Detail of an early map of the city of
Washington. The Tiber Creek extends east from the Potomac River, a few blocks
south of the White House. Library of Congress.
|
|
The President and
his steward meet with a calamity
John Quincy Adams hired Antoine Michel
Giusta as his valet after they met in Belgium
in 1814. Giusta was a deserter from Napoleon's
army. During the time John Quincy Adams and
Louisa Catherine Adams were living in London,
Giusta married Mrs. Adams's maid. Antoine
and his wife had managed the Adams' households
from the time the Adamses returned to the
United States in 1817.1
The Adamses moved into the White House in
March 1825. In June, Antoine Giusta, now
the White House steward, accompanied the
President on what was to have been a pleasant
excursion on the Tiber Creek. Their canoe
was not in good condition, however, and was
soon half full of water. A northwest wind
kicked up, and Adams and Giusta jumped overboard,
losing hold of the canoe. They swam to the
opposite shore. Giusta had already shed his
clothes, but the President gave his own wet
garments to Giusta, who went in search of
help. Adams and Giusta each lost several
items of clothing, as well as the canoe,
but they returned to the White House unharmed.
John Quincy Adams recorded the day's adventures
in his diary entry for
June 13, 1825:
"I
attempted to cross the river with Antoine
in a small canoe, with a view to swim across
it to come back. He took a boat in which
we had crossed it last summer without accident.
The boat was at the shore near Van Ness's
poplars; but in crossing the Tiber to the
point, my son John, who was with us, thought
the boat dangerous, and, instead of going
with us, went and undressed at the rock,
to swim and meet us in midway of the river
as we should be returning. I thought the
boat safe enough, or rather persisted carelessly
in going without paying due attention to
its condition; gave my watch to my son; made
a bundle of my coat and waist-coat to take
in the boat with me; put off my shoes, and
was paddled by Antoine, who had stripped
himself entirely naked. Before we had got
half across the river, the boat had leaked
itself half full, and then we found there
was nothing on board to scoop up the water
and throw it over. Just at that critical
moment a fresh breeze from the northwest
blew down the river as from the nose of a
bellows. In five minutes' time it made a
little tempest, and set the boat to dancing
till the river came in at the sides. I jumped
overboard, and Antoine did the same, and
lost hold of the boat, which filled with
water and drifted away. We were as near as
possible to the middle of the river, and
swam to the opposite shore. Antoine, who
was naked, reached it with little difficulty.
I had much more, and, while struggling for
life and gasping for breath, had ample leisure
to reflect upon my own indiscretion. My principal
difficulty was in the loose sleeves of my
shirt, which filled with water and hung like
two fifty-six pound weights upon my arms.
I had also my hat, which I soon gave, however,
to Antoine. After reaching the shore, I took
off my shirt and pantaloons, wrung them out,
and gave them to Antoine to go and look out
for our clothes, or for a person to send
to the house for others, and for the carriage
to come and fetch me. Soon after he had gone,
my son John joined me, having swum wholly
across the river, expecting to meet us returning
with the boat. Antoine crossed the bridge,
sent a man to my house for the carriage,
made some search for the drifted boat and
bundles, and found his own hat with his shirt
and braces in it, and one of my shoes. He
also brought over the bridge my son's clothes
with my watch and umbrella, which I had left
with him.
"While Antoine was gone, John
and I were wading and swimming up and down
on the other shore, or sitting naked basking
on the bank at the margin of the river. John
walked over the bridge home. The carriage
came, and took me and Antoine home, half
dressed. I lost an old summer coat, white
waistcoat, two napkins, two white handkerchiefs,
and one shoe. Antoine lost his watch, jacket,
waistcoat, pantaloons, and shoes. The boat
was also lost. By the mercy of God our lives
were spared, and no injury befell our persons."
--The Diary of John Quincy Adams,
1794–1845, edited by Allan
Nevins. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1951: 348–359. Previously
published as Memoirs of John Quincy
Adams, edited by Charles Francis
Adams.
1 William Seale, The President's House (Washington,
D.C.: White House Historical Association,
1986), 166.
Notes on
this text:
Adams
describes his waterlogged sleeves as "56-pound weights." This
is probably a reference to the 56-pound
weights used in Celtic/Scottish athletic
events that date to the 16th century. |
