USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan > Part 69
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" In reply to an inquiry as to what he thought of the Sho-wae-cae mettes' chances of defeating the famous London rowing club but for the sudden illness of Joseph Nadeau, he re- plied :
"' I am no prophet, nor do I believe in proph- ecy, but I shall always entertain the firm belief that the race was theirs but for Nadeau's breaking down. Scoffed at for a time on ac- count of the peculiarities of their style of row- ing - a style diametrically opposed to all the cherished ideas of the English concerning a sport in which they deem themselves invinci- ble-they had gradually won respect by the undeniable rapidity with which they managed to get their boat through the water. It was also conceded that they rowed exceedingly well together, despite some errors which were believed to be fatal to their success. After their comparatively easy victory over the Dublin and Columbia College erew on July 4, they be- gan to be feared as well as respected, but still the prevailing opinion was that London would beat them in the final heat. The result should not be accepted as proof of the English crew's superiority. Although handicapped by their heavy boat and disadvantageous position, the Sho-wae-cae-mettes had accomplished all that they hoped to do and even more, up to the point where the sick man gave out. They were confident that if they could keep within a length or so of the Londoners for the first mile they could outrow them in the finish through the superior endurance which has hitherto been regarded as their chief characteristic.
But when the decisive spurt was called for, the half fainting man at No. 3 could do no more and succumbed from sheer exhaustion. The violence of his diarrhetic attack had weakened him so that not even his wonderful grit and pluck could keep him up any longer. At that time there was not over half a dozen feet differ- ence between the bow tips of the two shells, the Londoners leading.'
"' You have heard of the assertions made soon after the race that Nadean was not sick, and that the Sho-wae-cae-mettes sold out ?'
"' I regret to say that I have heard of the cir- culation of such reports, and I take great pleas- ure in branding as willful and malicious falsi . fiers the persons who gave them currency. Nadeau's illness was bona fide. In the first place there was no opportunity for them to make money, had they been dishonestly in- clined. There was no pool-selling and very little betting. Occasionally a small bet of twenty to twenty-five shillings was made, with the odds in favor of London, and once in a while an even bet of a few pounds was effected. In the second place, no pecuniary consideration would have influenced the Sho- wae-eae-mettes. They realized that the eyes of the whole American nation were upon them, and that they were there to uphold the honor of their country. They went to England to win ; they were confident of winning up to the time that Nadeau was taken ill, and even then they did not despair of being able to pull him through. There is always a certain clement ready to set up a cry of fraud and impute dishonesty to the loser in any contest of strength or skill. Some of the statements circulated were absurd enough to condemn themselves. One imaginative crea- ture evolved the startling rumor that the crew made $20,000 by selling the race, and that poor Joe Nadeau received 87,000 of the plun- der. Once for all, I desire to assert in the most emphatie and unqualified manner, that the Sho-wae cae-mettes did not sell the race. They came home as poor as they went. The Sho- wae-cae-mettes feel indignant, and very justly so, that a newspaper published here in their own State should be contemptible enough to publish and endorse these idle, floating rumors, unsupported by an atom of proof, and give them still greater publicity. The men assailed were three thousand miles away, ignorant of the imputations cast upon them and powerless to
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
defend themselves. This made the attack not only malicious but cowardly.'
"' What was the actual cost of their trip abroad ?'
"' The only money which they had passed through my hands, with the exception of a check for $100, which the citizens of Monroe sent direct to Mr. Dusseau, and this was di- vided equally among the four members of the crew and spent by them as they saw fit. First I received $560 from the Watkins Regatta Association to defray the expenses of the seven members of our party ; subsequently I received from the same source $190 more, making a total of $750 aside from the passage tickets furnished us. Out of this I paid their board, traveling expenses and incidentals, and gave each man about $40 in spending money. The much-talked-of Paris trip cost exactly $104. When the Sho-wae.cae-mettes left Eng- land they were almost or quite penniless. On board the ship I divided equally among the four men of the crew the little fund of $200 subscribed by the citizens of Detroit, so that they had $50 cach when they landed in New York. Contrary to the statements of the Free Press and News, I did not share in the distri- bution of the Detroit fund. The money was raised by C. P. Toll and myself for the crew, and it was paid to the crew.'
" In response to an inquiry as to whether the ' Sho'es' would visit Henley again next summer, Mr. Price stated that such was the earnest desire of the crew, who were anxious to wipe out their recent defeat. He was confident that if they were furnished with a suitable boat and went long enough before the regatta to become properly acclimated they could defeat the Lon- don crew. They should be in England at least a month or six weeks before the race. He also was of the opinion that there were three or four crews in America who could show the Londoners the way over the Henley course, and thought he could pick out one of them right here in Detroit.
" The Sho-wac-cae-mettes had intended to leave for their home in Monroe at 3 :. 0 P. M., but postponed their departure until 7 P. M., upon receipt of a telegram from home request- ing the delay so that preparations for a fitting reception could be completed. They desire to publicly express their grateful appreciation of the courtesy extended to them by the Eureka
Boat Club of Newark, New Jersey, who enter- tained them for three days after their return from Europe, to Messrs. Witbeck & Chittenden, who entertained them at the Russell House yesterday, and to Frank E. Snow, general passenger agent of the Canada Southern, who furnished free transportation from Buffalo to this city and thence to Monroe, and who was untiring in his personal efforts to assist them.
" The Sho-wac-cae-mettes will not compete at the coming Northwestern regatta in this city next week, but will be here as lookers-on. They have, however, accepted an invitation to give an exhibition pull over the course on Wednesday afternoon.
" The Sho-wae-cae mette boys had a pleasant ride from Detroit and arrived at Monroe at 8:20 P. M. They were met at the railroad station by the Monroe Cornet Band and citizens en masse. Everybody in the city, man, wo- man and child, apparently, was on hand to give a cordial welcome home again to the oarsmen who had acquitted themselves so nobly since they left their native town behind them in May last and set out to try their for tune at Watkins. As the train moved up to the depot the band played a lively air and the assembled multitude shouted themselves hoarse with cheering.
" Then the oarsmen were placed in a carriage drawn by four horses, and, led by the band of music, a procession was formed and escorted them to the court house. The city was bril. liantly illuminated and the court house and grounds were decorated with gaily colored lanterns. Inside the court house four chairs had been placed on the platform, and to these chairs the victorious oarsmen were escorted. The crowd filed in and filled every inch of available room in the building. Then there were speeches of welcome and congratulation. The first speaker was J. D. Ronan. He con- gratulated the boys on their safe return from their long trip, and welcomed them home again among their old friends. He spoke of their achievements at Watkins and at Henley, and said the people of Monroe had watched them with pride. He was followed by General Spalding and Judge R. J. Phinney. The latter spoke of their old boat, which he said some had thought of not much account, but which he believed just adapted to the crew. He urged them not to change it, and if the
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AQUATIC SPORTS AND OARSMEN OF THE RIVER RAISIN.
old boat was damaged beyond repair, to have another built just like it. These speeches were greeted with great applause and cheering, and between them the band played some ex- cellent selections
" When the others had concluded, Captain Nadeau was called on for a speech. He said he was not a speaker, and could not be expected to say much. Nevertheless he wished, ou behalf of himself and his comrades, to return heartfelt thanks to the people of Monroe for the magnificent and entirely unexpected reception which had been accorded to them. His remarks were applanded.
" Then the crowd insisted on secing the rest of the crew, and one by one they were called up. They had no specches to make, but in response to the call simply rose and bowed, and were enthusiastically cheered as they did so.
"When the demonstration at the court house had been concluded, the Ladies' Aid Society of the Methodist church invited the heroes of the day to a banquet in a neighboring hall. Thither they repaired and sat down to tables spread in luxurious style. Each of the oars- men was presented with a beautiful bouquet, and it was noticed that Henry Durell got two (one with a mysterious card attached to it). These festivities were prolonged until a late hour. The citizens had hitherto huzzaed over the returning oarsmen until they could huzza no longer, and now the ladies vied with each other in bestowing upon them their sweetest smiles."
The Sho-wac-cae-mettes after their return home from England purchased a new four- oared shell. Henry Durell and Steve Dusseau, at the meeting of the Northwestern at Bay City, won the senior double scull race. The old crew in their new boat won two races, open to all, at the meeting of the North western at Detroit, and the open to all four-oared race at the meeting of the Mississippi Valley Asso- ciation at Keokuk, Iowa. They also attended the regattas at Saratoga and New Orleans, and gave exhibition pulls at numerous places. They were invited to attend every important aquatic event that took place, and were always royally received and entertained every- where they went.
The Nadeau Bros. are now in business in the city. Joe is married and has three young
" Sho'es," who all take to the water like ducks. The oldest is nine years old, and pulls a very pretty oar and the " get there " stroke Moses Nadeau keeps his old single scull, and all efforts of the fair sex to have him change it for a double have been fruitless. Steve Dusseau is a knight of the footboard, and drives a locomotive on the Lake Shore. He is married, has one child, and lives at Elkhart, Indiana. Henry Durell lives in Saginaw, is married, drives a locomotive, and has the reputation of being the best "runner" in the Saginaw valley.
THE RIVER RAISIN SCULLERS.
There were a great many single and double scullers on the river during the boating excite- ment, and with the exception of the Amateurs' single were flat bottomed and home-made, but were always an important feature of the home regattas and River Raisin Navy. The follow- ing are the names of the sculls and the clubs represented :
DOUBLE SCULLS.
" White Fawn," Babes in the Woods.
" Cornell," Independent Scullers.
" Dolly," Floral City Boat Club.
"Little Diffenbaugh,"_ Independent Scullers. SINGLE SCULLS.
" Muggins," Independent Scullers.
" Time-Killer," Babes in the Woods.
" Grasshopper," Independent Scullers.
" Army Worm," Floral City Boat Club.
THE RIVER RAISIN NAVY.
The River Raisin Navy was organized in August, 1874, by about sixty members of the old clubs and scullers for the purpose of giving regattas on the river. Five regattas were given, and prizes offered for shells, barges, duck boats, tub races, etc. -
The first regatta was held at Guyor's Island, September 2, 1874, William C. Sterling com- modore. Honors were awarded in different races as follows :
Four-oared Shell Race-3 entries: " Ama- teurs," "Sho'es," and "Floral City's." The race was awarded to the Florals on a foul. Prize, Commodore's cup.
Punting Boat Race-4-mile and return ; prize, sack of flour ; L. Cooley ; time, 14:22.
Duck Boat Race-2-mile and return, open to all; prize, gold badge ; Alex. Duby ; 13:232.
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Barge or Lap-Streak Race-3-mile and return ; 3 entries : Florals, 6-oared L. S. " Atlanta ;" Amateurs, 4 oared L. S. "T. N. Perkins ;" Babes, 4-oared L. S. " Medora." Crew, N. Perkins, stroke, A. V. Diffenbaugh, No. 2; W. Waldorf, No. 3 ; W. P. Sterling, bow. Time-Amateurs, 10 min .; Florals, 10:2; Babes, 10:5. The Babes under the rules had a time allowance of 93 seconds, making their time 9:573 and giving them the race. This was the most exciting contest of the day.
Duck Boat Race-2-mile and return, won by Thomas Armitage in 14:02}. Prize, silver badge.
Double Sculls-2-mile and return ; prize, silver cup, presented by J. D. Ronan ; 2 entries, " Kate Johnston," J. C. and W. C. Ster- ling, and the Babes in the " Medora." This was a very hot race, and near the finish the crew of the " Johnston " quit, and the Babes believing it was a concession to give them the race, quit also, and the race was called off by the judges.
Tub Race-Distance, 80 fect; prize, silver tub ; entries, tubs " Bad Medicine," " Henry Ward Beecher " and " Elizabeth Tilton." This exceedingly funny race was won by " Bad Medicine," with Frank Carlisle in the tub ; time, 502 seconds, the best tub time on record. The other tubs collided and sunk.
Single Sculls -2-mile and return ; prize, silver medal, given by L. & J. F. Grant ; entries, W. C. Sterling, paper shell " Baby," and A. E. Wing, duck boat " Tom Collins." A. E. Wing won the race by a time allowance of 10 seconds. Time, 13:52} ; " Baby's " time, 13:44}. .
The second annual regatta of the River Raisin Navy was held at Guyor's Island, Aug- ust 24, 1875, Wm. C. Sterling commodore, and attended by a large number of Detroit and Toledo people, taxing " Uncle Joe's " accom- modations to the utmost. The " Sho'es " with their new 4-oared boat, the " Chas. G. Morris," casily defeated the Amateur's new boat, " Jennie E. Thompson," and the Florals in the " Horace T. Conant." Time, 19:422; Florals second, time 21:15}. The Amateurs broke an oar and did not go over the course.
Junior Double Sculls-2-mile and return, two entries : "White Fawn," of Babes in Woods club-crew, A. V. Diffenbaugh and W. C. Waldorf; and the " Cornell " of the Independent Scullers-crew, A. N. Perkins
and W. P. Sterling. The " Cornell" came in ahead, time 9:58 ; " White Fawn," 10:442.
Senior Double Sculls-" Dolly " of the Floral City Club, with crew W. C. and J. C. Sterling, easily defeated H. Durell and C. Carselman of the Independents in the "Lillie Diffen- baugh ;" time, 10:01.
Junior Single-W. C. Waldorf in ' Time- Killer" defeated A. N. Perkins in " Grasshop - per " in a very close race; time, 12:06, 12:064.
Senior Single-This was a very interesting and closely contested race, and no one could tell which would be in first when ten lengths from home. " Muggins," H. Durell, time 11:16} ; " Time-Killer," W. C. Sterling, 11:18}.
Lap streak Race- The " T. N. Perkins," with Frank Sterling as coxswain and his French crew, E. Duby, H. Anteau, L. Vinier and L. Lazette, easily defeated the Florals in the 6 oared L. S. " Harry C. Bulkley."
Four-oared Shells-Prize, silver goblet ; open to Toledo clubs. The Undines, of Toledo, sent over a crack crew to row the " Sho'es " in this race, and at the start the Undines took the lead and at the three-quarter-mile buoy the " Sho'es" passed them, they having fouled the buoy. The crowd was immensely excited, and cheer after cheer went up when the " Sho'es " passed the home stake some four lengths ahead ; time, 19:47 ; Undines, 20. This ended the most successful and best attended regatta ever held on the Raisin.
The third annual regatta of the River Raisin Navy was held at Guyor's Island, September 7, 1876, Wm. C. Sterling commodore. The day was dark and threatened rain. But few ladies attended, and the audience was very small.
The four-oared shell race for the Commo- dore's cup was virtually a walk-over for the Sho-wae-cae-mettes, and the only contest was for second place between the Florals and Amateurs. The Florals steered wildly and the Amateurs led them all the way from the stake to finish ; time, respectively, 18:54, 19:47, 20:24.
Senior Single Seulls-W. P. Sterling in the " Wait," easily defeated A. V. Diffenbaugh in the "Go ;" five-eighths mile and return ; silver cup ; time, 11:18}.
Senior Double Sculls - Five-eighths mile and return ; silver goblets. This was a race be- tween the Nadeau Brothers, of the "Sho'es," in the " Dolly," and George Diffenbaugh and
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AQUATIC SPORTS AND OARSMEN OF THE RIVER RAISIN.
C. Karselman, of the Amateurs, in the "Lillie." The Nadeau brothers took the lead from the start, and won in 8:59.
Working Boat Race-Three entries ; five- eighths mile and return ; gold badges. Some of the strongest pullers on the river were in this race. The " John Wahl," with Captain L. Jones (stroke) and L. Lazette (bow), came in ahead ; time, 12:573.
Junior Double Sculls -Five-eighths mile and return ; silver goblets. The " White Fawn," pulled by J. Durell and A. V. Diffenbaugh, of the Babes, easily defeated the " Cornell," with W. P. Sterling (bow) and A. N. Perkins (stroke), of the Independent Scullers; time, 9:253.
Senior Single Seulls-Five-eighths mile and return ; silver cup. This was a race between George Bolsby, jr., and Joe Nadeau, of the " Sho'es." It attracted a great deal of atten- tion, and was very close to the end. Nadeau won in 10:04.
The tub race afforded a great deal of amuse- ment, and was won by Johnnie Kull.
The " T. N. Perkins " and her French crew, in the four-oared lap-streak, had a walk-over. They were the champions in their class on the river, and no crew could be found to compete with them.
The fourth annual regatta of the River Raisin Navy was held at Guyor's Island, Sep- tember 13, 1877, with W. P. Sterling as com- modore. A delegation of oarsmen were present from Detroit, and the steamer " Frost " brought a large load from Toledo.
Senior four-oared shell race was between the " Sho'es " and a Floral City crew, with F. G. Bulkley (stroke), G. F. Bulkley (No. 2), A. H. Grant (No. 3), and O. Johnson (bow). The " Sho'es " gave the Florals a start of thirty seconds and did not overtake them, the Florals coming in ahead; distance, one and one-half miles and return ; time, 19:10 and 18:50.
Junior Double-This race was won by A. N. Perkins and W. P. Sterling, of the Independ- ent Seullers, in 9:422. The Babes in the Woods came in about a foot and a half behind; dis- tance, five-eighths mile and return.
Senior Double- Five-eighths mile and re- turn. This was a race between the Nadeau brothers, of the "Sho'es," and two crews of the Florals. One crew of the Florals lost an
oar, and the other on the home stretch did some wild steering and ran into the side of the canal and smashed their boat. The "Sho'es" came in eight lengths ahead ; time, 10:35.
Working Boat Race-The contestants pulled for all they were worth to where the turning buoys should have been, but they had been removed and the race was declared off.
Open to all Single -One mile and return. The starters in this race were F. D. Standish, of the Excelsiors of Detroit; Moses Nadeau, of the Sho-wae-cae-mettes; and W. C. J. Campean, of the Detroit Scullers. Standish took the lead as they passed the grand stand ; as they took the river Campeau and Nadean slapped oars, Campeau recovering first and taking the lead, with Standish second. As they rounded the bend Nadeau pulled to the front, and on the return they rounded the bend in a bunch ; approaching the grand stand, Standish led by six lengths, with Campean second and Nadeau a quarter of a mile in the rear. Standish passed the line in 15:10 ; Campeau, 15:21.
Pair-oared Race - Three entries. The crews were unable to keep clear of each other, and finally two gave up in disgust, and the Inde- pendent Scullers' crew pulled over the course alone.
Junior Single -Five-eighthsmile and return. A. V. Diffenbaugh easily defeated W. P. Ster- ling in 10:42.
Senior Single was between H. Durell and J. Nadeau, of the " Sho'es." Nadeau came in a length and a half ahead ; time, 9:36.
The swimming race was won by Louis La- zette. The tub race was most amusing ; all tip- ped over and were unable to finish.
The fifth and last regatta of the River Raisin Navy was held at the docks September 5, 1878, W. P. Sterling commodore. The fame of the Sho-wae-cac-mettes had given Monroe a great reputation as a boating town, and people came from far and near to see the " Sho'es." The grand stand was crowded, over two thou- sand people were on the docks, and all along the river banks were boats of every description loaded to the water's edge with people.
The four-oared shell race was rowed in heats.
The first trial heat of the four-oared race, one mile and return, was between the Floral City Club and Undines of Toledo. It was a very close race and was taken by the Floral
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
City Club, by about a boat length and a half ; time, 14:44 ; Undines, 15.
The breaking of a rudder wire caused con- siderable delay in the start of the second trial heat of the four-oared crews, but they got off well together, but the Centennials fouled the Amateurs before they reached the first quarter -the Amateurs withdrew, and the Centennials finished in 14:47.
The next race was the single scull, one-half mile and return, between VanNieman, of the Undines, and Bowlsby, of the Amateurs. They started off nicely, but Bowlsby took the race easily ; time, 9:36.
The race next called was for double sculls, one-half mile and return, between the Undines, of Toledo, and the Wyandottes, of Wyandotte. They got a good start, but the Wyandotte crew soon took the lead and kept it to the finish ; time, 7:09.
In the final four-oared heat between the Centennial and Floral City crews, at the word go they started well together, pulling- Florals forty and Centennials forty-five ; the Centen- nials took the lead before they got to the quarter, and kept it all the way around. Just before reaching the finish the Florals, who had steered considerable out of their course, ran so near the barge used for the judge's stand as to unship their oars, which caused them to tip over. They were rescued by their friends, somewhat exhausted and well scared. Time, Centennials, 14:10.
The exhibition pull of the "Sho'es" was the attraction of the afternoon, and when they appeared upon the river they were received by the spectators with a round of applause. They pulled a mile with a turn in 6:30.
The six-oared race, one mile and return, was between the Undine and Floral City Boat Clubs. It was very close to the turning stake, where the Undines " went to grass," but made a quick, short turn and got away for home a little ahead, on the return; about one-half mile from the finish, they fouled with the Florals, and by it lost considerable ground. This foul un- doubtediy gave the race to the Florals. Upon the whole this was one of the most exciting races on the river. Time, Florals, 13:33}; Undines, 13:40.
Working boat race, one-half mile and return, was won by Lazette and Vinier in 11 minutes. They pulled the " John Wahl."
The tub race was very interesting to the spec- tators. It was taken by Henry Rotcheford.
The presentation of prizes took place at Strong's Hotel, J. D. Ronan making the pre- sentation speech. The Centennials, of Detroit, winners of the four oared race, were the recip- ients of an elegant silver water pitcher. The Wyandottes, winners of the double scull race, each received a silver cup. The prize for the six-oared race, won by the Floral City's, was a handsome silver ice-pitcher. The single scull prize, won by G. W. Bowlsby, was a silver cup. The prize for the working boats, two silver cups, and for the tub race, a silver badge.
In the evening the visiting crews were en- tertained by the Navy, and after toasts and speeches by the various members of the boat- ing fraternity, Mr. H. U. Soper, in behalf of the citizens of Detroit, presented the Sho-wae- cae-mettes with a purse of $390, for the purpose of procuring them a new boat with which to attend the Henley regatta next season. It was a very pleasant surprise to the "Sho'es," and their secretary, Mr. D. R. Crampton, thanked Mr. Soper and the citizens of Detroit in words that were expressive of the heartfelt gratitude of the club.
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