The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-03-22
TWAS A FAMOUS RACE,
Magnificent Contest Of the Oxford
and Cambridge Fights on
tho Thames.
The Course Covered in the very
Fast Time of Twenty-Five
Minutes.
The Nose of Oxford's Shell Scarce . Quarter
length In Front mt the
Finish.

race between
crews came off this morning. The attend
ance. AZ n whole, did not equal hat OF for
mar wears owing to the early hour at which
the race was rowed, and to the prevalence
If a storm of sleet in the forenoon II the
hi.tar cold weather. Oxford won the toss
and chose the Middlesex, or north shore
aide. The Fights started prettlly n sue
cassfn,lv at ll:O9 O'Clock. AS the crews
bent to their work hail and snow was fall
ing upon them III no pleasant fashion, anu
a strong cross northeast wine raising a very
lumpv sea. Both crews had been expecting
bad weather, and consequently they utll-
lied high washboards. Cambridge at the
first GOT away with the lead, pulling a
somewhat shorter, quicker stroke than Ok
ford, and at Claspe1's boat house the
Cambridge boa was ahead; then o1tora
bent to her work, pulling a long, dragging.
powerful stroke, peculiar to the oarsmen OF
that university. This stroke soon told and
Oxford was leading slightly at Craven Cot
tape, six furlongs from the start. At Crab
tree, one mile and three furlongs from the
start, Oxford had the lead by a length, but
under the influence of a period OF bright
sunshine, which succeeded the hail and
snow, the Cambridge crew spurted neatly
ahead in fine style. This effort ~redoubled
the cheers from the river banks and at
Southworks, one mile end three and one
half furlongs from the start, the two boats
we're apparently mos aud nose.' both
pulling evenly and strongly. 1t was then
evident that a stubborn contest was IN order
and those who had been laying heavy odds
on Oxford began to feel sad, while a CORE
spondino feeling of jubilation was expert
enced by the friends of Cambridge.
Nearing the Hammersmith bridge, one
mile and six furlongs from the start, Cam
bridge again made a magnificent squirt,
pulling finely and strongly together and
passed under that bridge a quarter of a
LENGTH ahead, amid a scene of tremendous
excitement.
Their time to this point was eight min
utes and f~ifty-six seconds. Cambridge's
gallant squirt which resulted in their being
6rst under the Hammersmith bridge, &C
cordinp to tradition, should have landed
their boat first over the winning line. Ok
ford, however, did not lose heart but bent
down all the more doggedly to work. At
the Doves, two miles from the start, Oxford
led slightly, Cambridge still sticking to her
work in q magnificent style, in spite OF the
TIE cheering and excitement was intense
and a dead heat was looked upon as a posi-
bility, not to say probability.
At the oil mills, two miles and one and a
half furlongs from the start. the two boats
were again even with each other and the
mined, plucky struggle took place as the
racing Fights passed Cheswick, about two
and a half miles from the start, the tre-
mendous cheering from the river side caus-
ing each man in the two boats to strain
every nerve to win.
leading. but it was by a few feet only.
Going towards Corney beach the boats
struck into smoother water, which assisted
the lighter men in. the Cambridge boat,
and beyond Thornycrofts they forged
ahead, eventually, leading Oxford by a
began to favor Oxford, and at Barns
Bridge, over three and one half miles from
the start, Oxford was leading by half a
length. Time IL minutes and 10 seconds
From that point Oxford had
much the best station, getting almost a
length from the light blues, though both
crews were rowing in a superb style. Here
everything seemed to depend upon the
power of squirting which remained in the
two crews. The strokes of the two racing
crafts r%edoubled, if possible, their power
and mechanism which they sought to in
fuse into the men behind them. The river
banks we're literally packed with hoarsely
cheering crowds of people, excitedly waving
hats, handkerchiefs, sticks and umbrellas.
Calamity and coolly, without an outward
sign of exhaustion, the contesting crews
tugged at their oars with the utmost brill
fancy and nerve.
The struggle in the last quarter of a mile
of the course will be long remembered in
the aquatic world. It was simply magnif-
cent. Oxford had all the work she could
do cut out for her as the boats rounded the
Barns bend of the river. Cambridge was
rowing pluckily and with plenty of strength
but Oxford went over the line first by a
quarter length amid intense, almost indie
soribable excitement, winning the grandest
race rowed on the river Thames in many
years. O1ford's time was twenty-five min
utes. The betting was three to one on Ok
ford.