to persons in distress. 
 
 A complete life-saving station fully equipped 
 costs about $5,000, a life-boat station about $4,500, 
 and a house of refuge about $3,000. 
 
 The reports of the life-saving service from the 
 organization of the service to the present time are 
 of peculiar interest, and form interesting, lively 
 reading. The name of every ship or vessel in dis- 
 tress saved or aided by the life-saving service is 
 given, with a full and minute account of the cir- 
 cumstances. Persons fond of such reading will be 
 well paid by a perusal. The accounts are written 
 in a plain, sensible manner, and are almost, if not 
 fully, equal to Robinson Crusoe, and have truth 
 also for a foundation, which Robinson Crusoe has 
 not. 
 
TOO LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 The life of the keepers, and the duty devolving 
 upon the brave crews of surfmen require extra- 
 ordinary courage, coolness, and discretion. One 
 unacquainted with the sea can have but little idea 
 of its fury during a storm, when the angry billows 
 chase each other and wast^ their anger on the 
 shores ; when the waves run mountain high ; when 
 a ship becomes unmanageable, and is at the sport 
 of the wind ; when the vessel runs aground and 
 the waves break over the decks ; when the stormy 
 petrel — the bird of bad omen — screams with de- 
 light above the blast, and seems delighted with 
 the dreadful surroundings — brave must be the 
 surfmen's hearts, strangers to fear, who risk their 
 life in an attempt to save a wreck in such an hour. 
 
 Congress on the 20th of June, 1874, passed an 
 act granting gold medals to those who distinguished 
 themselves by special acts of daring on these dan- 
 gerous adventures. Two only are given out an- 
 nually, and the rivalry among the brave men to 
 secure a medal can be better imagined than de- 
 scribed. 
 
 Should a brave surfman lose his life in the peril- 
 ous undertaking of rescuing others, it becomes the 
 duty of the Government to provide handsomely for 
 those he may leave behind who were dependent on 
 his bounty. A medal is a badge of honor, but the 
 comforts and necessaries of life are sternly de- 
 manded. Congress should be generously inclined 
 to the brave men who do honor to the life-saving 
 service by their gallant deeds. 
 
 The laws made for the government of the life-sav- 
 ing service are very plain, and are administered with 
 the strictness of military regulations. The rules are 
 laid down with precision. Each man in the service 
 has his duty to perform, and has to perform it. It 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 101 
 
 is necessary in a service like this to have a surgeon 
 to care for the sick and wounded serfmen, and to 
 be ready to afford means for the resuscitation of 
 individuals taken from the water. I had the for- 
 tune to rescue the body of G. Fred Ruff from the 
 waves, at Fortress Monroe, and we did everything 
 in our power to resuscitate him, but in vain. In 
 a few days after the sad affair I received the follow- 
 ing letter : 
 
 U. S. Marine Hospital Service, 
 
 Baltimore, August 8, 1882. 
 Mr. R. E. Odlum, 
 
 Hygeia Hotel, Old Point Comfort, Va. 
 
 My Dear Sir : I send you the printed instructions 
 concerning resuscitation as practiced in the life- 
 saving service. The method described is a good 
 one. There are two other methods. 
 
 ''The Alarshall Hall method consists in laying 
 the patient on his face on the floor or on a table 
 and then turning him on his back. By this means 
 the weight of the body compresses the chest while 
 it expands again by the natural elasticity of the 
 ribs." 
 
 " The Sylvester metliod is easier of application, 
 and has now been generally adopted by the Royal 
 Humane Society. The patient should be laid on 
 his back, and then both his arms should be raised 
 above his head, held there for a second or two and 
 brought down again on the sides of the chest with 
 some degree of pressure. After the lapse of two 
 seconds the process should be repeated." 
 
 The principle in all methods is the same, viz., 
 to expand the thoracic cavity, in other words, the 
 chest, and then to contract it, in imitation of the 
 natural movements of inspiration and expiration. 
 
 "Whatever plan is adopted, the steps of the 
 
102 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 process should be repeated about fifteen times per 
 minute, steadily and with regularity." 
 
 It was the Sylvester method practically which I 
 adopted in the case of Mr. RufF, and I chose it 
 because I was familiar with it and had used it suc- 
 cessfully twice before. 
 
 When I found that all the helpers were exhausted 
 I began the Marshall Hall method as being easier 
 and requiring but one person, and, you will re- 
 member, was endeavoring to get you to carry it 
 out when the other physician announced, "Oh, 
 he's gone," which encouraging sentiment was so 
 strongly echoed by the by-standers as to prevent 
 any one else lending a helping hand. 
 
 I do not believe the result could have been 
 changed, but if I could have had my own way I 
 should have kept on working at least an hour and 
 a half longer. I only mention this to warn you 
 from desisting too soon if you should have another 
 case, and not be guided by this experience as to the 
 length of time you keep up artificial respiration. 
 Note that the printed instructions say ''one to 
 four hours." 
 
 I would recommend that you get some good, 
 stout fellow and practice artificial respiration on 
 him by these different methods in succession. 
 
 I think you deserve great credit for your per- 
 severance and ability in getting Mr. Ruff out of the 
 water, and as your calling makes it probable that 
 you may see more cases, and gives you so much 
 authority at the time, I have thought you would 
 appreciate these lines on artificial respiration. 
 
 Hoping you will take them in good part, 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Walter Wyman, 
 Surgeon U. S. 31. H. S. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 103 
 
 RESUSCITATION. 
 
 When a man has fallen overboard and is appar- 
 ently drowned, all means possible should be taken 
 to restore him to life. The following are the direc- 
 tions of the United States Life-Saving Service, which 
 have been found to be useful in such cases : 
 
 Rule I. Arouse the patient. — Unless in danger 
 of freezing, do not move the patient, but instantly 
 expose the face to a current of fresh air, wipe dry the 
 mouth and nostrils, rip the clothing, so as to ex- 
 pose the chest and waist, and give two or three 
 quick, smarting slaps on the stomach and chest 
 with the open hand. If the patient does not revive, 
 then proceed thus : 
 
 Rule II . To draw off luater, &c. , from the stomach 
 ■and chest. — If the jaws are clinched separate them, 
 and keep the mouth open by placing between the 
 teeth a cork or small bit of wood ; turn the patient 
 on the face, a large bundle of tightly-rolled cloth- 
 ing being placed beneath the stomach, and press 
 heavily over it for half a minute, or so long as fluids 
 How freely from the mouth. 
 
 Rule III. To produce Weathing. — Clear the mouth 
 and throat of mucus, by introducing into the throat 
 the corner of a handkerchief wrapped closely around 
 the forefinger ; turn the patient on the back, the 
 roll of clothing being so placed beneath it as to 
 raise the pit of the stomach above the level of any 
 other part of the body. If there be another person 
 present let him, with a piece of dry cloth, hold the 
 tip of the tongue out of one corner of the mouth 
 (this prevents the tongue from falling back and 
 ohoking the entrance to the windpipe), and with 
 
104 LIFE AXD ADVENTURES OF 
 
 the other hand grasp both wrists and keep the arms 
 forcibly stretched back above the liead, thereby 
 increasing the prominence of the ribs, which tends- 
 to enlarge the chest. The two last-named positions 
 are not, however, essential to success. Kneel be- 
 side or astride the patient's hips, and with the balls 
 of the thumbs resting on either side of the pit of 
 the stomach, let the fingers fall into the grooves 
 between the short ribs, so. as to afford the best 
 grasp of the waist. Now, using your knees as a 
 pivot, throw all your weight forward on your hands, 
 and at the same time squeeze the waist between 
 them, as if you wished to force everything in the 
 chest upward out of the mouth ; deepen the pres- 
 sure while you can count slowly one, two, three ; 
 then suddenly let go with a final push, which springs- 
 you back to your first kneeling position. Remain 
 erect on your knees while you can count one, two, 
 three ; then repeat the same motions as before at a 
 r^te gradually increased from four or five to fifteen 
 times in a minute, and continue thus this bellows 
 movement with the same regularity that is observ- 
 able in the natural motions of breathing which you 
 are imitating. If the natural breathing be not re- 
 stored, after a trial of the bellows movement for 
 the space of three or four minutes, then, without 
 interrupting the artificial respiration, turn the 
 patient a second time on the stomach, as directed 
 in Rule II, rolling the body in the opposite direc- 
 tion from that in which it was first turned, for the 
 purpose of freeing the air-passages from any remain- 
 ing water. Continue the artificial respiration with 
 pressure and energy, using the bare hands, dry 
 flannels, or handkerchiefs, and continuing the fric- 
 tion under the blankets or over the dry clothing. 
 The warmth of the body can also be promoted by 
 the application of hot flannels to the stomach and 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 105 
 
 arm-pits, bottles or bladders of hot water, heated 
 bricks, &c., to the limbs and soles of the feet. 
 
 Rule IV. After-Treatment. — Externally: As 
 soon as breathing is established let the patient be 
 stripped of all wet clothing, wrapped in blankets 
 only, put to bed comfortably warm, but with a free 
 circulation of fresh air, and left to perfect rest. 
 Internally: Give a little brandy and hot water, or 
 other stimulant at hand, every ten or fifteen min- 
 utes for the first hour, and as often thereafter as 
 may seem expedient. Later manifestations: After 
 reaction is fully established there is great danger 
 of congestion of the lungs, and if perfect rest is not 
 maintained for at least forty-eight hours, it some- 
 times occurs that the patient is seized with great 
 difficulty of breathing, and death is liable to follow 
 unless immediate relief is afforded. In such cases 
 apply a large mustard-plaster over the breast. If 
 the patient gasps for breath before the mustard 
 takes eifect, assist the breathing by carefully repeat- 
 ing the artificial respiration. 
 
 In an old volume of the year 1839 I find men- 
 tion made of a celebrated English swimmer, who 
 was one of a class called beaclimen on the shores 
 of England. In my leisure hours I derive much 
 pleasure in searching up the names of men cele- 
 brated in any profession. History mentions the 
 great generals and admirals of all ages, but peace 
 hath her victories no less renowned than war, and 
 many a noble fellow, following an humble profes- 
 sion, had as brave a heart, and oftentimes abetter, 
 kinder feeling in his bosom for his fellow man than 
 the greatest warrior of ancient or modern times. 
 The hero who saves a life is greater than the gen- 
 eral who slaughters a thousand or ransacks a city. 
 
106 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 In this old volume I find a long account of a brave 
 man, whose daring was an honor to his parents 
 and friends. I propose to give an account of — 
 
 Among the sons of labor there are none more 
 deserving of their hard earnings than that class of 
 persons denominated beachmen. To thuse unac- 
 quainted witli maritime afi'airs it may be as well to 
 observe that these men are bred to the sea from 
 their earliest infancy, are employed in the summer 
 months very frequently as regular sailors or fisher- 
 men, and during the autumn, winter and spring, 
 when gales are most frequent on our coast, in go- 
 ing off in boats to vessels in distress in all weathers 
 to the imminent risk of their lives ; fishing up 
 lost anchors and cables and looking out for waifs 
 which the winds and waves may cast in their way. 
 In our seaports these persons are usually divided 
 into companies, between whom the greatest rivalry 
 exists in regard to the beauty and swiftness of their 
 boats, and their dexterity in managing them. This 
 too often leads to feats of the greatest daring, which 
 the widow and the orphan have long to deplore. 
 To one of these companies, known by the name of 
 '^Layton's," whose rendezvous and ''look-out" 
 is close to Yarmouth Jetty, Brock belongs, and in 
 pursuit of his calling the following event is re- 
 corded : 
 
 About 1 p. m. on the 6th of October, 1835, a 
 vessel was observed at sea from this station with a 
 signal flying for a pilot, bearing east, distant about 
 twelve miles. In a space of time incredible for 
 those who have not witnessed the launching of a 
 large boat on a like occasion, the yawl '' Increase," 
 eighteen tons burden, belonging to Lay ton's gang, 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 107 
 
 with ten men and a London Branch pilot was un- 
 der way steering for the object of their enterprise. 
 ^'I was as near as possible being left ashore," 
 said Brock to me, '"'for at the time the boat was 
 getting down to the breakers I was looking at 
 Manby's apparatus for saving the lives of persons 
 on a wreck then practicing, and but for the ' sing- 
 ing-out' of my messmates, which caught my ear, 
 should have been too late, but I reached in time to 
 jump in with wet feet." 
 
 About 4 o'clock they came up with the vessel, 
 which proved to be a Spanish brig, Paquette de 
 Bilboa, laden with a general cargo and bound from 
 Hamburg to Cadiz, leaky and both pumps at work. 
 After a great deal of chaffering and haggling in 
 regard to the amount of salvage and some little 
 altercation with part of the boat's crew as to which 
 of them should stay with the vessel, T. Lay ton, 
 (a Gatt pilot,) J, Woolsey and George Darling, 
 boatmen, were finally chosen to assist in pumping 
 and piloting her into Yarmouth harbor ; the re- 
 mainder of the crew of the yawl were then sent 
 away. The brig at this time was about five miles 
 to the eastward of the Newarp floating light off 
 Winterton, on the Norfolk coast, the weather look- 
 ing squally. On passing the light in their home- 
 ward course a signal was made for them to go 
 alongside, and they were requested to take on shore 
 a sick man, and the poor fellow being comfortably 
 placed upon some jackets and spare coats, they 
 again shoved off and set all sail (three lugs ;) they 
 had a fresh breeze from the W. S. W. And now 
 again my readers shall have Brock's own words : 
 
 "There was little better than a pint of liquor in 
 the boat, which the Spaniard had given us, and 
 the bottle had passed once around, each man taking 
 a mouthful, and about half of it was thus consumed. 
 
108 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 Most of US had got a bit of bread or biscuit in his 
 hand, making a sort of light meal, and into the 
 bargain I had hold of the main sheet. We had 
 passed the buoy of the Newarp a few minutes, and 
 the light was about two miles astern ; we had talked 
 of our job, i. e., our earnings, and had just calcu- 
 lated that by 10 o'clock we should be at Yarmouth . " 
 
 "Alas ! nor wife nor children more Hhall they behold, 
 Nor friends, nor sacred home." 
 
 Without the slightest notice of its approach a 
 terrific squall from the northward took the yawl's 
 sails flat aback, and the ballast, which they had 
 trimmed to windward, being thus suddenly changed 
 to leeward, she was upset in an instant. Her crew 
 and passengers were nine in number. 
 
 "Then rose from sea t(j sky the wild farewell." 
 
 But perhaps Brock's words on this occasion will 
 excite more interest than Byron's: " 'Twas terri- 
 ble to listen to the cries of the poor fellows, some 
 of whom could swim, and others who could not. 
 Mixed with the hissing of the water and the bowl- 
 ings of the storm, I heard shrieks for merc}^, and 
 some that had no meaning but what arose from 
 fear. I struck -out to get clear of the crowd, and 
 in a few minutes there was no noise, for most of 
 the men had sunk, and, on turning around, I saw 
 the boat was still kept from going down by the 
 wind having got under the sails. I then swam 
 back to her, and assisted an old man to get hold of 
 one of her spars. The boat's side was about three 
 feet under water, and for a few minutes I stood 
 upon her, but I found she was gradually settling 
 down, and when up to my chest I again left her 
 and swam away, and now for the first time began 
 
PROF. ROBERT ExMMET ODLUM. 109 
 
 to think of my own awful condition. My compan- 
 ions were all drowned, at least I supposed so. How 
 long it was up to this period from the boat's cap- 
 sizing I cannot exactly say ; in such cases, sir, 
 there is no time^ but now I reflected that it was 
 half past 6 p. ra. just before the accident occurred ; 
 that the nearest land at the time was six miles dis- 
 tant ; that it was dead low water, and the flood 
 tide setting off the shore, making to the southward, 
 therefore should I ever reach the land it w^ould take 
 me at least fifteen miles up against the flood before 
 the ebb would assist me." 
 
 At this moment a rush horse collar, covered with 
 old netting, which had been used as one of the boat's 
 fenders, floated closer to him, which he laid hold 
 of, and getting his knife out he stripped it of the 
 net-work, and, by putting his left arm through it, 
 was supported till he had cut the waistband of his 
 petticoat trousers, which then fell off" ; his striped 
 frock^ waistcoat and neckcloth were also similarly 
 got rid of, but he dared not try to free himself of 
 his oiled trousers, drawers or shirt, fearing that 
 his legs might become entangled in the attempt ; 
 he therefore returned his knife into the pocket of 
 his trousers, and put the collar over his head, 
 which, although it assisted in keeping him above 
 water, retarded his swimming, and after a few 
 moments thinking what was best to be done, he 
 determined to abandon it. He now, to his great 
 surprise, perceived one of his messmates swimming 
 ahead of him, but he did not hail him. The roar- 
 ing of the hurricane was past ; the cries of drown- 
 ing men were no longer heard, and the moonbeams 
 were casting their silvery light, over the smooth 
 surface of the deep, calm and silent as the grave 
 over which he floated, and into which he saw the 
 last of his companions descend without a struggle 
 
110 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OP 
 
 or a cry as he approached within twenty yards of 
 him. YeSj he beheld the last of his brave crew die 
 beside him, and now he was alone in the cold, 
 silent loneliness of night, more awful than the 
 strife of the elements which had preceded. Per- 
 haps at this time something might warn him that 
 he too would soon be mingled with the dead — 
 
 " With not one friend to animate and tell 
 To others' ears that death became him well." 
 
 But if such thoughts did intrude, they were but 
 for a moment ; and again his mental energies, 
 joined with his lion heart and bodily prowess, cast 
 away all i'ear, and he reckoned the remotest possi- 
 ble chances of deliverance, applying the means — 
 
 '*Conra<re and Hope both teaching him the practice." 
 
 Up to this time Winterton light had served, 
 instead of a land-mark, to direct his course, but the 
 tide had now carried him out of sight of it, and in 
 its stead " a bright star stood over where his hopes- 
 of safety rested." With his eyes steadfastly fixed 
 upon it he continued swimming on, calculating the 
 time when the tide would turn. But his trials 
 were not yet past. As if to prove the power of 
 human fortitude, the sky became suddenly over- 
 clouded, and ''darkness was upon the face of the 
 deep." He no longer knew his course, and he con- 
 confessed that for a moment he was afraid ; yet he 
 lelt that '' fear is but the betraying of the succors 
 which reason ofFereth," and that which roused him 
 to further exertion would have sealed the fate of 
 almost any other human being — a sudden short 
 cracking peal of thunder burst in stunning loud- 
 ness just over his head, and the forked and flashing 
 lightning at brief intervals threw its vivid fires 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUxM. Ill 
 
 around him. This, too, in its turn, passed away 
 and left the wave once more calm and unruffled ; 
 the moon (nearly full) again threw a more brilliant 
 light upon the bosom of the sea^ which the storm 
 had gone over without waking from its slumbers. 
 His next effort was to free himself from his heavy 
 laced boots, which greatly encumbered him, and in 
 which he succeeded by the aid of his knife. He 
 now saw Lowestoft high lighthouse, and could 
 occasionally discern the tops of the cliiFs beyond 
 Gorlestone, on the Suffolk coast. The swell of the 
 sea drove him over the Cross sand ridge, and he 
 then got sight of a buoy, which, altliough it told 
 him his exact position, as he says, ' ' took him rather 
 aback," as he had hoped he was nearer the shore. 
 It proved to be the chequered buoy of St. Nicholas 
 Gatt^ off Yarmouth, and opposite his own door, but 
 distant from the land /oz^r miles. And now again 
 he held council with himself, and the energies of 
 his tnind seem almost superhuman ; he had been 
 five hours in the water, and there was something 
 to hold on by ; he could have even got upon the 
 buoy, and some vessel might come near to pick him 
 up, and the question was, could he yet hold out 
 four miles?. "But," as he says, '' I knew the night 
 air would soon finish me, and had I stayed but a 
 few minutes upon it, and then altered my mind, 
 how did I know that my limbs would again resume 
 their office?'' He found the tide (to use a sea 
 term) was broke ; it did not run so strong, so he 
 abandoned the buoy and steered for the land, to- 
 ward which, with the wind from the eastward, he 
 found he was now fast approaching. The last trial 
 of his fortitude was now at hand, for which he was 
 totally unprepared, and which he considers (sailors 
 being not a little superstitious) the most difficult of 
 any he had to combat. Soon after he left the buoy 
 
112 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 he heard just above his head a whizzing sound, 
 which his imagination conjured into the prelude to 
 the '' rushing of a mighty wind," and close to his 
 ear there followed a smart splash in the water, and 
 a sudden shriek that went through him, such as 
 is heard — 
 
 "When the lone sea bird wakes its wildest cry." 
 
 The fact was, a large gray gull, mistaking him for 
 a corpse, had made a dash at him, and its loud dis- 
 cordant scream in a moment had brought a count- 
 less number of these formidable birds together, all 
 prepared to contest for and share the spoil. 
 
 These large and powerful foes he had now to 
 scare from their intended prey, and, by shouting 
 and splashing with his hands and feet, in a few 
 minutes they vanished from sight and hearing. 
 
 He now caught sight of a vessel at anchor, but a 
 great way off, and to get within hail of her he must 
 swim over Gorton sands, (the grave of thousands,) 
 the breakers at this time showing their angry white 
 crests. x\s he approached, the wind suddenly 
 changed, the consequence of w^hich was that the 
 swell of the sea met him. And now again for his 
 own description : 
 
 "I got a great deal of water down my throat, 
 which greatly weakened me, and I felt certain that, 
 should this continue, it would soon be all over, and 
 I prayed that the wind might change, or that God 
 would take away my senses before I felt what it 
 was to drown. In less time than I am telling you, 
 I had driven over the sand into smooth water ; the 
 wind and sioell came again from the eastward^ and 
 ray strength returned to me as fresh as in the be- 
 ginning." 
 
 He now felt assured that he could reach the 
 
PROF. ROBERT ExMMET ODLUM. 113 
 
 sliore, but lie considered it would be better to get 
 within hail of the brig^ some distance to the south- 
 ward of him, and the most difficult task of the two, 
 as the ebb-tide was now running, which, although 
 it carried him toward the land, set to the north- 
 ward, and to gain the object of his choice would 
 require much greater exertion. But here comes 
 Brock again : 
 
 " If I gained the shore could I get out of the 
 «urf, which at that time was heavy on the beach ? 
 and supposing I succeeded in this point, should I 
 be able to walk, climb the cliffs and get to a house? 
 if not, there was little chance of life remaining long 
 in me ; but if I could make myself heard on board 
 the brig, then I should secure immediate assistance. 
 I got within two hundred yards of her, the nearest 
 possible approach, and, summoning all my strength, 
 I sung out as well as if I had been on shore." 
 
 He was answered from the deck, a boat was in- 
 stantly lowered, and at half past 1 a. m., having 
 «wam seven hours in an October night, he was safe 
 on board the brig Betsy of Sunderland, coal laden, 
 at anchor in Gorton Roads, fourteen miles from the 
 spot where the boat was capsized. The captain's 
 name was Christian. 
 
 Once safe on board, " Nature cried enough," he 
 fainted, and continued insensible for some time. 
 All that humanity could suggest was done for him 
 by Christian and his crew ; they had no spirits on 
 board, but they had bottled ale, which they made 
 warm, and by placing Brock before a good fire, 
 rubbing him dry, and putting him in hot blankets, 
 he was at length with great difficulty enabled to 
 get a little of the ale down his throat, but it caused 
 ^excruciating pain, as his throat was in a state of 
 high inflammation from breathing (as a swimmer 
 does) so long the saline particles of sea and air, 
 
 8 
 
114 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 and it was now swollen very muchj and, as he says^ 
 he feared he shoukl be suffocated. He, however^ 
 after a little time fell into a sleep^ which refreshed 
 and strengthened him, but he awoke to intense- 
 bodily suffering. Round his neck and chest he 
 was perfectly flayed ; the soles of his feet, his- 
 hands, and his hamstrings were also equally ex- 
 coriated. In this state at about 9 a. m., the brig^ 
 getting under weigh with the tide, he was put on 
 shore at Lowestoft, in Suffolk, and immediately 
 dispatched a messenger to Yarmouth with the sad 
 tidings of the fate of the yawl and the rest of her 
 crew. 
 
 Being now safely housed under the roof of a 
 relative, with good nursing and medical assistance,. 
 in five days from the time of the accident, with a 
 firm step he walked back to Yarmouth to confirm 
 the wonderful rumors circulated respecting him, 
 and to receive the congratulations of his friends- 
 and kindred. 
 
 In contemplating the feat of this extraordinary 
 man it must appear to every one that his bodily 
 prowess, gigantic as it is, appears as dust in the 
 balance compared with the powers of his mind. 
 To think and to judge rightly under some of the 
 most appalling circumstances that ever surrounded 
 mortal man — to reject the delusive for the more 
 arduous ; to resolve and to execute — form such a 
 combination of the best and rarest attributes of our 
 nature, that where are we to look for them in the 
 same man? 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF SAM PATCH. 
 
 Sara Patch, the father of the jumping business, 
 rivals Charley Ross as a household character. He 
 made his first leap at Niagara Falls October 6,. 
 
PROF. ROBERT ExMMET ODLUM. 115 
 
 1829, from a rock seventy feet above the water. 
 That didn't hurt him muchj and on the 17th of 
 the same month he made a second leap from a 
 scaffold at the foot of the Biddle staircase. At the 
 foot of the stairs Sam Patch rigged up a ladder one 
 hundred feet high, climbed to the top, and then 
 jumped down into the water, to show, as he said, 
 that some things could be done as well as others. 
 Then he went to the G-enesee Falls and made a 
 leap on November 6, 1829, less than a week before 
 he made the jump which killed him. 
 
 Sam Patch's leap at Passaic Falls was September 
 30, 1827. He jumped from the foot of the whitened 
 pine on the edge of the precipice overhanging the 
 basin. He bounded off with a great leap and 
 struck the water eighty or ninety feet belew, feet 
 first. He swam ashore. Many Paterson boys 
 afterward safely followed Patch's example in mak- 
 ing the leap. 
 
 This account of Sam Patch's last leap is taken 
 from Mr. Henry B. Stanton's '' Recollections:" 
 
 Sam Patch, the famous jumper and diver, came 
 to Rochester in the fall, we will say, of 1828, and 
 proposed to leap from the falls in the heart of the 
 village.' On the day fixed Sam appeared. The 
 banks of the river as far as the eye could reach 
 were lined with spectators. He was dressed in a 
 suit of white, and I will state for the benefit of 
 other fools of the same class that before he leaped 
 he placed his hands firmly on his loins, then sprang 
 from the shelving rock, and went down straight as 
 an arrow. He came up feet foremost, and. swam 
 ashore amid the shouts of thousands. A few days 
 later he proposed to leap again. He erected a 
 scaffold twenty-five feet high on the brink of the 
 falls, making the descent one hundred and twenty- 
 five feet. On the day named another immense 
 
116 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 throng assembled. Mr. Weed and I happened to 
 meet at the foot of the scaffold. Patch came dressed 
 US before, and apparently a little under the influ- 
 ence of liquor. As he ascended the scaffold Mr. 
 Weed left, but I remained. As Patch went down 
 his arms were all in a whirl, and he struck the 
 water with a stunning splash. The crowd waited 
 for hours. He did not rise. The next spring the 
 mangled remains of the poor wretch were found 
 at the foot of the falls at Carthage, four miles below. 
 
 When Sam made his last leap he was so drunk 
 that he could barely stand. But he could make a 
 speech, and did. It was : 
 
 ^' Napoleon was a great man and a great general. 
 He conquered armies and he conquered nations, 
 but he couldn't jump the Genesee Falls. Welling- 
 ton was a great man and a great soldier. He con- 
 quered Napoleon, but he couldn't jump the Genesee 
 Falls. That was left for me to do, and I can do it 
 and will." 
 
 A SWIM FOR LIFE IN THE ATLANTIC. 
 
 On the 16th of May, 1884, one of the lar^e New 
 York packet ships was dashing along gallantly on 
 her course toward Europe with all sail set and a fine 
 breeze. The bright sun and cloudless sky over- 
 head, together with the quietness which reigned 
 over the ship's deck, (it being dinner hour all the 
 passengers were below,) made it a scene which the 
 lover of nature would admire ; and a feeling of 
 safety and confidence in the good ship, as she 
 scudded away before the wind, impressed itself on 
 the mind of the beholder, when, alas ! for the un- 
 certainty of human hopes, one of the sailors, who 
 was at work on the extreme end of the main-yard, in 
 a lurch of the ship, lost his hold, and was precipi- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 117 
 
 fated from the dizzy height into the sea. A wild 
 shriekj and a cry of '^man overboard!" ran like 
 an electric shock fore and aft the shij). "Hard 
 up the helm ; let go the main tack ; haul up the 
 mainsail," sung out our first officer, a brave and 
 excellent seaman, at the same time running to the 
 stern of the ship with the life-buoy in his hand, he 
 cast it with all his might in the direction of the 
 poor sailor, who was already far astern, but with- 
 out effect, for the spray blinded the struggling 
 man's sight and he never saw it. Others were 
 now loosening the ropes connecting the quarter- 
 boat to its iron supporters. The sailors, obstructed 
 in their actions by the pressure of the passengers, 
 who crowded around with terror depicted on their 
 faces, clambered into the boat before the ropes 
 were free, and, terrible to relate, they gave 
 way, and the boat, with five men in it, fell into 
 the sea; but quick as thought the hardy fellows 
 recovered themselves, got into the boat again as 
 she floated alongside the mighty hull of the ship, 
 and with a cheer they started off* to save their fellow 
 man. No sooner had they started when their boat 
 began to fill with water, and they discovered when 
 nearly fifty yards off that in the fall of the boat her 
 side got stove, and made a wide breach for the sea 
 to flow in. This fresh misfortune all on the poop 
 of the ship perceived, and the fearful probability 
 forced itself on us that all would perish, when, with 
 the speaking-trumpet to his mouth, our officer 
 shouted, " Give way, my lads; 'tis a life-boat, she 
 can't sink." "Hurrah! Hurrah!"cried the gallant 
 tars, and away they went in the direction pointed 
 out by one of the officers in the mizzen rigging, 
 who, with a telescope, from the first moment had 
 kept his eye steadily fixed on the unfortunate man, 
 who, appearing and disappearing with every roll 
 
118 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 of the "billows, was battling with the crested 
 Atlantic waves for his life. By this time the ship 
 was hove to, and though every possible exertion 
 was used, it was nearly fifteen minutes before the 
 boat was under full way on her mission of rescue, 
 and the sailor, fully four miles away, w^as now a mere 
 speck on the vast ocean, visible only to those wdio 
 had an elevated position on the ship's poop. Owing 
 to the boat being so much nearer the surface of the 
 sea, those in her could not discern their object, and 
 had to be guided for a long time by the direction 
 pointed out by the officers on board the ship. With 
 straining eyes and ears every soul on board watched 
 the quick dash of the gallant life-boat as she foamed 
 through the surges, although half full of water, 
 and wdth fluttering hearts and anxious hopes we 
 observed through the telescope that the poor sailor 
 still held up, and now and again w^e heard, or 
 fancied we heard, a faint '^ halloo" borne over the 
 deep. 
 
 At last, after a space of twenty minutes of the 
 most intense suspense, the united joyous cheer of 
 the boat's crew assured us that he was rescued. 
 With that cheer the pent-up feelings of the passen- 
 gers broke loose, and the ladies cried aloud, so agi- 
 tated had they been during that fearful struggle of 
 the poor sailor for his life. 
 
 Soon afterward the poor fellow was got on board 
 utterly exhausted. We wrapped him up warmly, 
 gave him a cordial draught, and after a sleep of an 
 hour, during which he was continually making 
 convulsive efforts with his hands and feet, he was 
 sufficiently recovered to tell us, but with difficulty, 
 for his nervous system had evidently received a 
 severe shock, that after his fall, and when he rose 
 to the surface, his first act was to throw off his 
 great sea boots, the weight of which alone was suf- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUIM. 119 
 
 ficient to sink him ; then, not being a good swim- 
 mer, he merely kept himself afloat without trying 
 to make any progress in the water, for as the ship 
 was going at the rate of ten knots an hour, she 
 seemed actually to fly away from him, until he 
 saw her sails put aback, then he could discern us 
 ^11 on the poop, but the boat being lowered on the 
 opposite side, where he could not see it, he feared 
 loe could not see Aim, and thought we did not lower 
 a boat on that account. His feelings were dread- 
 ful ; he gave himself up as lost, and every action of 
 .his life came before him as in a mirror. He must 
 have swooned before the boat got to him, for his 
 first feeling of consciousness was when he was 
 oaught by the boatswain and lifted into the boat, 
 and he thanked the Lord for his providential deliv- 
 erance. His rescuers were made the lions of the 
 day, and the whole evening was taken up with 
 wonderful stories of " accidents by flood and field." 
 
 HOW DONALDSON DID IT. 
 
 Mr. R. Donaldson, a Scotchman, who is in the sad- 
 dlery business at No. 60 Warren street, made two 
 successful jumps from High Bridge on August 12 
 and 18^ 1880. He was brought up in Sunderland, 
 England, and began early by jumping from dock 
 walls and the sides of vessels. Then he went 
 higher, to bowsprits and mainyards ; then to the 
 Sunderland Bridge, and finally to the royal yard 
 of the ship Charity, of Liverpool, a height of one 
 hundred and forty feet. He was alone when he 
 first jumped at High Bridge, and wore a suit of 
 tights. The police thought he was a suicide and 
 ran to catch him, but he jumped before they could 
 reach him. He was not molested on his second 
 trial, and a large crowd watched him. His fall 
 
120 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 took 4| seconds. The height was one hundred and 
 twenty-four feet, and the water ten feet deep. After 
 striking he skimmed under tlie water for a distance 
 of fourteen feet. A brisk wind had slightly dis- 
 turbed his equilibrium on the second trial, and he- 
 struck partly on his hip, but was not injured. 
 
 In describing his actions and sensations, Mr. 
 Donaldson said last evening : 
 
 "I placed my feet closely together and spread my 
 hands palms upward before my face. I then 
 doubled up and sprang gentl}^ forward just far 
 enough to clear the bridge. I held my head for- 
 ward and shut my eyes. I paid no attention to my' 
 breathing ; that never occasions any trouble, and 
 all this talk about losing breath when falling is 
 nonsense. As I went down I straightened out 
 naturally, and the wind rushed up past me at a. 
 terrible rate. The shock on my arms and chin was 
 as if I had been struck with a board." 
 
 I have secured the following particulars of the 
 death of Captain Webb. He was my devoted 
 friend, and his loss will be severely felt by me. It 
 is sad to think that after encountering so many 
 perils he should have found a watery grave, and 
 perished as he did. He died as a brave man, and 
 his memory will always be dear to me. 
 
 CAPTAIN Webb's last swim. 
 
 Captain Webb and his business agent, Frederick 
 Kyle, of Boston, left this city shortly before 12 
 o'clock yesterday and took the noon train on the 
 New York Central to the Falls. They were driven 
 in the Clifton House omnibus to that hotel, on the 
 Canada side. Here they passed the time very 
 quietly, Webb affably conversing with whoever 
 chose to address him. His manner was genial and 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 121 
 
 exceedingly gentlemanly. He responded freely to 
 all questions that were asked him, and his pleasant, 
 hearty manner instantly won the favor and good 
 will of all who approached him. 
 
 During a long conversation with a representative 
 of the Courier he conversed in a highly intelligent 
 manner on a variety of subjects. He related some 
 of his experiences in the merchant navy of Great 
 Britain, and referred in a modest manner to some 
 of his aquatic achievements. He did not appear 
 particularly concerned about the hazardous feat he 
 was about to undertake, and when any doubt was 
 suggested in regard to his making the attempt, he 
 assured the doubter iti firm but quiet terms of his 
 absolute intention to try to do what he had said 
 he would. He said more than once that he did not 
 anticipate any trouble, but though he spoke con- 
 fidently, there was no trace of braggadocio in his 
 manner. He chatted pleasantly until the dinner 
 hour at the hotel. Strange to say he declined par- 
 taking of the meal, saying that he preferred not to 
 eat, adding, in a hearty English way, " I can keep 
 my wind better, you know, on an empty stomach." 
 He smoked a cigar^ and sat quietly on the veranda 
 of the Clifton House. 
 
 So the time passed until 4 o'clock, when Mr. 
 Kyle took him aside and said a few words to him. 
 He then left the piazza, walked a short distance 
 along the road, and turned ofi'down the steep path- 
 way leading down to McCloy's ferryboat house, 
 which is several hundred yards above the new sus- 
 pension bridge, on the Canada shore. McCloy and 
 Webb had a brief conversation. The latter also 
 spoke to Mrs. McCloy, who asked him whether he 
 would see his wife and children again. He replied 
 confidently, '^I hope to." He spoke about his 
 baby, seven months old, his wife and other child, 
 
122 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 and said that he expected to meet them in a few 
 days at Nantasket. McCloy got the boat, a small 
 scow painted bottle-green, in readiness and two 
 pairs of oars, and Webb stepped steadily and cheer- 
 fully into it. "Time is up," he remarked to Mc- 
 Cloy, as the latter rowed the boat carefully out 
 through the rocks into the stream. 
 
 Arrived in the center of the stream, McCloy 
 slowly hauled under the new suspension bridge, on 
 which only a few persons were congregated to see the 
 daring man-fish start on his venturesome journey. 
 In utter silence, save the hoarse murmur of the 
 cataract, the scow made its way. Gradually the 
 current grew stronger, and the speed became cor- 
 respondingly greater. Very few words passed be- 
 tween the two men, save that the ferryman asked 
 Webb whether he had swam often before, to which 
 he replied : " Many times." " Have you ever seen 
 the rapids?" asked McCloy. Webb answered: 
 "I've had a glimpse of them." In answer to 
 McCloy 's questions he said he had made $25,000 
 by swimming the English channel, and he had 
 $15,000 left. McCloy states that he advised him 
 to go ashore and spend it, and not risk his life in 
 the rapids. 
 
 A few moments later McCloy told the hardy 
 swimmer that he had brought him as far as he 
 could w^ith safety to the boat and himself. Webb 
 promptly removed his hat, handkerchief, coat, and 
 all his clothing, save a pair of short red cotton 
 trunks around his loins, and without a word of 
 farewell, plunged boldly into the water at a point 
 opposite the Maid of the Mist landing. A moment 
 later he rose gracefully to the surface, and swim- 
 ming with infinite ease and power, struck boldly 
 out. It was 4:24 o'clock, New York time, when 
 he dived into the river, which seemed to be flowing 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 123 
 
 placidly onward, giving on its surface few indica- 
 tions of the awful dangers beyond. He cleared the 
 w^ater with strong and steady strokes, swimming 
 on his breast with his head clear from the surface. 
 He kept in the center of the stream, and the strong 
 eddies, which occasionally swirled ].>ast him, seemed 
 in no way to impede or swerve him from his course. 
 As he aj)proached the old suspension bridge the 
 ilow of the current increased with remarkable 
 rapidity. There were about two hundred specta- 
 tors on the bridge who saw the intrepid swimmer 
 glide toward them, pass swiftly beneath them, and 
 ere they could reach the east side of the structure 
 he was fifty yards down the current. He was car- 
 ried along as fast as the eye could follow him. With 
 speechless wonder and fear he was seen to reach the 
 first furious billows of the rapids. Onward he swept 
 like a feather in the sea. High on the crest of a 
 huge boulder of water his head and shoulders 
 gleamed for an instant and then was lost in a dark 
 abyss of turmoiling w^ater. Again he appeared, 
 his arms steadily moving as if balancing himself 
 for a plunge into another mighty wave. The tum- 
 bling, rushing, swirling element seemed to give 
 forth an angry, sullen roar, as if sounding the death 
 knell of the ill-fated swimmer. Once more away 
 dow^n the rapids he was seen still apparently brav- 
 ing fate and stemming the seething waters with 
 marvelous skill and endurance. Instead of being 
 hurled hither and thither, as might have been ex- 
 pected^ he was carried with furious rapidity onward, 
 almost in a strait course. 
 
 For nearly a mile he was hurried forward by tlie 
 tumultuous rushing waters, and still he seemed to 
 be riding the awful billows in safety. In four 
 minutes after he had passed under the old suspen- 
 sion bridge he had been hurried through the terri- 
 
124 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 ble rapids and arrived at the mouth of the great 
 whirlpool. Reaching what seemed to be less trou- 
 bled and dangerous waters he raised his head well 
 above the surface, gazed for an instant toward the 
 American shore, and then turned his face to the 
 high bluff on the Canadian side. A second later 
 he dived or sank and was seen no more. There 
 were very few who witnessed the tragic disappear- 
 ance, as the passage was completed in an almost 
 incomprehensibly brief period. Mr. Kyle and a 
 few others were on the banks of the whirlpool below 
 the cliff, but they waited and watched in vain for 
 the foolhardy victim of the perilous and, as it doubt- 
 less proved, fatal venture to reappear. 
 
 There can be very little doubt that he was drawn 
 down into one of the powerful eddies or under cur- 
 rents, or into the down swirl of the central whirl- 
 pool, and was too exhausted to struggle from the 
 deadly embrace. Two ladies and an enterprising 
 Canadian reporter aver that they saw him fairly in 
 the current of the whirlpool, but the general testi- 
 mony is that he did not appear above the sur- 
 face after he sank or dived at the mouth of the 
 maelstrom. 
 
 now CAPTAIN WEBB WAS KILLED. 
 
 The post-mortem examination of Captain Webb's 
 body was made at Lockport Sunday afternoon by 
 Drs. Edward Smith, of Lewiston ; M. S. Lang, of 
 Suspension Bridge, and C. N. Palmer, of Lock- 
 port. They found the body in an active state of 
 decomposition, but no bones were broken and none 
 of the injuries except the wound three and one-half 
 inches long in the cranium were sufficient to cause 
 death. The cranium wound they decided was pro- 
 duced after death. All the blood presented a dis- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 125 
 
 tinctly red colorj showing that it was not deoxi- 
 dized by asphyxia in drownings but that death 
 ensued prior to that condition. None of the char- 
 acteristic symptoms of death by drowning were 
 present, nor was there any local injury sufficient to 
 cause death. It was therefore concluded that death 
 resulted from the shock from the reactionary force 
 of the water in the whirlpool rapids coming in con- 
 tact with the submerged body with such force as to 
 instantly destroy the respiratory power_, and, in 
 fact, all vital action, by direct pressure from the 
 force of contact. The shock was of sufficient in- 
 tensity as to paralyze the nerve centers, partially 
 dessicate the muscular tissues, and forestall death 
 by drowning. The conclusion was therefore reached 
 that no living body can, or ever will, pass through 
 the rapids alive. The river bed at the whirlpool 
 rapids is much narrowed, and suddenly assumes 
 great precipitancy. The water strikes the unyield- 
 ing banks with great violence, and by reaction 
 meets with such resistance as to form in the center 
 a mountainous ridge of encroaching waters from 
 twenty to thirty feet in height. Into this Captain 
 Webb was submerged after passing the first breaker, 
 and instantly subjected to the immense pressure 
 indicated upon his body. This caused his death. 
 
 In speaking the other night with some friends 
 of the perils of the pearl divers and their encounters 
 with the ground sharks of the ocean, an old soldier 
 was present, who, after listening to our several 
 stories of the monsters of the deep, related the fol- 
 lowing, which will possess interest for those who 
 love the marvelous, and I preserved it, or as much 
 of it as I could recollect, for a place in my diary. 
 The old veteran styled it — 
 
126 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 A DREADFUL NIGHT. 
 
 " In the vicinity of the barracks assigned to the 
 European soldiers in India, there are usually a 
 number of little solitary buildings or cells, where 
 the more disorderly members of the corps are con- 
 fined for longer or shorter terms, by order of the 
 commanding officer. In one of these, on a certain 
 occasion, was locked up poor Jock Hall, a Scotsman 
 belonging to Edinburgh or Leith. Jock had got 
 intoxicated, and being found in that position at the 
 hour of drill, was sentenced to eight days' solitary 
 imprisonment. 
 
 •'Soldiers in India have their bedding partly 
 furnished by the honorable company, and find the 
 remainder for themselves. About this part of house 
 furnishing, however, Jock Hall troubled himself 
 very little, being one of those hardy, reckless beings 
 on whom privation and suffering seem to make no 
 impression. A hard floor was as good as a down 
 bed to Jock ; and, therefore, as he never scrupled 
 to sell what he got, it may be supposed that his 
 sleeping furniture was none of the most abundant 
 or select. Such as it was, he w^as stretched upon 
 and under it one night in his cell, during his term 
 of penance, and possibly was reflecting on the im- 
 propriety of in future putting ' an enemy into his 
 mouth to steal away his brains,' when, lo! he 
 thought he heard a rustling in his cell, close 
 by him. 
 
 "At this moment he recollected that he had not^ 
 as he ought to have done, stopped up an air hole, 
 which entered the cell on a level with its floor, 
 and also with the rock, externally, on which the 
 building was planted. A strong suspicion of what 
 had happened, or was about to happen, came over 
 Hall's mind ; but he probably knew it was too late 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 12T 
 
 to do any good, could he even find the hole in the 
 darkness, and get it closed. He, therefore, lay 
 still J and in a minute or two heard another rustle 
 close to him, which was followed by the cold, slimy 
 touch of a snake upon his bare foot! Who in such 
 a situation would not have started and bawled for 
 help ? Jock did neither ; he lay stone still and 
 held his peace, knowing that his cries would most 
 probably have been unheard by the distant guard. 
 Had his bed-clothes been more plentiful, he might 
 have endeavored to protect himself by wrapping 
 them closely around him, but this their scantiness 
 forbade. Accordingly, being aware that, although 
 a motion or touch will provoke snakes to bite, they 
 will not generally do it without such excitement, 
 Jock held himself as still as if he had been a log. 
 Meanwhile, his horrible bed-fellow, which he at 
 once felt to be of great size, crept over his feet, legs 
 and body, and, lastly, over his very face. Nothing 
 but the most astonishing firmness of nerve, and the 
 consciousness that the moving of muscle would have 
 signed his death warrant, could have enabled the 
 poor fellow to undergo this dreadful trial. For a 
 whole hour did the reptile crawl backward and 
 forward over Jock's body and face, as if satisfying 
 itself, seemmgly, that it had nothing to fear from 
 the recumbent object on its own part. At length 
 it took up a position somewhere about his head, 
 and w^ent to rest in apparent security. 
 
 '' The poor soldier's trial, however, was not over. 
 Till daylight he remained in the same posture, flat 
 on his back, without daring to stir a limb, from 
 the fear of disturbing his dangerous companion. 
 Never, perhaps, was dawn so anxiously longed for 
 by mortal man. When it did come, Jock cautiously 
 looked about him, arose noiselessly, and moved over 
 to the corner of his cell, where there lay a pretty 
 
128 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 large stone. This he seized, and looked about for 
 his intruder. Not seeing the snake, be became 
 assured that it was under his pillow. He raised 
 the end of this just sufficiently to get a peep of the 
 creature's crest. Jock then pressed his knee firmly 
 on the pillow, but allowed the snake to wriggle 
 out his head, which he battered to pieces with the 
 stone. This done, the courageous fellow for the 
 first time breathed freely. When the hour for 
 breakfast came, Jock, who thought little about the 
 matter after it was fairly over, took the opportunity of 
 the opening of the door to throw the snake out. 
 
 " When the officer whose duty it was to visit the 
 cells for the day was going his rounds, he perceived 
 a crowd round the cell door examining the reptile, 
 which was described by the natives as of the most 
 venomous character, its bite being invariably and 
 rapidly mortal. The officer, on being told that it 
 had been killed by a man in the adjoining cell, 
 went in, and inquired into the matter. ' When 
 did you first know that there was a snake in the 
 cell with you?' said he. 'About 9 o'clock last 
 night,' was Jock's reply. ^ Why didn't you call 
 to the guard?' asked the officer. 'I thought the 
 guard wadna hear me, and I was feared I might 
 tramp on't, so I just lay still.' 'But you might 
 have been bit. Did you know that you would have 
 died instantly?' 'I kent that very weel,' said 
 Jock, ' but they say that snakes winna meddle 
 with you, if you dinna meddle with them ; sae I 
 just let it crawl as it liket.' 'Well, my lad, I 
 believe you did what was best, after all ; but it was 
 not what one man in a thousand could have done.' 
 
 " When the story was told, and the snake shown 
 to the commanding officer, he thought the same ; 
 and Jock, for his extraordinary nerve and courage, 
 got a remission of his punishment. For some time, 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 129 
 
 at least, he took care how he again got into such a 
 situation as to expose himself to the chance of pass- 
 ing another night with such a bed-fellow." 
 
 After the telling of this story by the old soldier 
 we had many questions to ask him about the life 
 of the Scotchman and what became of him. We 
 all agreed that it was a thrilling narrative, and had 
 some further conversation in regard to the poison- 
 ous reptiles of India. 
 
 THE SNAKE STORY. 
 
 Our attention was now directed to an old Virgin- 
 ian, an ex-Confederate, who evidently wished to say 
 something, and we asked bim if he could not relate 
 us a serpentine yarn. '^ Well, yes, I can," said the 
 Yirginian : 
 
 " You see," said he, '' I was a great rebel, and 
 I resolved at the commencement of the war to join 
 the Southern army and never surrender to the hated 
 Yanks. I was in the first battle of Bull Run, 
 which I honestly thought at the time had closed 
 the war, but I found out my mistake in fully fifty 
 battles afterward. Well, I fought on and on until 
 we came to Appomattox, where General Lee con- 
 oluded he would surrender, and I concluded I 
 wouldn't. I mounted a large mule, which I took 
 from a Confederate wagon-train and fled toward 
 Texas. After many hardships I reached the Rio 
 Orande and crossed into Mexico. I got a bite to eat at 
 Mataraoras and started for the interior. I was travel- 
 ing along one day, nursing my wrath against the 
 Yanks, when I espied a beautiful lot of flowers. I was 
 always fond of flowers, and I dismounted and stepped 
 -aside for a moment to admire a rich turf of large, 
 red blossoms, my mule having plodded on about 
 
 9 
 
130 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 eight or ten yards ahead, when, as I turned from 
 the flowers toward the path, a sensation as of a 
 flash of lightning struck my sight, and I saw a bril- 
 liant and powerful snake winding its coils around 
 the head and body of my poor mule. It was a 
 large and magnificent boa of a black and yellow 
 color, and it had entwined the poor beast so firmly 
 in its folds that ere he had time to utter more 
 than one feeble bray he was crushed and dead, and 
 I just caught a glimpse of his ears, bidding fare- 
 well to a vain world as they disappeared down the 
 throat of the snake. The perspiration broke o-ut 
 on my forehead as I thought of my own narrow 
 escape, and only remaining a moment to view the 
 movements ol' the monster as' he wiped his mouth 
 with his tail, 1 rushed through the brush- wood, 
 swam the Rio Grande, and didn't stop running 
 until I got back to Virginia, where I immediately 
 registered and have voted the Republican ticket 
 ever since." 
 
 THE DOG STORY. 
 
 Speaking of your run back to Virginia from 
 Mexico, said a Yankee in the crowd, and of the 
 great snake swallowing your mule, reminds me of 
 my own adventures. I, too, was a soldier, but 
 belonged to the Federal army, and a poor dog that 
 I captured the last day of the war caused me to be 
 driven out of Egypt. After my discharge from the 
 army I was paid ofl", and calling my dog 1 hastened 
 homeward, the dog at my heels. In a few days 
 after reaching home the dog grew unpopular with 
 the family, and having a strong desire for adven- 
 ture, I concluded to leave home, taking my dog 
 along. The viceroy of Egypt was then in need of 
 soldiers, and meeting a crowd of convivial spirits 
 we concluded to sail for Egypt and ofler our 
 
PROF, ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 131 
 
 services to Abas Pasha, who was then ruler of the 
 land. His memory now is held in universal detes- 
 tation. To him fell all the vices, with none of the 
 redeeming virtues, of the illustrious Mohammed 
 Ali. The guide conducts the traveler to the room 
 where Abas, at once the Nero and Caligula of 
 Egypt, is supposed to have been strangled by the 
 two Circassian guards whom he alvvays kept stand 
 ing by his bedside during his sleeping hours. 
 
 The Pasha while viceroy visited Alexandriatwice, 
 but could not be induced to approach the city after- 
 ward from a superstitious idea that the third visit 
 would prove fatal to him. 
 
 He refused our application for enlistment in his 
 service on the ground that his troubles were almost 
 at an end, and he did not need any more troops. I 
 was now almost in despair. I had nothing left tc^ 
 love me but that little dog of mine, and he was cry- 
 ing for bread. The dog, however, proved almost 
 a fortune to me, as the sequel will show. 
 
 The Pasha's favorite occupation was to make 
 large collections of doga and cats, animals which 
 he cherished much as the ancient sovereigns of 
 Egypt did apes and ibis. The lares and penatesof 
 Abas Pasha were quartered in different parts .of 
 Egypt, where they enjoyed his periodical visits. 
 After the death of the Pasha, however, these canine 
 and feline recipients of the royal favor were turned 
 loose, and are now the most pitiable of objects. 
 Well, on a certain day I appeared on the streets of 
 Cairo leading my dog possessed of two tails. In- 
 formation of this rare phenomenon was conveyed 
 to Abas Pasha, and I was fortunate enough to be 
 at once summoned to wait upon his highness at the 
 palace. I was frightened to death for fear of ex- 
 posure, but the Pasha was in ecstacies. The 
 apotheosis of Anubis, after having exhausted the 
 
132 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 cycle of the metempsychosis, and appeared again 
 in his original form, coukl not have given him 
 greater delight. I declared I would not part with 
 4:h'e creature for less than twelve thousand five 
 3iiiadred Turkish piasters, $500, a sum which the 
 Pasha at last consented to give, not suspecting for 
 n moment that the extra tail was the product of 
 Yankee ingenuity. 
 
 The latter tail became disengaged the same even- 
 ing while the Pasha of two tails was exhibiting his 
 paragon of canine wonders to a, circle of admiring 
 I'riends. Abas was infuriated. Of course I was 
 nowhere to be found. On receiving the money I 
 had fled. Hiring a boat at an enormous sum I had 
 left Cairo in the distance never to return. I bid 
 ^adieu to Egypt — the blessed of sunny skies — and 
 all the delights of the great-eyed Orient. I did 
 not feel safe until I stood beneath the folds of the 
 star-spangled banner, the flag of the free, where 
 no Pasha could molest me. 
 
 I have some of that dog money left yet, boys, and 
 I intend to settle in Virginia and invest in an oys- 
 ter patch, and vote the straight Democratic ticket, 
 ;and that is how I came to be prospecting in Vir- 
 ginia. 
 
 ABOUT SHARKS. 
 
 I received a letter from a friend asking me for 
 information touching the '^ man-eating propensities 
 of the shark," and asks: "Will sharks attack a man 
 ;in the water?" 
 
 It is a common belief among sailors that among 
 <the difi'erent species there is one, known as the 
 ^'ground shark," which differs from his more ac- 
 tive and sport-loving brothers, and will "attack a 
 .man in the water." 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 13S 
 
 In support of the fact that this belief is not a. 
 superstition_, I will relate the following fact : 
 
 Some time in the summer of 1872, when the crew^ 
 of the United States steamer Kearsarge were bath- 
 ing in the waters of Algiricasbay, opposite Gibral- 
 tar, one of this species was observed to rise to the- 
 surface, moved toward one of the swimmers, who 
 splashed the water about him considerably, and 
 from this or some unknown cause the shark changed 
 his course and attacked another man. The man- 
 swam away and called for help, but before the boat,, 
 which was lowered and ready to rescue any who 
 should need aid, could reach the swimmer, the 
 shark turned on his back, opened his capacious jaw^ 
 darted forward, and, seizing his victim by the body 
 just below one arm, slowly descended to his slimy 
 bed. 
 
 The boat arrived at the spot where the finny mon- 
 ster and his victim sank, only to see them disap- 
 pear in the manner described. 
 
 It is well known that the inhabitants of the coast 
 in tropical countries have little fear of the shark,, 
 and expert swimmers can manage to kill them with 
 a sharp weapon. Perhaps the man-eater of Algi- 
 ricas bay might have been beaten oif by a swim- 
 mer skilled in such warfare. 
 
 If an expert swimmer should be attacked by a 
 shark, the shark could be easily disposed of with sl 
 stiletto, which they always carry w^ith them. 
 Should more than one shark take a fancy to dine- 
 on a poor fellow he would have a busy time to es- 
 cape the monsters. But taken singly they are 
 very slow in their movements and can be easily 
 dispatched. One came in very close proximity to me- 
 onceona swim from Fortress Monroe to Ocean View. 
 On seeing the shark approaching me, as I thought, I 
 drew my dagger, and in doing so cut my arm. I 
 
134 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 wounded myself in the commencement, and would 
 go into a battle at a disadvantage, but much to my 
 relief it sank out of sight into the sea. You may 
 rest assured that for some time afterward I kept a 
 sharp look-out for my wide-mouthed friend. But 
 I never saw him again. 
 
 It is not a very pleasant sensation, however, 
 when miles from the shore, swimming along, to 
 fancy that a shark is near, and you are in danger 
 of becoming the bait of one. My experience is 
 that they are very scarce in our waters, and harmless. 
 The land sharks in our cities are most to be dreaded — 
 those that feed upon your purse and good nature — 
 who catch you by honeyed names, who are convivial 
 over the cups when you pay for the wine ; who 
 pronounce you a good fellow so long as your money 
 lasts, and denounce you as a fraud when it is all 
 gone. Oh, no, the sharks of the ocean harm very 
 few souls, but the sharks of the land, they are 
 most to be dreaded ; for they swallow you up so 
 gradually that it is very pleasant to be swallowed, 
 but awake to find that we have gone down rather too 
 deep in the throat of the monster to ever escape 
 with any reputation or " loose change" left. 
 
 VAMPIRES. 
 
 Speaking of sharks reminds me of a description 
 of a naval officer. He wrote me, "I have this day 
 seen a real live vampire." He describes the reptile 
 as follows: '^So many horrible associations of 
 blood and terror are connected with the popular 
 ideas of this extraordinary animal that when it 
 was known that one had actually arrived, a most 
 intense desire was manifested to obtain a peep at 
 it, and accordingly the vessel was crowded during 
 the day by hosts of curious visitors until its re- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 135 
 
 moval. It was of the Sumatran species, and the first 
 living specimen ever seen in America. It was 
 of the most horrible aspect, and well deserves the 
 name, remaining constantly suspended to the 
 roof of his cage by immense hooks at the edges of 
 the wings, his head hanging downward, and his 
 «yes glistening with most vivid brightness. 
 
 "■ The vampire will attack horses, mules, asses, 
 horned cattle, and the crest of fowls, which gener- 
 ally die in consequence, as gangrene is engendered 
 in the wounds. Even man is not secure from these 
 insidious assaults. I can bear testimony, having 
 had the ends of my toes phlebotomized gratis by 
 this nocturnal surgeon while sleeping in a cottage 
 in the open country. The wound is not felt at 
 the time of its infliction, as the blood is withdrawn 
 by the most gentle suction, entirely from the capil- 
 lary vessel of the skin, and not from any of the 
 veins or arteries, and the victim is besides lulled into 
 a deep slumber by the flapping of his destroyer's 
 wings, who thus enjoys his banquet undisturbed." 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 The stranger coming to Washington, especially 
 if he stops at one of our large hotels and is con- 
 vivial in his habits, will soon form the acquaint- 
 ance of the jolly Bohemian, who is ever on the alert 
 for news — the hotel arrival being an important 
 item. No jollier set ever roamed a forest or en- 
 joyed the hospitality of a city. They are a privil- 
 eged class, have the entre everywhere, and are 
 treated with the utmost respect. They occupy the 
 -chairs in the front rows at the grand opera and 
 theatrical performances without money and with- 
 out price. A line of commendation of the perform- 
 ance and a little taffy for the manager is all that 
 
136 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 is required in return. Actors and actresses smile 
 upon the squad of Bohemians in the most fascinat- 
 ing style, and the Star, Bepuhlican, Post and 
 Critic acknowledge the smile the day after in a 
 complimentary paragraph, '^ the rival of Charlotte 
 Cushman in Meg Merilles is at the National," or 
 ^' the equal of the elder Booth struts the broad 
 stage at Alhaugh's in the grandest tragedies of 
 the Bard of Avon." 
 
 The new Congressman naturally takes to the 
 Bohemian. A word, a line, a paragraph even, is^ 
 his, if his conduct is such as to win the esteem of the 
 jolly fellow who makes and unmakes Congressmen ; 
 who gives the public man his reputation even if he- 
 has none before, and robs him of it even if he comes 
 to Washington with one, but happens to offend the 
 newspaper man by refusing to administer spiritual 
 consolation to the representatives of the press. 
 
 It is a part of wisdom in the public functionary 
 to cultivate friendly feelings with the jolly Bohe- 
 mians. They all think alike ; they go in flocks 
 like blackbirds, will commend in a chorus, and 
 damn you, and surround you, blast all your public 
 expectations, and leave you a degraded being on 
 the earth. Such is the power of printers' ink ; such 
 is the temper of those who — 
 
 "As they journey through hfe 
 Live by the way," 
 
 on the wine and the fat of the land. 
 
 This is one class of Bohemians, but the better 
 we will now mention. The word of itself signifies 
 a roving, shiftless disposition, but as applied to 
 newspaperdom it has a different meaning. Some 
 of the brightest intellects of the country belong to 
 the tribe, and the most distinguished orators and 
 statesmen of our day were at some period of their 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 13T 
 
 lives members of the press, and owe their political 
 advancement to the position they occupied on 
 the same. 
 
 The Bohemian sports around the foot of the hidder 
 that leads to fame. He can easily climb if he pos- 
 sesses the brain power, the ability to achieve great- 
 ness. The press is the mouth of the public, and 
 the Bohemian puts in and shapes the utterances. 
 What is " read in the papers " forms public opin- 
 ion, and the Bohemian is the director. 
 
 Is it any wonder then that the class is allowed 
 privileges and immunities enjoyed by no other? 
 The people look to the press as the great lever that 
 moves the world ; but without the Bohemian, what 
 would be the press? 
 
 There are many men of many minds, and it takes 
 a diversity of talent to run a newspaper. The sober 
 and staid intellect required of an editor would be 
 out of place in the Washington correspondent who 
 writes in a serio-comic style, and takes life as he 
 finds it, with a pleasant word for everybody, and 
 his lips ever ready to say ''come up" to a dry 
 acquaintance when he has a quarter. They, as a 
 class, are a merry, jovial lot, happy as the days are 
 long, and possess the good will of the public. 
 
 I know a great number of journalists sojourning 
 in Washington, and a jolly crowd they are. I am 
 indebted for many a good "send off" from Bohe- 
 mians. Among my many friends of the press is 
 one John McCarthy, of the Baltimore Sun and New 
 York Herald. John is a great temperance man, 
 and tells temperance stories with a merry twinkle 
 in his eye, but never smiles ; John knows better 
 than smile, or take a smile. He believes in giving 
 a drunkard all the whisky he can drink until he is 
 killed, and then the community should care for the 
 widow and children of the deceased. John would 
 
138 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 come around to my Natatoriiim and give me a 
 lecture on temperance about three times a week 
 regularly ; he is one of the most companionable 
 fellows I ever knew, is this same dry John Mc- 
 Carthy, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE SWIMMING DRILL. 
 
 (A practical treatise on the art of swimniino: by Robert Emmet 
 Odium, professor of swimming, Washington, D. C, 1885.) 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 1 have for a long time intended to publish a book 
 on physical exercise, and also to issue a swimming 
 manual, so that persons might be taught that use- 
 ful art on land. Companies and regiments are 
 drilled by tactics, and I can see no reason why tac- 
 tics could not be applied to swimming and taught 
 even in our public schools. If the teacher was 
 competent, and the pupil understood his lesson, he 
 would be ''at home on the billow," if accident 
 should overtake him, or be educated to enjoy the 
 luxury of a swim whenever he thought proper to 
 do so, without the fear of being drowned. It has 
 been contended that all military organizations 
 should be taught to swim, and to enable all per- 
 sons to embrace the opportunity to learn the useful 
 art, I have prepared and tender the public " a swim- 
 ming drill," illustrated. 
 
 All four-footed animals swim a few days after 
 they are born, the reason being that their mode of 
 progress in water is similar to their mode of pro- 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 141 
 
 gress on land, and, therefore, natural to them ; 
 but with man certain unnatural motions of the 
 legs, aided by others of the arms, not at all re- 
 quired for progression on land, are needed to keep 
 him on the surface of the water, and this artificial 
 method of progression must be acquired to enable 
 him to swim. To teach the necessary motions is 
 the object of this work, and if they are thoroughly 
 acquired there is no reason why man should not 
 be able, like animals, to swim the first time he 
 goes into the water. 
 
 Very few books on the subject of swimming have 
 €ver been issued, which is rather remarkable. The 
 Athenians looked with contempt upon the person 
 who did not possess the art, and when they wished 
 to speak in terms of derision of any man, they 
 would say, " he doesn't even know how to swim," 
 I am confident the ^^ swimming drill" will fill a 
 long-felt want, and by close attention to its con- 
 tents many will learn to swim. 
 
 It is absolutely necessary that some, and very 
 beneficial that most, men in an army should be able 
 to swim ; every endeavor ought, therefore, to be 
 made to teach this art. 
 
 For civilians of all classes and both sexes the fol- 
 lowing exercises will be found exceedingly useful, 
 as they combine setting-up drill, the preliminary 
 balance step taught at dancing lessons, and swim- 
 ming motions ; and it is evident after learning these 
 motions people are more likely to have some idea 
 of swimming in case of sudden accidental immer- 
 sion ; at any rate, they would become familiar with 
 the few strokes necessary to place them out of dan- 
 ger, and therefore on that plea alone they are 
 strongly recommended. 
 
 The remarks on the practical uses of swimming 
 apply chiefly to soldiers, but they will be found 
 
142 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 valuable to any one, more especially, perhaps, to 
 the ever-increasing number of persons who yearly 
 travel . 
 
 In the recent report of the Adjutant-General of 
 the Army, giving a statistical exhibit of deaths in 
 the United States Army during the war, it is shown 
 that 4,844 soldiers were drowned. 
 
 Commodore Walker, of the United States Navy, 
 in a recent interview said that few sailors in the 
 navy could swim. In all his experience he never 
 knew one that could swim. Comment is unneces- 
 sary. 
 
 Appalling statement. — I find from a statement 
 made by the committee of the British and Foreign 
 Sailors' Society in 1839 it appears that within the 
 short period of four months and three days previous 
 to April last, there had been wrecked one hundred 
 and sixty vessel — all of whose crews had perished. 
 Averaging the crew of each ship at ten, will give 
 a loss of one thousand and six hundred lives. It 
 is further shown that of vessels stranded, foundered, 
 abandoned, not heard of, &c., within the same 
 period, the number of vessels affected by such catas- 
 trophes is 576. If only one soul has perished 
 from each of the vessels which have suffered from 
 the above contingencies, we number a loss of five 
 hundred and seventy-six lives. Then add to these 
 four hundred and twenty-four certainly known to 
 have perished, and we have a total from all causes 
 of at least two thousand and six hundred lives — 
 on an average something more than twenty-one 
 every day during the period of four short months. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 
 
 143 
 
 EXERCISE ON LAND. 
 
 Part I. — Preliminary Exercise. 
 
 The men are drawn up in line at three paces 
 interval. 
 
 The instructor gives the word of command : 
 Exercise of right arm and leg — one — two — three. 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
144 
 
 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 On the command ''^one" the men draw the right 
 foot up into the hollow of the left knee, the toe 
 pointing outward and downward, the right elbow 
 close to the side, the fore-arm held perpendicularly 
 upward, the hand open, the fingers extended and 
 touching each other, the palm of the hand inward. 
 
 [Fig- !•] 
 
 On the command ^'two'' then extend the arm 
 upward and the leg downward quickly and simul- 
 taneously, the latter being shot out to the right. 
 [Fig. 2.] 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 
 
 145 
 
 On the command '-three" close the legs, and 
 lower the hand to the side, returning to the first 
 position, and so continue till ordered to halt, count- 
 ing each motion. The same exercise can then, be 
 done by standing on the right leg and working 
 
 the left arm and leg. 
 
 Part II. — Swimming Motions. 
 
 Exercise of the arms. 
 
 The men are drawn up as before. 
 
 The instructor gives the command : 
 
 First Sicimming Practice : Arm Motion — one — 
 two — three — four. 
 
 On the command ''one" draw the elbows into 
 the side, lay the palms of the hands together, 
 fingers extended to the front, and touching each 
 other. [Fig. 3.] 
 
 10 
 
 Fig. (). 
 
146 
 
 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 On the command ^'two" shoot the arms out 
 straight, the hands remaining together. [Fig. 4.] 
 
 At ''three" separate the hands about six 
 inches, palms of the hands downward, and slightly- 
 inward. [Fig. 5,] 
 
 Fig. 5 
 
 At " four " slowly describe a half circle with ex- 
 tended arms and bring the elbows down to the 
 side ; return to the first position, counting each 
 motion. [Fig. 6.] 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 
 
 14T 
 
 Exercise of the legs. 
 
 The men drawn up as beforCj place their hands 
 on their hips, fingers in front, and thumbs behind. 
 
 The instructor gives the word of command : 
 
 Second Swimming Practice : Leg Motions — right 
 foot — one — two — three. 
 
 On the command "one" raise the right heel into 
 hollow of left leg, bending the knee as much as 
 possible, toes pointing outward. [Fig. 7. 
 
 Fig. 8. Fig. 9. 
 
 At "two" extend the right leg quickly to the 
 right. [Fig. 8.] 
 
148 
 
 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 At 'Hhree" draw in the right leg to the left. 
 Repeat with the left leg. 
 
 Exercise of arm and leg. 
 
 The instructor gives the word of command : 
 
 Third Swiraming Practice: Arm and Leg Mo- 
 tions — right leg — one — two — three . 
 
 On the command '■'■ one " the arms and right leg 
 are brought into position as in first and second 
 practice, above explained. [Fig. 9.] 
 
 At ^^two" the arms are extended, the leg at 
 the same time being straightened. [Fig. 10.] 
 
 Fik'. 10. 
 
 Fio:. 1 1 , 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 
 
 149 
 
 At ^^ three" the extended leg is drawn up to the 
 other one, and the hands separated about six inches^ 
 palms downward, the outside edges slightly raised. 
 [Fig. 11.] 
 
 At " four" the hands slowly describe half circle 
 with straightened arms. Then the elbow is drawn 
 into the side, palms of the hands together, the heel 
 raised toward the leg, resuming the first position, 
 counting all motions. [Fig. 12.] 
 
 Fig. 12. 
 
 We cannot too strongly recommend these prac- 
 tices to any one wishing to learn swimming quickly. 
 
 Part III. — Description of Swimming Motions on 
 A Bench. 
 
 The men lay flat on the bench or lean over a 
 plank or table. 
 
150 
 
 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 The instructor gives the word of command : 
 Swimming Practice — one — two — th ree — four . 
 On command '' one" the men draw up the heels, 
 bending the knees as much as possible, keeping the 
 heels together, the toes pointing outward, the el- 
 bows by the side, the palms of the hands together, 
 the fingers straight and pointing to the front, the 
 head slightly bent back. [Fig. 13.] 
 
 Fig. 13. 
 
 Fig. 14. 
 
 On the command "two" they extend the arms 
 and legs smartly^ separating the latter at same time. 
 [Fig. 14.] 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 
 
 151 
 
 At 'Hhree" close the legs and separate the hands 
 about six inches, palms down and turned outward. 
 [Fig. 15.] 
 
 Fig. 10. 
 
 Fig. 15. 
 
 At " four" slowly describe a half circle with both 
 hands and extended arms, then close the elbows to 
 the body, draw up the heels, and return to the first 
 position, counting each motion. [Fig. 16.] 
 
152 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 Exercises in the loater. 
 
 First. Each man supported by a girdle and rope 
 repeats the exercise he has learned on the stool ; he 
 is then allowed to move forward, the rope being 
 slackened gradually until he is in reality swimming 
 unaided. 
 
 Second. The man must he taught to float in order 
 to rest himself. To do this he must turn over on 
 his back, stretch out the legs, and make a horizon- 
 tal motion with the hands. 
 
 In order to progress in this position he must 
 draw up his heels, turning out his knees as much 
 as possible, and strike out against the water, clos- 
 ing the legs sharply at the end of the stroke, which 
 gives extra impetus by the legs closing on the 
 wedge of water they contain. 
 
 Third. It is important that men should be taught 
 to dive. They must first be accustomed to keep 
 \ their heads under water as long as possible, and 
 keep their eyes open in this position. 
 
 In diving, a man springs in head first and swims 
 about on the bottom. 
 
 To return to the surface he most stand up on the 
 bottom, give a good push off", and if necessary swim 
 upward. 
 
 Men must also be taught to jump in feet first, 
 taking a good run, the head and upper part of 
 the body leaning rather back, the legs close to- 
 gether, and arms l)y the side. 
 
 General remarks. 
 
 The swimming lessons should take place in the 
 morning after the rising of the sun, and at least an 
 hour before sunset. 
 
 Men should be careful not to go into the water 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 153 
 
 whilst the body is in a state of perspiration, and 
 to first loet the head. They should not come out 
 before they are tired, and should then dry them- 
 selves quickly, dress and move about. 
 
 Bathing must be avoided on a full stomach. 
 When the place admits of it, a row of pickets must 
 be driven both up and down stream to mark the 
 places which are out of depth. 
 
 In bathing in public places, or indeed anywhere, 
 bathing drawers should be worn. These can be 
 formed of a handkerchief folded into three corners, 
 two tied round the waist and the third brought up 
 between the legs and tied to the girdle formed by 
 the two first. 
 
 Hints for teaching swimming. 
 
 In order that these lessons should have the best 
 results, it is necessary that they should be contin- 
 ued without interruption, and that they should take 
 place, especially at first, at least twice a week, if 
 possible three times. Experience has proved that 
 two or three lessons taken at short intervals are of 
 more value than five or six with longer periods 
 intervening ; in the latter case not only do men 
 forget what they have already learned, but also lose 
 any extra confidence they may have acquired dur- 
 ing the preceding lesson. 
 
 It is found that from eight to ten lessons suffice 
 to overcome the preliminary difficulties, and to 
 bring men to the point where they can practice the 
 art by themselves. This step once made, the rest 
 is a mere matter of improvement, and comes with 
 practice. 
 
 Squads should be divided into three classes ; each 
 lesson for beginners forming the third class should 
 last from twenty to twenty-five minutes. 
 
154 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 The second class, or those who can get on without 
 the aid of the rope, can manage half an hour, whilst 
 three-quarters of an hour is not found too much for 
 4;hose w^ho can swim freely, and who employ the 
 itim-e in perfecting and improving themselves. 
 
 Out of a battalion of 600 men, 450 to 500 could 
 learn swimming. They would require two lessons 
 ca w^eek, and 180 to 200 men would have to be taught 
 *daily ; this might easily be done, the size of the 
 .-squads and the number of instructions being regu- 
 lated according to circumstances, probably by the 
 3size of the bathing place. 
 
 Regulations. 
 
 1. Men to be divided into three classes. 
 
 2. All men in the first class to be thoroughly up 
 in the exercises on land and water. 
 
 3. The men of the second class will first bathe 
 ■with a girdle and rope, and pass on to being sup- 
 iported by the pole, until by degrees they can dis- 
 pense with all aid, swimming alone. (But to give 
 4;h€ pupil every confidence, the instructor can hold 
 09^"^er him the end of a pole, to be grasped as soon 
 sae -he feels tired.) 
 
 4. The men of the third class will wear the rope 
 ^nd girdle, by which the instructor can support 
 Etliem whilst giving a lesson. 
 
 The rope for the second class can be made simply 
 »as fallows : A long rope, buoyed at intervals with 
 •scores, has a piece spliced in at about two inches from 
 -one end, thus forming a double end, about the 
 ■width of a man's shoulders ; at the extremities of 
 ^hese ends are loops into which the arras are to 
 be placed. 
 
 5. The first class, on appointed days once or 
 :l:wice a week, must be practiced in saving life, 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 155 
 
 crossing rivers with and without arms and am- 
 munition. 
 
 6. The duration of lessons for third or fourth 
 -classes must not exceed twenty minutes or half an 
 hour ; of the second class three-quarters of an hour, 
 and the first class one hour. 
 
 7. If the bathing place admits of it, it is a good 
 plan to teach men to swim horses, at first dis- 
 mounted and holding the bridle, and afterward 
 mounted as well as bridled. • 
 
 8. Men who are very hot must be careful not ta 
 go into the bath till they are thoroughly cool, and 
 bathing must be strictly prohibited to any one 
 who has just eaten or drunk a great deal ; three 
 hours should intervene between a meal and bath- 
 ing lesson. 
 
 The uses of swimming to a soldier. 
 
 1. To extricate himself from danger, which may 
 occur from any accident. 
 
 2. To help another similarly situated. 
 
 3. To cross a swift and deep stream without any 
 help, and to take his arms, ammunition and accou- 
 terments with him, which is often of great service 
 in war time. It is, therefore, important that the 
 first class should be practiced in these things. 
 
 To extricate one's self in case of accident. 
 
 To swim well is often of great service to men 
 suddenly falling in the water; a man who can only 
 swim a little feels his power of buoyancy negatived 
 by having his clothes, &c. , on. He calls out, sinks, 
 and not being able to dive, fear and the suddenness 
 of the case make him lose his head ; from that 
 
156 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 moment he no longer goes through the swimming 
 motions and is soon insensible. 
 
 To guard against such^ases, all men of the first 
 class should be practiced at swimming, first in their 
 clothes and afterward in full equipment, till they 
 have lost all fear ; and eventually with weapons^ 
 infantry men carrying their knapsacks on their 
 backs, and the cavalry men their swords by their 
 sides. 
 
 The first thing to be done as soon as an infantry 
 man thinks he is sinking, is to cast off his rifle and 
 throw it away, and extricate himself i'rom his pack^ 
 of which the straps over his shoulders have been 
 loosened beforehand, in order more easily to free 
 his arms if necessary. Then with a strong push of 
 his legs he will try to regain the surface, take 
 breath, and as quickly as possible reach a place of 
 safety, taking care not to hurry too much, and 
 thereby lose s.trength. 
 
 To help a sinking man. 
 
 Most people in danger lose their heads, their 
 movements are vague, and calculated rather to 
 drown them than otherwise. They instinctively 
 grasp at everything, and whatever they get hold 
 of they cling to so perniciously that it is next to- 
 impossible to get them to let go ; therefore, to save 
 a drowning man he must be approached with the 
 greatest care. The following is a good plan : Free 
 yourselfof clothesand approach him from up-stream, 
 wait till his back is turned, then seize him suddenly 
 and firmly with both hands under the shoulders^ 
 keeping him at arm's length, thus supporting him 
 in such a manner that his head is above water, push 
 him toward a place of safety. In case you become 
 very tired, or the drowning man turns round, let 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 157 
 
 him go, and as soon as a favorable opportunity 
 occurs seize him again, and make for the shore; if 
 he is a stronger man than you it may be necessary 
 to wait till he becomes insensible before approach- 
 ing him, for if once gripped by a drowning man it 
 is a matter of great difficulty, and requires all one's 
 self possession to get free. Should such a contin- 
 gency unfortunately occur, take breath, bring the 
 fingers of both hands under the extremities of the 
 hands of the man who has seized you, by strong 
 •effort at the same moment freeing yourself with a 
 kick ; get quickly out of his way and wait about 
 for a favorable moment to seize the man again. 
 
 Crossing a river with arms and ammunition. 
 
 This accomplishment can be done in several 
 ■ways. Arms and ammunition can be pushed across 
 in floating baskets, or the man can carry them him- 
 self; the latter is always difficult, and only to be 
 ■done by men well trained. As a general rule it 
 must be remembered that the swimmer under these 
 ■circumstances has not free use of his arms and legs, 
 so that what movements he can make with these 
 limbs should be of the best. It is clear that his 
 load should be in equilibrium with the mass of 
 water which he displaces. Whenever it is possi- 
 ble to obtain anything light to form rafts they must 
 be constructed in sufficient number to keep the 
 clothes, arms and ammunition dry ; the latter for 
 greater safety should be put in buckets or casks. 
 A rope is fastened to this raft, a ring at the end 
 of which is fastened to the man who, swimming in 
 front, thus drags it to the opposite bank. If the 
 rafts can carry the effects of several men, two or 
 more can pull in front and others push behind. 
 
 The following is the quickest and safest way of 
 
158 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 crossing a stream, taking over at the same time 
 one's arms, &c.: In the case of an infantry man, 
 he must free himself of his cloak, helt^ and knap- 
 sack, and unbuckle the strap of his rifle. 
 
 On entering the water he must put one or two 
 packets of cartridges in his shako, helmet, or cap, 
 which he must buckle on tightly, then holding rifle 
 horizontally, the barrel downward, the lock upward, 
 the butt slightly higher than the barrel, he places, 
 his head in the ring of the rope ; the rifle lays 
 balanced obliquely over the man's shoulder, the 
 lock somewhat over the neck, the stock immediately 
 over the left shoulder blade out of the way. The 
 bayonet can be put on the rifle or stuck in the belt. 
 Thus equipped the man takes the water, walking 
 carefully along until he gets out of his depth, and 
 then quickly and in a slightly bent position he be- 
 gins to swim, getting as much as possible out of 
 each motion, without trying to cross too quickly, 
 or he will tire himself. If many men are crossing 
 at the same time they must take care not to get too 
 near each other, or jostle one another. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE LEAP FROM THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE. 
 
 We now come to the saddest chapter of all, the 
 one which records the melancholy end of one who, 
 had he directed and devoted his life to the legitimate 
 channel which God had so eminently fitted him, 
 would have enjoyed the fruits of his labor, and his 
 days would have been long in the land which his God 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 152^ 
 
 had given him. His friends would not have Beemi 
 called upon to mourn his untimely fate, and no 
 desperate deed on his part would have been neces- 
 sary to retrieve his fallen fortunes. False friends 
 accomplished his financial ruin ; false friends in- 
 stilled into his enthusiastic mind the idea whichi 
 resulted in his death. 
 
 That he could accomplish the deed in safety was 
 not doubted for an instant by him. Had he not 
 jumped from the tall mast-heads of ships ; had he- 
 not leaped in safety from the bridge at Occoquan ; 
 from a ladder on the smoke-stack of a steamer, 110 
 feet, at Marshall Hall ; then why not leap from the 
 Brooklyn bridge ? He had evidently failed to re- 
 member that the malaria had crept into his system 
 since then, contracted at Fortress Monroe, where 
 the chills and fever find a safe harbor amid the 
 rotting vegetation along the shores of Marylanc^ 
 and Virginia, and are wafted over to the Fortress-^ 
 and find lodgment in the systems of the guests- oi* 
 the Hygeia Hotel. Calmly and coolly, we believe^ 
 he could have performed the leap in safety twa* 
 years ago. 
 
 In performing such a daring act it is but natural 
 that some excitement should be felt. The Professor 
 felt no fear. His first feat, which he accomplished 
 successfully, was to elude the bridge police. This; 
 was no easy matter, and he had to use a subterfuge. 
 This was attended with some excitement that pro- 
 duced nervousness, and, consequently, when he- 
 mounted the railing of the Brooklyn bridge he was- 
 a nervous man. He was physically unable to ac- 
 complish the feat, but the sports of New York had 
 assembled to witness the performance, and amid 
 them all, front and foremost on the tug chartered 
 for the purpose, stood Boyton, of stuffed whale andt 
 
160 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 St. Jacob's Oil renown, his pretended friend, but 
 really his arch enemy. 
 
 The Professor had been kept awake the whole 
 night before, and was suffering from want of sleep 
 and rest. He gazed down, far down upon the 
 bosom of the East river, then upon the tug filled 
 with his sporting friends ; they had come out to 
 witness the leap. He was no coward ; no craven 
 fear lurked in his heart ; he would not disappoint 
 them. Extending his right hand above his head, 
 and turning his eyes toward Heaven, he stepped 
 off' into space ; but the current of air was his unseen 
 enemy, and the awful sequel is known. 
 
 The following account from the newspapers of 
 New York and this city gives a connected narrative 
 of his death-leap and interment: 
 
 To look at Professor Robert Emmet Odium as 
 he stood in a group of laughing friends yesterday 
 morning, no one would have dreamed that he con- 
 templated a jump from the Brooklyn bridge. His 
 strong, dark features were lit up with smiles, and 
 his brown eyes sparkled. He swung his large, 
 sinewy hands about, and slapped his companions 
 playfully, as he declared that he would make such 
 a jump every morning before breakfast for exercise, 
 if he were allowed. A very jolly fellow was this 
 muscle-knotted, lithe teacher of swimming, who 
 left his mother and sister in Washington a week 
 ago to make the leap that had created so much 
 talk. The Professor was entertaining a party of 
 gentlemen at Captain Boyton's "'Ship," in West 
 Twenty-ninth street. 
 
 " Everybody says 'don't do it,' " he said, ^' and 
 if I didn't the very same men would say I w^eak- 
 ened. You can just bet all you have that I'm going 
 to do this jump and come out all right." 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 161 
 
 Jere Dunn, Paddy Ryan, the fighter, and Mul- 
 doon, the wrestler,, formed one group. Near by 
 was a party of actors, including Henry E. Dixey, 
 Eben Plympton and Harry Lacey; Cool Herbert, 
 of St. Louis, and Major James Delehey chatted 
 together. A few bets were made as to whether 
 Odium would make the jump or not. 
 
 Odium donned a pair of gray trunks and a fancy 
 red shirt, upon the bosom of which were worked 
 his initials. Then he put on a pair of brown canvas 
 shoes, a black, soft felt hat, and a blue jacket. 
 Around his neck he tied a white silk handkerchief. 
 
 ^' I never felt better in my life," he said, " and 
 I hope the police will not interfere and make me 
 nervous when I jump. It is ray business and not 
 their's. God knows I wish it'was over, for I'm 
 nervous enough now. It isn't that I have any 
 fears for the result, but I feel like an actor just 
 before he goes on the stage in a new piece." 
 
 "Now," said Odium, "if I should die I don't 
 want the public to think that I had no good object 
 in view. I want the Herald to explain that I have 
 for years illustrated the fact that men do not die 
 while falling through the air, and that, no matter 
 if men or women were 100 feet high on the roof of 
 a burning building, they would not hesitate to 
 jump into a net if they read that I had jumped 140 
 feet from the Brooklyn bridge." 
 
 There was great hilarity and story-telling during 
 the next hour. Glasses clinked and bumpers were 
 drank in honor of Odium. He rubbed his hands 
 and stroked his black mustache alternately. Then 
 he smoked a few cigarettes. The people began to 
 disappear in twos or threes. It was explained that 
 a tug was waiting for the spectators at the barge 
 office, and it was necessary to go down in small 
 11 
 
162 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 parties in order n )t to excite the attention of the 
 police, who were on the alert. 
 
 Odium left the place at 4 o'clock, and went dowtt 
 town with, two or three friends, including Mr. 
 Cluss, son of Adolf Cluss, of Washington. He 
 waited a few minutes in Ryan's, on Broadway, 
 while a black covered wagon was procured near the 
 post office. It was learned that a very large force 
 of police was patrolling the carriageway of the 
 bridge, and that unless some strategic measure was^ 
 invented Odium would be prevented from carrying 
 out his purpose. 
 
 The Professor suddenly broke into a laugh as an 
 idea struck him, and he explained that it would be 
 a good thing to send a decoy on the bridge. James 
 Haggart and Mr.- Cluss got into a cab and drove 
 on the south carriageway, followed by the wagon 
 containing Odium and a friend. The plan was for 
 Mr. Haggart to pretend he was the jumper, and 
 while the police were arresting him Odium could 
 make his leap. 
 
 When the two vehicles reached the bridge the 
 cab was at once suspected. It was two hundred 
 yards in front of the wagon in which the Professor 
 sat. For hours the police had walked beside every 
 cab that had crossed. One policeman held the head 
 of the horse which pulled the cab. Another walked 
 beside the cab and questioned Mr. Haggart, who 
 said that he wanted to jump from the bridge and 
 did not see why he should be interfered with. In 
 a few moments the cab was surrounded by police 
 as it continued toward Brooklyn at a very slow 
 pace. Odium clapped his hands and laughed. 
 
 '' That's a joke on the police/' he said, as he 
 slipped off his outer clothing and sat in his shirt 
 and trunks waiting for the critical moment. " They 
 ain't smart enouo;h to «:et on to us in here." 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 163^ 
 
 In the mean time the tug was crowded with spec- 
 tators, and steamed up the East river to within a 
 hundred yards of the bridge, where it lay in the 
 stream. As soon as the bridge police saw the ves- 
 sel they knew that the time had come for the jump. 
 Many of them got up on the carriage-way railing 
 and peered down to see if there was any way by 
 which Odium could crawl out on the substructure 
 of iron. Thousands of people stopped on the 
 promenade and the docks began to be crowded. 
 Somehow or other everybody seemed to know what 
 was coming and the greatest excitement prevailed. 
 The jolly actors and sporting men on the tug laughed 
 when they saw the police at their wits' end. Sail- 
 ors climbed up the masts of their vessels and waited 
 for the fun. Two or three sail and row boats put 
 out from the shore, and a professional swimmer, 
 hired by Mr. Odium himself, appeared at the side 
 of the tug in swimming tights ready to jump to 
 the rescue. 
 
 Actor Dixey held a gold stop watch in his hand 
 to time the jump, and around him pressed the 
 merry party, cracking jokes and straining their 
 eyes for a glimpse of Odium. Suddenly the wagon 
 stopped and Odium stepped out on the railing of 
 the bridge with his face toward Governor's Island. 
 Through the glasses every expression of his coun- 
 tenance could be seen. He was very pale and 
 looked down to see where the tug was. Then he 
 gave his trunks a hitch, threw his chest out and 
 brought his feet close together. 
 
 He held his left arm rigidly down against his 
 thigh and stretched his right hand at full length 
 above his head with the palm open, his purpose 
 being to use the right arm as a sort of rudder to 
 maintain his equilibrium while shooting through 
 the air. Odium was a perfect picture of manly 
 
164 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 grace and strength as be stood on the granite cap- 
 ping in the bright sunlight. 
 
 There was a dead silence as Odium stepped off 
 and shot downward. His head was pressed tightly 
 against his uplifted arm and his eyes were turned 
 upward. The jumper's chest was inflated until 
 the muscles stood out in ridges and his heels were 
 held together tightly. A strong wind was blow- 
 ing, and as Odium descended it seemed to turn 
 him slightly around. For nearly a hundred feet 
 he fell as straight as an arrow. Then he seemed 
 to be conscious that he had lost his balance, and he 
 made a rapid pass backward with his right hand. 
 At the same moment his body assumed a slanting 
 position in the air and he doubled up slightly. He 
 struck the water with his feet and right hij). The 
 force of the blow seemed to twist his body double, 
 and as the plucky jumper disappeared a fountain 
 of water twenty feet high was sent into the air. 
 
 " Three seconds and a half," said Actor Dixey, 
 closijig his watch. 
 
 A wild shout went up. It was a cry of fear and 
 horror. Everybody knew that unless Odium had 
 struck the water with his body perpendicular he 
 •would be killed. For several moments no sign of 
 the man could be discovered on the water. Then 
 the red shirt was seen. 
 
 "He's dead," cried Jere Dunn. "This is hor- 
 rible." 
 
 The swimmer in tights lost his head and did not 
 know what to do. The people yelled at the top of 
 their voices and everybody was wild with excite- 
 ment. On the bow of the tug stood Captain Boy- 
 ton watching for the reappearance of Odium. The 
 moment that he saw tlie red shirt the Captain peeled 
 off his jacket and plunged into the river. He 
 struck out powerfully, and in a few moments reached 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 165 
 
 Odium, who was floating with his face downward 
 and his red shirt torn in two by the force of the 
 fall. Boyton raised the body upon his shoulders 
 and swam against the tide with his heavy load to- 
 ward a white ring life-preserver that had been 
 thrown from the tug. He had to swim nearly fifty 
 yards before be reached the small boat which had 
 drifted against a mackerel schooner. 
 
 The murmur of the black thousands on the 
 bridge and shores could be heard distinctly as the 
 jumper's body, limp and helpless, was lifted into 
 the boat. From there it was conveyed to the tug 
 and laid upon blankets in the cook's galley. The 
 back of the right hip was bruised and cut open by 
 the water. All along the left side and back was a 
 purple bruise. His eyes were shut and his muscles 
 were as rigid as carved marble. Mr. Robertson 
 and two other gentlemen assisted Captain Boyton 
 in pouring brandy down the insensible man's 
 throat, and rubbing it upon his head and breast. 
 Paddy Ryan and Muldoon chafed his hands and 
 arms. The actors and sports looked on with sad 
 faces and watched for a sign of life. The face got 
 whiter and the body darker. Then there was a 
 feeble motion of the lips and Odium was seen to 
 gasp for breath. In a little while his chest heaved, 
 and as he opened his big brown eyes there was a 
 shout of joy. A terrible groan followed. Then 
 Odium passed one hand wearily across his face 
 and caught wildly at the air. His friends called 
 him by name. Then he smiled and moved his 
 lips. 
 
 "Is it all over?" he murmured. 
 
 "Yes," answered Mr. Robertson. 
 
 " Did I make a good jump?" 
 
 " A fine one!" 
 
 " I'm so glad." 
 
166 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 And Odium turned upon his ^ide. Then he 
 seemed to get a sudden strenisjth and pushed his 
 attendants away. They called him endearing 
 names, and hegged him to speak. Finally a drop 
 of bright blood leaked from his mouth. 
 
 ^' He's a dead man," whispered Muldoon. 
 
 The blood was wiped away and more followed it. 
 Odium noticed the stains upon the cloth used on 
 his face and asked if he was spitting blood. Then 
 he closed his eyes and his breathing became fainter 
 and fainter. Once or twice he groaned deeply and 
 said that his back pained him. The tug had 
 steamed down the bay, and it was turned shore- 
 ward the moment that the crowd was satisfied that 
 Odium was dying. It reached Old Slip at ten 
 minutes past 6 o'clock, thirty-five minutes after 
 the jump was made. In a minute nearly all the 
 party scrambled on shore and fled, leaving Captain 
 Boyton and several friends with the dying man. 
 Muldoon notified the police, who sent for an ambu- 
 lance. It was twenty minutes before the ambu- 
 lance arrived, and just as it rattled on the dock 
 Odium ceased breathing, and his strong arms were 
 folded upon his breast. 
 
 Surgeon Hathaway examined the body and de- 
 clared that no bones were broken. He said that 
 some of Odium's internal organs had been burst by 
 the shock of the fall. Detective Hagan appeared 
 on the dock and placed all the reporters and other 
 people on the tug under arrest until a squad of 
 policemen arrived and escorted them to the Old 
 Slip station house, where their names were entered 
 as witnesses for the coroner's inquest. 
 
 The corpse remained on the dock in charge of a 
 policeman, surrounded by hundreds of people, until 
 Coroner Kennedy removed it. It was learned that 
 James Haggart, who decoyed the police after his 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 167 
 
 cab, in order to give Odlura a clear path, was ar- 
 rested and locked up in Brooklyn. It appears that, 
 in order to more completely sell the public, Mr. 
 Haggart pretended that he was trying to undress 
 himself. The charge against him is that of dis- 
 orderly conduct. — New York Herald. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF THE BODY IN WASHINGTON. 
 
 The remains of Robert E. Odium, who was killed 
 Tuesday evening by jumping from the Brooklyn 
 bridge into the river below, arrived here this 
 morning at 8:05 o'clock, having left New York at 
 midnight. The remains w-ere inclosed in a hand- 
 some mahogany casket, with silver handles and 
 trimmings. The plate and inscription will be sup- 
 plied by relatives and friends. The body was 
 attired in a full dress suit of black. 
 
 Mr. Herbert said to a reporter that no one 
 deplored the result more than Captain Boy ton, who 
 had done all he could to dissuade Odium from his 
 purpose. Odium said that he was certain he could 
 do it, and argued that he would be in the air but 
 two and a half seconds, and by falling wnth one 
 arm close to the side and the other extended above 
 his head he would strike the water feet first and 
 do it. They were quite certain, he said, that when 
 Odium went on the bridge to make the leap he 
 would be stopped. 
 
 The funeral will take place at 4 o'clock to- 
 morrow. 
 
 Mr. C. S. Moore and other friends, w^ith Mr. 
 J. C. Lee, met the body at the depot. 
 
 The remains were at first removed to Mr. Lee's 
 undertaking establishment, and then taken to his 
 residence, 504 Thirteenth street, northwest. The 
 funeral arrangements have been taken in hand by 
 
168 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 Messrs. C. S. Moore, William Dickson and Frank 
 K. Ward. 
 
 Many of Odium's friends viewed the rejuains 
 to-day. The face has good color, and a most natu- 
 ral and placid expression. His friends express 
 some indignation at the efforts of Captain Boyton 
 and others, who were with Odium in New York, 
 to make it appear that they were bending every 
 energy to prevent Odium from making the leap. 
 The fact that some one paid all the expenses of 
 carriages and a tug, and went to the trouble of 
 very elaborate preparations, they think establishes 
 the fact that Odium was rather encouraged than 
 otherwise in his rash undertaking. 
 
 The autopsy took place in New York yesterday 
 afternoon. The spleen, liver and kidneys were 
 found to be badly ruptured from the shock in strik- 
 ing the water. There Avas a deposit of tuberculosis 
 at the base of the left lung ; the right kidney was 
 full of cystic cavities, and the left lung gave evi- 
 dences of slight fatty degeneration. The first, 
 third and fifth ribs were found to be broken. The 
 doctors say that death was due to concussion. The 
 marks on the body were similar to those found on 
 the bodies of men who have been crushed by the 
 caving in of the earth. — Sfar^ May 21. 
 
 After the departments closed yesterday afternoon 
 the residence where the remains of the dead athlete. 
 Odium, lay was thronged with callers to see the 
 body, who continued arriving until quite late at 
 night. Probably no one person in private life here 
 possessed so large a circle of personal friends and 
 acquaintances, for "Bob" Odium, as they afiection- 
 ately knew him, was a man of such kind-hearted 
 ways that he drew friends to him without effort on 
 his jjart. It was noticeable that large numbers 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 169 
 
 were attracted there, however, only through an 
 idle, morbid curiosity, and of these, to their shame, 
 a large proportion were females. 
 
 At the funeral at 4 o'clock this afternoon the 
 pall-bearers will be Messrs. William Dickson, Frank 
 K. Ward, Washington Nailor, Jacob A. Rudd, 
 Robert M. Vanneman and Edward D. Wright. 
 All of the funeral arrangements have been under 
 the direction of Mr. Charles S. Moore, who remained 
 at the house last night beside the body. 
 
 Early last evening Mrs. Odium, the aged mother 
 of the dead man, and his sister, Mrs. Charlotte 
 Smith, with the latter's son, arrived, where they 
 remained during the night in an upper room. 
 Both remained for a while beside the remains, re- 
 peating the Catholic prayers for the dead. The 
 grief of Mrs. Odium and her daughter was so vio- 
 lently expressed in plaintive cries that it was 
 deemed best to urge their removal up stairs, where 
 it was far on into the night before either became 
 sufficiently calmed to control their feelings. The 
 scene was a deeply painful one to witness. 
 
 As early as 8 o'clock this morning the stream of 
 callers began again, many of poor '* Bob's " most 
 intimate friends returning again and again to the 
 coffin's side. — Critic, May 22. 
 
 The funeral of the late Robert E. Odium took 
 place yesterday afternoon from No. 504 Thirteenth 
 street, northwest. The body lay in one of the 
 parlors, where the funeral services were held, sur- 
 rounded by numerous floral designs, a great beauty 
 conspicuous among these being a fac- simile of the 
 Brooklyn bridge, which was donated by the Light 
 Infantry Corps. The house was crowded with the 
 friends of the deceased, who listened attentively 
 while Father Ahern, of St. Matthew's church, pro- 
 
170 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 nouncecl a glowing tribute to the dead athlete. 
 The iiotoriet}^ which the deceased's last exploit 
 gained him attracted many from idle curiosity, and 
 a crowd of about six hundred peo23le gathered in 
 the street and waited to see the cortege start for the 
 cemetery. — Post, May 23. 
 
 Kev. Father Ahern, of St Matthew's church, 
 performed the Catholic burial service and made a 
 very touching and eloquent address. After speak- 
 ing of the brevity of life and the certainty of death, 
 and the knowledge men possessed of hastening to 
 this critical period as fast as the wings of time could 
 carry them, and the impossibility of any one ever 
 retracing his steps after having entered the bounds 
 of eternity, he drew a lesson of the necessity of 
 being ever prepared to meet death. In reference 
 to Odium's moral responsibility for his own death, 
 he said: ^'What the world may think of the re- 
 sponsibility of the man who expected to leap from 
 the balustrade of the Brooklyn bridge, and by some 
 act of sagacity to elude the effect of the accelerating 
 power of gravity, ought certainly to be uo more 
 condemnatory than its judgment of a person who, 
 believing that God has established an order of 
 sequence in morals, yet expects to violate with im- 
 punity the moral law of his Creator. The moral 
 laws of God can no more be varied than physical 
 law. The results which God has connected with 
 actions will ineviably occur. And yet we see men 
 enjoying the esteem of communities, and who are 
 habitually violating the moral law, yet expecting 
 to escape the consequences which God has estab- 
 lished. The onlj difference is in the order of 
 ' sequence that the violation of physical law is at- 
 tended with immediate results, while in morals it 
 is often long delayed. And, therefore, the Scripture 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 171 
 
 tells US that because sentence is not executed speed- 
 ily against an evil act the hearts of* the sons of men 
 are fully set to do evil. The consequences which 
 society has connected with the act of this man ought 
 to have determined him not to undertake it. To us 
 it seems a rash act — a reckless act, a foolhardy act, 
 a hazardous attempt, endangering human life. Its 
 result, indeed, proved fatal; but let the result of 
 an action be what it may, we hold the man le- 
 sponsible solely on the ground of intention, and 
 Kobert Odium was a voluntary, intelligent man, 
 capable of foreseeing the result of an exertion of 
 his power, with that exertion subject to his own 
 free will. We do not know what the motive of 
 the man was, but we deem it to have been a better 
 one than that of merely securing the vain applause 
 of a wonder-loving world. In his own mind he was 
 justified, not merely hoping that he would perform 
 this feat successfully, but in the firm conviction 
 that he would accomplish it easily. A professional 
 athlete, he had often performed similar feats of 
 daring, and his conscience rendered satisfactory 
 testimony of his ability to repeat them. Regard- 
 ing himself as a distinct and accountable individual, 
 to whom God had given wonderful physical strength 
 as a means of happiness, he recognized the right to 
 exert the powers of his body as he willed. Un- 
 conscious of danger himself, he did not think he 
 was committing an overt act against society, and 
 the proof of forfeiture to the claims of society rests 
 with those who would now exclude him, while they 
 would have, perhaps, most loudly applauded and 
 praised him had he accomplished his daring feat 
 successfully." 
 
 Father Ahern referred to Odium's generous 
 character and manly conduct in having many times 
 
172 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 risked his life to save the lives of others who were 
 perishing in the water. 
 
 The remains were followed by a long line of car- 
 riages to Mt. Olivet cemetery, where they were 
 placed in the vault. — Star^ May 23. 
 
 The feat which Mr. Odium attempted, and which 
 resulted in his death, had been a subject of conver- 
 sation with him for some time past, and he had 
 even made a plan of the bridge to facilitate his 
 movements in making the jump. It was not thought 
 here that he would do it, and it is believed that he 
 never would have attempted it had he not been 
 urged by Capt. Paul Boy ton, who telegraphed him 
 on several occasions an invitation to come to New 
 York. To his landlady Odium talked quite freely 
 on the subject, and informed her of the advances 
 made by Boy ton to him, in which the latter told 
 him to make his place in New York a home and to 
 come on and take in the situation thoroughly before 
 making the attempt. The newspaper notoriety 
 which the affair had gained for him, it is thought, 
 had also considerable influence with him. "■ I will 
 not undertake the thing," he said, unless there is 
 money in it. In that case I will risk it." He said 
 that he expected a telegram from Boyton, which 
 would decide the matter. On Wednesday the ex- 
 pected dispatch arrived, and Odium prepared to 
 start for New York the same night. It was noticed 
 that he became unusually thoughtful and quiet, as 
 though he had some presentiment of the tragic cul- 
 mination to which the affair was destined. When 
 night arrived he suddenly changed his mind and 
 decided not to start until morning. When taking 
 leave of his landlady she said, with a doubtful 
 shake of her head, " Mr. Odium, I hope it will end 
 all rirrht." 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 173 
 
 iC 
 
 Don't talk like that," he exclaimed, quite dis- 
 concerted, but almost immediately regained his 
 composure. He took leave of only a few friends 
 and left without intimating his intentions to his 
 mother. Her first knowledge was gained from the 
 ^ew York Sun, and she immediately telegraphed 
 to the New York authorities to prevent the attempt 
 under any circumstances. No further news, with 
 the exception of a few rumors, was received from 
 him until last night, when the following dis- 
 patch from Captain Boy ton arrived at Willard's 
 Hotel : 
 
 ''Robert E. Odium jumped off Brooklyn bridge 
 this morning and was killed. Body recovered. 
 Please notify relatives what disposition to be made 
 of body." 
 
 When his mother was informed of the circum- 
 stance she was nearly prostrated with grief, and 
 declared openly that Boyton was the cause of his 
 death. The same feeling prevailed among Odium's 
 friends, and they all concurred in condemning the 
 share Boyton had taken in the matter. It was 
 stated that Boyton' s anxiety was caused by his 
 having staked ^l^OOO that Odium would make the 
 jump. 
 
 The mother and sister of Mr. Odium reside on 
 Four-and a-half street between C street and Penn- 
 sylvania avenue. The latter relative became almost 
 uncontrollable with grief and excitement on learn- 
 ing at police headquarters that the report was true. 
 —Post, May 25. 
 
 No; poor "Bob" Odium was not a ''fool" nor 
 a "crank," but a brave, honest, kindly-hearted 
 man, who desired fame or notoriety for a legiti- 
 mate purpose — that it might help him in his busi- 
 ness. He had reason to believe that he could 
 
174 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 safely perform the feat which cost his life, for he 
 had dared other feats almost as dangerous. Led 
 on step by step by the fascination of aquatic ex- 
 ploits, he met his death. He had saved many other 
 lives, his own he could not save. He deserves no 
 sneers . — National Bepuhlican . 
 
 The Hatchet readers know the fearful fate of that 
 strong swimmer and brave, generous man, Robert 
 Emmet Odium. They have read the details of his 
 perilous plunge from the Brooklyn bridge into the 
 cruel waters one hundred and forty feet below. 
 They know the fatal result. It is unnecessary to 
 go into the sad details again. 
 
 As Father Ahern said at the funeral on Friday^ 
 ''what we hold a man to are his intentions." Thus 
 judged, our dead friend's memory stands before a 
 world ever readier to censure than to praise, honor- 
 ably vindicated from the flippant charge of fool- 
 hardiness and a mere seeking after notoriety. He 
 believed that he could make the daring leap suc- 
 cessfully, and so believing he felt it his duty, not only 
 to himself and to those dependent upon him, but 
 to the world, to challenge fate. 
 
 In a conversation with the writer a few nights 
 preceding his going to New York, Mr. Odium ex- 
 plained a theory he had long held, that every fire 
 company should be provided with strong nettings 
 which could be immediately stretched and into 
 which the unfortunates beleaguered by fire and 
 smoke, sinking floors and falling walls, could jump 
 without peril to life or limb. He argued that most 
 people were afraid to jump from a high place, even 
 when threatened with a fiery death, because of an 
 absurd idea that they would die in the air. By 
 making his leap from the Brooklyn bridge he 
 hoped forever to dispel this fallacy, and open the 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 175 
 
 way to the introduction of his netting idea in fire 
 departments. His plan appeared to us feasible, 
 and his untimely death while engaged in an expe- 
 riment looking partly toward its development and 
 application, makes him a martyr to humanity of 
 the same class, if not the same degree, as the phy- 
 sician or nurse who falls a victim while extending 
 succor to the plague-stricken. 
 
 The funeral took place on Friday aiternoon, and 
 was largely attended by the deceased's friends. 
 There were numerous floral offerings, the chief one 
 being a representation of the Brooklyn bridge, sent 
 by his comrades of the Light Infantry. Father 
 Ahern pronounced an appropriate and touching dis- 
 course, and all that was mortal of one of the truest- 
 hearted and most manly of men was consigned to 
 Mt. Olivet cemetery.— TAe Hatchet, May 24. 
 
 One of the saddest features in regard to Odium's 
 death is that the man was wasted. He had occa- 
 sionally jumped from various heights into the 
 water, but his jumps were unostentatious and the 
 public was never made to suffer from them. There 
 was really no reason why the man should not have 
 lived for many years and no one have been the 
 worse for it. 
 
 Odium is dead, but Boy ton and many other 
 well-known persons are still painfully alive. There 
 was every reason why Boyton should have jumped 
 from the bridge. For the last ten years the public 
 has endured his advertising voyages in his rubber 
 suit, and he has never failed to outrage public de- 
 cency by arriving safely at his destination. Had 
 he decided to jump from the bridge there is not a 
 man in this city who would have been so heartless 
 as to interfere with him. The very policemen 
 would have forojotten their orders and would have 
 
176 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 turned their backs on Boyton as soon as he made 
 liis appearance on the bridge. Indeed, it would 
 have been easy to raise by popular subscription a 
 large sum of money to induce Boyton to jump. 
 
 But Mr. Boyton, instead of satisfying the long- 
 ings of his fellow-citizens, has never dreamed of 
 jumping from the bridge. Several other men, 
 every one of whom was in every way adapted to 
 jump off the bridge, imitated Boyton 's example 
 and helped Odium to throw himself away. We 
 naturally feel sorry that Odium was wasted, but 
 our sorrow that these men did not jump in his 
 place is necessarily greater. — Neio York Times. 
 
 A REVIEW OF THE MANY COMMENTS OF THE PRESS 
 ON THE TRAGEDY. 
 
 What notoriety was given the tragedy of the 
 Brooklyn bridge is due to the great dailies of New 
 York city, notably the Herald. Why will leading 
 newspapers devote four or five columns to such 
 tragedies^ Why did leading newspapers, like the 
 Sun and Herald, send their sporting specials days 
 before the occurrence to interview Professor Odium, 
 to walk the bridge in his company, as did Mr. 
 Henry Creelman, of the New York Herald? He 
 informed me himself that he accompanied my son 
 on the Sunday previous to the jump, and was in 
 his company constantly Why did the editor of the 
 New York San refuse to give the name of his sport- 
 ing special when I called on him? Had that special 
 committed a crime? What was there to evade? I 
 afterward discovered his name was Amos Cumniings. 
 Why did Mr. Creelman say that some of the first 
 and best gentlemen of New York, amopg them Mr. 
 Chamberlain, James Gordon Bennett's private sec- 
 retary, witnessed the jump? Why did the pro- 
 prietor of the Herald send his private secretary to 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 177 
 
 witness the jump? Did they know the jump would 
 take place? Yes! Did they take any step to pre- 
 vent it? No ! but encouraged it by their presence. 
 Under the laws of the State of New York, are they 
 innocent of any participation in the death of Robert 
 Emmet Odium? Knowing positively that the leap 
 would be made, the hour appointed for the same, 
 did they inform the police? No! Well, then, if 
 iiny crime has been committed they are aiders and 
 -abettors, and are partly responsible for the death 
 of the unfortunate man. Tom Murphy, son of the 
 ex-collector of the port of New York, and fifty other 
 '' select sports," made bets as to the result. They 
 ''aided, abetted and encouraged Robert Emmet 
 Odium to commit an act imminently dangerous to 
 human life," and stand convicted by their own tes- 
 timony out of their own mouths. 
 
 All this is cruel enough, but the most poignant, 
 unkind cuts of all are the comments of the same 
 press after the spirit of the unfortunate young man 
 had taken its flight from earth. If they were par- 
 ticipants, which they were, they should " say noth- 
 ing but good of the dead." No light remarks, no 
 jeers should be tolerated in a press that encouraged 
 the deed, ''the deep damnation of his taking off." 
 Editorials condemning the act after it had been 
 committed comes with bad grace from these jour- 
 nals. Editorials written before the act to prevent 
 the catastrophe might have prevented it. Editorials 
 afterward are out of place, ill-timed and serve no 
 purpose but to wound the heart of his aged and 
 afflicted mother, already bowed down with a weight 
 of woe the grave only can lift. 
 
 "Charity covereth a multitude of sins," and 
 charity should have dictated every editorial ema- 
 nating from the press of New York when comment- 
 ing on the tragedy of the Brooklyn bridge. 
 12 
 
178 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 The Boyton Letters — an Explanation to the Public, 
 
 The following reasons are given to the public for 
 publishing the letters of Captain Boyton to my 
 son : It was natural, under all the circumstances, 
 for me to attach the blame of his death to Paul 
 Boyton. To my certain knowledge during the 
 last few years Robert was the recipient of many 
 letters from him, together with telegrams, urging^ 
 him to make the perilous leap. " If you don't, 
 somebody else will," and the enthusiastic young 
 man waited for no more. He went on to New 
 York, and the sequel is known to the reader. 
 
 After the tragedy Captain Boyton read some 
 comments in the New York News and other papers 
 showing the public feeling against him, and charg- 
 ing him with being accessory to my poor boy's fate. 
 A few days thereafter I received a long and peni- 
 tent letter from Boyton, which reads as follows : 
 
 New York, May 27, 1885. 
 Mrs. Odlum. 
 
 Dear Madam : Yesterday I shipped per Adams 
 Express the effects left at my house by your son 
 Robert. Dear Mrs. Odium, it is with feelings of 
 great hesitation that I address you after all tlie 
 hatred and cruel things you have said about me, 
 and yet I consider it my duty to write to you. The 
 great God, who knows all, knows that I did every 
 thing in my power to prevent the jump, and the 
 same God knows that I am not his murderer you 
 accuse me of being. You cannot imagine with 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 179" 
 
 what grief and sorrow I read your accusation. I 
 was in bed at the time, ill with a heavy cokl, and' 
 it almost broke my heart to have you think that I. 
 was in any way responsible for the death of a friend 
 whom I loved for his good nature and brave heart. 
 I have one thing to say that I am sure will give 
 you consolation. On that fatal Thursday morning 
 Robert got' up early and disappeared for four hours. 
 I did not know where he had gone, and hoped he 
 had taken my advice and left New York. Since 
 then I have discovered that he went from my house- 
 to tlie Church of the Rederaj)torist Fathers, where 
 a friend of mine saw him go to the confessional 
 and receive holy communion. I thank the Lord. 
 May God rest the soul of poor, poor Rob. Mrs. 
 Odium, I wish I could go to you, and, kneeling at 
 your feet, tell you all I did to turn him away from 
 his determination, and to convince you that I anrt 
 not his murderer in deed or thought. I would not 
 have gone to the river to witness his leap but for 
 the thought that I might be of assistance to him.. 
 In answer to my entreaties that he should abandon 
 his idea, he said: ^'This feat will give me fame 
 and a reputation that will survive me, plenty of 
 engagements, and thus enable me to help my mother 
 and myself, as I would wish to do and as I have 
 not been able to do for a couple of years. Don't 
 try and turn me from the only chance I see left to 
 make a name and a fortune." 
 
 Poor, brave, gentle-hearted Bob — I am sure he 
 thought of you in his last moments. 1 too have a 
 mother, who has read all about your son's sad fate 
 and your accusation has cut her to the heart. She 
 has just written to me saying she would pray every 
 day for the poor boy as long as she lived. My wife 
 is doing the same and will continue to do so. She 
 knows that you are mistaken, for she heard meim- 
 
180 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 ploring Bob to abandon the idea. She and I pray 
 for him every night, and as long as we have a dol- 
 lar to spare it will be spent in masses for the re- 
 pose of his soul. If you think I am guilty of luring 
 on your son to his death I simply bare my head and 
 accept it as a punishment for many a sin I have 
 committed, but God knows of this one I. am inno- 
 cent. God bless, comfort, and console you, dear 
 Mrs. Odium. 
 
 Yours sincerely and sorrowfully, 
 
 Paul Boyton. 
 
 His letter was so contrite and humble in its tone, 
 and affected so much genuine sorrow that I felt 
 almost inclined to forgive him for whatever part 
 he had taken in the transaction. This letter was 
 published in all the great dailies of the country, 
 and spread by himself broadcast, and after seeing 
 which, I concluded to visit New York to see if my 
 son had left some word or message for his afflicted 
 mother. I was confident of being well received by 
 Boyton. I wished to visit New York for another 
 purpose, viz., to learn all I could concerning the 
 details of the affair, and to recover important papers 
 and letters from persons in New York urging him 
 to the act, as these were missing when his trunk 
 and clothes were returned. 
 
 I arrived at the Astor House about midnight, 
 but the hotel being full, the clerk very kindly sent 
 a porter with me to the International Hotel, where 
 I was courteously received and kindly treated. 
 After the reception of Captain Boyton's letter, I 
 concluded I would call to see him, which I did the 
 day after ray arrival at his ''Ship." I reached 
 his place about 10 o'clock a. m., and was told by 
 a man, who claimed to be his manager, that the 
 captain was still in bed, having been up the night 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 181 
 
 previous very late. After Boy ton was informed 
 of my presence in bis saloon he sent me word down 
 stairs by bis manager and Cool Herbert that be 
 would call at my botel to see me. I expressed my 
 astonishment to Herbert tbat be should have repre- 
 sented through the press tbat he was a great friend 
 of my family, when the truth was I bad never seen 
 him but once, when he came on with my son's body, 
 and by his loud boasting of what expenses be bad 
 incurred and the trouble be had been subjected to 
 excited the disgust of bis auditory. I told him I 
 wished to say nothing to him, that I came to see 
 Captain Boyton. 
 
 I returned to my hotel, but Captain Boyton never 
 came ; but two men did come, styling themselves 
 the lawyer and the judge, and representing them- 
 selves in the interest of Captain Boyton. They 
 were manufactured for the occasion, and but for 
 my recent sad affliction I should have been highly 
 amused at their attempt to intimidate me. They 
 first endeavored to impress me with the belief that 
 it was my duty to keep silence, while they went 
 through the comedy which they had committed 
 to memory. 
 
 '' Madam," said one, '' I am the judge and my 
 friend here is the lawyer, and we have all the 
 papers in this case." Here the judge held up a 
 large bundle of papers, and continued, addressing 
 me. "It is absolutely necessary, madam, for you 
 to^keep silent ; you must not even see or say any- 
 thing to any reporter who may call upon you for 
 an interview. Captain Boyton is under a rent of 
 |5,000 annually, and you must be careful not to 
 say anything which might injure his business. 
 The laws of New York are very severe on this 
 subject, and inflict severe penalties against any 
 one wlio speaks ill of another. Here is the law and 
 
182 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 here are all the papers. Isn't this so, brother 
 lawyer ? " And the lawyer would bow and humbly 
 answer, ^' Yes." 
 
 '' There was no one to blame, madam, but your 
 «on," said the lawyer. Isn't this so, Mr. Judge?" 
 And the judge would embrace his bundle of papers, 
 and boldly answer: '' Nobody else to blame." 
 They both kept this up for some time, telling me 
 of the severe punishments in store for me unless I 
 kept my lips closed in regard to Boyton. I was 
 too angry and in too much distress to notice the 
 affair in its proper light at the time, but have since 
 been impressed with the ridiculous rascality of the 
 whole affair. I now distinctly remember having 
 seen my judge at Paul Boy ton's in the morning 
 when I called there. He was coming down stairs 
 with Cool Herbert, and the judicial ermine was 
 conferred upon the fellow to try my case — convict 
 me and acquit Boyton. 
 
 Perhaps this man is known as the '^Ship's at- 
 torney," to try special cases in which Boyton is 
 party defendant. Mr. Judge and Mr. Lawyer left 
 me firmly impressed that I was frightened. They 
 advised me to keep quiet and leave the city at once, 
 -as the laws of New York were very strict, and they 
 should be grieved to see me in trouble. 
 
 I can imagine what the public will say say when 
 they read this statement. It is literally true, and 
 ,-gives a picture of the characters of the crew of the 
 "^^Ship" commanded by Captain Paul Boyton. 
 
 I make the following extracts from Paul Boyton' s 
 letters and telegrams : 
 
 Baltimore, 15-6-'80. 
 No more, dear Bob. I will never forget your 
 kindness to me, and I thank you from the bottom 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 183 
 
 of my heart. When I get off the rocks and well to 
 windward, you may rest assured I will prove to you 
 that I am not ungrateful. 
 
 Your sincere friend, Paul. 
 
 Balto., Md., June 4, 1880. 
 Prof. R. Odlum: If you can get Corcoran, tele- 
 graph Baltimore Sun job printing department to 
 go ahead with Boyton bills. No time to lose. 
 
 Paul. 
 Here is a sample of brag and bluster : 
 
 Providence, R. I., 26, 7, '80. 
 
 My Dear AND Kind Friend Bob: Enclosed find 
 ^25 to pay the Repuhlican. I am ashamed of my- 
 self for not sending it before. Tell me how much 
 more is still owing and I will remit. I received 
 jour kind letter, but I have been so busy that it 
 was impossible to answer it. I will do so in a few 
 days when I have a few moments to spare. I wish 
 you were with me now; plenty of business. I will 
 see you this fall, as I will be in Baltimore. I am 
 matched to swim Fearn, champion of England, 
 Aug. 17th, for 81,000. I often think of you, and 
 I will never forget your kindness. Dear Bob, you 
 must excuse these few lines, as I must run for the 
 train. Address Worcester, Mass. Remember me 
 to all the old friends. 
 
 With a grateful heart, 'I remain your sincere 
 friend, Paul Boyton. 
 
 Tell me the amount now due in your next. 
 
 boyton in luck. 
 
 On board the fiery and untamed steamer 
 "Arkansas," Mississippi, 26, 5, '81. 
 My Dear Bob: Well, what must you think of 
 me? Don't blame me until I tell you a few lies to 
 
184 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 excuse myself. I am at present bound up to St. 
 Paul, from where I will commence a voyage of 
 1,000 down to Cairo. I think it will take me fully 
 20 days to make the run, as tiie current is very 
 sluggish; but the river is a beauty. How I do 
 wish you were along; we could just have the 
 gayest kind of a time. What a "head" I had 
 on me the morning I parted with you. It re- 
 minded me of the old days of the ''moral show." 
 I have an angel at present in the shape of a man- 
 ager who ''puts up" for everything. I am going 
 to "use " him. 
 
 Ten thousand thanks, dear Bob, for your kind- 
 ness to me during my last visit. I assure you I 
 am truly grateful. Don't fail to write me. 
 
 Ever your friend, Paul. 
 
 The following letter from Boyton we give entire ; 
 it is dated — 
 
 FlushixNG 10, 4, '82. 
 
 Dear Bob: Your letter of the 5th came to hand 
 this a. m. I got home about a month ago, with a 
 fine collection of malaria, picked up on the Mis- 
 souri, Arkansas and Yazoo rivers, in my skin. 1 
 had a pretty tough time with the fever and chills, 
 but I am about through with it now. I resigned 
 my position in the house of Vogeler & Co. on the 
 9th of last month, so at present I am looking 
 around for a good thing. Fred. J. Engelhardt 
 wants me to go in with him on his big whale. He 
 made me a very liberal offer of one-third interest 
 in the show, and it is now doing well in Atlanta^ 
 Ga. This week will decide whether I join him or 
 not. Vogeler was anxious to have me go to Eu- 
 rope for him, but I have found out that working 
 for a salary don't pay. I came out of his employ 
 in debt to him. You have to spend too much 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 185 
 
 money on newspaper men, and that must be done 
 out of your own pocket. I was thinking that in 
 managing the whale and working my own '^moral 
 show" in whenever a chance offered, I could do 
 pretty well with Fred. Engelhardt. In regard to 
 going' to California, I cannot see a chance to do so 
 at present. By the way, I had a letter from Daily, 
 the champion swimmer of California, a few days 
 ago, asking me to come out, as he intends to get 
 np a lot of aquatic fetes there this summer. There 
 might be something in it. I cannot go, as I have 
 not money enough to move myself and properties 
 out so far. The man to work a jump from the 
 East River bridge is Richard K. Fox; write 
 him. I will see him again and will speak to 
 him about it. With my usual luck I am ''on the 
 rocks," but I hope for a change soon. I wish to 
 God a good war would start up to give poor devils 
 like me a chance. 
 
 With the kindest regards of your old and sincere 
 friend, Paul. 
 
 Address Flushing, L. I., N. Y. 
 
 It will be observed by the reader that Professor 
 Odium is referred by Boy ton to Richard K. Fox, 
 to make the preliminaries for a jump from the 
 Brooklyn bridge, and promised to see Fox on the 
 subject. Does this look like an attempt to prevent 
 the jump on Boyton's part? Is it not rather an 
 encouraging message to arrange preliminaries? If 
 I know a man intends committing a desperate 
 deed, and I do not take steps to prevent it, am I 
 not guilty of aiding in the transaction? This is 
 common sense and admits of no argument. 
 
 There are upward of fifty other letters relating 
 to St. Jacob's Oil, ''the stuffed whale," and the 
 wild projects of Boyton, in every one of which he 
 
186 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 requests Professor Odium to become a participant. 
 His "My dear Bob" generally had to pay all the 
 bills and assume all the pecuniary responsibilities, 
 such as chartering steamers, getting bills and post- 
 ers printed, &c. His letters breathe a spirit of 
 bombast, low cunning, and we will not inflifct our 
 readers with a perusal. They will be shown any 
 one desiring to see them. 
 
 he surrenders the whale. 
 
 Rochester, N. Y., 14, 7, '82. 
 
 My Dear Bob : Your kind letter of June 2l8t 
 came duly to hand. I would have answered it 
 long before this, but I have been so upset and busy 
 that I assure you I had no time. I parted com- 
 pany with the infernal old whale at Harrisburgh, 
 and I am only sorry I did not do so long before I 
 did. Since then (two weeks) I have been running 
 my own '^ moral show" to a big business. This 
 is a new country up here for me, and I have suc- 
 ceeded in making a big hit. 
 
 With kindest regards, dear Bob, your sincere 
 friend_, Paul. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN WISHES THE PROFESSOR TO FIND AN ANGEL. 
 
 Washington Heights, N. Y. C, 23d, '84. 
 My Dear Bob : I presume you could not make 
 any arrangements with the exhibition people. 
 Well, it is just as good, as I fear I would be un- 
 able to go. I have an idea that I think you might 
 work out. If you can get some angel to j^f^i '^^P I 
 can furnish you with a dress and full suit of prop- 
 erties, some splendid three-sheet pictorials and de- 
 scriptive posters, window bills, blocks, &c. — a luhole 
 inoral show complete — and the use of my name. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 187 
 
 You could take in New Orleans, and then take a 
 trip through Texas, a State I have never been in ; 
 also the Red River country, which would pay well. 
 Then you could run across to California — it would 
 be new there. You can work all those places this 
 winter if you can only find an angel to put up the 
 dust. See if you can work it. Merry Christmas. 
 Your friend, Paul. 
 
 Baltimore, Md., May 26, 1884. 
 To Robert Odlum, 
 
 Natatoriu7n, Washington, D. C. 
 Take the Corcoran and commence advertising. 
 Will write all particulars. 
 
 Paul Boyton. 
 
 Washington Heights. 
 New York City, 17-11-'84. 
 My Dear Bob : I would have been off to China 
 in September, and if I had closed the contract you 
 would have been included in it, as I had you in 
 ^' my mind's eye." They wanted me to go, but I 
 could not make up my mind to leave my wife alone 
 so soon after marriage. I was not very successful 
 this summer. I did not work much anyhow, as I 
 was not well. I am expecting to go into business 
 soon with the assistance of my father-in-law. At 
 present I am doing nothing. How are things in 
 Washington? Drop me a line once in a while. 
 With kind regards, your friend, 
 
 Paul. 
 
 New York, Dec, 14, '84. 
 Prof. R. Odlum. 
 
 My Dear Sir : Captain Boyton told me yester- 
 day that he had heard from you. It might be fixed 
 that you and I might work business. You will, 
 
188 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 perhaps, recollect meeting me when I was with the 
 captain in Washinfjjton with the whale. I have 
 been his manager for years. Let me know as quick 
 as you can what is your purpose. 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Sam C. Freeman, 
 St. Omer Hotel, &h ave. and 23d st. 
 
 These letters go to show that, since the year 
 1880, Paul Boyton has used the skill of Professor 
 Odium for his own aggrandisement — for the pur- 
 pose of making money. When his fortune was on 
 the wane, and he found himself " on the rocks," to 
 use his favorite expression, he would always call 
 on his '"'My Dear Bob" to help him out of his 
 financial straits. It was always contended by the 
 friends of Professor Odium that Paul Boyton first 
 suggested the idea of his jumping from the Brook- 
 lyn bridge. A word to the police from Boyton 
 would have prevented the leap, if he was so opposed 
 to it, as he would have the relations of Professor 
 OJlum believe. Instead of taking this step, a tug 
 was chartered, filled with the sporting element of 
 New York, and anchored in the East river near the 
 bridge. The reporters of all the great dailies of 
 Xew York were among the crowd while the brave 
 but unfortunate Professor had to resort to a subter- 
 fuge to escape the vigilance of the bridge police. 
 Paul Boyton eagerly watched and waited for the 
 coming of the Professor, and when the intrepid 
 Odium escaped from the wagon and mounted the 
 railing amid the horrified pedestrians on the 
 bridge, Paul Boyton was prepared with his life 
 preservers to rescue him in case of accident, but 
 had taken no step to prevent the fatal leap. The 
 public asks, '^Was Paul Boyton an accessory to 
 the death of Eobert Emmet Odium?" and the 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 18 9 
 
 evidence and facts of the case plainly answer, 
 ^' Yes." His relatives will view him in that light, 
 and the reason that posterity will give for his 
 criminality in this sad tragedy will be that he 
 was ''on the rocks," and the reckless daring of 
 Professor Odium was the hopeful means of setting 
 him afloat. That thousands of dollars changed 
 hands on the occasion is a known fact — while a 
 diligent search after the sad catastrophe revealed 
 the fact — that ninety cents was all that honored 
 the treasury of Professor Odium. It was a grand 
 tragedy — a matter of speculation in which the 
 sports of New York were the winners. Their ill- 
 gotten gains were obtained at the price of the life 
 of Professor Odium, who, like the story of Damon 
 and Pythias, surrendered all — even his life — for 
 the benefit of so-called friends. 
 
 These miserable sports may have their day^ but 
 the day of retribution will come when a just God will 
 call them to account for speculating in the blood of a 
 fellow-raan, w^hose enthusiasm overcame his discre- 
 tion. Paul Boy ton and the sports have a fearful 
 deed to answer for. Vengeance is mine, saith the 
 Lord, and to his judgment we submit the affair with 
 all its horrid details. Their treatment to the mother 
 of the deceased, when she went on to see if her boy had 
 not left some message or letter for her, proves their 
 heartlessness and their guilt. Their desire to hush 
 Tip the affair, their seeming want of knowledge of 
 the details, the mysterious disappearance of the 
 fund said to have been contributed for her relief, 
 shows that with the burial of the body of their victim 
 they wished to wash their hands of the matter, and 
 let the memory of the man they had coaxed and 
 cajoled and invited to death sleep in oblivion, to 
 be mentioned and cared for by them no more. Such 
 is Paul Boyton and such are the sports of New 
 
190 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 Yoik. The true friends of the unfortunate Pro- 
 fessor hear their names with detestation, and regret 
 that it requires meil of such evil propensity to 
 form a world. 
 
 The attention of the press of the country is called 
 to the conduct of Boy ton in this sad affair. After 
 the publication of this chapter he will be known as 
 a miserable pretender, an advertising agent. He 
 would have the world believe that he is a prodigy of 
 valor, possessing some great art to astonish the world 
 by his daring feats. In unmasking this hypocrite 
 the world will thank the author of this book. The 
 letters from him which are now published will do 
 that effectually. His pretended friendship for Pro- 
 fessor Odium was a sham — put on to fill his purse. 
 There is nothing genuine about the man. Like 
 his '^ stuffed whale," he is large to look upon but 
 very small intrinsically. He loves to discourse on 
 sharks and other monsters of the deep, seemingly 
 unconscious that he is himself a man-shark with 
 jaws extended to swallow up the life, the fame, the 
 winnings of bis fellow-man. If you will take the 
 trouble to investigate you will find that the loud- 
 est blast to Boyton's fame is blown from his own 
 fog-horn. An artful advertising dodger, he is 
 careful on all occasions to advertise himself, to 
 show his natural propensity to yarn and imitate 
 Gulliver or the Baron Munchausen. We reproduce 
 an account of himself, given by himself, of his 
 wonderful adventures in Peru. It is taken from 
 the Washington Post of May, 1881 : 
 
 PAUL BOYTON IN PERU. 
 
 Terrible Scenes at CJiorillos — Minister Christiancy's 
 Lively Race for Life at the Battle of Miraflores. 
 
 Captain Paul Boyton made a flying visit to 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 191 
 
 Wasliingtoii yesterday, passing a few hours with 
 his aquatic friend, Professor Odium, and leaving 
 on the owl train for his home at Flushing, Long 
 Island. 'A Post representative came across him 
 at the Natatorium, sporting with the lads in the 
 big bath-tub, and evidently as happy as a clam. 
 Aiter he had left the water and dried himself, he 
 gave a favorable response to the reporter's demand 
 for breezy information. 
 
 ^' I've been down in South America helping the 
 Peruvians fight their enemies," said the intrepid 
 swimmer, bronzed and swarthy, " and I am glad 
 that I got out with a whole skin to my back. I 
 tell you it was perfect h — 1 down there. In a lew 
 days, as soon as I am rested, I intend to swim from 
 the head of the Mississippi to St. Louis, a distance 
 of 1,200 miles. Then I will finish my book, 
 ' Roughing it in Rubber, or 10,000 Miles in a 
 Life-Saving Dress.' I expect to make money 
 enough out of the book to live like a lord for the 
 rest of my days." 
 
 '^ Let's get out of the water and talk about ter- 
 restrial affairs. How did they treat you in Peru ?" 
 
 "I went into the Peruvian service last fall, in 
 the torpedo squadron. I sailed under the assumed 
 name of Paul Delaport. Had I been allowed to 
 carry my plans into execution, I think I could have 
 destroyed the Chilian fleet, with 10,000 troops 
 aboard, that landed the invading army on Peru- 
 vian soil. I sunk my torpedo boat to escape cap- 
 ture, and then joined the Peruvian land forces 
 defending Chorillos. The enemy, with bombs and 
 shells, drove us out and we retreated to Miraflores. 
 The enemy acted brutally at Chorillos ; they 
 butchered thousands of men, women and children 
 in cold blood. The Peruvian Indians were just as 
 blood-thirsty. I saw one of them murder a young 
 
192 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 German, a wounded prisoner, who fought with the 
 Chilians ; he w^as a nephew, I am told, of General 
 Yon Moltke, the great general." 
 
 ^' Were the Peruvians game birds? " 
 ^^Not over game, and some of them cowards. 
 The battle of Miraflores was the hottest kind of a 
 fight. The air was filled with bullets as with a 
 swarm of flies. The foreign ministers were scared 
 almost to death. I saw Minister Christiancy run- 
 ning under full sails across the fields toward 
 Lima. He was in his shirt-sleeves. It was a 
 go-as-you-please race for life. The Peruvians 
 were utterly routed. Even the mules, with the 
 ammunition in sacks on their backs, stampeded, 
 and the powder for- the fighters ran short. All 
 steered for Lima. There murder and rapine 
 reigned with bloody hands. I was placed at the 
 head of a company of Americans, and, with other 
 foreigners, fought for order. The negroes were the 
 most savage portion of the mob. The poor China- 
 men were indiscriminately butchered and robbed." 
 " Do you have any hope for Peru, now under the 
 heels of her conquerors ? ' ' 
 
 "It is hard to say. Pierola, the dictator, is a 
 brave and good man, and an excellent general. 
 With a few good men-of-war he could, I think, 
 restore the republic. Let the Chilian fleet be 
 destroyed and the Peruvians would soon annihilate 
 their invaders." 
 
 '' How were affairs in Lima when you left?" 
 " Words cannot paint the horrors. The Chilians 
 are in occupation and they are brutal. It was a 
 common sight to see a squad of Chilian soldiers 
 wheel out of the barracks, followed by a lew 
 wretched, hollow-eyed Peruvians, bare-headed and 
 in chains, priests in their robes beside them, hold- 
 ing up the crucifix and offering consolation. At 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 193 
 
 the first public square they would halt, fasten the 
 poor devils to posts or trees, and shoot them down 
 like dogs. Even courts-martial were ignored. I 
 have seen the Chilian soldiers tie up the poor 
 Peruvians in the main streets and flog them until 
 their backs were covered with blood. The women, 
 thank God, were not molested ; they are very 
 pretty, and braver than the men. They intensely 
 hate the invaders, but generally keep in doors. 
 As I left Lima I saw a frightful, horrible scene. 
 On the battle-field of Miraflores there were many 
 dead — 5,000 Chilians and 3,500 Peruvians. The 
 vanquished had fled ; the victors were too intent 
 on plunder and rapine to turn grave-diggers. The 
 corpses were swollen into enormous proportions 
 under the tropical sun, and emitted the foulest 
 odors. Something had to be done ; so the Chilians 
 hired a lot of Chinamen to burn the bodies. The 
 heathens would punch holes in each dead body, 
 pour in coal oil and then apply fire. As I passed 
 by the battle-field at night, a blue flame issued 
 out of each corpse, giving a still ghastlier hue to 
 the swollen and distorted faces of the dead. The 
 horrid sight will be with me to my dying hour." 
 
 While Boy ton was in Peru performing these 
 wonderful feats, Professor Odium happened to 
 have a friend in Peru from whom he received 
 letters. From one under date of Matucana, April 
 14, 1881, the statement of this correspondent and 
 that of Boyton difier so widely about the valor dis- 
 played by the captain that we publish it entire: 
 
 Matucana, April lith, 1881. 
 My Dear Friend : How do you do, and how in 
 olazes are you getting on? I suppose you will be 
 surprised to hear from this part of the country and 
 13 
 
194 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 especially from one of the members of tlie Boyton- 
 Odlum Aquatic Combination. You undoubtedly 
 have read of the execution of the boss of the moral 
 show, as was reported in some of the New York 
 papers. That, however, was a false alarm, as the 
 moral show exhibited with all its original fierceness 
 before an immense crowd in Lima, March the 27th. 
 Our object coming down here I presume you 
 have heard all about. Well, as we did not suc- 
 ceed, and as this country fell into the hands of the 
 Chilians, Boyton gave himself up, and is now a 
 prisoner of war, but out on parole. He will prob- 
 ably have his entire freedom in a few days. He is 
 at present on the ocean wave in the Pacific at 
 Ancon hunting seals while I am sojourning at this 
 place, situated in the Andes mountains, at an ele- 
 vation of eight thousand feet above the level of the 
 sea, for the purpose of benefiting ray health, for 
 when I arrived here last November 1 was in a pre- 
 carious condition, and as I am improving I intend 
 to remain here a year or more until I am entirely 
 better. Boyton, however, in a short time goes to 
 California and will resume the moral He is also 
 engaged by Voegeler & Co. to advertise St. Jacob's^ 
 oil, and I tell you I regret I cannot continue with 
 him. Well, since I'm up in the lofty Andes and 
 have nothing to do, it struck me forcibly that I 
 must write a few lines to Washington's Son of 
 Neptune just to recall a few pleasant little instances 
 that occurred nearly a year ago. Our exhibitions, 
 foot of Seventh and the other in Thirteenth street, 
 are yet fresh in my memory, as also the excursion 
 on the Potomac, the racket in Baltimore, the mid- 
 night call when baby died, and the grand final at 
 Atlantic City. Oh, give me back my happy days f 
 On one occasion I heard the captain remark that 
 he wished that you were here (that was when we 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 195 
 
 were try in o; to carry out our scheme). He said 
 you would have been a very good addition to assist 
 in a new scheme he had in carrying on our in- 
 tended work of destruction. 
 
 You will undoubtedly run across the captain 
 before the summer is out, as he has a large field 
 before him which no doubt will include a run on 
 the Potomac in the pursuits of his new enterprise ; 
 so I will not say much in regard to our many 
 adventures. 
 
 The seiioritas here are a charming lot, not hand- 
 some, but just the thing to learn Spanish from. 
 They do not play cards when their babies die, but 
 they play the guitar and flute. 
 
 1 have met here several officers of the United 
 States Navy who know you well, and have bathed 
 at your establishment. They speak of you in the 
 highest terms, except one, who says he outrivaled 
 you of a nymph who was taking lessons at your 
 place. 
 
 The winter season is just coming in, but in this 
 place the thermometer hangs around sixty all the 
 time, and they have new potatoes every month in 
 the year, and new fruits coming in always. 
 Among them are the palta, chiramoya, grenadillas, 
 green figs, pomegranates, and many others too 
 numerous to mention. On last New Year's Day 
 we had pears^ strawberries, fresh grapes and water- 
 melons. How is that for luxury? 
 
 The peculiarities of this country are simply won- 
 derful. The scenery, the habits and customs of 
 the people are truly strange to a foreigner, and 
 one will at once fancy himself in another world. 
 If you are not too busy through the summer come 
 down and see us once in a while and you can see 
 for yourself. You can easily capture a senorita 
 and take her back and exhibit her as a great Peru- 
 
196 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 vian curiosity. It would be a good advertisement 
 for your place. 
 
 I will not write any more just now^, but if you 
 answer this I shall send you an extensive letter 
 describing our South American tour. Remember 
 me to your clerk, whose name I've forgotten. 
 Address ^'George Kiefer, Matucana." Enclose 
 the letter and place it in another envelope and 
 direct it to "Paymaster John Corwin, U. S. N.^ 
 care U. S. Consul^ Panama." 
 
 The captain sends his compliments and would 
 like to hear from you. 
 
 Yours very sincerely, George Kiefer. 
 
 P. S. — Boy ton leaves to-day for New York via 
 Panama, a thing to me unexpected. I presume 
 to get out of the hands of the Chilians. 
 
 George. 
 
 These two accounts differ very materially. Boy- 
 ton's own account makes himself out a fearless 
 warrior. George Kiefer, who is a friend of Boy- 
 ton and w^as in Peru all the time while Boy ton 
 is said to have been performing his heroic deeds, 
 says the gallant captain was an advertising agent 
 for St. Jacob's oil — whether to pour on the troubled 
 waters or not is a question our readers must solve 
 for themselves. Boy ton's character as a bombastic 
 blow-hard is sufficiently established. He has lived 
 by his wits so long that his stay '^upon the rocks" 
 is only of short duration. Like the hawk, he keeps 
 an eye to windward to discover some prey to pounce 
 upon, and woe betide the man possessing either the 
 skill to be made a tool of or the means to admin- 
 ister to his pleasure. 
 
 The following letters from the ex-Vice-President 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 197 
 
 to Professor Odium may be interesting to the gen- 
 eral reader : 
 
 ■p. O. address, South Bend, Ind. 
 
 Adams Express Co., Baltimore, Md., 
 
 June 23, 1882. 
 
 My Dear Sir: I cannot let the occasion pass by 
 without stating again in writing, as I have orally, 
 how glad I was to make your acquaintance at Old 
 Point, to receive your suggestions in the morning 
 as to swimming, and your timely and valuable aid 
 with my boy in the afternoon. The last I can 
 never forget. And when I saw him struggling 
 against the adverse tide, of which neither he nor I 
 knew anything, I repented of my consent, and was 
 immensely relieved when you made the jump and 
 had him safely on your back. I write this note to 
 assure you that I shall always remember you. If 
 you think any certificate from me of the usefulness 
 and excellence of your instructions in swimming 
 would be of any service to you^ I would very cheer- 
 fully furnish it on your informing me of your desire 
 for it. Bespectfully yours, Schuyler Colfax. 
 
 Prof. B. E. Odlum. 
 
 South Bend, Ind., July 10, 1882. 
 
 My Dear Sir: I was very glad to find on my 
 recent brief visit for a day to the Hygeia, at Fort- 
 ress Monroe, Virginia, that you had established a 
 swimming school at that delightful seaside resort. 
 You have been so successful in teaching so many 
 to swim who never swam before, and I was so im- 
 pressed with your lessons to others which I wit- 
 nessed, that the next time I am at Old Point I shall 
 desire you to put me through a course, and teach 
 me also, if I am not too old to learn. With best 
 wishes, yours respectfully, Schuyler Colfax. 
 
 Prof. B. E. Odlum. 
 
198 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 The dust has claimed its own, and the old man 
 dying, left hundreds of thousands to the son, whose 
 life the heroic Odium saved. Professor Odium, too, 
 has gone to meet his reward heyond the unknown 
 sea. The sorrow-stricken mother of the unfortu- 
 nate Professor made known her intention of pub- 
 lishing his biography, and informed young Colfax 
 of her intention in the following letter, naturally 
 concluding that he would become a subscriber to 
 the book or give a reason therefor, or a letter for 
 publication in the same : 
 
 215 Four-and-a-Half Street, N. W., 
 Washington, D. C, June^ 1885. 
 Mr. Schuyler Colfax, Jr., South Bend, Indiana. 
 
 Dear Sir : I am the mother of Kobert Emmet 
 Odium, who lost his life at the Brooklyn Bridge 
 on the 19th of May last. I am in possession of a 
 diary he kept, and by reference to it I see that he 
 had the honor of saving your life from drowning 
 at Fortress Monroe in the summer of 1882. You 
 know better what he did for you than I can tell 
 you, and as I am about to publish a biography of 
 my unfortunate son, I write to inform you of the 
 fact, and ask your subscription to the work. I 
 am now sixty-four years old and in need of the 
 money to pay my publisher. The demand for the 
 book I am assured will be such that it will enable 
 me to raise a fund to support me in my declin- 
 ing years, as well as commemorating the memory 
 of my son, who deserved a better fate. 
 
 Please address me 215 Four-and-a-half street, 
 northwest, and oblige, yours, truly, 
 
 Catherine Odlum. 
 
 The hopeful son seems to have inherited the in- 
 gratitude as well as the fortune of his illustrious 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 199 
 
 sire. Honor and common gratitude would have 
 dictated a reply to the mother's letter, but no an- 
 swer ever came. Perhaps he does not consider the 
 saving of his life a subject worth mentioning, and 
 doubtless the country will look upon it as an offi- 
 cious act on the part of Professor Odium and will 
 not give him much credit therefor, especially when 
 his time might have been more honorably and more 
 profitably employed than in rescuing his life. 
 
 LETTER TO MRS. SCHUYLER COLFAX. 
 
 Washington, D. C, July, 1885. 
 Mrs. Schuyler Colfax, South Bend, Indiana. 
 
 Dear Madam : Some time in June last 1 wrote 
 your Son, Schuyler Colfax, informing him of the 
 death of my son, Robert Emmet Odium, at the 
 Brooklyn bridge in May. When I remember that 
 my son saved the life of yours — rescuing him from 
 the sea in 1882 at Fortress Monroe at the peril of 
 his own life — I can hardly realize the motive that 
 ■causes your son to reluse to acknowledge the re- 
 ceipt of my letter, if nothing more. If his life 
 was worth saving he would be grateful to his res- 
 cuer, but he knows best whether the prolongation 
 ■of his existence is a subject to be thankful for, 
 either by himself, the community in which he lives, 
 •or the general public. This is of course best known 
 to himself. I shall not argue the point with him. 
 
 My son is dead, and left me in embarrassed cir- 
 cumstances. His memory and the many genero 
 acts he performed w^U cause him to live in my 
 heart and the hearts of his friends. I have lost my 
 all : my property was destroyed by the Federal 
 army near Memphis, Tenn., my house torn down 
 as a military necessity, and every four-footed ani- 
 mal I owned in the world shot down before my eyes. 
 
200 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 My eldest son was a member of the Eighth Mis- 
 souri, one of the most famous regiments from the 
 Westinthe Federal army and was killed or captured 
 at the battle of Shiloh, for I have never heard from 
 him since. Twenty years have rolled away, and 
 still I have no tidings of my missing boy. His 
 commander, Gen. Morgan L. Smith, testified that 
 my son " was brave unto recklessness," when ad- 
 dressing me a letter after the war. 
 
 I have stood at the doors of Congress waiting ta 
 be repaid for my property for twelve or fourteen 
 years. At one time a bill granting me $80,000 
 passed in the Senate but failed in the House ; at 
 another session it passed the House but failed in 
 the Senate, so I have waited year after year for 
 what was justly my own, while the amount wa& 
 lying idle in the Treasury vaults. What I have 
 suffered in the loss of my two children, and being 
 reduced from affluence to poverty, is known only to 
 Him who knoweth all things. I am consoled, how- 
 ever, by the reflection that my sons were brave 
 and generous and did some good to others while 
 they lived. Had your son saved the life of mine, 
 there would have been no bounds to my gratitude,, 
 and if our financial conditions were reversed I 
 would have come to your relief and esteemed it an 
 honor to do so, but it takes a variety of people to 
 make a world, and the saving of the life of your 
 son doesn't seem to interest you much, and per- 
 liaps you know him well enough not to be too 
 demonstrative in your feelings. As he seems to 
 lack gratitude, which is the parent of every other 
 virtue, you may be right in keeping silent on the 
 subject, as you may doubtless blame^ rather than 
 thank, my son for rescuing him from a watery 
 gi'ave. 
 
 The son of an ex-Vice-President of the United 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 201 
 
 States^ the second office in the gift of the American 
 people, should be composed of better material, but 
 history teaches us that great men leave no children 
 worth speaking of. Washington left none, and 
 your husband followed his example — so far as the 
 public will ever be concerned in the bestowal 
 of office. If he is the last scion of the house of 
 Colfax, then the race is extinct. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 Catherine Odlum. 
 
 How different was the conduct of Mr. T. Cooley, 
 who appreciated the brave man who saved his life 
 at the risk of his own. The following letter 
 speaks for itself: 
 
 Norfolk, Va., July 24, 1882. 
 Mr. Odlum, Sioimming blaster ^ Hygeia Hotel. 
 
 Dear Sir : I hand you herewith a little souvenir, 
 a trifle in intrinsic value, but it represents a great 
 deal in the more than kindly feeling that I have 
 for you. Your timely assistance rendered me on 
 last Thursday, it is more than likely, saved my 
 life. I was thoroughly exhausted when my friend, 
 Mr. Brown, called for you, and you promptly 
 responding to his call has shown to many of 
 the guests of the ^^ Hygeia" the good judgment 
 displayed by Mr. Phoebus in establishing the 
 swimming school and employing so useful a man 
 as yourself as its manager. I hope that it may be 
 in my power at some time in the future to show 
 you in some more substantial way the grateful 
 feelings that I have for you. In the mean time 
 please accept the trifle with my very best wishes 
 for your health and prosperity. 
 
 Very sincerely, T. Cooley. 
 
 Mr. A. M. Morton, of Kentucky, who owes his 
 
202 LIFE AND Adventures of ; 
 
 life to the gallantry of Professor Odium, wrote him 
 from Old Sweet Springs, W. Ya., as follows : 
 
 Old Sweet Springs, W. Va., 
 
 August 22, 1882. 
 Sig. R. E. Odlum. 
 
 Dear Sir : It affords me great pleasure to add 
 another to the many testimonials you have re- 
 ceived. While at Old Point I was sick and w^eak, 
 and when hathing my feet were carried out hy the 
 tide, and, but for the timely assistance so promptly 
 and gallantly rendered by you, mine might have 
 been the fate of the unfortunate Mr. Ruff; so please 
 accept the expressions of my profoundest grati- 
 tude, with the hope that you may live long and be 
 blessed with health and strength to continue the 
 good and gallant deeds which have so distinguished 
 your past career. Again accept the thanks and 
 good wishes of — 
 
 Yours sincerely, A. M. Morton. 
 
 ANOTHER GALLANT ACT. 
 
 On the 6th of August, 1882, an excursion of 
 Knights of Pythias came from Baltimore to Fort- 
 ress Monroe, and while there one of their number, 
 G. Fred. Ruff, was drowned. The assistance 
 rendered by Professor Odium on that occasion w^ill 
 be best explained by reading the following letter : 
 
 Grand Lodge of Maryland, K. of P., 
 Baltimore, August 10, 1882, 
 
 Pythian Period XIX. 
 R. E. Odlum, Esq. 
 
 My Dear Sir : For your services on that melan- 
 choly and never-to-be-forgotten occasion, regard- 
 ing the recovery of the body of my late companion 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 203 
 
 and friend, G. Fred. Ruff, I feel totally unable to 
 pen a suitable testimonial to your distinguisbed 
 abilities as a swimmer and diver, but I am satisfied, 
 in my mind, bad you reacbed tbe spot earlier you 
 migbt, if life still existed, bave saved bim. On 
 tbe part of bis associates on tbat unbappy trip 
 and on bebalf of tbe Order wbo loved and respected 
 bim so bigbly, and for tbe sorrowing wife and 
 cbildren. I return tbeir sincere tbanks for your dar- 
 ing and noble act, wbile otbers did all tbey could, 
 but for you bis remains may bave not been found. 
 You may very properly preserve sucb a record ; it 
 is one tbat will ever endure witb fadeless splendor, 
 a pride to your family, and example of emulation 
 to otbers. Any time you are in tbe city you will 
 receive a cordial welcome from me and tbe Order. 
 Very truly yours, &c., James Whitehouse, 
 [seal.] G. K. of R. and S, 
 
 Professor Odium was a man ligbt hearted as a 
 boy, open, free, and jovial in bis disposition, and 
 was tbe only living rival of Captain Webb, wbose 
 devoted friend be was, and wbose untimely deatb 
 be sincerely mourned. As a teacber of swimming, 
 he was without an equal. His method was natural, 
 simple, and under bis instruction easily learned. 
 Since his death tbe following letter has been 
 received from ex-President Hayes, which goes to 
 sbow tbe appreciation in which he was held as 
 a teacher : 
 
 letter from ex-president HAYES. 
 
 Fremont, Ohio, June 24, 1885. 
 Dear Madam : Both of our younger children 
 attended the swimming school in Washington of 
 your son, the late Robert Emmet Odium. He was 
 
204 LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 an excellent teacher, and was much esteemed by 
 his pupils, who heard of his death with surprise 
 and regret. 
 
 Sincerely, R. B. Hayes. 
 
 Mrs. Catherine OdluiM, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 This is but one of many of a similar character 
 received by the mother of the deceased. 
 
 Many words of condolence have been received 
 from friends in Washington and elsewhere, sympa- 
 thizing with me in this recent terrible affliction, a 
 few of which are herewith given : 
 
 Fifth Avenue Hotel, 
 New York City, May 21, 1885. 
 Mrs. Catherine Odlum. 
 
 Dear Madam: Accept my sincere sympathy in 
 your terrible affliction. Is there anything I can 
 do for you at this time? If so, command me. 
 Answer. Yours truly, Warner Miller. 
 
 • Catskill, N. Y., May 20, 1885. 
 
 My Dear Mrs. Odlum : I have read the accounts 
 of your son's terrible venture, which has shocked 
 the civilized world to-day, and I sympathize with 
 you and daughter most sincerely in his death. I 
 know he had been a good son and brother, and that 
 you will feel desolate without him, and will need 
 more than ever the consolation of your dear church 
 to sustain you. 
 
 My first impulse was to go on to you for a few 
 days, but I scarcely knew that I could be of any 
 service to you. But in time of trouble I naturally 
 remember our long friendship, and felt that I must 
 at once send you few words of love and comfort 
 that so poorly express all I feel. 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 205 
 
 Poor Robert ! with all his pleasant ways and 
 high hopes, how sad it all is. 
 
 Give my love to Charlotte, and let me have a line 
 to know how it is with you. 
 
 Yours faithfully, Harriet L. Dolsen. 
 
 819 Third Avenue, S. Brooklyn, 
 
 iMay 29, 1885. 
 Dear Mrs. Odlum : With pain I heard the sad 
 tidings of your brave son's death, and deeply do I 
 sympathize with you in your terrible bereavement. 
 Hearts that have been pierced with the sword of 
 sorrow, pray that you may be comforted by one who 
 never fails. 
 
 With tenderest sympathy, I remain yours truly, 
 
 Kate Bennett. 
 
 The Arlington, 
 Washington, D, C, May 22, 1885. 
 Mrs. Catherine Odlum. 
 
 Dear Madam : In the death of your son, Robert 
 Emmet Odium, I deeply sympathize with you, and 
 write to offer you any aid in my power, either per- 
 sonal or financial. Please let me know at once 
 how I can serve you. 
 
 Yours truly, T. Roessle. 
 
 Washington, D. C, July 15, 1885. 
 Mrs. Catherine Odlum. 
 
 Dear Madam : I understand you will shortly 
 publish a biography of your lamented son. Prof. 
 R. E. Odium. Please put me down as a sub- 
 scriber for one hundred copies at one dollar each. 
 I have no doubt the work will sell readily, and the 
 business men of Washington should patronize the 
 work. I wish you much success in your laudable 
 undertaking. Sincerely yours, Frank Hume. 
 
206 life and adventures of 
 
 Office Public Printer, 
 Washington, D. C, 31ay 20, 1885. 
 Mrs. Catherine Odlum. 
 
 Dear Madam : Sympathizing with you in your 
 severe bereavement, I offer my services to do any- 
 thing in ray power to assist you. Whatever I can 
 do will be gladly performed. 
 
 Very truly, S. P. Rounds. 
 
 No. 610 Ninth Street, N. W., 
 Washington, D. C, July 15, 1885. 
 Mrs. Catherine Odlum. 
 
 Madam : The death of your son was a great shock 
 to me who knew him so well and appreciated him 
 so highly. 1 did not know you, but unite with 
 you in deploring his untimely death. The biography 
 you will soon issue is looked for eagerly by his 
 friends. I inclose you fifty dollars for fifty copies, 
 at one dollar each, and I only regret I can do no 
 more. Command me in anything I can serve you. 
 The book will have a good sale, and I shall aid 
 you by every means in my power in getting the 
 work out. 
 
 I am truly your friend, 
 
 James H. Vermilya. 
 
 a parting word to the friends of my beloved son. 
 
 In the hour of my supreme afiliction I received 
 offers of aid, personal and financial, from a great 
 number of persons, whose names are engraved on 
 my memory, and will remain while my life lasts. 
 The list would be too long to mention them all, 
 but I record the names of some w4io were his de- 
 voted friends while living and who stood by his 
 coflS.n and his mother '^ after life's fitful fever was 
 over." Among them I name Messrs. William 
 
PROF. ROBERT EMMET ODLUM. 207 
 
 Dickson, F. K. Ward, E. D, Wright, R. M. Van- 
 neman, Washington Nailor, J. A. Rndd, Captain 
 E. S. Randall, of the steamer Mary Washington, 
 Major Dye, Captain Vernon, and Charles S. Moore, 
 whose devotion to a dead friend was most marked, 
 who received the remains at the depot and left only 
 when thehody was laid in the vault at Mt. Olivet. 
 
 To the memhers of the Washington Light Infan- 
 try, for their beautiful floral tribute, I tender my 
 sincerest thanks ; also to Messrs. Jas. H. Vermilya 
 and Frank Hume, and to many other business men 
 of Washington, who knowing my son personally 
 in life remembered his aged mother after death. 
 To each and all — friends of my unfortunate boy, 
 named and unnamed — I tender my heartfelt thanks 
 for each and all things they have done unto me. 
 I cannot close without expressing my gratitude to 
 the press of Washington for the tone of sympathy 
 they have expressed lor my son. 
 
 The demand for the first edition of this book far 
 exceeds the supply, and a second edition will be 
 immediately issued, in which more detailed notices 
 will be given of many persons and incidents 
 crowded out of this. 
 
 Catherine Odlum. 
 
T"! 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 RANK HUME, 
 
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 Wiqnmw W^^i^w 
 
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