The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-05-22

Ell AOIN - NV Il. Lillian all
non OF Baltimore, under the aus
pieces Of NEA Service. the worlds
largest newspaper feature organ
ization, is in training for an at
tempt to swim the English Chan
mel this summer. This article
/ tells of her famous swim across
Chesapeake Bay during a storm.
Baltimore. Nd. May 22.-Lillian
Cannon. who sailed for France on
May Is. there to indulge in an eight
weeks training period preparatory to
swimming the English Channel. is
perfectly aware that cshas Il ire
mcndous task before her.
Some Of the most celebrated wo-
men swimmers in history, including
the famous Gertrude Edcrlc. have
tried it and failed.
Can Lillian Cannon do it" Lillian
believes she can. Some day wo-
man is going to do it--and that wo-
man might just as well be namcd
Lillian Cannon as anything else.
And Lillian is nothing if not novel,
for she will be accompanied on her
! swim by two dogs two Chesapeake
Day uOSs. ana SW lOoIs.
% Miles in IL Hours
Last summer-on August 20-Lil-
liam swan % miles across Chcsa-
pcake Bay. She was in the water for
III hours and finished in excellent
physical condition.
Her idea was that she would swim
the bay with nothing more than the
usual sea and tides to combat. In
stead she ran afoul of some of the
toughest conditions u swimmer has
ever been asked to face.
To begin with, Miss Cannon and
George Lake started across the bay
ito Rochester by boat after Bay
Shore had closed for the night. They
were both life guards at Bay Shore
and couldn't leave sooner. They bor-
rowcd launch for the trip, intend
| ing to swim back TO Bay Shore from
| colchester.
| A mile or so from Rochester thcy
ran into a sand bar and there they
stuck. They couldn't tell where
they were in the dark and the!
couldn't attract anybody's attention
Neither slept wink.
Shortly after daybrcak. the people
! of colchester. who had been expect.
| ing them. saw the stranded launch
and went after them. 1t was too late
to sleep then and Lillian decided tt
( have breakfast and go ahead witt
| her swim. After breakfast She rest
/! ed an hour and at eight o'clock start
cd out.
Before she had gone more than
mile or two fresh breeze blew vi
and it began to rain.
In, the afternoon the breeze dc
vclopcd into regular Chesapcak
Bay squall, with heavy sea. Th
rain continued and visibility was s.
poor that Miss Cannon followed In
sal, Of bay schooner for nearly a.
hour. thinking it was the lighthous
which was her landmark on the west
crn shore.
| When the gale was high. Lake. tn
other swimmer. quit and was draSgc
aboard launch.
A Final Squirt
Darkness found her still sw'mmin
bravcly on with Bay Shore IN sigh
Two hundred yards from shore sh
called to the newspaper men ~ tn
following launch:
.Hcrc's where | really begin
| SWIM"
With that she started racl,
stroke and fairly foamcd up to I'd
pier. !.
, While she was lying on the p't
) waiting for an automobile to tai
! her away, photographer from o.
Of tho Baltimore newspapers can
4 up.
: "Shucks." he said. II was hoplr
to get flashlight Of you coming /,
Il to the pier
Fl "All right" said Miss canno
E "You can"
She shook off the blankets AZ
!, sweaters which had been piled
: her. ran to the edge Of the pier az
i dived overheard.
When she was about 30 yards o
! she turned and called to the photo
} rapher:
E AN right now" !,
With that she swan up to 7
: pier, faced the flashlight, and climbs
I out Of the water.
II That's the sort Of swimmer Lilli'
~