ODDITIES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 113, 8 November 1913, Page 14

ODDITIES.

There was much newspaper barneying last month', in London, between Jabez Wolffe (the giant-proportioned man who has so many times tried, and tried in* vain, to swim tho Channel) and Henry Sullivan ■ (the American long-distance champion), regarding the, latter's*challenge to a /race to a finish" across the Channel, which would mean the survival of the, fittest. The swimmer who landed at Calais first, or lasted longest, was to win. Wolffe wanted the match to be over 40 miles, leaving tho crossing of the Channel out of the question altogether. Sullivan twitted Wolffe with the absurdity of the proposal, in view of tho fact that he (Wolffo) had "tried twenty times to swim 21 miles and failed." Wolffe got back with the statement that "Sullivan's knowledge of what I have dono appears to be very limited," and then proceeded to refer to most of his long swims, but none of them reached 21 miles^ — the longest was within a quarter of a mile of that distance. Eventually they agreed to decide a match across the 'Channel on 25th September, for £25 a-side. On 26th August what was described as tho first real opportunity of the season to swim the Channel presented itsell, and Wolffe and Sullivan made attempts, Wolffe entering the water at Cape Grisnez and the American starting from the South Foreland, and so taking the course Burgess successfully traversed two years ago. Wolffe had to give up when seven miles off Folkestone. A very strong ebb tide carried him considerably out of his direction. He had then covered 24 miles, of which 14 were on the straight course between Franco and England. The pilot of the attending small tug refused to face the heavy sea and strong east winds any longer. Sullivan was compelled to give up for the same reason. He had been swimming lOhr 3min, and swam 16 miles direct, which was a better performance than Wolffe's, though each practically covered the same distance. The current swept Wolffo fully eight miles off his course. "Sullivan swam exceptionally well, and fed easily," says my source of information. It is worth mentioning that Wolffe'slaflt attempt to cross tho Channel was liis twentieth. The English woman swimmer, Miss Vera Neave, created a world's record for tho rest of her sex to tilt at when she, on 3rd September, swam two miles at Haylako, Liverpool, in lhr lmin 15sec. The race took place in a bath 43 yards long and 33£ yards wide. For stock of straw boaters, boft and hard felt hats, Geo. Fowlda, Ltd., lead ; well ahead of nil others. They tit ail Jieade.— Advt, I