The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-06-26
THE FEAT OF 4 WINNER
A BaltimOrean Covers a Distance
Of Twenty-three Miles.
He Goes From Colchester TO River
View In Sixteen Hours and Ten
Min ates-Tbe Difficulties Encoun-
tered-PoOr Diet and No Training.

rom IOICncSfeE 10 Rf-PF
View In Sixteen Hours ard Ten
Min ates-Tbe Difficulties Enc9un-
tered-PoOr Diet and No Training
BALTIMORE, June 2s-WiHiam ]. Clio
Yer, jr-, of this CITY. yesterday accompa-
plished the feat of swimming from Toll
chester Beach 10 the pier at River View
Park The distance is something over
twenty-three miles. bat Glover because
of 4 strong ebb tide had to swim nearly
twenty-six miles. He left Colchester at
40 a. N. and landed at the River View
pier at $50 p m. He was in the water six
teen hours and ten minutes. The feat as
regards speed was not a great one, but
the conditions 1ndcr which it was accom-
pliShed made it wonderful so far as en-
durance went
Five thousand persons or more were at
River View when the athlete arrived. He
was given an ovation. When he reached
the finishing point he had TO be dragged
from the water, for he was in se9Hi-con-
sciouS condition Glover was hustled into
a bathroom, where he was restored His
first question was Where is S1y wife?''
She had been the first to greet him when
he was taken from the water. He had
kissed her and tried to embrace her and
their baby. which she held in her arms.
but he had not the strength. Later on
when he revived. he did not remember
that he had seen them.
Glover broke all rules of training and
diet He is twenty-seven years old and
weighs about $50 pounds. He works in a
copper mill Only three times this year
has he had a swim and he was not in the
water over an hour on any of these coca
sions- lie did little road running. but
that was the extent of his preparation.
The swimmer was accompanied on the
long journey by his father, William J.
Glover. ST., aged sixty-two years; his
brother-in-law, Charles .. Magic The
party went to Colchester Monday after
noon on the excursion steamer. They
took with them an ordinary bateau. which
the father pulled the entire distance, not
leaving the rowing seat or TeIinquIshing
his hold of the oars once in the eighteen
hours. Mr.. Maggie occupied the rear seat
and had 4 life line attached TO his belt.
The swimmer kept within about twelve
feet OF the boat.
Mr. Nagle said that when they left Bal
timore Monday they intended to give
young Glover a swim at Rochester Beach
on Monday afternoon, but did not find
that feasible. They spent the night at
the beach, sleeping on tables, and did not
eat any breakfast before they put the
swimmer in the water. The start was
made at 4;20 d m When they started the
tide was ebbiSS- Out in the bay they met
a very strong current. which carried the
swimmer about two and q half miles out
OF his course Otherwise, they claimed,
he would have covered the distance in at
least two hours quicker time
When Glover started he was covered
with a preparation OF paraftine and oil,
but it was found useless, for 1t peeled off
IN less than an hour. In the middle OF
the Chesapeake he caught q food tide,
but met an ebb tide again at Sparrows
Point. Glover swan most of the way on
his abdomen, resting his neck at times by
swimming on his back A. North Point
Sparrows Point, Fort Carroll, and other
points and from steamers in the course
the swimmer was saIuted by whistles
The party had depended on fresh milk
as the main diet for the swimmer but
could not secure any until they reached a
point of Bear Creek. where a friend sup
oiled them 1t vas the intention not to
allow Glover to touch the boat, but, his
diet being confined to crackers, of which
he ate fewer than a dozen, d piece Of cake
and a small bottle of Jamaica ginger, it
was found necessary to stop the boat
three times. As the boat was stationary
Glover held on with one hand and fed
himself with the otherS then a pipe would
be lit for him and he would start off
swimming and smoking.
The four men emptied four bags of
smoking tobacco. Fortunately for the
swimmer, he did not swallow any salt
water or his unique diet Of crackers, cake,
ginger and tobacco smoke, with salt
water. might have made trouble. As il
was, he said he had no sign Of cramps OF
any kind, and, excepting his feaTfully
wrinkled and washed-out looking hands,
there was nothing about his body or face
which would lead one to suspect he had
been il the water and exposed to the hot
sun for such length Of time.
Among the records of swimming feats
are the following:
Capt Matthew Webb kept ahoat with
out touching anything so consecutive
hours at Scarborough, England, June %
July / 1880 He swan 10 miles with the
tide in the Thames River, England, July
u 1878, IN hours and 81 minutes He
also swan from Dover, England, to Ca
lais, France. % miles, in q hours and 10
minutes in 1919
John c Meyers swan from Alton, Ill.
to St Louis. Mo, ZIas miles. with strong
current in hours and minutes. in July,
1880
In the Thames River Miss Agnes Beck
with swan 20 miles in hours and % min
utes in July, 1878.
Miss Edith johnson at Blackpool Baths,
England. swan 81 consecutive hours IN
May, 1859 Miss Beckwith Swan 100 hours
out of 49, in the Westminster Aquarium
September 1913, 1856.
Young GIOver's swim from Rochester to
River View was under adverse circum-
stances. He was in the salt water bat
ting against strong adverse tides, with no
sort Of training and on a diet that speaks
for itself. What he could do if properly
conditioned is problematical. but his at
PENDANTS said he could reduce the time
materially if he made another trial
~cspEaKE cTm pEcArrA