The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-09-14
ONLY TWO SWIMMERS
HAVE CROSSED CHANNEL
Captain Webb and William Burue So
Alone Acquired Distinction OF
MAKING Treacherous Course

New York, Sept. IA. Associated
Press) The failure of Henry Sull.
van, OF Lowell, Mass, to swim the
English channel on his fourth at.
tempt, recalls the efforts OF swim.
mers from all corners OF the world to
accomplish the feat.
Only twice In history has the rest.
less stretch Of water given way to the
eilofts OF aquatic stars. In 1875 Can.
tam Matthew Webb, an Englshman.
crossed from Dover to Calais in Fl
hours, 80 minutes. He was favored
by light wind and comparatively
CAIN sea, actually swimming about 80
miles
The distance across the channel at
the narrowest point, Dover to Cape
Girls Ne2, French headand in the
fas de Calais, is about 20 miles but
Swimmers are compelled to zig-zag
Eln combating the waves and tides.
I me second successful attempt to
lcross t3le channel was made on Sept.
~, 1911, by William r. Burgess. az
tEnslishman by birth, but naturally,
fed Frenchman. Fifteen times previ
lously he had attempted to make the
Iperilous swim. On the sixteenth he
IsWam from South Foreland, Dover. NJ
Gle Chatelet, a little village two miles
least OF Cape Girls Nez, in 90 hoars. 81
lminutes. He covered about 60 miles
1 HiIrUpcg'
more wonderful than that OF Captain
Webb in that he met with the most
adverse conditions. In mid-elannei
he was stung severely by jelH.fsh
and became al and was ready to
abandon the swim. When but a short
distance Off the French coast he met
the ebbing tides and battled for three
hours before reaching slack water.
Two other men said to have accom-.
plished the feat could not prove their
claims. Captain Davis Ellton, OF
New York, declared he swan tle chan
mel in August 1890, covering go miles
in % hours, 80 minutes. He claimed
to have swan the entire distance on
his back, and to have been so blinded
by salt water that his sight was i'm
paired for months afterward.
Sam Mahoneyl of Revere Beach.
Mass, asserted that he swan from
Sandgate, France to South Foreand.
\ in September 1898 but this was not
proved
Jabez WoIfe, the veteran English
swimmer +las made p unsuccessful
attempts to cross and is planning an
other. In -eptember. 1908, he arrived
within sight Of the Calais pier but be.
came I and was taken from the
water. He had been in the water %
hourc 7Coe
In August of 1905 James Mearns
. the Seottish swimming champion,
nearly lost his life IN the swim He
was i'll and drowning when rescued by
, friends in mid-taannel.
Montague Holbein, OF England, tried
Z seven times to cross 1903 he ar
rived witlin mile OF Dover after
: swimming % hours, p minutes, giving
up because OF exhaustion.
: Annette Kellerman. a native born
I Australian. called the worlds great
> est woman swimmer, made several at
:, ttempts without success. She now is d
! citizen OF the United States.
Rose Pitonot, OF Boston went tC
!. England in 1912 with the avowed pur
= pose OF conQuering the channel waves
j.. but never found conditions favorable
and returned to America.
Z Many others OF lesser note hay,
! tried and failed Sullivan has declar
: ed he will make another try in Sep
= temher. 0mer Perrault of Canada ant
. Tiraboschi, the italian swimmer. arr
=. trimming for the event