Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-11-24

TO-DAY'S BOAT RACE.
The Championship of the Country to be
Settled This Afternoon.
THE SCENES ON THE RIVER RANK rHu AFTER
NooN-PRKPARrSa FoR THE GREAT srRueoLE-
DELAY CAUSED By A DREDeE-sxETcHEs OF
THE oARs,rEN
The Teemer-O'Connor boat race was the
| theme Of downtown conversation last night.
| Occasionally people might be met whose knowl-
edge of the coming event was Of an indefinite de-
| scription, but they were in a decided minority.
Amateur oarsmen talked of shells and sliding
seats and the condition Of the water in a man
ner that completely shut out the uninitiated.
The relative merits of the two oarsmen were
discussed at length in the club-rooms
and before the numerous saloon bars,
and wondrous tales of each mans
prowess - never before made public -
were related to the assembled groups. The
mysteries Of stroke" and steering" the sinu-
osities of currents" and the dubiousness Of
meteorological appearances, were all subjects
OF conversation, and the experts in such mat
tiers elucidated everything for the benefit Of
the seeker after knowledge. There was great
deal Of quiet betting. The sports" put up
considerable money during the evening in
odds. The OConnor crowd insisted that
Teemers friends should make it 100 to so, but
at those figures there were no responses, for,
while Ieemers supporters are confident that
their champion will come of victorious, they
are fully aware that he has no walk-over. A
few wagers have been made among the local
amateur oarsmen, but the amounts are small,
although the interest in the contest is great.
CANADIAN VISITORS.
Wizards hotel was full Of Canadians to-day
who have come down to see the great boat
race. Among the arrivals from Toronto are
W: H. Pearson, jr., George Monro, Alex. Boyd,
John j. Burns, L. o. Leary, Alex. w. Donnelly,
Frank Nelson, Of the Globe; Frank Elmore, Of
the Mail; A. R. Landon, Of the World; j. w.
Bunting, John d. Coulter, John Ringer, Peter
Green and Martin Downs.
BOTH MEN ON THE RIVER THIS MORNING.
The crowd at the lighthouses Of Teemer and
O'Connor was little larger this morning than
it has been hitherto. The air was warmer than
on the previous day, and although water and
sky were leaden in hue, still there was promise
OF pleasant afternoon. The first man out was
Teemer, and he pulled down the course in a
lelsurely manner, occasionally glancing over
his shoulder to see what was ahead
OF him. There was no appearance of
cAeTtiou III any OI nls movements anu the SOULS
sPlashed into the water and out of it as me-
chanically as clock ticks. Fifteen minutes later
OConnor stepped into his shell and padded
out into the stream. Close behind him came
tug, bound south, but It did not pass the Cana
dian until he turned at the buoy. O'Connor's
work was very smooth and he swung himself
in confident manner. On the down trip his
speed was steady and decidedly rapid
Returning to his boat house he slowed up but
relieved himself of a little perspiration by a
couple OF fine spurts. Teemer returned slowly;
he Rugged the Virginia shore up to point OPP
posite his boat house and seemed to be putting
good deal Of muscle into his work. The APP
pearance of the men in their boats and the
form in which they moved failed to indicate
superiority on the part of either one and the
knowing ones predicted close race.
Watching both men very closely was Ryan,
OF the Toronto Rowing club, who claims the
amateur championship of Canada but whose
position is assailed by Shea, of the Don club, of
Toronto, who beat Ryan at Sturgeon Point and
afterward won the Junior championship at
Sunbury.
THE RACING SHELLS.
Masterpieces of ingenuity and skill; light,
almost as vanity, and beautiful as any product
of the human hand, are the racing shells which
will in few minutes float one man into the
championship of America and the other into
momentary oblivion. The differences in con-
struction are very slight. and to
the tyro are not visible. Both
boats are from the shop of Reddick, of
seems to be impossible. In no place is there
an ounce of superfiuous weight, and yet there
is a surprising amount Of strength in the frail
structures.
O'Connor's craft is 81 feet long and II inches
wide. Its weight is 20 pounds.
Teemer's shell is a trifie larger. It is 31L
feet in length and III inches wide, but it only
weighs "a pounds.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF AMERICA.
The race is for the championship of America
and the stakes are 1850 side. The original
sum was 81 900, but the hackers increased it
yesterday. The distance to be rowed is three
miles, with a turn. The start is from opposite
the Analostan clubhouse ard over what is
known as the clover course" The winner will
have the additional honor of stru ygling for the
championship OF the world with Searle, on the
Paramatta river, in Australia; this is what
both men are anxious to do.
THE CROWD OF VISITORS.
The dimensions Of the crowd of visitors con-
tinued to increase with the arrival of each
train. The Toronto delegation has grown to
gigantic proportions, and, as every man has an
abundance OF cash to risk on his favorite, the
betting has been lively. Its tone has changed
considerably this morning, for with the advent
of recruits the Canadian contingent became
aggressive and
OFFERED FREELY TO BET TO ON o'coNNoR.
This was taken for while by Teemer's ad-
mirers, but toward noon the betting subsidized,
because it was evident that the Teemer men
had about all of their money put up. Then
the Canadians became more bold. They offered
odds of s to on their man. and at these figures
quite a number Of local sports invested their
spare change. Everything was done very
quietly though, and the noise and buster
common on such occasions were almost en-
tirely absentyG The two factions, however, kept
away from each other as much as possible, for
among the immediate friends of the two oars
men there is an ill-feeling that will not down.
Several attempts have been made to bring the
hackers together SO that the arrangements for
the race might be perfected, but
up to o'clock no such conjunction
had been made. To the credit of Teemer's
hackers it must be said that they have done as
much as could be expected of them to make the
affair success in every particular. Pittsburg
poured in several dozen of its citizens this
morning, and McKeesport sent on Just about as
many. The majority of them made their way
at once to Teemer's headquarters in George
town, and congratulated each other on the
prOspects of their idol