The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-08-02
Wcbb's Last Swim,

BUFFALO, y. Y, July 2l-Cart
Matthew Webb, the noted English
swimmer WAS last seen in the Niagara
whirlpool rapids this afternoon. 1t had
been advertised for several weeks that
he would attempt to 90 over the course
which the !Liid Of he .IEs. ran in her
I trip 10 escape an attachment many years
ago. No cra!t bGt this one ever survived
! III" peril. Of hat terrible channel and no
I human being save her c.cw ever passed
awe through the rapid.
TIii ri N"E 1870 riIr RIVER.
1t WAS precisely Two minutes pat
/ "hcn Webb sprlng from his boa, about
thiri OF a mile above the railroad
/ bridge and close To the old Maid OF the
Mist landing. He was entirely nude
save band worn around his body for the
protection o: his stomach. The daring
ana accomplished Swimmer gave himself
no artificial assistance Whatever HIS
reap from tic boat WAS greeted with
pr".ungcd cheering lie struck boldly
int" tir n:d'itc "i the river and buoycl
hitn-'i gracefully upon the surface Of
,nr water rs The mighty current carried
nan toward The deadly whirlpool nearly
i inlic ani l!a!! Dr!uw II WA, a
thrilling spectacle and brilliant per-
ipf"iancc. ne struggle in the rapids
itstch thirteen minutes, by which time
lhpt. webb had reached the whirlpool.
lli- otJcct WAS 10 hug the American side
"i ID" river, although many contend
mat Ms chances wOu!d have been better
on the Canadian side. l5y the peculiar
formation ui the channcl at thi. point,
viii. iss curve, ani ridges ui rock, tie
water dashed upward . distance of
iorty Or iINy feet, resembling the biiiows
pi an angry sea. Then 1t whir,s and
sccthcs rs II lashel by Il thousand de-
mons. In the irigh,iul vortex thus
formed vessel 4 stick Of timber, an
animal or 4 human being is carried un.
der, aud, III some cases, will remain for
days before escaping into the lake below.
AS the intrepid navigator came to the
Whirlpool he was seen to throw up one
Of his arms. Whether this was inten-
dcd us a sigma! Of distress, fears Of dan
ger or merely TO exhibit his strength TO
hose on land can only bu cuniecturel.
Nothing MAS seen of him afterwards.
The search MAS kept up Till durk. when
his manager announced that there WAS
no hope Tor his recovery.
THE FAMOUS swIMMEH's CAREER.
Capt. Webb WIS forty years of age and
was born in Shropshire, England. lie
leaves widow and two children in his
native place. He had been Il sealaring
nan all lis life. lie was Of medium
SIZE, finely Proportioned and very intel
llgcnt.looking. 1t was in 1873 that he
| hrst became famous in q natatorlal way.
While serving before the mast on the
Cunard steamship R"SSi", >hipmate
fell overheard from the rigging 4 gale
WAS blowing ut the time and the Russa
was booming along at the rate of fifteen
knots per hour. Webb sprang into the
water and made desperate and gallant
effort to save the life of his companion.
He could not reach him, however, and
Webb was taken into boat after strug-
CLING in the waves upwards of half an
hour. He was given purse of 5000 on
the spot, and medal
SWIMMING THE ENGLISH CHANNEL,
After this Webb '-ained local fame as
Il swimmer in the names. He swan
| from Blackwell to Gravescnd, distance
OF twenty miles down the stream in four
hours, and lie accomplished the distance
OF eighteen miles, i'll nine hours. He
attempted, but failed to swim across the
English Channel on August l3, 1875, but
on August %, of the same year, he made
the perlious voyage, reaching Calais,
France, twenty-threc hours after the
start.
So brilliant Il feat WAS hailed with en-
thnsiasm all over England. The poet
X. ii. Horne, 4 swimmer of considerable
experience wrote a letter requesting that
the honor OF knighthood be conferred on
Cnpt Webb. The press dissuaded the
Queen from such Il thing. and the ques-
llon of honoring the captain dropped out
of the public mind
Capt. Webb attempted, in August,
1878, the feat Of swimming for thirty six
hours III the River Thames lie drop
| ped into the river n. inc +" sde Mt Wool
wich at e o'clock on the evening of Au-
gust . iHsi gear in the presence of 100000
people. Long into the night this crowd
awaited his return from Gravesend, but
he gave up before reaching Woowich on
the return trip, having swum twenty-five
miles in nine hours.
He has had many contests in swim
ming with Capt Paul Boyton, the latter
attired in his buoyant rubber suit and
Webb in simple bathing dress