The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-09-07
SW|MS ACROSS THE
ENGLISH CHANNEL
William T. Burgess Duplicates
Feat of Captain Matthew
Webb 36 Years Ago.
Continued From Page One.

OF gogglcs and R rubber bathing cap
A party or eleven accompanied him II
| the motorboat. Soon after the start the
wind freshened and the swimmer had Z
nasty experience in Il lumpy sea. The
water penetrated his goggles and frs
| affected the right eye. though finally
both eyes became inflamed. Altogether
| said Burgess he never before had suf.
fered so much from salt water.
After four hours the wind began tc
drop and with this change the sea be
| came smooth again.
The swimmer ate come chocolate
which made him sick, and he consulted
| with the pilot as to the advisabiity oi
| continuing. Being informed that condi-
| tions were more promising. he decided
| TO go on, although feeling bad.
| The end OF tho flood tide on which he
started found the swimmer three miles
north Of the south sands headlight ship
but the weather rapidly improved. Bur
gesss spirits revived and after seven,
hours ne was three miles south Of Narne
buoy, or, roughly speaking. half way
across.
My nisHttalI the wind had subsidized
altogether and there was an oily calm
on the water. Burgess had recovered
and was swimming powerfully He was
time chatted with the men who were IN
the boat.
Sent Back by Flood Tide.
The next flood tide sent him back to-
wards England and over the dreadful
ridge shoal. where he noticed the chill
of shallow water. He asked that sound :
inss he taken, and it was found thet the
depth was twenty-one fathoms
He concluded that he was nearen Eng
land than France. The swimmer Weld
cess from O'Clock until after mid
night, The night was ideal with n
bright moon; but there was haze on
the water Burgess took hot milk,
orr md S11n 10 OF l,,1f -H.,, T,,y1
walls.
AT 40 O'clock in the morning. the
dawnips. light showed them Sangate,
three miles distant Burgess complained
said he could see miragcs and had fit
Of the blues and il the boys did not sing
to him he should soon chuck it
singing naH Par,y hs eeSTSd snS ob @
songs. He had an attack Of muscular
cramps in the region OF the heart. This
ne attributed to the eXertions of the
ming wearily until nearly S O'clock
Then. thinking lie was many miles off.
he asked for twenty drops OF champagne
every hour and mot another drop IL 7
go down on my knees for it
Soon afterward another attack Of
cramps weakened him. He made no
h@adway and the situation became crit
ical The westward tide was sweeping
him off shore and he decided to change
his course and make a dash for the point
OF Girls Ncz. lie followed this detcrmina-
ton and made better progress but was
greatly handicapped by illness. At $50
the point OF the cape was straight ahead
He had missed Il by a quarter of a mile
but Burgess pluckily perscvered.
The party again sang tho MAR
seillatsc' as Burgess fought his way inch
by inch into the bay east OF Girls Ncz
II was a dramatic race with thc tide
by n man who had SWAN all night and
had been sick.
Excitement in The boat WAS intense as
Burgess forced himself into q slack wa
ter. Then another fifteen minutes OF
painful but puCky swimming brought
the gigantic task TO a successful con-
clusion.
Weidcmann finished the swim with
Burgess and supported him un the sandy
shore. The whole party from the boat
wadcd into the water and Checred lusti-
ly. Burgess sprinted the last Two hun
drcd yards with the left -over-arm. the
stroke that had given him The victory.