Evening star., 1901-09-21
GREAT SWIMMING FEATS.
Achievements With Which That Of
Leander Does Not Compare.

From the Chicago News.
T.eander who used nightly to swim the
T. ellespont to meet his lady love- is prob
ably the first long-distance swimmer OF
whom there Is any definite record, though
the HeIIespont would not be thought a very
formidable strait by modern athlete, as
1t is only about mile across. The strength
of the current there, however, renders 1t
impossible for even a boat to cross in a
direct line, and Lord Byron, who in 1910
swan the He1lespont in company with
Lieut.. Ekenhead, actually covered dis
tance of about four miles. Among the
Romans, Horatius, who swan the Tiber
after his heroic feat in keeping Lars Por-
sena and his army at bay, can hardly be
reckoned among long g-distance swimmers,
as the river is only about 100 yards across.
Apparently the first attempt ever made
to swim the English channel was in 1872,
when Johnson, known as the "hero Of Lon
don bridge" started from Dover. The cold
of the water, however, was so intense that
he was obliged to give in after a compara-
lively short distance, but he is said to
have covered seven miles in sixty-five min
utes. The next effort was that by the ia
nous Capt Webb three years later. The
first great swimming feat of Capt. Webb
was his heroic attempt, when on board
the Cunard liner the Russia, to save a sea-
man who had fallen overheard in mid-At-
lantic. His next exploit was his twenty
mile swim from Blackwell to Gravesend
distance he accomplished in few min
utes under five hours. Then on August r.
1915, he made his first attempt to cross the
channel. which ended in failure. On August
"a he again started. leaving Dover at
O'Clock. A wind arose and the sea rough
ened, and only his indomitable pluck
enabled him to keep up the struggle He
finally landed at Calais at 1910 am, after
being In the water twenty-one hours and
forty-hve minutes. His success made him
a popular hero; he was greeted with the
widest enthusiasm wherever he went. and
unfortunately it must to some extent be
reckoned the indirect cause Of his tragic
death in 1888 in his wild attempt to swim
the Niagara rapids.
The next channel swim was by Davis
Dalton, an American, who started from
Boulogne at 4 o'clock on August IT. 1890
The night was cold and rainy and the tide
drifted him considerably out of his course,
In reaching Folkestone at $50 o'clock the
next day, having covered between fifty
and sixty miles. Many attempts have
been made since to swim the channel but
none has been wholly successful. Fisher
and Dalton attempted to swim from Dover
to Ramsgate, a feat which Capt Webb
had once performed, but were unsuccess-
ful. In 1897 Peter McNally of Boston
started from Dover at IL o'clock, accom-
panied by a lugger. AS q suitable diet he
chewing tobacco. By 8 o'clock exhaustion
! began to set in and he suffered greatly
from cramp; but he went doggedly on un-
til he became delirious and his friends
dragged him forcibly into the lugger The
last attempt, and one which was very
nearly successful, was that of Frank
Holmes in September, 1S9S Starting from
Dover. he swan within six miles of the
French coast, when, fog coming on and
the wind beginning to rise. he abandoned
his attemDt.