THE FOLKS WHO LIVED HERE
LOCAL BOY MAKES GOODTOMMY RYAN, A LIFE SAVER
Fearless Syracuse Pugilist at the Risk of His Own Life Rescues a Brooklyn Man From a Watery Grave.
Tommy Ryan Saved Donald Watson from Drowning at Stratford, Conn.
BRIDGEPORT, CONN., Aug. 14--
Tommy Ryan, the champion welterweight pugilist, heroically rescued a drowning man off Stratford Point this noon at the peril of losing his own life. But for the pugilist's fearless plunge into the swiftly running stream there would have been a double drowning. As it was, Conrad Ruel, a locksmith of Seventh avenue and Twentieth street, New York, who had come to Stratford on a pleasure trip, was drowned. His friend, Donald Watson of Brooklyn is weak from his struggle for life.
When the fatality occurred, there was a merry party of bathers in the water. The spot is on the shore of the Housatonic river a short distance from the mouth. The tide runs swiftly in the center of the stream, although the bathing beach is unexcelled. Ruel and Watson were guests of George Bagley, a young man who lives near Ruel in New York. Bagley's family has been stopping at the Shore view house on the shore during the summer and yesterday the young man went to New York. He persuaded Ruel, who was rather reluctant, to accompany him to his summer home. Shortly before noon the young men and a number of cottagers went in bathing. Ruel and Watson obtained a rowboat and drifted down stream, diving from it. They waited to notice the strong eddies when suddenly the boat overturned with them. The cry of "Help! Help!" startled their companions and looking toward the boat they saw both swimmers disappear under the stern of an oyster sloop.
Ruel, who was sinking, grasped Watson, dragging him under the water. Pugilist Ryan's cottage was near the spot. Ryan rushed down to the shore and plunged in. The current almost overcame him, but his powerful arms carried him quickly to the sloop. He saw an arm protruding from beneath the bow of the boat and quickly pulled Watson from underneath it. Then he had a short struggle to keep his burden above water. He clung to a spile until George Belot, another cottager, came to the rescue, and they soon had the unconscious man in a boat. No trace of Ruel could be found. The tide had swept his body away from the spot. Parties with boathooks searched the water for several hours without success. At 3:30 o'clock the body was found about an eighth of a mile from the place it disappeared. Ruel's body was brought to Ford's morgue in the city. He was about 22 years of age and unmarried. His father died a few months ago, and he continued the business established by the older man, supporting his widowed mother.
Watson received consciousness about half an hour after the rescue. He said that he heard Ruel cry for help and tried to save him, but was pulled beneath the keel of the oyster boat. He remembers running his hands along the keel as the tide swept him downstream, and then becoming entangled in some ropes. After that he lost consciousness. He will recover. Watson cannot say enough in praise of Ryan.
If you have additional information, comments, or suggestions, please contact:
Nan Dixon
You are our 798 visitor since July 15, 2001--
Last Revision :Tuesday, 31-Jul-2001 05:55:02 MDT
Return to Town of Alexandria Index Page
Return toFolks Index Page
This site is generously
Hosted by RootsWeb
This
nonprofit research site is a USGenNet
CertifiedSafe-Site™ and affiliate of the American
Local History Network, Inc. (ALHN). Web hosting is generously provided by Rootsweb.
This site makes no claim to the copyrights of individual
submitters, and is in full compliance with USGenNet's Conditions of Use.
[Jefferson County ALHN]
[NY ALHN]
© Nan Dixon, 2001