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THE A COMPENDIUM OF INFORMATION OK ROWING, SCULLING, STEERING, FEATHERING, COACHING, SLIDING-SEATS, TRIMMING AND SITTING A BOAT, DIMENSIONS OF WORK, ANALYSIS OF FAULTS, TOGETHER WITH THE PRINCIPAL SCULLLNG MATCHES AND CHAMPIONSHIP CONTESTS TO DATE IN BOTH IIEMISP1IERES ; PORTRAITS OP THE MOST NOTED OARSMEN OP THE WORLD; RULES OF BOATING, PROFESSIONAL and AMATEUR, Etc. COMPILED BY Ed. JAMES, AUTHOR OF “ PRACTICAL TRAINING,” ‘‘ HEALTH, STRENGTH AND MUSCLE,’ “MANUAL OF SPORTING RULES,” “BOXING AND WRESTLING,” “INDIAN CLUB AND DUMB-BELL EXERCISE,” “THE GAME COCK,” “ TERRIER DOGS,” ETC., ETC. ST2-. 2- J 40 NEW YOKE: PUBLISHED BY ED. JAMES, 88 AND 90 CENTRE STREET, NEW YORK CLIPPER BUILDING. 1878. Price Fifty Cents. 31 U-l G<V 75/. Jzs' Third Edition. o 'f Entered according to act of Comrress, in the year 1878 BY ED. JAMES. Inthe office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington^ Copyrighted at Stationers’ Hall, London, England. t VAN FLEET, Printer, 88 and 90 Centre street. New York. 1 PREFACE. The publication of the present volume is due to a settled conviction upon our part that there existed a necessity for a permanent work on the subject of Rowing, at a reasonable cost, and obtainable at all times. It is by no means the first nor the only treatise of this nature in book form, nor is it likely to be the last. “Annuals,” unless backed up with sufficient paying advertisements to cover the expense of getting up, have gone from our gaze, leaving the work begun unfinished, and, consequently, a void which needed filling. We, therefore, have undertaken to meet this want by a compilation of the best theories from the best authorities, interspersing the reading matter with portraits from life photographs of the most * noted oarsmen of the present century, many of which appear now for the first time. This was an expense no one cared to incur heretofore, no matter how enthusiastic otherwise, and we believe our having done so will be universally appreciated, and, in due course, remunerated. CONTENTS. Introduction.Page 5 Fouling the Water.Page 28 First Principles of liowing ... 6 Watermanship. 29 The Beach. 10 Bent Arms and Want of Catch. 29 Feathering. 12 Advantages of Sliding Seats .. 30 •Use of the Legs. 14 The Art of Sculling. 35 Becovery. 15 Fours Without Coxswains .... 43 Catching the Water. 18 Steering Apparatus. 44 “ Form ” and Swing.19 Dimensions of Work. 45 Faulty Finish. 20 English Boating Buies. 47 Wrong Grasp.'21 Definition of an Amateur Oars¬ Overreach. 22 man. 48 Meeting Oar and Bowing Deep 23 American College Buies ...... 49 Screwing.. 24 Sculling Matches m United Feathering Udder Water.25 States and British Provinces 50 Uneven Swing. 26 Boston Begatta Winners ...... 56 Not Bowing Stroke Homo .... 27 Sculling Matches in England Crooked Swing. 28 and Australia. 56 IILUSTRATIOJTS. James Benforth (Frontispiece1). Wm. FI. Decker. Edward A. Trickett. Wallace Boss. Joshua Ward. Warren Smith. James IIamill. John Higgins. Harry Kelley. Dennis Leary. Walter Brown. Joseph Kaye. Henry Coulter. Joseph II. Sadler. George Brown. Bernard Biglin. William Scharfe. Gilbert Ward. Evan Morris. Bobert Chambers. Chas. E. Courtney. Bobert Fulton. Edward A. Hanlan. James Taylor. Fred. A. Plaisted. Thomas Winship. John Biglin. Elijah Boss. Ellis Ward. George Price. EDWARD TRICKETT. From a Photograph taken in Sydney, Australia. JOSH WAKD. From a Photograph by O’Neil, New York. I THE MODERN OARSMAN. INTRODUCTION. "We believe boat-rowing extended back and was identical with the time of the first sailing craft; no matter of what description. F'shermen have always existed, and it is pretty certain they did not depend on the sails alone in following their calling. The Africans, Indians, and other untutored savages have always been skillful boating men in their way, that is, propelling their canoes by means of one oar, and paddling or sculling from the stern of the boat, not as in modern sculling by means of a pair of sculls. The ancients conducted their maritime wars principally by means of gigantic row-boats, manned by brawny ath¬ letes. Later on, when civilization introduced “men-of- war” ships, the boarding and capturing of an enemy’s Vessel -was done by their crews rowing in open boats, ex¬ posed to the cannon’s fire, and going into the very jaw3 of death. From these facts, nothing was more natural than that, in times of peace, the marines and sailors should practice rowing very extensively, both for recreation and usefulness. In Cleopatra’s time (B. C. 50), while men were not as proficient in rowing as our oarsmen are at the present time, there has certainly never occurred such a magnifi¬ cent curn out as the one of that celebrated woman. The deck of Cleopatra’s barge was adorned with gold, and its sails were purple. The oars, of which -there were about twenty, were set wri.h silver, and the rowers kept time to the sound of flutes and lyres. The figure-head of the barge represented a dragon’s head and' was most elaborately carved. The masts, of which there were two, were sur- 6 THE MODERN OARSMAN. mounted by golden crowns, and the entire) craft was con¬ structed and adorned in a style surpassing description. It was a move in the right direction when the two great English Universities Oxford and Cambridge, in June, 1829, introduced their annual boating contests, which was fol¬ lowed twenty-three years later by Harvard and Yale; for at the present time nearly every University in the world, accessible to rivers and lakes, has its boats and its boat- crews, thus giving to rowing a prestige no other athletic sport ever enjoyed. In our. effort to make rowing (which accomplishment both sexes can acquire) more popular, and still better un¬ derstood in all its details, we would state that, without practice on the water, no one can ever expect to become an oarsman by simply reading one or all the text books— therefore, let each avail himself of putting into practice the principles laid down in theory, and success will surely follow.