The San Francisco call., 1897-11-01
WHALE BLOWS
NEAR SWIMMER
! High Diving, Swimming
Race and a Capsizing
........... at the Cliff.
Schultz Claims the Worlds
Record Over Baker, the s. /
...... High Diver.
Reckless Feats in the Surf Without a
Lifeboat Launched During
the Contests, ~ f

There was great deal of am usement at
the Cliff House yesterday afternoon. 1t
was advertised that there would be high
dive and swimming match, but nobody
foresaw that a swimmer would be pursued
by large whale caught in dangerous
eddy, and finally driven 10 seek the
shelter of rock over which the surf broke
with thunderous roar. Such was the case.
however, and it looked at one time as il
r. B. Cornell, who had these strange ad-
ventures, would perish in the waves before
the iie-saving crew could reach him: =
The chief event advertised was a high
dive. 1t was billed that A. 3. Baker, the
worlds champion high diver, would dive
l25 feet from plank suspended from the
veranda of the Cliff House and swim
around the seal rocks with other swim
mers. He did not dive, however, and the
leap was made by 0. Schultz of the club.
Baker claimed he did not dive because he
was not sure of his m oney, but SchuIte
and his friends have announced that they
will claim the worlds championship "be-
cause Baker had cold feet and threw up
the sponge"
1t was long after O clock when Schultz
iebpcu lIOm the III iIOHL VI
the upper windows of the Cliff House. A
shout went up from the multitude when
it was seen that ne came up all right,
winning vigorously around the rocks,
accompanied by half a dozen swimmers
and nun ber OF seals.
Cornell undertook to lower his o. min
ute record around the seal rocks. He went
over half the distance, and would have
finished far ahead of his other swim but
for the fact that he was caught in an eddy
that corn pletely ba filed his progress. He
made no headway whatever, whereupon
he became quite exhausted and began to
signal for help. No one seemed to under
stand his meaning, most of The multitude
imagining that he was waving his hands
because he was having good time.
About this time monster whale spouted
near him, and he took fright, thinking he
was pursued by a shark.
Finally he started for rock and some
one familiar with signals of distress teIe-
phoned for the life-saving crew. 1t took
them early twenty minutes to get to the
rock, as they had much difficulty in
launching. When within about hun
dred fee of the rock Cornell swan 10 the
boat, while the crowd cheered. In at
tenn pting TO get ashore the lifeboat cap
sized and all were thoroughly soaked
while she was righting herself. Old swim
mers said 1t was reckless thing to have
no boats IN the water during the contests.
There was an exciting swim of 700 yards
along the beach. The following entered
the race: George Lacoste, A. Mckinney,
R. Dahl, F. Burnett, R. B. Cornell, F.
Durant Ed McClearnon, A. II. Hanton,
Joe Phillips and Mr.. Wilmot. Lacoste won
the race in 81 minutes, with Wilmot Sec
ond and Hanlon third. The third man
came in in Twelve minutes.
There was a great deal OF delay and dis
putting over the diving. When 1t came to
the scratch Baker claimed that he saw no
ready money and that he was not going
to dive for his health. The manager of
the event said the m money was secur' but
Baker would not accept his word for the
debt and declined to go. 1t was then that
Schultz stepped up and said he would not
see the name OF the club disgraced. "Pll
make the dive if l die for IT, he said, and
at once tripped up 20 the veranda and
made the leap to the great satisfaction of
the thousands assembled. Baker after
ward said the distance was but eighty-six
feet and offered 10 bet that it was not
more, but Schultz and his friends said the
distance was all they had billed it, and on
that showing they claimed that Schultz
had won the world championship for
high diving. Schulte's S highest dive before
this was fifty-two feet in the Sutro baths.