The Washington herald., 1914-06-27
COLUMBIA Wins
BY HALFLENGTH
Blue and White Triumphs on
Hudson for First Time in
Nineteen Years.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.

beyond, and the yachts in a long line
looked big and white in the soft dusk
Of the early twilight
Twenty-four oars were flashing and
turning and breaking the polished sur
face Of the river In little flashes of light
Twenty-four bronzed backs were dipping
and rising and falling like mannikins on
a stick, and three slender boats were
leaping forward like fishes with every
drive. This was the picture at first
glance. but there was one1 break in the
long lines of evenly moving bodies. The
boy at the bow oar OF the Cornell boat
was all but q wreck. His back bowed
like a monkeys and his head swung
loosely as he went back and forth with
the stroke. He could NOT have been
pulling q pound and he was long past
the numbness OF utter exhaustion, but
discipline, stronger than muscle or sinew
or heart, kept him going through the
motions until the signal should come to
stop.
Columbia Leaps Forward.
And then 1t was that Columbia moved
up TO challenge in the final round for
the championship Of the water. A few
strokes and their boat was side by side
with Cornell's, but Pennsylvania still
chung to her slender lead and fought
savagely to hold 1t. The eight blue
tipped oar blades swept through the
water and a frenzied yell told that the
nose Of the Columbia boat was in front.
The warriors from Cayuga Lake bent
forward and tore at the oars and an
answering shrek told them that they
were leading their oldest rival once
more. Again Columbia lifted the shell
down stream and again the sharp prov
stuck out in front. But the next stroke
n he
more. For the third time Columbia
pushed out a few inches and this time
CornelPs reply was a few inches short,
but both OF them were coming up on
Pennsylvania
Down the stream they came together
while the din from the cliff sides rolled
out higher and higher.
Mccarthy the Hero.
In the last quarter mile an Irishman
named MacCarthy, stroke Of the Colum-
bia crew, did the trick Those half
formed boys were gray at the mouth
and glazed at the eye and a greater
effort seemed impossible. even for the
pitiful honor of showing a few thousand
people that they could make a rowboat
go a few feet faster in four miles than
the other boys present, and about one
quarter as fast as a fair motorboat
MacCarthy did il. He was white to his
drawn lips from the fearful tax of that
long struggle, but he lashed his oar
through the water with the strength of
new man. Half a second later the
other seven boys had caught him and
the iron discipline OF weeks kept them in
tlme with him as he swayed back and
forth desperately at his oar.
r or one two strokes the dying answer
OF Cornell held them even, then the Itha-
cans fell back foot at a time defeated
cornell was beaten at last and in the
oeiir1um OF that moment seven Columbia
boys forgot for a second that the sturdy
Youngsters from Pennsylvania were still
In front swinging down to the finish
mark, only hundred yards away. But
MacCarthy did not forget Faster and
harder he lashed his oar through the
water and as gamely and as vainIy as
had Cornell, Pennsylvania rallied to meet
the challenge. But they had rowed their
race The last ounce-of strength in their
tired bodies was working on the oars
but 1t was not enough.
Faster and faster Columbia lickad I'M
the few feet of water that separated
them and even faster she darted ahead
and was leading by more than a half
BOATS length when the final thunderclap
proclaimed that the greatest race ever
roWed on the Hudson was over.
IL Is anu-climaN to talk about the
other races, but it is news Cornell won
ooth OF them easily. The freshmen race
was workout. The Ithacans won by
ten lengths and never quickened their
stroke. The junior varsity was won as
easily by Cornell. but by not so big a
margin Columbia and Syracuse were
the contenders.