West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1883-08-25
WEBB'S EXPLOITS.
SOME REMARKABLE FEATS
HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED.
COMBATING GREAT ALI.
GATORS.
Swimming Tho English Chanu,l
Afler Several Failures Fifty
Miles IN Twenty-Five Hou,s
Conn citing Europe
And Afl icR.

Anu All lCh.
Capt. Matthew Webb. who was
killed ten days ago IN the whirlpool
Of the Niagara river while enlevor-
ing to accomplish feat which no
nan has ever dared before, was first
brought into public notice nius years
ago, when at the age Of 20, he took
his first grea; plunge off the coas, Of
England on sea voyage to tine
continent. lie was tour aud a half
hours in the water, and swan ten
miles. Finding the sea too heavy
Tor him he postponed his journey to
a future date, but naver for a day
gave up his amphlbious mode Of lie
lie might be seen mcst anytime, dav
or night, tossing and p.ungug into
The Channel Waters
and sportinS with the dweJlera Of
the deep, Another year passed away
and the hecaPtain again presents him e n
to the world, This time he swan
from Blackwell per to Gravesend,
distance Of twenty miles, iu 4 hours
aud ~ minutes. Shortly afterward
he determined TO cross the channel
iron Dover to the coast of France.
lie prepared himself for the journey
and plunged into the channel at d.y.
brake in the morning. Hs was es-
corted by logger, and hs only cos.
tune was a coat of porpoise OIL. Seven
hours nearly were spent in the water
and more than Is miles covered, but
the sea was too rough and the under
taking had to be gwen up once moro.
While in the water he received no
reIreshmon's except hot cof e, beef
T. ca, cod liver oil aud an o.cisIonal
sip Of brandy, which h3 took while
tire ding water. a. be stool on The
ugger's deck, liter beil8 'akel o.
hough very much exhausted by
The Fearful Labors
ot the day, remarked: This viii
be my last failure in his uudertak-
ing,' and true it was for an the 21th
Of August, 1875. only three days
later, he swan from Dover to Calais
the tide making his course a z.gz.g
of about fifty miles in less than
twenty-five hours. His exploit
about the British Islands are too
weIl-known to need mention.
Going to Gibraltar, he. in 1877,
connected Europe ond Africa by
swimming over to Tangier from a
point some distance west Of the rock
and city OF G braltar. The distance
from the starting point to the place
OF landing was forty-tvo miles, but
he was aided much by the current
which flows from the ocean into the
Mediterranean eea, as biz journey lay
partly IN its direction. HE adyen-
ture with an alligator at St. Marks,
in the APpalache bay, year later
attracted much attention Lsarninz
something Of The
Tactics Of the Reptile,
he never entered the water without
his doubie-bIaded knife, which be
carried in a sheath bound TO bic side
by a slender belt. After an hours
vigorous exercise 10 the water one
morning he climbed upon a solitary
rock about hundred yards from the
beach. While here he noticed in the
ulsJtnce coming no his direction a
large alligator, and, considering his
rssting-place an unsafe one in case
Of an attack by such a formidable
Antagonist, be plunged into the bay
and started for the shore. Having
his attention wholly conferred on the
enemy first discovered, he paid lit
tie attention to anything else, and
before be knew what he was about.
be an plumb against
Another Alligator
that happened to be resting quietly
in the wotec 10 a shallow place where
the Iushes partly hid him from view.
The alligator appeared to be quite
as much astouished at the unceremo.
nious meeting as the swimmer. Stgk.
ing the alligator in the region Of the
tail, he bounded back and prepared
r. L.ttl Tho Ia..,.