FOREST AND STREAM. 



29 



To-day, August 21st, Is held the annual meeting of the 

 Calendonians at Myrtle avenue park, Brooklyn. There are 

 no sports more truly athletic, or calculated to test and mani- 

 fest the latent nerve power and muscle, than these ancient 

 Scottish games, which always attract large crowds of spec- 

 tators. The athletes sometimes exhibit wonderful feats of 

 strength and agility, and we expect to receive a startling 

 record from the field in the matter of patting the stone, 

 throwing the hammer and tossing the caber. The hercu- 

 lean performances of the great champion, Downie, are 

 almost beyond belief. 



The pastor of a certain Congregational Church in Pater- 

 son, New Jersey, is about^to be dismissed, a morning paper 

 states. He is thus described :— "He is a talented but erratic 

 young man, a devotee of tobacco, a favorite with the girls, 

 a singer in a quartet, and an active member of a base ball 

 nine. He also writes poetry and plays chess. The old- 

 fashioned members of the church are now looking for an 

 old man who has had the smallpox, and who is too stiff to 

 make the distance between the bases. " 



Saturday, the 16th, was a gala day for the base ball play- 

 ers. A sharp contest for the championship took place at 

 Philadelphia between the Athletic and Washington 

 clubs, which the former won by a score of 14 to 0. The 

 fielding on both sides was excellent, but the effective pitch- 

 ing and batting of the Athletics won them the game. 



On the same day there was a base-ball match at the Capi- 

 toline Grounds, Brooklyn, between representatives of the 

 chess clubs of that city and this. The game was played 

 with remarkable skill for amateurs. Several distinguished 

 chess players participated. 



On the same day an exciting contest took place at Chicago 

 between the Boston and Philadelphia clubs, in which the 

 Bostons were victorious by a score of 11 to 8. Over 3,000 

 persons witnessed the game. 



In the game between the Mutuals, of New York, and the 

 Atlantics, of Brooklyn, played at the Union grounds, Brook- 

 lyn, on Saturday, the New Yorkers won by a score of 12 

 to 4 



Also, the same day, there was a wrestling match at New 

 Haven between Homer Lane, of New York, and William 

 L. Kennedy, of New Haven, for $500 a side. First and third 

 fall for Kennedy, and the victory. 



There was a foot race on Saturday at Providence, R I. 

 The contests were all for short distances, one of 500 yards, 

 one of 150, and the others 100 yards. 



First race.— Henry Crandall, of Queen City, Mo., and J. 

 A. Stratton, of Fall River, Mass.. 200 yards, for $500 a 

 side. Crandall winner by twelve feet. Time 2l£ seconds. 



Second race.— John Smith, of Providence, and John Mc- 

 Mann, of Pawtucket; 150 yards, $100 a side. Smith win- 

 ner by two feet. 



Third race.—W. A. Kendrick, Mt. Sterling, 111., and John 

 Allison, of Providence, 100 yards, $250 a side. Won by 

 Allison by two feet in ten seconds. 



. — *. — , 



IT is nevertheless a fact, say what you will, that promo- 

 tions in the army are few and far between, particularly in 

 peace times. Occasionally, it is true, some good man enters 

 the army and after long service, or some act of gallantry 

 on the frontier, obtains a strap if he passes the required 

 examination ; but the promotion of enlisted men is rather 

 an exception than a rule, not only in our army but all ar- 

 mies,. But few, fortunately, enter the service with the 

 idea of rising to a commission, the majority enlisting for 

 the mere sake of a livelihood, others for an adventure, and 

 others again, we regret to say, as a means of covering- 

 crime or of flight from civil justice. The army draws to 

 itself some of the worst classes, we are free to say — men 

 whose ambition never reaches the grade of a commissioned 

 officer. The positions of second lieutenants, to some extent, 

 are filled from civil life, and when such vacancies exist, 

 after the assignment of the West Point graduates, sometimes 

 twenty applications are made for each vacancy. These 

 vacancies are generally filled by the sons of officers, intel- 

 ligent department clerks, etc. , the number from the ranks 

 of the army being invariably in the minority instead of the 

 majority, as it should be, if encouragement for faithful 

 performance of duty is to be the rule in the army. Re- 

 cently the President selected some forty names from a list 

 of about 400 applicants for appointments as second lieuten- 

 ants in the regular army, and the majority of these were 

 selected as above stated. Yet in this little batch there were 

 some promotions from the ranks, and even a Modoc volun- 

 teer (a private) was recommended for a commission. These 

 promotions are well worthy of publication, we therefore 

 append them, as follows :— Commissary Sergeant William 

 Allen, at Camp Apache, A. T. ; Frank S. Hinkle, sergeant 

 of company A, Fifth Infantry ; James L. Murray, an en- 

 listed man of the army ; William C. Roundy, sergeant of 

 the Twenty -first Infantry; John Sheldon, sergeant-major 

 of the Second Infantry; Sergeant Theo. Smith, of the sig- 

 nal corps ; Fred. Theiss, sergeant of M companj?-, Seventh 

 Cavalry, and last, but not least, in these "hot spells," James 

 C. Winters, a Modoc volunteer. This list shows that less 

 than one-quarter only of these promotions are made from 

 the ranks. This ought not to be so, still the inferior char- 

 acter of the men generally enlisted has much to do with 

 this. 



The subjugation of the "Peace Commission" Modocs, 

 after a somewhat protracted campaign, does not seem to 



have settled the Indian question, if the latest news from 

 the frontier is an}'- indication of the peaceful inclinations of 

 these poetical Lo's ! These noor fellows are roaming about 

 attacking unprotected settlements, stealing horses, etc., 

 and never missing a chance to take a scalp. One of their 

 nice little bands has been making some fun in the vicinity 

 of Fort McKavett. Lieutenant Wheeler, of the Second 

 Cavalry, with forty men, went after the inhuman murderers 

 of Mrs. Richards and Miss Hall, tn the Wind River Yalley, 

 some few weeks since, but missed their trail, it having been 

 washed away by the rains. This detachment, however, in 

 the opinion of Colonel Brockett, of the Second Cavalry, 

 was altogether too small, and would have undoubtedly been 

 overpowered had they fallen in with the Indians, who were 

 reported a good force. This detachment (company B) of 

 the Second has had severe scouting service, and the force 

 in the vicinity of Fort Stambaugh, W. T., and other posts 

 on the frontier should be largely increased if the Govern- 

 ment ever expects to check Indian depredations. Our little 

 detachments in the Indian country have extended lines to 

 protect, and, restrained as they are by the peace policy of 

 the Government, stand a small chance against the Indians. 

 General Crook has somewhat settled the Indian business 

 in Arizona, but not by a peace policy, and General "Phil" 

 and General Sherman think it about time these savages 

 were either kept on the Government reservations and made 

 to do something for a living, or the troops allowed to wipe 

 a few of them out. It strikes us this peace policy should 

 have ceased with the Modoc war, but as long as the Indian 

 agents send cases of breech-loading Sharps marked "hard- 

 ware," to the number of 2,000 at a time, as Government 

 annuity, we must expect these murders, robberies, etc., on 

 the part of the Indians. What chance, let us ask, has the 

 poor settler with his muzzle-loader, purchased with his own 

 means, against the improved weapon of the savage pur- 

 chased by the Government ? 



Assistant Quartermaster General Ingalls, who left his 

 quarters in the department of the East, New York city, a 

 few weeks since, and proceeded to Europe, has reached 

 Yienna, the city of the exposition. He is on Government 

 commission (not per cent.), and will look after the warlike 

 interests of- the United States at the exposition, etc., etc., 

 as one of a board appointed for that purpose. The Gen- 

 eral, we presume, will, on his return, write a book and tell 

 us all he saw new in the death-dealing line, or any other. 



First Lieutenant John W. Chickering, of the Sixth In- 

 fantry, "subsisted" just $51 21 too much a few months ago 

 from Second Lieutenant W. B. Wetmore, of the same regi- 

 ment, and now he has got to pay for it, as that amount has 

 been deducted from his pay by the Government. 



First Lieutenant James H. Bradley, of the Seventh In- 

 fantry, is going "beyond the sea" when he gets a chance. 

 He has permission to be absent for two-thirds of a year. 



Assistant Surgeon Peter J. A. Charey has left Texas to 

 locate in New York for awhile. 



Lieutenant General Philip H. Sheridan, U.S.A., is still 

 single. He is a regular "no surrender." It is said more 

 bachelors are congregated in the Eighteenth Infantry, sta- 

 tioned in the South department, than any other portion of 

 the army. Why is this ? 



The First Artillery, now in the South, but so long estab- 

 lished at Fort Hamilton and the adjacent forts of New 

 York harbor, report has it, don't like the change now "so 

 prett}- well. " The change in the winter was pleasingly ac- 

 ceptable, but this hot weather — well, we "cannot always 

 sometimes tell," you know. 



General Custer, of the Seventh Cavalry, has deserted a 

 "Life on the Plains," and at last accounts, with a squadron 

 of his command, was "pushing things" at the mouth of 

 Glendine's Creek as a part of the Yellowstone expedition. 

 He and his command were then looking for Josephine, who 

 was expected to paddle along pretty soon. 



General Gibbons, commanding the Seventh Infantry, has 

 been relieved as general superintendent of the recruiting 

 service. Major J. P. Roy, Sixth infantry, is temporarily in 

 charge. 



Irt md the Mrmnu. 



HUNGARIAN RACES. 



THE Rakos course is some five miles or so from the cen- 

 tre of the city, on a broad oasis-bordered fiat. Horses, 

 riders, and trainers were many of them English. There was 

 the grand stand, the saddling place, and the ring, but they 

 were different from the English institutions of the same 

 names. There is no betting in one sense, but there is a 

 sort of public sweepstakes in which everybody puts down 

 so much on the horse he thinks is likely to win. If he 

 chooses an outsider, the chances are that there will be few 

 with whom he will have to divide his winnings ; if he 

 chooses a "hot" favorite, he cannot expect much more 

 than his stake to be returned. The races were much like 

 other races except one for farmers' horses. It was ridden 

 by Hungarian farmers without saddles, and in their natural 

 costume. A huge nightshirt flows down to the feet, and is 

 sewed up to make a loose pair of trousers. A sleeveless 

 waistcoat is stuck on, and the long white arms of the shirt 

 fly loose, a foot or so broad, at the wrist. The head is 

 covered with something like a tea-cosy, or a smoking-cap, 

 with a feather stuck in it, and the dress is complete. The 

 horses were light-looking, but active and business-like, and 

 the riders rode as keenly as if the race was for life. Two 

 of them could not get their restive animals off till the others 

 had run nearly half the course, but they insisted on running 

 it out as faithfully as if they had a ghost of a chance of 

 winning. Over every incident of the race the excitement of 

 the crowd was as great as it could have been at home, and 

 the "road out " was as dusty and as full of perilous chances 

 to carriage or rider. — MacmMaii's Magazine. 

 .♦♦>. 1 



—A French firm is manufacuring paper with considerable 

 success from the residue of hops. 



BLACK Crook on Monday, August 18, was offered to the 

 Patrons of Niblos', and was greeted of course with a 

 crowded house. Some years ago, when this "spectacle" 

 was first presented, it was a matter of great speculation, 

 even among the most hardened playgoers, whether it could 

 maintain itself ; we doubt if the managers at first were alto- 

 gether at ease on the subject. Dating from the day in New 

 York city when Greenough's chanting cherubs, singing 

 " Gloria in Excelsis" were, in deference to the public taste, 

 exhibited with their loins girded with modest gauze, to the 

 day the Black Crook appeared, there certainly has been a 

 change, and no one can say that our old times "village 

 modesty" has not been entirely worked out by the "whirli- 

 gigs" of time. 



This is "the fourth revival," if we mistake not. The first 

 era was so long that managers, actors, ballet girls and the 

 machinery were actually worn tut with the repetition ; but 

 there was an audience to the last night, and the story is, 

 that weeks after the withdrawal there were occasionally 

 found hidden away among the dark recesses of the play- 

 house "old patrons," who had gone to sleep after the fash- 

 ion of Rip Van Winkle, praying only to be awakened when 

 the Black Crook again strutted upon the stage. 



Now, the text of the play, from an intellectual stand- 

 point, is the most thoroughly bad that is possible. The 

 author, or rather compiler, had no other objects in view 

 than with unmeaning words to kill time enough to allow 

 the scene-shifters to do their heavy work. And so little 

 ingenuity is displayed that the veriest tyro in dramatic 

 tricks is not deceived. As one of the curiosities of the 

 play, in this connection, it is to be recorded that the author 

 of this bosh received more money for the copyright than 

 was ever before paid to any dramatic writer, for one play, 

 from the days of Shakespeare down to the present time. 

 Nay, more ; this celebrated literary production provided 

 the author not only with a splendid country-seat and 

 grounds to match, but has left money enough still due to 

 his heirs to make a famous case before our Probate Court ! 



The original conception of the play has never been essen- 

 tially improved upon. The regular patrons would not 

 patiently submit to any radical change ; in fact, they have 

 insisted upon having all the glowing faults retained, noth- 

 ing in their imaginations or dreamy reminiscences equal- 

 ling their first love. 



The popular decision of the professed moralist is, that 

 the charm of the Black Crook issues from the lowest incen- 

 tive that can excite admiration on the stage, viz : — the dis- 

 play of semi-nude humanity. We have endeavored to ana- 

 lyze this judgment, and are forced to a better conclusion, 

 and relieved of the otherwise wretched, degraded notion 

 that many good people, and thousands of simple people, 

 are induced to be spectators from such depraved mo- 

 tives. The fact is, the semi-nude element is so thoroughly 

 involved, and a necessary part of the spectacle as a whole, 

 that it excites comparatively little especial notice, and 

 where it is prominent it is often a source of regret to the 

 majority of the spectators that so much that is for the mo - 

 ment attractive to the eye should be marred by any indeli- 

 cate display. 



It is most unfortunate that the theater has ceased to be a 

 place where nature is imitated in the higher developments 

 of human thought and action. We believe the stage, 

 judged by the success of the Black Crook, has reached a 

 lower degradation than is afforded in any precedent history. 

 The genius of the actor, the intellectual power of the 

 author, are now entirely subordinated to scenic effects, and 

 humanity is only thrust in merely to fill up necessary open- 

 ings, just as mud is used to stop the chinks between the logs 

 of a frontiersman's hut ; the humanity and the mud rank- 

 ing as equally important things merely to fill up gaps. 



The Black Crook is therefore a legitimate feature of the 

 times. The manager, by its design, is relieved ■ of paying 

 for dramatic talent. Their company is purposely organ- 

 ized of the lowest intellectual calibre. If there was a scin- 

 tillation of true genius, one flash of naturalness in any of 

 its members, the unhappy victim would be discharged, as 

 interfering with the intended effect of the tinsel and the 

 striking glare of the calcium lights. The design consid- 

 ered, merely to produce a spectacle, the managers have done 

 well. In its worst estate the Black Crook, in its language 

 at least, conveys no bad morals. Ilerzog and Greppo do not 

 ask us to spmpathize with the moralities and afflictions of 

 the heroines of the "society play," and we don't remember 

 any incident in the extraordinary drama where innocence 

 and virtue are designedly made the only victims of dire 

 misfortune and popular condemnation. 



We doubt if the drawing of Rogamay, the French cari- 

 caturist, will be appreciated, or if the audience will accept 

 kindly, however well they are executed, the series of pic- 

 tures which are introduced in place of the transformation 

 scene. The pictures are realistic, open to criticism, or 

 within the reach of a majority of the audience to like or 

 dislike, but the charms of that "heaven" to which the 

 lovers of the Black Crook have for years been finally trans- 

 lated was a fit ending of unsurpassed splendor that sent 

 home the majority of the entranced spectators under the 

 impression that a penny "wheel" had been ignited and 

 allowed to whirl its fire and rainbow tints within their con- 

 fused and throbbing; brains. 



— Loch Leven trout are very celebrated all over England 

 and Scotland, and are worth two shillings a pound. The latest 

 dodge is to substitute sea trout for them worth ten pence 

 a pound, and disappointed anglers buy them at full figures. 



