The herald., 1896-07-05

their arrival at the famous little town
on the Thames they gave practical
demonstration of their ability in the row.
ing line.
The chief rowing experts Of England
were grouped on the river bank when
the Yale boys padded their shell into
mfdStream, and when a short squirt sent
them half mile up the river the opinion
was expressed on all sides that the men
formed the strongest crew ever sent by
foreign country to the Henley regatta.
UNHURT BY THE VOYAGE
Englishmen are constitutionally chary
about giving praise to anything or any
one of foreign extraction, and their faV
orabe criticism is doubly remarkable,
for the reason that up to the first spin
of the Yale men on the water their
chances of landing the coveted prize
were not seriously considered The
English experts were prepared to find
all manner of fault with the body, leg
and arm work of the visitors, and 1t was
a huge surprise to them when they dis
covered the smooth, even and powerful
stroke, every muscle of the eight men
working in unison and each man as calm
and collected as If he were rowing on
home waters. The remarkable part of
1t all was that the men had just finished
a nine days voyage across the Atlantic
and had not been off the steamer eight
hours when they did the work which
astonished the critics.
1t was feared that the voyage across
might prove detrimental to the men, but
on the contrary, they seemed the better
for it. They gained very little in weight,
and these few pounds will be taken off
slowly, as it is the intention of Bob Cook
not to force the men up to concert pitch
too soon, and run the risk of their going
stale before the race.
The particular points in the crews
work which have won the regard of the
English critics are the hard, clean catch
and the quick recover In comparing
the Yale boys with those sent over by
Cornell last year, it seems impossible
for the sharpS to say enough in favor OF
the sons of Old Eli. Later on they will
probably change from their present
pleasant standpoint and begin to pick
flaws in the American boat, but Mr.
Cook and his crew are prepared for any
kind of criticism and they will not be
ratified by it.
AS a matter of cold fact, at this writ
ing Mr.. Cook Is not as favorably impress
ed by the crew as the Englishmen seem
to be. He is hopeful, but not>confident,
and he has instilled these same feelings
in the bosOms of his charges. He knows
well that to win the Grand Challenge
cup he must have the best amateur crew
the world over, and this is not an every
ody dtldllIueHt. fTOIH LIllS, however,
it must not be judged that he is dis
couraged. He is too much of a thorough
bred to fall into that error. He simply
appreciates the formidable character of
the task, and he is not minimizing his
chances by an indulgence in over-confi-
dence.
The fine condition of the men on the
completion of the voyage was largely
que TO the vigilance of the noted coach
On the first two days out Simpson, who
rows at bow. did no work because of a
slight accident to his knee. He also
suffered some from tonsilitis. but is now
In prime condition. The mid-ocean work
OF Capt. Treadway, Beard and Langford
was also slightly interfered with through
physical disagreement with the tn
multuous action of Mr.. Neptune, but
they assert that they gained no weight
during their enforced idleness.
MARSH HILL HOUSE
The crew Is well pleased with its QUAR-
ters at Marsh Hill house This is right
in the heart of the little town. and is
far enough away from the river to guard
against malaria The fog and mist are
the only things feared by Mr.. Cook IF
the weather continues hot as It has been
for the past couple of days Mr.. Cook saws
he will be well pleased, as his men car
stand it.
The Leander crew, which is always tba
most feared in the Henley regatta. will
not reach here until the 22d. Cornell. in