Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/476

 456 ROWING and Oxford 16, but in 1875 the latter made her number 17. At Oxford there are 18 dis- tinct college rowing clubs, and one university club. Yet one of the two large boat-build- ing establishments of Oxford keeps 350 boats for hire, among which are 40 eight-oared out- riggers and 40 four-oared outriggers, and in addition builds an average of three boats a week. At Cambridge there are 19. rowing clubs and one university club. In 1864, when the college crews were in training with a view to select from the best eight-oared crews the university crew with which to meet Ox- ford at Putney, a writer says that "the col- lege eights were formed for practice in three divisions of 20 boats each, thus making 60 eight-oared outrigg&d cutters, or nearly 500 oarsmen in practice on the Cam at the same time, day by day." The Henley-on-Thames royal regatta, rowed late in June each year and open to all amateur clubs of a year's stand- ing, has flourished since 1839; and among the competitors for its grand challenge cup and ladies' challenge plate for eights, its steward's, visitors', and Wyfold challenge cups for fours, silver wherries and goblets for pair-oars, and diamond sculls for scullers, it has for many years brought out the best amateur material in England. The record of matches in Great Britain for 1865, as far as known, footed up 365. There are also many clubs formed merely for exercise and pleasure, which do not race, making the total number of boating clubs in the United Kingdom more than 460. In 1850 there was no boat club in the United States of more than a local reputation, and there had been no racing of importance. The boats of that day were half as wide and not much longer than the English wherry, though not so heavy. There was no distinctive class of watermen, and little rowing except in the harbors of the seaboard places, where only heavy boats could be used ; and among the stevedores, longshoremen, and others plying these, racing was not popular. Apart from the credit due to a few professionals and to local amateur clubs, the most interesting if not most important racing records belong to the northern and eastern colleges. Rowing as a pastime began at Yale in 1843, and at Har- vard in 1844. The first intercollegiate race took place on Aug. 3, 1852, at Centre Harbor, Lake Winnepiseogee. It was for eight-oared barges carrying coxswains, over a two-mile course. Harvard in the Oneida defeated the Halcyon and Undine of Yale, leading at the finish by two lengths. The boats averaged about 37 ft. in length and 3 ft. in breadth. In 1855 Yale again challenged Harvard, and on July 21, on the Connecticut near Springfield, over a three-mile tideway course, the six-oared Nereid and Nautilus of Yale, each carrying a coxswain, were beaten by the Harvard four- oared Y. Y. with no coxswain, and the eight- oared Iris with a coxswain. The Iris took 23 m. ; the Y. Y., after deducting an allowance of 11 s. an oar, 22 m. 3 s. ; the Nereid, 23 m. 38 s. ; and the Nautilus, 24 m. 38 s. In 1858 Harvard proposed to the undergraduates of the principal New England colleges and those of New York city to establish an annual inter- collegiate regatta. Delegates from Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Trinity met at New Haven, May 26. The course was fixed at three miles. An allowance of 12s. an oar was to be given to smaller boats, and the prizes were to be flags, not to exceed $25 in value, and to be paid for by the entrance fees of the boats. But a week before the time appointed for the race the Yale boat was overturned by a collision, and her stroke drowned. This broke up the race. The next contest was at Lake Quinsigamond, near Worcester, Mass., July 26, 1859. All the boats were six-oared, Brown sending the lapstreak Atalanta, Yale the shell Yale, and Harvard the lapstreak Avon and the shell Harvard. The Yale and Brown boats carried coxswains. The boats were several feet longer than in former years, had narrowed to about 2 ft. in beam, and had been materially lightened. Harvard won easily in 19 m. 18 s., Yale being 60 s. later, and the others far behind. But next day, in a regatta thrown open by the citizens of Wor- cester, Harvard was beaten by Yale by 2 s. There was no rudder to the Harvard boat, while Yale had a coxswain ; and the next year Harvard introduced a device which by dis- pensing with coxswains practically revolution- ized American rowing. The bow oarsman, by touching with his foot a strip of wood or iron, moving horizontally on a pivot, worked wires running to a parallel strip on top of the rudder, and so steered the boat. This con- trivance probably won Harvard the race in 1860 by 12J s., while Yale carried a coxswain weighing 112 Ibs. The war stopped these races till 1864, when Yale won, and again on July 28 and 29, 1865. Harvard took the flags for the following five years. The boats were still lengthening and narrowing, the climax being reached in 1866, when the Harvard craft was 57 ft. long and but 19 in. wide, while each rower, instead of sitting close up to the side of the boat furthest from his oar blade, sat in the middle, rendering her much steadier. In 1868 Harvard rowed the three miles on Lake Quinsigamond in 17 m. 48| s. In 1869 Har- vard challenged both the Oxford and Cam- bridge crews to a friendly race over their own course on the Thames, from Putney to Mort- lake. Cambridge declined the challenge, but Oxford accepted, each crew to consist of four rowers and a coxswain. When the day, Aug. 27, came, Harvard was obliged to supply the places of two of her best oarsmen with com- paratively new men. She was also over- matched by Oxford 44 Ibs. in the total weight of crew. Yet in a course of 4 m. 3 fur. Har- vard led for more than 2 m., Oxford finally winning by !& length in 22 m. 20-6 s. of time. In 1870, owing to some dissatisfaction with regard to the decision of the umpire, Yale