october1913

Henry Elionsky Swam continuously for over 60 miles. He started from 189th Street and Hudson River and swam to Swinburne Island in the Lower Bay and then from there to Fort Lee, N.J., and from there to Woolworth Building. The judges of the swim judged the distance or mileage to be over 60 miles. This was in August, 1914. Swam from the Battery to Swinburne Island and returned to the Battery, a distance of over 25 miles, with hands and feet shackled. Time, 11 hours and 30 minutes. In November, 1915, swam from Brooklyn Bridge to Bay Ridge, with hands and feet shackled and towing 7 men in a sea dory. The distance was 7 miles, and the time, 3 hours and 40 minutes. Swam from the Battery to Fort Wadsworth in the Narrows with a 200-pound man tied on his back. Distance of 10 miles, and time, 4 hours and 50 minutes. Swam Hell Gate bound in a straightjacket with feet tied with 15 feet of iron chain. Distance, 5 miles; time, 2 hours and 40 minutes. Swam Hell Gate with hands and feet shackled and two men bound on back in November, 1915. Swam from Bay Ridge to the Battery tied in a chair. He made it in 3 hours and 20 minutes. In October, 1913, swam from Battery to within a quarter of a mile of Coney Island in 5 hours and 30 minutes. The distance was 14 miles. At Palm Beach, Fla., hauled a sea dory containing 9 men and carried two more on his back, with his hands and feet shackled, five miles, through a heavy sea, in 2 hours and 50 minutes. www.naturalstrength.com/2009/09/endurance-by-earle-e-lied...

A closeup of Mr. Elionsky:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cody en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_I,_Prince_of_Monaco

Richard Arthur Norton: Thanks for posting the full names for these folks. We'll add them to the source data next time we update.

In September, 2007, Prince Albert II of Monaco dedicated the new Monaco ambassador's residence on Wyoming Avenue in Washington, D. C., in a colorful ceremony attended by an actor costumed as the legendary Buffalo Bill Cody, recalling the 1913 American visit of the prince's great-grandfather (and namesake), who was hosted by Buffalo Bill on a hunting expedition near Cody, Wyoming, that lasted for several weeks. Among other fauna, the first Prince Albert (then Monaco's reigning monarch) killed a black bear and an elk. He also expressed a wish that he could serve as Mayor of Cody, Wyoming -- had he not already been burdened with other duties back in Monte Carlo. During an 80th anniversary visit in 1993, Albert II (whose mother was the American actress Grace Kelly) toured the site in Wyoming, which is near the east entrance of Yellowstone Park. Although crumbling, Buffalo Bill's old log hunting lodge still stands, and is now a tourist attraction; a dinner for Albert II was held inside.

Here they are dismounted: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/4445862296/