Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-08-23
EXCAVATION EDWARD IIANLAN

ic battle. This may seem paradoxical, but 1t is nevertheless true. Tho collcgianS should have only arrived at Henley few days before tho contest, so that they would still feel the invigorating effects of tho strong ocean brcczcs, or else have put up at Henley months before, so that they would have been thoroughly acclimated. They were at Henley just long enough to be- come limp and dcbilitatcd by its soft en- ervating atmosphere They felt it all the more by reason of the contrast with the health giving sea air they had enjoyed on their trip arrt,SS the Atlantic a few weeks before It was the climate and not Court ney that killed the boys. It knocked him as well " his pupils, for, as I have been reliably med, tho big Ithacan was as sick Snn?' before tho race as lady on her first sea. Ho was full of mala- ria as well anxiety.
 Courtney is an adept at aquatic train ing, and l do not believe he ovcrworkcd his pupils one jot. am satisfied that he did all mortal man could do to get them in fit condition for the great struggle they had to undergo.
 Another thing, Courtney has been Criti- ciscd upon the shortncss and quickncss of his crews stroke. Tho answer to that is this: What is one mans meat is another mans poison. Some crews use a long, slow stroke to the best advantage, others a snappy, speedy one Personally I favor 8 long stroke, especially for q long race but 1 have known instances where tho short,
 quick stroke won notable contests. Take, for example, the famous Showaecemettes of 1876, who defeated the best men of Amer ica and came within an ace of conquering | the famous London Rowing club crew in England in tho following year. They rOwcd a short, jCrky stroke, often running up as high as 54 to tho minute, yet they suffered only three defeats in two years out | of twenty odd contests. Those defeats, | too, were only by a hairbreadth and due to | bad management rather than poor rowing. | Even style and symmetry in rowing sOme- | times don't count, as is evidenced in the
 famous victory of the Bcvcrwycks of All | bany over the London Rowing club crew
 at tho Philadelphia Centennial in 1876. | The Londoncrs had defeated tho great Yale
 team, captaincd by the renowned Bob Cook, in tho trial heat of tho day before, | and the sturdy Mort hwcstcrn and Showac- | ccmctto crews the day before that. Yet of
 all tho crews at Philadelphia at that great | epoch in rowing history the BcVcrwycks of | Albany rowcd tho most awkward, scraggy
 stroke and still won the worlds amateur | championship.
 l Now, for tho benefit of ambitious cars l men, whether they be collcgians or non l collcgians amateurs or professionals, who
 contemplate an aquatic invasion of Eng
 land or any other foreign country, l will l give leaf out of my diary. My expert
 enco may do them some good. Either TOW
 in the country you visit almost immcdi- l atcly after arrivNl, while you still havc the | benefit of cid Neptunc's tonic, or four to six months aftcrward, the period in which
 ono will get thoroughly acclimatcd. If you | TOW soon after your arrival, take a hogs head of your own country $ water with you. The water of another country is al
 most sure to sickcn and dchilitato you un-
 til your system has been accustomed to it. | If you can go abroad in time to bc accli- | mated-and it is the better way-train just exactly as you did at home. You cant change tho customs of a lifetime any more
 than a leopard can change his spots. Work
 and play, eat. drink and sleep as you did
 at home. You can't in . few short months
 learn any ncwfanglcd notions nor try a
 change of regimen without danger to