The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-09-12
A NEW. LEANDER.
" THE SPIRIT WILLING, BUT THE
FLESE. WEAK."
MIR. Johnson's Attempt 10 Swim Across
~! - II IBrItinh Channel.

On the oath Of August Mr.. ]. B. johnson,
ssthe here Of London Bridge and the cham.
.pion. of the world" attempted q highly re-
markable feat. He undertook to swim across
the Straits OF Dover, and, although he did not
actually accomplish that herculean task, he
did 80 much, we believe, as to distance all
that is automatically known ever to have been
done by a swimmer 10 open sea before, and to
lead some sangulne fouls to believe that his
undertaking may yet prove to be within The
limits OF possibility.
The conditions OF htr. Johnson's effort were
that the was 10 swim, unaided OF any appil-
ance of Whatever sUrr, from Dover TO CALAIS;
that he was 10 compass the distance within
twelve hours, without leaving the water, and
that he was to have refreshments, or 'stinlu!
ilants,n ad libitum, from o steamer which ac-
.%companled him. Now the distance from
Dover to the neareIt point on the french
coast Is about nineteen. miles; but the tides
run crosswise In such q way tnat It was COM
.puted the swimmer must really describe a
line Of from thirty &c forty miles. Ut course,
he would not swim the full distance, since
the sweep of the sea would carry him q great
part of it. 80 little vas IL. believed, wonder
full swimmer as johnson is, that he could iul-
I'll his self-imposed task, that q bet vas made,
in Leeds'of $1,000 to $4,000 that he would fall,
and the betting In London was one hundred
TO. one against him. on the day he started.
In the sequel. johnson swan q little over
seven miles within an hourand five minutes;
and then, By direction OF The attendant surg.
con, he ceased to swim. and was taken. on
board the steamer. the surgeon said john
son's circulation WIS beginning to fall, and
that 1t would be dangerous for hIm TO keep on.
Johnson, for his part, owned that his legs
"felt numb" but denied feeling any sensation
of fatigue. The spectators say that he SWAN
the last mile with about the same vlgor as the
first. There was o heavy, ''lumpy" sea, and,
owing to some difficulty with the pier authori-
lies at Dover, there was some delay IN gettlDg
off at the time appointed. It was claimed that
this made q difference, TO the. disadvantage OF
johnson, as regards time and currents; and
that had the sea been smooth and the TIDE and
CURRENT according to calculation, the smlmmer
would have performed the wonderful exploit he
esssyed. What he did was something less than
the three leagues, or nine miles, Of Dumas's he.
70 In "Monts ChristU;" but J0hnsOntllas shown
that the achievement OF Dantes Is at least TO
be accepted as conceivable. Byron CLAIMS, It
will be remembered, to have swan four
miles In crossing the Heliespont--a'' feat per-
formed by him 10 common with Leander and
Mr.. Ekenhead-althOugh the width OF lhe es-
tuuEH lH UuL u mllOs LUZ "oo SothI
,puted by the people on board the Salsette' fri
gate, and probably was as great as the poet
claims. Our own Franklin Is said, In Smooth
and lidelpss water, TO have done better than
this: and Edgar Pee declared that he had
SWAN seven miles and!a .half-from Richmond
to Warwick-againsta tide running from two
10 three miles an hour. John. Wllsopi fOf
f'Mago.' has LETT records attestlng marvellous
deeas of his own OF an equal or superior char
Lxkx. " Dtn hnauAuar fhQf -Inhnannrl
performance OF a clean seven miles In sixty
minutes, In q rolling sea, Is about.as greatiai
tour de force in the way Of natatlon as can
iaIrly be called historical. tEt:IB.Ei
We read that Johnson, In starting, dove OF
the. paddie-boxiot itnn Palmerston ~sieaner1n
flae style, aud finished his first two miles In
twenty minutes. This was at about l0.4O In
water al ITO, being then on roiksIons. a.
Las, he said he should like something 10 eat,
and It was then tha. the surgeon, on e1amil-
Ing him, forbade johnson 10 proceed. He
was all right very soon on getliDg aboard the
Palmerston, and waute to take to Inc sea
and 20 on with his task. This was not al
lowed, but The steamer Kept on her way 10
Calais, and. in the harbor there, In the after
noon, Johnson gave q long and fatiguing e1-
hibiLion of his prowess In and under wafer,
performing with bis br0lher many remarka-
BILE aquatic tricks. It is clear from this that
The man was not disabled by his mornings
work, and, as we have hinled, some of his
hackers still belieys That, under favorable cir
he mny yet traverse the English
Channel. In any case. bis present achleve
ment Is most Interesting, as showing what Is
possible TO the human frame, with requisite
nerve and training, 10 an art wherein such
experiments have been very few 10 number,
or, at least, very scantily recorded; but In
which proficiency is most desirable Tor every
we may add for every woman