The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1895-07-18
WASALMOST AFARCE
The Great Race Between Cor
nell and Leander Crews No
Race at All.
iEANDERs REFUSED TO ROW,
And the Race Was Given to
Cornell How 1t All
Happened.

HENLEY.oN-THAMEs, July 10.-The
great event Of the Henley regatta. the
race between the celebrated Leander
crew and their American cousins from
Cornell college, was keen disappoint-
ment to everybody. Cornell was given
the race, but really there was none. for
the Leanders only rowed few strokes,
refusing to go on.
The excitement was at fever heat
when the course was cleared In prepa-
ration for the most important event OF
the day, the race between Cornell and
Leander in the third of the first series
of trial heats for the grand challenge
cup. When the umpire put the crews
in position, Cornell was first in place
and Leander slowly padded to the
point assigned to that crew.
Several boats followed in the wake
of the crews and the umpire sharply
ordered them away as they seemed to
seriously interfere with the Leanders.
The umpire then said:
Hurry up Leander."
When the Leander crew was in
place, the umpire cried, care You
ready?"
Cornell replied eyes"
A member of the Leanders said first
eyes and then the Leander stroke.
9. w. Kent, turned and cried mo.
no."
The umpire an instant before had
said "Go." Leander at the word
started, half of the crew pulling for
dear. life, but the others turned and
shouted mo, not ready"
The umpire waved his hand to Cor
nell, which crew had taken the water
promptly when the word was given,
shot ahead and continued over the
course. The umpire's boat at first did
not follow, and the Leander crew, with
the ooxswain, F. Begg, in terrible
rage, pulled their boat towards the
umpire's launch, and Begg said:
II told you we were not ready"
To this the umpire made no reply,
and his launch steamed ahead after the
Cornell crew, which was now far down
the stream.
The Leanders, until the umpire's
launch passed away out of speaking
distance, continued to shout wildly,
eve are not ready, why did you serve
MS sop
But the umpire did not look at them,
and increased the speed Of his launch.
In the meantime, the Cornell crew,
pulling steady, even stroke, seemed
satisfied that they were right in con-
tinuing the race. Passing the
end of Regatta island, F. D. Colson,
the coxswain, half turned and
held up his hands towards the
umpire's launch. But the umpire
waved them on, and Colson, with a
satisfied look, quickly resumed his po-
sition and gave sharp order to the
crew, who had relaxed the tremendous
pace with which they had started.
Then upon reaching the half mile post
where the crowds began to thicken,
the Cornell boys were loudly cheered.
A few feet beyond this, there were ex-
cited shouts coming from both banks
of the river and the words "Where is
Leander; why don't they come, are
they lost?' could be heard every few
feet.
can English crew would never have
kept on" said an excited Britisher.
On the grand stand among the Amer
leans the feeling was one of great dis
appointments. An American said:
"Well, would rather they had
licked us than have thing like this"
However, the universal opinion
among the rowing authorities was that
Cornell was perfectly right in rowing
over the course, and that they could
have done nothing else in the face Of
the umpire's order.
Every foot on the way to the finish
line the excitement increased, until at
the finish it was something tremendous.
the umpire's launch steamed up to the
finish amid much excitement and loud
ordinations from all sides. The um-
pre- was not in any way dismayed,
and said:
.The race is Cornell's, Leander did
not start.
The Cornall crew got very good
reception as they passed the winning
post, but there was some Boosting
mingled with tho English cheers and
Cornell yells. The Cornell crew ap-
preached their boat house, looking as
il they had been defeated and their
friends who were waiting for them
were almost afraid to ask for the re-
suit Of the race. Finally q venturesome
reporter put the question to the crew,
asking them if Cornell was victorious,
and three or four of the Cornell men
solemnly nodded in reply.
The men got ont Of their boat with.
out displaying the least satisfaction or
enthusiasm with the solitary exception
of little Colson, who remarked:
Were winners, bnt there was no
race. The other fellows made only
four strokes and stopped. It was en-.
tirely their fault for the referee said
go and you bet we chaps went. But
when we saw, our opponents were max
ing no effort, we slowed up ~ there
was no sense in firing ourselves. !
can't imagine what was the matter
with the other chaps. unless it was
that they. were towards: But we wore
winners Just tho same
II am sure we would have won, !"
said Roo, 40 am sorry the Leanders
did not put themselves to the test. Any
way It was no fault Of ours
"Isuppose We should b enthusiastic, -
said Dyer, ''but there IL little to base
il on"
Hall said: 1.-THE umpire said .go'
and we could only obey"
Fennell reuarked: 81 am sorry now