Addy's end was hastened by the rescue of a lad from the Irwell at a point where sewer and other noxious gases make the water exceedingly filthy, and on his death-bed he said, Yes, it is true I have saved mai iy lives, but the best work I ever did was saving that little lad m Whit Monday. I think more about that than all the rest. To see the joy of his brother and sister when I brought him out, to feel their grip round my legs, and hear them thank me a hundred times, was more to me than all else besides ; it was better than the big meeting, and the purse of gold given at the town hall.' He died June 9, 189o, from consumption. In his early clays he distinguished himself as an oarsman, and, in addition to various successes at regattas, won a number of important matches, beating David Coombes over the Thames Championship course for zoo/., and Ted May over the same course for tool. He was the head of what was known as the Colleen Bawn Crew.' This crew received its name from the fact that the then pro prietor of the old Queen's Theatre, Manchester, gave a valuable prize to be rowed for on the Irwell, one of the conditions being that the winning crew should afterwards be known as the Colleen Bawn,' the piece which was then being played at the theatre. Addy saved over fifty lives during his career, some of the rescues being effected under circumstances of great diffi culty and danger, and his fellow-townsmen fittingly erected a handsome monument to his memory. The obelisk is placed over the grave of the veteran in the Catholic burial-ground at Salford Cemetery. In addition, the Memorial Committee were enabled, owing to the large number of subscriptions received, to present a life-size bust oil painting of the hero to the Peel Park Picture Gallery, and the medals which had been awarded him were given by the family to the museum of the same institution, which appropriately stands on the banks of the Irwell, not far from the scene of his many gallant rescues.
Captain W. D. Andrews was born in the city of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, on May x9, i853. His exploits ir, saving life date from the year x869. When only sixteen years of age he rescued a lad who, while playing on a raft of timber opposite Kingston, accidentally fell into the bay. Andrews, on hearing the cry, rushed out from an office in which he was engaged, plunged in with all his clothes on and brought the boy, who had already sunk twice, safely to land. Andrews afterwards en gaged in the steamboat service, and, on the morning of April 22, 1873, while the mail steamer Wanburo,' of which he was an officer, was lying at her moorings on the west side of the Sydenham river, opposite the city of Owen Sound, he rescued an old man who attempted to cross the river upon some float ing timber and fell in when about mid-stream. Andrews leapt into the water in full uniform, took the man to shore, and then, finding his clothes stiffening with the frost, he plunged again into the water and swam back to his steamer. After some years of useful life-saving work at Toronto, to which town he removed in 1874, Captain Andrews was appointed instructor at the Wiman's Island Swimming Bath. This, the first public bath in Toronto, was presented to the city by Mr. Erastus Wiman in 1882. Within three days of his appointment the new instructor, in company with a young man named McBean, was instrumental in saving the lives of six young ladies who were in imminent peril of drowning from the filling of their boat. In September of the same year he gained the Royal Humane Society's bronze clasp and certificate of honour for a rescue accomplished in Toronto Bay. The bronze medal had previously been awarded him for rescuing two young men near Hanlan's Point in 1881. Further instances of the noble services of Captain Andrews have been from time to time re corded, but the latter portion of his active career has more to do with lifeboat work than with actual swimming. It is sad that this brave man should have lost his sight through exposure to weather and water whilst a member of different life-saving services. While in Toronto General Hospital in 1888 he wrote a little book called Swimming and Life-Saving,' an admirable exposition of the art. He is also the author of The Lifeboat'
and other poems, as well as the founder and first president of the Dolphin Swimming Club, Toronto. He was recommended for the Albert medal by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, and was presented by His Majesty Kalakaua I., King of Hawaii, with the gold medal of the Royal Order of Kapiolani.
One whose merits should not be overlooked in records of life-saving is Mr. Frank Shooter, Exeter, who for twenty-one years has been superintendent of the Exeter Head Weir Bathing Ground, a rendezvous for swimmers in the River Exe, sustained by the city council. Were we to sift the country throughout it would be difficult to find another man whose success has been so complete in the work of rescue from drowning. During the term of his office it is his boast that not a single person has been drowned in the vicinity of Head Weir when he has been in attendance, and it is said that those who should be thankful to him for the preservation of their lives number over three hundred. Mr. Shooter has never made himself acquainted with any acknowledged systems of rescue or resuscitation ; his achievements have been due to nothing but his exceeding cool ness, physical strength, and prowess in the water. Perhaps the most notable of his rescues was that which occurred some years since. Some four or five youths had gone up the river in canoes, notwithstanding his caution that a heavy rain the pre vious evening would occasion the flooding of the Exe, a pre diction which came true, for the paddlers were forced to beat a retreat after an absence of a few hours. The water had risen considerably beyond its normal height, and the current was very swift. On their return past the bathing-place, Shooter entered his punt with the intention of assisting them over the Head Weir, a few hundred yards further down. Parallel with the weir are the fenders and entrance to a dangerous mill Teat, which runs underground for quite 18o yards. One of the canoes contained a young fellow named Hartnoll (son of a prominent medical man in the city), who, after his comrades had shot over the weir safely, became nervous and excited, and stood up in the canoe, which immediately capsized, throwing its occupant into the water. There was a tremendous current towards the teat, beneath which Hartnoll was drawn and washed into the tunnel, much to the dismay of those who watched the occur rence from the banks, in whose minds doubtless dwelt the memory of many a fatality at the same spot. Shooter, however, with characteristic presence of mind steered his punt to the fenders, under which he dived and was lost to view in the terrible tunnel. It was known to all around that many dangers would have to be overcome by the fearless rescuer in making his way through, especially when burdened with an unconscious body, on account of the jagged rocks which along the whole distance jut out into the darkness. For the safety of both anxiety was intense among those who watched at the other end of the tunnel, and when after an absence of a few minutes, which seemed hours, the now exhausted superintendent emerged with the unconscious Hartnoll clutching him round the neck, a storm of cheers went up from the crowd. Re storatives were soon successfully used. After entering the tunnel Shooter found the young man hanging to a projecting rock, from which he lifted him with extreme difficulty, and the task of keeping the youth under control in the darkness for the remainder of the journey cannot be easily imagined. It is gratifying to remember that the daring deed met with recognition from the citizens, who, by public subscriptions, presented Shooter with a gold medal engraved with the city arms, valued at thirty guineas, together with a purse con. taming 1351. He was also awarded the silver medal of the Royal Humane Society. He had previously been the recipient of the Society's bronze medal with four clasps besides nine other medals, all of which were in recognition of similar brave deeds, tributes which were well deserved.