enough to make good hauling. Raish and his brother Howard, who was two
years younger, had twenty cords of wood to get in from back. One dark
cloudy day the young fellows were hurrying to get in another load before
darkness shut down. The oxen were swung around, head homeward, alongside
a pile of wood. A quarter of the load was on when the oxen began to act
queerly. They commenced to sniff, putting their noses into the air, and
looking all around. Raish had never seen them so behave, but he went on
loading. Presently one of the steers put his head down and gave a long,
low moan, at the same time pawing the snow.
Raish spoke to them, yet a curious feeling began to take possession of
him, when, without a warning more than that, a cry rose upon the still
air of the woods, and that same instant the oxen threw themselves
against the yoke. There followed a crash of falling cord-wood as the
sled started, and hardly slower, the boys sprang aboard, seizing hold of
a sled-stake; and as Raish rolled over again he heard that cry, and
something leaped into the middle of the road behind them.
[Illustration: IT WAS A WILD RUN.]
But that was all. The oxen plunged madly forward, and at every lurch
their bellows mingled with the clangor of chains and the pounding of the
sled. What power guided them along that road? Bounding over the cradle
knolls, crashing now into this side, now into that, strewing the road
behind them with the cord-wood sticks. It was a wild run.
A quarter of a mile was passed. There was no looking back, and no
looking forward for the pelting of ice from flying hoofs. The clearing
is reached. Wild with fright, on the steers go. The house, the
wood-pile, as in a swim, flash by, and then there is a crash.
When Raish's memory gathered up the thread of swiftly passing events, he
was lying on the floor of the cow-stable on the straw, and his brother,
pale from fright, was bending over him, and there were some other
frightened people crowded around, and a pair of steers were at the far
end of the cow-stable. Raish was aware of some blood from an ugly cut.
He lay stunned, they say, for some moments. Howard escaped without a
hurt. The oxen, guided by instinct, made straight for the stable, and
seeing the open door, made straight for refuge. The sled had struck the
corner of the log barn, the tongue had snapped off, and the boys had
been thrown forward; Raish's forehead struck, it was believed, either a
sled-stake or one of the oxen's hoofs. The wonder was that both were not
killed from the force with which they must have struck.
But all this time where was the panther? It came, so some persons at the
house said, to the edge of the timber and a little beyond, where it
stood some while, hesitating, and then turned back to the woods, where,
instead of taking the road, it gave a mighty spring to the limb of a
tree, and disappeared from view, no one venturing to follow.
Before the winter was over, however, some men with a small dog drove it
to tree and shot it, after it had killed a fine heifer, no great ways
from there. Out of curiosity the height of the panther's leap was
measured, and it was said to be nearly eighteen feet.
[Illustration: INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORT]
The annual boat-races of the Halcyon and Shattuck crews of St. Paul's
School, Concord, were held this year on June 18th, on Lake Penacook, as
usual. The honors of the day went to the Halcyons, whose first and
second crews won their events, the first crew breaking the school record
for the distance by four seconds.
[Illustration: RACE BETWEEN THE FIRST CREWS, ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL, THE
HALCYON EIGHT LEADING.]
The most important of the three contests was the last race, between the
two Senior eights. The start was made shortly before eleven o'clock in
the morning, both crews getting away about together, rowing in good form
and with very little splashing. The Shattucks started with a stroke of
42, the Halcyons pulling a 40 stroke. This pace was kept up for about a
quarter of a mile, when both crews dropped their stroke a couple of
points, and for the rest of the race neither eight went above 38.
[Illustration: THE HALCYON FIRST CREW, ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL.
Holders of the record: DISTANCE, 1-1/2 miles; TIME, 8 min. 21 sec.]
At the mile the boats were about even, but there the Halcyons began to
draw slowly away, and although the Shattucks tried to keep up, they were
unable to push their boat through the water as rapidly as their rivals.
At the mile-and-a-half flag the Halcyon eight was two boat-lengths ahead
of the Shattucks, and still gaining rapidly. The Shattuck stroke tried
to hit it up, but his crew was unable to respond. The men in the Halcyon
boat were rowing in beautiful form, with a long and regular body swing,
and kept increasing their lead. They rushed their shell across the line
nineteen seconds ahead of their rivals, their time over the course being
8 min. 21 sec., the best former record for the distance being 8 min. 25
sec., made by the Shattucks in 1891.
[Illustration: THE ST. PAUL'S CREWS GOING OUT TO PRACTICE.]
The Halcyon men showed no signs of fatigue, but the Shattuck oarsmen
seemed slightly done up, although they finished in excellent form. There
is little doubt that this Halcyon crew of 1896 is the best that ever
rowed on Lake Penacook, most of the men being veterans, the four stern
oars especially being the best four that the school has ever turned out,
so far as working together in the boat is concerned. The Shattuck crew,
on the other hand, has had a good deal of hard luck this year, and the
men were all younger and less experienced than their rivals. The crews
rowed as follows:
Shattuck.
Stroke--Byrd.
No. 7--Stillman.
No. 6--Glidden (Capt.).
No. 5--Francis.
No. 4--Nickerson.
No. 3--McKay.
No. 2--Nugent.
No. 1--Vredenburg.
Halcyon.
Stroke--Thomas.
No. 7--Wheeler (Capt.).
No. 6--Brock.
No. 5--Howard.
No. 4--Niedecken.
No. 3--N. Biddle.
No. 2--Goodwin.
No. 1--L. Biddle.
In the race between the second crews, the Shattuck six got a better
start than the Halcyons, and rowed 36 to the minute all through the
race. The Halcyons overtook them at the first quarter, rowing 38. It had
been supposed that these two crews were of about equal strength, and a
close race was expected, but after the first quarter of a mile the
Shattuck men seemed to go to pieces and splashed badly, and in spite of
the continued exhortation of the cox-swain, the men were unable to hit
up the stroke. The Halcyon oarsmen, however, rowed in good form, and
broke the record for their event, covering the distance in 9 min. 23
sec. The Shattuck's time was 9 min. 45 sec. The men sat in the boats as
follows:
Shattuck.
Stroke--Warmoth.
No. 5--Hogle (Captain).
No. 4--Wilson.
No. 3--Winter.
No. 2--Kaime.
No. 1--Campbell.
Halcyon.
Stroke--Barker (Captain).
No. 5--Henderson.
No. 4--Hollingsworth.
No. 3--Drayton.
No. 2--Wheeler.
No. 1--Berger.
In the race between the third crews the Shattucks again got a better
start than their opponents, and secured a lead which they kept
increasing as they neared the finish. Within half a mile of the line the
Halcyons raised their stroke for a moment and tried to spurt, but they
were unable to keep this up, and soon fell back to 35. This four did not
row in as good form as the other Halcyon crews did, and showed
considerable want of coaching. Their pluck, however, was good, and they
never gave up work until they had crossed the line. The third Shattuck
crew rowed a very steady race, showing good form for the entire
distance. The men sat in the boats as follows:
Shattuck.
Stroke--Stoddard.
No. 3--Bloomer.
No. 2--Thompson.
No. 1--Keep (Captain).
Halcyon.
Stroke--Nelson.
No. 3--Phipps (Captain).
No. 2--Weston.
No. 1--Pruyn.
The breaking of the record by the first Halcyon is a feat to be proud of
when it is considered that in the crew which held this record previously
were Fennessy of Harvard, and Brown and Simpson of this year's Yale
Henley crew. There are undoubtedly several rising oarsmen in both the
Halcyon and Shattuck boats this year. Harvard will get Byrd, Stillman,
Glidden, Nickerson, and McKay, whereas Yale will have Francis, Nugent,
and Vredenburg.
RECORD OF CONTESTS BETWEEN THE HALCYON AND SHATTUCK CREWS, ST. PAUL'S
SCHOOL, CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Year. Date. Winner First-Crew Race. Time of Losing Crew.
1-Mile Course.
1871. June 7. Halcyon, 8 min. 32 sec. 8 min. 53 sec.
1872. June 20. Shattuck, time not given. 3 lengths.
1873. June 7. Halcyon, 8 min. 45 sec. 1 length behind.
1-3/4-Mile Course.
1874. June 16. Halcyon, 10 min. 23 sec. 11 min. 8 sec.
Course, 1 Mile and Return.
1875. June 9. Halcyon, 14 min. 6 sec. 14 min. 50 sec.
1876. June 10. Halcyon, 14 min. 28 sec. 15 min. 13-1/4 sec.
1877. June 14. Shattuck, 13 min. 40-1/4 sec. 14 min. 48 sec.
1878. No races.
1879. June 11. Halcyon, 14 min. 2-1/4 sec. Not taken.
1880. June 3. Shattuck, 14 min. 25-1/2 sec. 14 min. 57 sec.
1881. June 2. Halcyon, 14 min. 10 sec. 15 min. 1 sec.
1882. June 13. Halcyon, 13 min. 28-1/2 sec. 14 min. 4 sec.
[3]1883. June 12. Halcyon, 13 min. 13 sec. 13 min. 38 sec.
1884. June 9. Shattuck, 12 min. 41 sec. 13 min. 16 sec.
1885. May 25. Halcyon, 14 min. 7-1/4 sec. [4]Not taken.
1886. May 24. Shattuck, 12 min. 51 sec. 12 min. 58-1/2 sec.
1887. May 29. Shattuck, 12 min. 42 sec. 12 min. 46-4/5 sec.
1888. June 8. Halcyon, 12 min. 32-2/5 sec. [5]Not taken.
1889. June 1. Shattuck, 13 min. 10-1/4 sec. Not taken.
1-3/4-Mile Straightaway.
1890. May 28. Halcyon, 9 min. 2-1/2 sec. Not taken.
1-1/2-Mile Straightaway.
[6]1891. May 27. Shattuck, 8 min. 25 sec. Not taken.
1892. May 28. Shattuck, 8 min. 29-3/4 sec. Not taken.
1893. May 29. Shattuck, 9 min. 19 sec. Not taken.
1894. June 10. Shattuck, time not given. Not taken.
1895. June 11. Shattuck, 9 min. 14-1/2 sec. 9 min. 30 sec.
1896. June 18. Halcyon, 8 min. 21 sec. 8 min. 40 sec.
[3] From 1883 to 1890 the first crews rowed in six-oared gigs.
[4] 1885 oar broke.
[5] 1888 oar-lock broke.
[6] Since 1891 eight-oared shells have been used.
Year. Date. Winner Second-Crew Race. Winner Third-Crew Race.
1-Mile Course.
1871. June 7. No race. No race.
1872. June 20. No race. No race.
1873. June 7. No race. No race.
1-3/4-Mile Course.
1874. June 16. Halcyon, time not given. No race.
Course, 1 Mile and Return.
1875. June 9. Halcyon, 14 min. 48 sec. Halcyon.
1876. June 10. Halcyon, 15 min. 2-3/4 sec. No race.
1877. June 14. Shattuck, 14 min. 9-3/4 sec. Halcyon.
1878. No races.
1879. June 11. Shattuck, 14 min. 22 sec. Shattuck.
1880. June 3. Shattuck, 14 min. 15-1/4 sec. Shattuck.
1881. June 2. Shattuck, 14 min. 5 sec. No race.
1882. June 13. Halcyon, 15 min. 1 sec. Halcyon.
1883. June 12. Halcyon, 14 min. 39-3/4 sec. No race.
1884. June 9. Halcyon, 14 min. 45 sec. Halcyon.
1885. May 25. Shattuck, 15 min. 11 sec. No race.
1886. May 24. Shattuck, 14 min. 3 sec. No race.
1887. May 29. Halcyon, 13 min. 53 sec. No race.
1888. June 8. Halcyon, 13 min. 32-1/2 sec. Shattuck.
1889. June 1. Halcyon, 14 min. 39-1/2 sec. Halcyon.
1-3/4-Mile Straightaway.
1890. May 28. Shattuck, 9 min. 53 sec. Shattuck.
1-1/2-Mile Straightaway.
1891. May 27. Shattuck, 9 min. 49-1/5 sec. Halcyon.
1892. May 28. Halcyon, 10 min. 10sec. Halcyon.
1893. May 29. Halcyon, 10 min. 23 sec. Shattuck.
1894. June 10. Shattuck, 9 min. 25 sec. Halcyon.
1895. June 11. Halcyon, 10 min. 21 sec. Halcyon.
1896. June 18. Halcyon, 9 min. 23 sec. Shattuck.
For the sake of the record I append the times of the several crews, as
officially announced:
First Crews.--Halcyons, first; time, 8 minutes 21 seconds.
Shattucks, second; time, 8 minutes 40 seconds.
Second Crews.--Halcyons, first; time, 9 minutes 23 seconds.
Shattucks, second; time, 9 minutes 45 seconds.
Third Crews.--Shattucks, first; time, 10 minutes 4 seconds,
Halcyons, second; time, 10 minutes 30 seconds.
After the races were finished, the crowd returned from Lake Penacook to
the school grounds, cheering the victorious crews all the way; and when
the students reached the flag-pole on the lawn, they followed the usual
custom of hoisting the club colors and the stroke oar of the winning
crew. And after this had been done the young men of St. Paul's did a
very nice thing. They presented to the coach of the crews a ticket to
Henley and back--a present that was probably more grateful to that
instructor than any other his pupils could have thought of.
By the number of letters I have received from readers of this Department
in Connecticut, I judge that the discussion of Hartford High-School's
claim to the title of "Champion School" has aroused considerable
interest in that section of the country. I am glad that this is so, for
I believe that a wide discussion of such questions always tends toward
good.
But either I did not express myself clearly in the few paragraphs that
the Department devoted at the time to the discussion of the question, or
else some of my readers have failed to comprehend the drift of my
argument. One valued correspondent writes as follows: "I was very much
interested in the argument which recently appeared in HARPER'S ROUND
TABLE about H.P.H.-S. claiming the National championship. You say that
they would have to defeat in dual contests the principal schools of the
country in order to claim it. According to that, Hartford did not win
the championship of the Connecticut H.-S.A.A. this spring, because she
did not defeat each one of the schools in single contests. According to
that, there is no honor to be gained in winning the greatest number of
points in an Association field-day. Then why not do away with these
Associations! Your suggestion about holding sets of dual games is not
only impracticable but also impossible for ascertaining which school is
National champion."
What I said in this Department on July 7 was that the National Games
were a contest among "teams from leagues," and not among "teams from
schools," and that therefore the question of school supremacy did not
enter into the discussion. Further, I added that the only way the title
of "Champion School" could be secured by Hartford would be for her to
have dual meets with all other schools of her class. I should have added
that another way for Hartford to earn the title of "Champion School"
would be to hold a large interscholastic field-day, at which teams
representing individual schools--not teams representing leagues or
associations--should compete.
At any track-athletic meeting where teams of athletes represent certain
units, the team winning the greatest number of points becomes the
victorious unit, and the athletes who aided in piling up these points,
as representatives of that unit, are of no importance whatever so far as
they can claim any relation to the other athletes who strove as
representatives for the rival or defeated units. The Connecticut
High-School A.A. is made up of a number of units--schools. Each unit
sent a team to New Haven on June 6 to the annual field-meeting of the
association. The athletes who came from the Hartford High-School piled
up the greatest score: therefore the Hartford High-School is the
champion of that association. It seems to me that this must be perfectly
clear, and I do not understand how any one can logically deduce anything
else.
But, supposing a majority of this point-winners for the Hartford
High-School on that day were members of the class of '96--as they
probably were--have they any claim to the title of "Champion Class" of
the State or of the association? Certainly not. The games at New Haven
were not "class" games; they were "school" games, and nobody knew or
cared to what class the winning athletes belonged. In the same way it
was of no importance whatever, so far as the championship was concerned,
to what school the point-winners in the National Games belonged. These
games were held among associations, and the association that scored the
greatest number of points became the champion association for the year.
In the case of the Connecticut Association it happened that the greatest
number of point-winners were members of the Hartford High-School. This
may justly be a source of pride for Hartford, and for all the members of
the High-School, but it is not a matter to interest the National
Association, nor is it a matter for the National Association to take any
cognizance of.
The same correspondent whom I have quoted above goes on to say:
"Therefore I think that Hartford has just as much claim to the national
championship as she has to the Connecticut H.-S.A.A. championship, and
as Yale has to the Intercollegiate championship." I feel perfectly
confident that as soon as he, and others, who are of his opinion at
present, make clear to themselves the difference between a contest among
schools and a contest among associations, they will not think that
Hartford has any claim whatever. I am very glad, too, that my
correspondent cited Yale in his comparison, for it helps me to make my
argument even clearer.
Yale is a university made up of Yale College, the Sheffield Scientific
School, the Yale Law School, the Yale Medical School, the Yale Art
School, the Yale Divinity School, etc. On every Yale team that goes to
the Intercollegiate games there are College men, Sheff men, and
frequently men who are in the Medical School or other departments of the
University.
It is not necessary to look over the records to find out if a case such
as the one I am about to cite as an example ever actually happened, for
the illustration is just as strong whether it ever occurred in fact or
not. But suppose that the majority of the point-winners of the Yale team
of 1896 were Sheff men. Would the Sheffield Scientific School, for that
reason, have any grounds to claim any kind of a championship? Of course
not. The Sheff men went down to Manhattan Field as members of Yale
University, just as the H.P.H.-S. athletes went to the Columbia Oval as
members of the Connecticut H.-S.A.A., and neither body has any right to
set up any kind of a claim for individual prowess. If I have not yet
succeeded in making myself clear to all my Connecticut readers, I hope
they will let me hear from them further, and I will try it again.
Another point over which there has been considerable misunderstanding is
the difference between an "Interscholastic" record and a "National
Interscholastic" record. The Constitution of the N.I.S.A.A., in its Laws
of Athletics, section 18, says that a national interscholastic record is
any record made at the annual meeting of the N.I.S.A.A. A.A. An
interscholastic record, on the other hand, is a record made by a student
in any annual field-meeting of any league, club, or association. [The
National Association's Constitution puts it, "any leagues, clubs, or
associations _of this association_," but we cannot accept this as
correct, because there are several interscholastic records held by
associations not members of the national body.]
To be brief, however, a national interscholastic record is one made at
the national games; an interscholastic record is one made at _any_
interscholastic meeting. As soon as space enough avails, this Department
will print the tables of national and interscholastic records--for the
comparison will be an interesting one.
Speaking of errors, it is well to refer to one which crept into almost
all of the reports of the performances of the National games. In the
high jump this Department credited Sturtevant of Connecticut with first
place, and Flournoy of Iowa with second place. The facts of the case
were these: Flournoy and Sturtevant, the only contestants in the event,
tied for first place at 5 ft. 8 in. Therefore they divided the points,
each man taking four.
Then they chose to jump over again for the medals, instead of tossing a
coin, as is usual--although this athletic method of deciding the
question is by far the more sportsmanlike. On the jump-off Flournoy was
unable to repeat his performance of 5 ft. 8 in., and could only clear 5
ft. 7 in., whereas Sturtevant again got over the bar at the higher
point. This gave Sturtevant the first-place medal and Flournoy the
second prize. But this jumping-off business had no effect whatever on
the two associations' scores, and consequently Connecticut's figures
should be 24 instead of 25, and Iowa's should be 7 instead of 6.
While speaking of records, let me say a word in connection with the
mile-walk figures of Eells, of the Hotchkiss School, at the Connecticut
games last June. The performance as recorded was 7 min. 11 sec., and I
believe these figures to be correct. When the time was announced on the
field at New Haven some one raised a cry that it should be 8 min. 11
sec., and a report that the official time-keepers had made an error was
assiduously circulated.
A number of letters have come to this Department since that time asking
if 7 min. 11 sec. were the correct figures for Eells's performance, and
I have consequently been at some pains to make a careful investigation
into the matter. Mr. E. G. Coy and Mr. C. E. Hammett, Principal and
Physical Director, respectively, of the Hotchkiss School, assure me that
Eells is capable of walking a mile in 7 min. 11 sec. They must have
every means of knowing this, Mr. Hammett especially, having seen the
young athlete train for months before he went to the Connecticut
Interscholastics.
They assure me that the time, 7 min. 11 sec., as announced on the field
that day, is correct, and they regret that any contrary report should
have been circulated by some irresponsible enthusiast among the
spectators. Considering these facts, Mr. Eells, in the opinion of this
Department, is entitled to be considered the holder of the
interscholastic record, and will be put down as such in the table soon
to be printed.
THE GRADUATE.
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[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water]
Harper's Catalogue,
Thoroughly revised, classified, and indexed, will be sent by mail to any
address on receipt of ten cents.
[Illustration: BICYCLING]
This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the
Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our
maps and tours contain many valuable data kindly supplied from the
official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelmen.
Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L.A.W., the
Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership
blanks and information so far as possible.
Owing to the accumulation of queries, the Department this week will be
devoted to replies.