Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-08-11
CAPTAIN WEBB COMPARED WITH
TGuE CID.
An English Opinion Upon His Daring
Ee0tS.
From the London TeleeraE,h,

From the London TeleeraYh.
There is scarcely single point In common
between this last reckless attempt and the mag
nifcent success by which Webb acquired his
wel-earned fame. Here no precautions appear
to have been taken. nor were any possible
Eight years ago everything was provided in
case of accident, The first attempt was a feat
of endurance, the last an exhibition OF fearless
folly. To swim across the channel in fine
autumn weather requires nothing more than an
abnormally fine physique and extra ordinary
powers OF endurance. The tides are known
aud every current is mapped out: When, how
ever, human being trusts himself to shoot
the rapids of Niagara, and proposes to pass
through the swirling whirlpool. he courts q
series of unknown hazards. Memories of
death linger amid the rushing waters
and the binding spray. Francis Abbot. the
hermit OF Niagara, was drowned while bathing
from Goat Island near the Three Sisters In
1SiS. at Luna Island. little girl fell into the
torrent. Instantly gentleman plunged i'm,
hoping to rescue her. but both were swept over
the falls and drowned. At Biddle's Stairs Sam
Patch, the daring jumper and diver lost his
life. and. in spite of the dubious story of the
drunken Indian, who successfully shot the falls
III canoe. no sane person would venture the
essay second time. Beyond the prospect of
possessing himself of the $4,000 subscribed by
gain by the ill-starred enterprise His fame was
already assured. and his name would have gone
down to pOsterity linked with that Of HOratius
who swan the Tiber in full armor. and with
that of Leander, who, for HERDS sake,
crossed the HellespOnt near to what is now
GalipoIi; not to mention Lord Byron and his
friend. Mr.. Ekenhead. both of whom accom-
plished the two miles distance and allowance
for current, to please themselves. J. B. john
son. the aO-called hero of London bridge" was
fha Hr-f 70 t,,-%
COULD not stand the cold, and was forced to quit
the water after having gone no further than
seven miles of the passage between Dover and
Calais. The American, Capt. Boynton, did sub
sequentlF complete the task without the aid of
boat He accomplished the Journey from Cane
Grsnez to the South FOreland. equipped in his
hie-saving dress. on the 29tl of May, 1875, two
months before Webb performed his word-re-
nowned and unprecedented feat. Cavill is
credited with having done the same thing two
years later. but to the recently-deceased hero
belongs the hon0 OF having shown him the
way.
The contemporary accounts of Webb's great
est success read like chapter out of the adven-
lures of the cid" OF such stuff were the
heroes of antiquity made. His daring. his pa
thence, his indomitable pluck. though not past
belief. are beyond praise. Nor did he reach the
French coast without much suffering and dis
tress. He was accompanied the whole way by
a iu@ger containing George Toms. the pilot, the
umpires to see fair play. and during part of the
journey was conveyed bv two rOw-boats. in one
OF which sat Surgeon Major Hanbury of the
staf OF the Dover garrison. The night says
an eyewitness, was beautifully calm. with a
slight haze on the horizon, and the surround
ings were all that could have been desired for
the success OF the experiment. In the Channel
were no Jagged rocks reaching out from the side
of the stream. no treacherOus and unknown
currents. and. above all, no deadly
whirlpool increasing in velocity below the
surface. Either Webb's recollection must
have played him false in regard to the
dangers of the Channel, or he could not have
valued his life at pins fee. 1t is worth while
recalling few of the incidents of his memoir
able swim. il only because OF the prospect that
some other fOolhardy athlete may attempt sue
cess where he has failed-ignorant of the vast
difference between trial of physical endurance
IN q calm sea and the appalling risks of the wild
waters of Niagara During his Channel feat
Webb was sustained with coffee, brandy, beef
tea and ale. Tie was never for moment lost
sight of by those who accompanied him, and
when at one time it seemed as if he were about
to FAINT diver plunged into the sea and swan
by his side. Long before he reached land his
face grew pale and haggard from exhaustion
caused by the buffetng of the waves and the
lengthy immersion; and as he approached Calais
rOw-bOat. with eight persons on board came
out, and. pulling on the weather side of the
swimmer, prevented the seas from breaking over
him. Had it not been for that welcome help even
he with all his indOmitsbe nerve. might have
given up within sight of land. No wonder that
when he did at last touch ground the men in
the boats, witnesses of his triumph. fairly
Rugged him with delight. His great task at an
end. Webb drank of four glasses of old port
wine, went to bed and slept as calmly as
child 1t is, indeed lamentable that such a
man should perish in the vain attempt to earn
few thousand dollars. and all for the wretched
gratihcation of a crowd of heartless, gaping
sieht-seers. Splendid specimens OF physical
development like Matthew Webb and Tom Say
ers seem to deserve better fate than to perish
in their prime. Yet society can. apparently do
nothing to help men of this kind against the
temptations of the world. Savers should have
lived to old age on the substitution collected
for him after his victory over Keenan, and Webb
might equally have passed comfortable exist
ence on the proceeds of the material reward of
his prOwess. Both men, if report speaks truly,
wasted their substance. The former died OF
dissipation, and the latter was reduced to make
holiday show Of noble daring degenerated
into mere fOOlhardness In this country and
In the United States alike the state of the law
is in need of amendment in its relation to dan
gerOus exhibitions. We ourselves and our kins-
men on the other side of the ''big water have
no hesitation in Furnishing wOuld-be suicides;
yet there as well as here citizens are daily per-
mitted to risk life and limb in eats which involve
possible self.slaughter. this indeed forming their
attraction. The exhibition organized by the
AhciVau railway COMPANIES mas lea TO what
might almost be called at once q suicide and q
murder; and only if the sad ending of this great
swimmers life produces an alteration in the law
of both countries, Webb will not have persisted
In vain. He was man possessed of natural fac
uites. which, in the earlier stages OfnatiOns help
toward making them great Strength. courage.
activity, endurance. are attributes of the high
est worth among the qualities of a people. Even
in this mild and melancholy age when prizes of
life fall chiefly to intellectual achievement, and
muscle must give way to mind. England was
proud of Matthew Webb and his mother coun-
try mourns his untnaely fate not the less be-
cause his life was sacrificed in foolish and in
defenSible adventure
An Attachable COat.TaiI.
From the San Francisco Post.
New York tailor named Body has lust
patented an invention that has at once endcared
him to the heart of every young man on the