The season of 1895 is the turning-point in American rowing. Yale and Harvard at New London had their race, and Columbia was in the Freshman race ; but there was no disposition among the Thames oarsmen to help along col lege rowing in general, and, in fact, they rather tended to discourage the other universities in the support of their crews. The only incentive to any undergraduate sport is competition, and with out a race an university will not row ; we do not row much for pleasure in our colleges — it is all to beat some one, and a sport without an end can never prosper. Cornell, Columbia, and Pennsyl vania, since leaving New London, where they were not wanted, had drifted about from here to there ; but in 1895 they revived the old tri angular agreement, and fixed on the fine stretch of the Hudson at Poughkeepsie, New York, as a course for their race. The four miles is quite straight, and the river so wide that a score or more of eights may row in the same race without crowding ; it is the course for the world to row upon, and the three universities let it be known that the world might row with them.
Cornell, with a considerable line of victories, had been looking toward Henley, and though they entered willingly into the Hudson River compact, they at the same time determined to have an eight for the Grand Challenge Cup, which, since University rowing had gone from fours and sixes into eights, was the only event that could be thought about, and at the same time it is the trophy of highest import in the rowing world. The entry was accepted, and the crew went into practice at Henley, choosing a house near the river. The Englishmen did not like their style, and said that all the rowing was done with the arms ; but as a matter of fact it was nearly all done with the legs, and the British reasoned that, since there was little or no body swing, the power must come from the arms. They rowed a stroke anywhere from forty-three to forty eight, with a piston-rod action, but they were well together, and in the trials on the course made 7.04. As the race came on the men began to fall off in condition either because of the climate or because of too much work, or more probably on account of the combination, and several of them were scarcely fit to row by the day of the race.
Leander fell to Cornell for the first day, and their crew was picked to represent the best row ing of Oxford and Cambridge, and was undoubt edly a fast eight and the one to be most feared in the regatta. Both crews received their warn ings of the start, and when the word was given, Cornell heard it and took the water, but Leander did not and remained at the stakes. It would have been more sportsmanlike for Cornell to have stopped and taken a fresh start, but they chose to follow the letter of the laws of boat racing and had a row over. They afterward offered to row again with Leander, but the invitation was not taken. On the next day Cornell met Trinity
Hall (Cambridge). Cornell began at forty-six and Trinity at forty-two, and for the first half of the course they steadily gained, and at Fawley Court had three-quarters of a length. Trinity then began to come up ; the distance gradually les sened until the two eights were even ; at the Isthmian boat-house the Trinity bow went ahead. Cornell was done ; they broke all at once ; the oars were out of time, the bodies unsteady, and finally they stopped rowing. Trinity won in 7.15, and later won the cup.' Cornell was in a miserable physical condition when they went into the race, and it is not sur prising that they lost, though it is doubtful if the crew could have beaten Leander, just as there is no doubt but that they could have easily whipped Trinity Hall had they been able to row the full distance at their best.
The worst feature of the trip, however, was the conduct of the Cornell men, who gave sufficient cause for that criticism which the English press is so ready to start upon. It seems that Cornell did shamefully violate the traditions of the course; much that was said of them was true, and it was not softened by their conduct in claiming the first race in a decidedly professional manner. Henley combines the life of a gentleman with that of an athlete, while we have here the idea that the final training for a race is a most serious business to be treated with the utmost gravity, and that a decent show of courtesy, or even a passably good and quite innocent time, will ruin the speed of the crew. It is enough to say that Cornell followed the American idea.
The first of the Poughkeepsie races was not encouraging ; the contest did not take place on the day set because of an accident to the Pennsylvania shell, and they were forced to put a heavy crew into a shell intended for a much lighter one. The race day was far better suited for yacht racing than light ship rowing. The referee should never have started the boats away, but they battled the waves bravely. Pennsyl vania led until their shell filled with water and started to go down ; still the eight men kept on rowing with the entire boat submerged, and only when it was impossible to keep moving did they stop and allow themselves to be picked up. Cornell, a second crew, the first being abroad, had almost as much trouble, and Columbia, with a bigger boat than the others, managed to keep afloat, and won. Cornell swamped just as they crossed the line. A race has seldom been rowed under greater difficulties, and nearly all the oars men had their hands badly cut and legs bruised trying to get the oars out of the water on the recovery. Columbia had a big, heavy crew that rowed a long, slow swing which was effective under the conditions. The Columbia Freshmen rowed with Yale and Harvard at New London, and the Freshmen crews of Cornell and Pennsyl vania raced at Ithaca, Cornell winning.