El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-23
Their First Victory
An Exciting Race Among
College Men. :: :: :: ::

As the freshmen sat i'll their shell
that beautiful May afternoon they felt
within themselves that their time had
come at last. The warmth of the set
ting sun rs it slowly approached the
hilltops which guard Cayuga on the
west. the deep blue of the lake and the
breath of spring in the soft southern
breeze seemed all to foretell some good
fortune. Then, too. as the crews row.
ed up the lake the first year men had
pulled together beautifully. their oars
had struck the water in perfect unison,
with never q break from bow to stroke.
1t was coming, and they knew it, for
they had struck their stride, as the
runners say.
4 blast from the whistle of the
coach's launch drew their attention to
the varsity and the sophomore crews
which had proceeded a mile farther up
the lake From this point the two SEN
Tor crews were to race for three miles,
picking up the freshmen at the mile
mark. AS the freshmen watched them
the distant shells turned slowly and
took their positions. A moment they
lay motionless; then, as a jet of white
steam shot up from the launch, Is
broad car blades flashed in the sun,
and the race was on.
1t looked to the eager freshmen as If
the sophomore crew had leaped to the
front with the first stroke. the heavier
varsity being unable to catch the water
as quickly as had their nimble rivals,
and . tho fxyn Sha1lS ron ir,u
the CLASSY surface of the lake it was
evident that the second year men were
increasing their advantage.
Look at 'em gain, Look at 'em
gain,'' cried CrowelI up in bow seat.
ever he watched others racing, but as
soon as he got in a race himself he
was the steadiest man in the boat.
That's all right" said Bruce, the
sturdy stroke; 1.-The sophs may jump
'em at the start, but you wait until that
varsity gets down to work"
And almost before he had uttered
them his words were proved true. for
the class crew ceased to gain on their
seniors. For time the two shells pull
ed at almost equal speed. the white
launch speeding along close behind the
second, the coach up in the bow direct
ing the oarsmen through his great alu-
minimum megaphone. Though the fresh
men could not hear him they knew that
he was upbraiding the varsity for al
lowing a class crew to get ahead of
them And soon his reproaches had
their effect, for the sophomores were
seen to be slowly losing their lead as
the older men began to put their hearts
into the work. Slowly but surely the
second crew crawled up until the
length and half of open water that
had separated it from its fleeing rival
was reduced to less than foot, and
then the coach'S voice came ringing
over the water:
Get ready there, freshmen
The little cockswain ceased craning
his neck over his shoulder and, grasp
ing the rudder lines firmly, shouted:
Ready al-llw
In response the eight sunbrowned
boys before him settled themselves into
their seats and, leaning far forward,
dipped their oar blades into the water.
Eyes in the boat" cautioned the
cockswain. and they waited while their
opponents came flying toward them.
They heard the painting of the launch's
engine and then the sound of the rush.
ing shells cleaving the still water and
the "schuh" of the oars in the rOwlocks
as 16 pairs of arms shot out on the re-
cover Then the "old mans voice
again:
Are you ready, freshmen? Then
gor'
And with one giant heave they were
Off
Bruce kept his eye steadily fixed on
the water just beyond the port gun
vale as it slipped past. still swirling
and dimpling from the blows Of the
stout blades behind him. Quickly and
yet with the utmost care he pulled
stroke after stroke; sharp catch and
a powerful heave, then out shot his
hands, and his shoulders followed on
the recover, but as his seat neared the
end of the slide he slowed 1t down that
there might be no checking Of the boat. |
And the seven men behind him were |
doing likewise, for once as he caught |
the water he felt the frail shell rise be- |
meath him and culver like a living |
thing A thrill of exultation passed |
every man in the crew. They |.
knew then that the victory was theirs. |
For the first time they had felt the |
shell live, and that spelled victory
And now the little cockswain found
MS voice.
STEADY, boys; steadyr' he cried /
Keep your eyes on the stroke-catch
Then, with a note of triumph in his
Voice, he shouted: