The herald., 1897-07-03
CAUGHT CRABS
While Cornell's Grew
Went Rowing
THE INTER- COLLEGIATE RACE
PROVES A PUDDING FOR THE
LIGHT-WEIGHTS
THE INTER- COLLEGIATE RACE
a Fizzle Of Race, With Only One
Redeeming Feature-CornelPs
Sportsmanlike Spirit
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special WIRE.
POUGHKEEPSIE, N. T., July 2.-All
of the expectations Of the lovers of
American sports that by establishing
new records the Pennsylvania and Col
umbia crews would be entitled to de-
mand admission to what promises to be
an intercollegiate rowing combination
of three colleges-Yale, Harvard and
Cornell-have been rudely shattered.
The contest on the Hudson this after
noon, which had been heralded as prom
Using a close and exciting finish and
which each college coach declared would
be record breaking contest, turned out
to be the merest sort of procession
and an apology for race.
1t is true that the water conditions
were not favorable to fast time and that
men like Walter Peet and other boating
experts alleged that it was not proper
time to start a race, but it IS also true
that, only having started, the chances
were certainly equal for a crew.
The lightest crew on the river and the
one least likely to be able to stand the
ewells caused by the wind blowing
against the tide, came out of the contest
hind the record of Yale last week. when
she finished second in the varsity race,
with all the conditions in her favor. The
heaviest crew in the race today, Penn
sylvania, found its boat washed full of
water before the second mile was
reached and after passing that point was
compelled to retire from the contest.
The next heaviest crew, Columbia.
f,raun1u bpro lda6 q c a rOI1ph wafer
was so fearful of results from the same
cause that it lost many lengths steering
ineshore. In some respects the contest
was pitiful. Cornell, the winner of the
two previous contests, the victors over
Yale and Harvard, had been led to be-
lieve that Pennsylvania and Columbia
would put up a harder fight than her
contestants in the other races. On the
contrary, the Cornell crew rowed over
the course in the easiest kind of fashion,
only hitting up the stroke in the last
tlree-fourths of mile, in an evident
endeavor to make fair time. Columbia
struggled in the rear, losing length by
length, while rowing a much quicker
stroke than Cornell, and finally, after
crossing the line her crew found them
selves almost incapable of further work
AS if to exhibit his crews prowess and
their wonderfully husbanded strength
the Cornell coxswain turned his boat
around and rowed up mile and quar-
ter above the finish to salute defeated
Pennylvania and then rowed to the boat
house.
There was really no race to describe,
at least not after the second mile Dur
ing the first threefourths of a mile the
contest was rather pretty. Pennsylva-
MIA took the water first with a quick.
jerky stroke, Columbia following and
Cornell hanging to the rear, with her
slow, measured 32. At the quarter of a
mile Pennsylvania has lead of half a
length over Columbia and Columbia one
half over Cornell. Pennsylvania was,
however, splashing badly. AT the half
mile Pennsylvania was rowing a "a and
Columbia a 33 while Cornell with her 32
stroke was deere asing the lead. AT the
three-fourths Pennsylvania had three
quarters of a length still over Cornell
who had pulled on beyond Columbia for
about half a length. 1t was here that
the trouble seemed to begin in the Penn
sylvania boat. Just prior to the start
ing Of the race the steamer Tremper OF
the Albany and Newburg line came down
the river as the boats were lined up and
although warned by the referee and the
police boats would not stop. The swellS
that she made were blown back by tn:
wind and the local referee, Harris S
Reynolds, started the crews while the
swells were running, though Coach Ware
of Pennsylvania protested against tstart
ing. When Cornell's boat on the out
side hit them they were long swells ant
the sharp boat cut them in two, con
verting them into a choppy sea, so tha
when they hit Pennsylvania s shell the,
washed over the side. 1t was here tha
CornelPs clever rowing was in evidence
for while the beautiful of that crev
kept the oars from touching these dur
ing the feather, the Pennsylvania oars
men hit them with so much force as t.
throw part of them into the boat B,
the time the crews had reached the mil
and a quarter the Pennsylvania boat wa
numbering along, filled almost to tn
gunwales; but the men continued to pul
bravely, although falling far benin
Columbia who, in rowing in shore t
avoid the swells, had lost considerabl
distance to Cornell. From the mile an
a half down the almost ludicrous pro
cession began.
CornelPs boat went along against tn
head wind aS if it had wings, while tn
Columbia crew pulled along violently
losing nearly a length in every quartz
of a mile. Pennsylvania splashed an
fluttered along, slowly going to the rea
until the mileand-a- a-quarter pol
was reached, when Coach Ward cam
around in the Ben Franklin and took tn
crew aboard. From that time on TIL
race practically lost its interest to tn
thousands of spectators along shor,
Cornells rythmical rowing carried tn
boat along at an excellent pace, althoug
the shell had taken in some water. Will
Columbia, rowing at SO, but with in
domitable pluck, struggled along t
catch her with tenacity that wa
astonishing. The Cornell crew dre'
away from the Columbia boat until at til
bridge there were at least ten boa
lengths between them. 1t was here the
the Columbia crew made desperat
effort to spurt, but Cornell perceived i
and without evidently Increasing til
stroke put little more back and le
work in and carried her boat anothe
length and half ahead of the white an
blue, crossing the line an easy winner.
To the pitiable fzzle of the afternoo
there was one bright side and that wa
the true American sportsman spirit dis