The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-06-26

70, 1897. seeEEii
Harvard struggled valiantly, but before
the end OF the mile and half was IN the
rear of Yale. Cornell never varying the
stroke went on with that easy swinging
stroke, little Colson in the coxsWaln box
cautioning the men not to run away
with it, Harvard, acting under the in
structions of their training master used
at many points the same stroke as to
number, but it seemed to have little
effect, the boat of Cornell running away
from the Harvard boat. At the two
mile point the Yale crew were going
from Harvard and the latter seemed un-
able to prevent it, although rowing
away at the long 80 stroke that had been
predicted as winning one. After Yale
got away from Harvard she turned her
attention to Cornell and. just beyond
to catch The slim youngsters. Never for
a moment did these young white-shirted
lads from Cornell get ratified Backward
and forward went the sweeps with an
arithmetical movement and powerful
swing that was surprising to watch. The
weighty youngsters from Yale used every
pound of leverage on the end of the oars,
/
alongside of the swiftly moving boat of
the Cornell boys. The Harvard men
we rowing In very weak fashion during
the next mile and it was evident that
they were thoroughly used up. At the
bridge the coxswain of the Harvard crew
had to give the Harvard stroke little
water in his face. For moment under
the reviving influence the boat swung
along at goodly pace. But only for a
moment and just as they passed under
the big bridge, the stroke began to give
way. Cornell was rowing at 80 and
Yale was working away at 33 and 81 and
evidently tired.
The last mile of the race was probably
one OF the most sensational in the history
| of college aquatics. Sensational not so
much from the fact that it recorded the
defeat of the crews Of the two leading col
leges of the United States, but because
it demonstrated to the satisfaction of the
majority of those who have watched the
work of the crews and the different meth
ods pursued in their training that
Lehman and the Cook stroke must bow
to the superiority of the Courtney modi-
fication of the two, and that while weight
and Drawn are factors, they must be COM
bined with skill, and the skill is that
which Mr. Courtney teaches.
| Before they reached the third mile post,
Yale had begun to squirt and the eight
powerful representatives of Old Ellis
muscle and stamina bent to their work
with wonderful exhibition of sheer
will power, for their strength was gone.
| For perhaps three minutes the dying
struggle of the giants lasted and they
gained little on the flying leaders, and
| Harvard, with nearly every man exhaust
ed, clung with the tenacity of bulldog
in the wake of her old-tine rivals. But
it was hopeless struggle and surely and
| steadily the flying representatives of the
red and white never changing their steady
stroke of 80 to the minute, drew away as
if they were enjoying an afternoons s
spin instead of participating in con-
test that will go down in history as the
greatest race ever witnessed in American
waters. AS they approached the finish
| line, it was seen that the Harvard eight
were nearly to a man in difficulties,
while several of the Yale men were flying
signals of distress. The Cornell crew,
as if in mockery at the discontinue of their
rivals, increased their stroke to "a and
shot past the judges boat, every man as
fresh apparently as when he started and
as if not satisfied with the wonderful
| exhibition, rowed fora quarter of mile
down the river, first giving three rous-
ing cheers for the man who had coached
them to victory, Charles f. Courtney.
| l0u SeCOuuS tlt6T OCfI0ll, 1dl6 CfOSSou
the line and Immediately stopped rowing
with No. Whitney and No. 5, Campbell,
in state of collapse.
| Then came Harvard, 16 seconds behind
her entire crew used up and three of the
men utterly helpless. Hardly had the nose
of her shell reached the finish when
Boardman, stroke fell back off his seat.
Wrightington at No. and J. E. Perkins
at No. 5, also lost their oars and their
companions commenced to splash water
| over them. In the meantime Goodrich,
| captain, was trying to raise BOardman,
but was too weak and the coxswain was
throwing water over the two. After a
long wait for their launch, which could
not get through the crowd of various
craft that seemed to come from every
where at once the men were reached and
carefully taken to their quarters.
| After the race the Cornell crew were
taken aboard of their launch, which
steamed proudly across to the boat house,
where a.crowd of IL, 900 men, women and
boys had assembled and were waving
flags, handkerchiefs and pieces of bunt-
ing. The oarsmen had to fairly fight their
way through the mob into the boat
houses. Once inside they were surrounded
| by under graduates and the enthusiasm
knew no bounds.
| VIM. ii. Smith of Ithaca, called with her
husband and presented to Mr.. Courtney
two pieces of red and white ribbon. ''I
wore them at Henley in '95," she said,
land I resolved to give them to the first
crew that defeated the English.
This evening, the entire Cornell aggre-
cation were entertained on board OF J.
Herbert Ballantine's yacht Juinita. To-
night there was big parade of Cornell
| rooters headed by the band of Cornell
hose of Kingston. Nearly every man
carried red and white umbrellas and the
procession marched through a perfect sea
of red fire and fireworks.
Up to the hour of the referees pistol
shot, the general expectation was not for
red and white victory.
From the moment the three crews put
their backs to the sweeps, expectation
ceased. Along both banks of the Hudson
for three miles 10000 people had caught
an uncertain sight of the struggle. Each
way from points nearly opposite the finish
mighty wave of sound rolled the word
"Cornell'' on its crest to the uttermost
limits of the waiting thousands. The,
town tonight is illuminated red and
white lights.
A mob of young men, arms locked in
e 4 ~,