B30 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[JUNE 2, 1892. 



The Knoxville Inter-State. 



The trip from New "iork to Knoxville, Tenn., is one that pre- 

 sents a magnificent diversity of views. Leaving New York at 5 

 P. M. on Sunday, A. E. Mead, of Knoxville, E. D. Millar, of 

 Springfield, N. J., and the trap editor of Fobesi and StheAm 

 speeded along through familiar scenes, until Harrisburg was left 

 behind, the trip from that place to Hagerstown being over the 

 Cumberland Valley route. Hagerstown was reached at 12:30 on 

 Sunday night, and bere, after securing reduction tickets, the 

 party turned in to try and steal a little rest. At 7:34 on Monday 

 morning the writer i'Tund it impossible to sleep or rest in his 

 berth and decided to take a look at the route. At this time we 

 were on the train and tracks of the Norfolk and Western, which 

 runs from Hagerstown to Bristol. The scenery below this point 

 was grand in the extreme, presenting a panoramic view of lofty 

 mountain peaks and fertile valleys through which picturesque 

 water courses wound their way. Old-time plantations, several 

 thousand acres in extent, were seen here and there. Now t he 

 train would speed through a deep gorge and then after Tounding 



Seo'y R. Van Gilder. 



a sharp curve would bring to view a valley of beauty, a cluster 

 of negro cabins, or perhaps the, remnants of some of the "b n om 

 towns" which from time to time have burned the fingers of Vir- 

 ginians and Tennesseeans. At Roanoke the trio of travelers were 

 joined by Wm, Wagner and Jos. H. Hunter, of the Capital City 

 Gun Club, of Washington, D. C , who were accorded a hearty 

 welcome. At Bristol, where we abandoned the N. & W. for the 

 E. T., V. & G. R. R., we were joined by C. C. English, A. S. Mc- 

 Dowall, of the Bristol Gun Club. Here we enjoyed a solid repast, 

 and, strange as it may seem, I am unable to say whether we ate 

 our dinner in Tennessee or Virginia. Bristol is rather a com- 

 pound town, being one-half in Virginia and one-half in Tennessee, 

 the dividing line running through the center of the main street 

 directly east and west. I am rather inclined to the belief that our 

 meal was eaten in Tennessee, but have no way of proving it, 

 unless I refer the question to Dr. S. W. Rhea, who is the Tennes- 

 see mayor of Tennessee-Bristol. Each half of the town has its 

 own government, and is regulated by the laws of its own State. 



Prom Bristol to Knoxville, 131 miles, the road leads over 

 mountains, through deep gulches and almg pleasant streams, 

 confluent to the Tennessee River. This East Tennessee Valley, 

 lying under the shadow of the Alleghany Mountains, is prolific of 

 attractive scenery, and is visited by thousands of tourists. In its 

 streams are found an abundance of gamy fish, while feathered 

 game of all kinds are plentiful enough to give the gunner a good 

 reward for a day's tramp. 



It was 7 P. M. on Monday when our tired party stepped from 

 the train at the Knoxville depot, and the first one to greet us was 

 Charley Ross, Charley of the chubby face, the stocky form and 

 the complexion of a strawberry blonde. Nearly all of our party 

 had met Charley in Staunton a few weeks before, and were well 

 pleased to renew the acquaintance. Along with Ross, and fully 

 as enthusiastic in their welcome to the party, were Roger and 

 Sommer VanGilder, J. C. White, T. C, Eldridge, S. B. Dow and F. 



Treas. J. C. White. 



S. Mead, all of the Knoxville Gun Club, the latter being a younger 

 brother of our traveling companion, A. E. Mead. After the 

 voyageurshad become acquainted all around, the party went by 

 stage to the new Schubert Hotel, where they were made comfort- 

 able and well fed by mine host James O'Connor. Several other 

 shooting men were registered when our party arrived, arm ng 

 them being Dr. S. W. Rhea, mayor of Bristol, Tenn., and presi- 

 dent of the Bristol Gun Club; E. S. Wolfe, of Johnston City, 

 Tenn.; J. T. Anthony, of Charlotteville, Va., and Lemuel T. 

 Alston, representative of the Lefever Arms Company, of Syra- 

 cuse, N. Y. Mr. Alston was formerly connected with an arms 

 company in Atlanta, Georgia, and is thoroughly posted on the 

 mechanism of the various smooth-bores. He is an accomplished 

 talker, and during his connection with the Lefever Company has 

 made many converts to the company's new hammerless ejector. 



After supper the party was visited by several other members 

 of the local club, along with whom came Paul North, the ruddy- 

 faced boy from Cleveland, O., who came down to Tennessee to 

 look after the interests of the Cleveland Target Company and the 

 Chamberlain Cartridge Company. The evening was passed in a 

 very pleasant manner, and so rapidly did the time pass that it 

 was long after midnight before any one thought of retiring. i 



Tuesday morning opened bright and clear and with a look in 

 the air which presaged a warm day, this anticipation being re- 

 alized very fully. Before going to the shooting grounds, a look 

 about the city convinced the writer that Knoxville was "quite a 

 town," despite the general opinion to the contrary. The popula- 

 tion is placed at 45,000, about one-fourth being colored people. 

 The town is the county seat of Knox county and is beautifully 

 situated on the right bank of the Holston River, twenty-two 

 miles above its j unction with the Tennessee River- Situated on 

 a eommauding oluff in the western section of the city are the 

 handsome cluster of buildings comprising the University of Ten- 

 nessee, one of the most popular institutions in the South. 

 Between the city proper and the above bluff is a deep gorge 

 through which a railroad is now running. Directly opposite the 

 University on the eastern side of this gorge is the handsome 

 estate of Mr. Mead, father of the Mead brothers previously men- 

 tioned. From the mansion to the banks of the Holston River the 



ground slopes gradually, and from the house a magnificent view 

 of the river and on the opposite side the mountain peaks stretch- 

 ing away far as the eye can reach. To the east is eeen the bridge 

 of the E. T., V. & G. R. R., below which the river makes an 

 abrupt turn to the southwest and then west again, its waters 

 washing the banks of the Mead estate. Flat-bottomed boaiB and 

 several old-fashioned log canoes were being propelled up and 

 down the river when the writer took his hurried view. 



Southwest of the University is old Fort Saunders, where nearly 

 thirty years ago was fought a decisive battle. On the outskirts of 

 the city are numerous marble quarries which yield a generous 

 return to their owners. For business the town has a fine reputa- 

 tion, one dry goods firm being said to do a business of over one 

 and a half millions of dollars a year. Nearly all the members of 

 the Knoxville Gun Club are business men who are doing a profita- 

 ble business. Handsome residences are found everywhere. The 

 hotel accommodations are good, much better, in fact, than I was 

 led to expect from reports of those who had stopped at them. 



North of the city proper and about four miles distant is beauti- 

 ful Lake Otossee, one of the prettiest sheets of water in the State. 

 Overlooking this lake is a high bluff, on the summit of which, on 

 Tuesday morning, was opened a trap-shooting tournament which 

 the participants pronounce "the best tournament of the year." 

 This was the "eleventh annual" of the Knoxville Gun CJub, ihe 

 organization which made such a great reputation in 1891 when it 

 engineered a tournament of the Inter-State Manufacturers' and 

 Dealers' Association. 



The grounds were magnificently situated, affording a clear view 

 for miles in all directions. The club has a small, neatly arranged 

 club housp to which was added an extension for the use of the 

 secretary and cashier. To the left of this was the blackboard 

 and the official scorer's table. Than came two wall tents used as 

 resting places by the shooters. In rear of these tents was a huge 

 marquee, under which caterer Miller provided the boys with an 

 elaborate dinner each day. To the right of the club house were 

 chairs and benches for the use of visitors. When the writer 

 reached the grounds one event had been shot and the second was 

 in progress, the first showing thirty entries and the second twenty- 

 nine, a fine showing for an opening day. The shooting was at 

 bluerock targets, from five expert traps, the North electric pull 

 being used. Traps, targets and pulls all worked in elegant form 

 and very few tirgets were broken in the traps. 



The office work was performed in an able manner by Roger 

 Van Gilder, Frank S. Mead and Mr. Chandler of the Knoxville 

 Tribune, which paper by the way was the only one in the city to 

 send a representative to the grounds. JVIr. 8 B. Dow, a veteran 

 member of the club officiated as referee. The office work ran 

 along as smoothly as could be desired, not a grumble beiDg heard 

 during the week. 



There is one point in which the shooting differed, so far as con- 

 ditions were concerned, from the printed programme, and for 

 making the innovation the members of the Knoxville Gun Club 

 have shown themselves to be straightforward, thoroughgoing 

 sportsmen who are willing to give every man a chance to win if 

 he can. It will be remembered that the conditions provided that 



Pres. S. B. Dow. 



while "known experts" would be obliged to shoot "all the time" 

 under strict expert rules (unknown traps determined by indi- 

 cator), the others were all to have the benefit of the now well- 

 known and equitable "North system." The only "known expert" 

 the opening day was E. D. Miller, and at least a dozen of the 

 shooters, including the Washington men, Paul North and a num- 

 ber of the local men protested against what they justly claimed 

 was "a losing handicap" to impose upon any man. Miller him- 

 self said he came to Knoxville to shoot and while he would shoot 

 as an expert if compelled to do so he would consider that the 

 money he paid in was "contributed" to the cause, as no man in the 

 ranks could shoot under those rules against the men who would 

 shoot during the three days against him, these latter to have the 

 benefit of the "North system." 



The management was not willing to come out flat-footed and 

 alter its printed rules, but it at once referred the question in all 

 its phases to the shooters present, the result being that class one 

 was abolished, Miller, North, Huntm-, Wagner and R. Van Gilder 

 were obliged to shoot all events from known traps and unknown 

 angles and the others were given the benefit of the "up and 

 down" system of Paul North. This was one of the most sensible 

 decisions ever given by a body of shooters in this country and 

 they should be given great credit for their willingness to give a 

 brother sportsman an opportunity to at least have a fighting 

 chance along with them. The Knoxville Gun Club, by advocating 

 this course, has made itself solid with the shooting men of the coun 

 try, and will reap its reward at future tournaments. The expert 

 rule is something to which I have always been teetotally opposed, 

 as it has driven many a good man from the arena, and unless it is 

 abolished many more will follow. Some of the managers of East- 

 ern tournaments insist that without the expert handicap tourna- 

 ments will be failures, and yet they fail to show by the numbpr of 

 entries that the handicap is a benefit. In the West at artificial 

 target shoots "all men are equal," the result being that instead 

 of from fifteen to thirty or forty entries as in the East, the wild, 

 weird, wooly and whistling West puts the East to shame by show- 

 ing all the way from forty to a hundred or more entries. I claim 

 that it all events in the East were made at fifteen or twenty tar- 

 gets and the North system adopted the entry lists would in a 

 short time be equal to those in the Western affairs. At any rate 

 the experiment IB well worth trying. 



The programme of the Knoxville tournament was without ex- 

 ception the best arranged of any issued since thp beginning of the 

 present tournament season. The club added $500 in cold cash to 

 the various events, this of itself beinga decided and strong attrac- 

 tion. Besides this, its members went out through the lanes and 

 along the byways and collected merchandise valued at several 

 hundreds of dollars, these being given as special premiums. Each 

 day there were five premiums for averages, and there were also 

 eight premiums in No. 4 event each day, besides the money 

 divisions. As a still stronger incentive there were ten premiums 

 for the highest aggregates made by those shooting in all three of 

 the No. 4 events, and four premiums under the same conditions 

 in No. 6 event. The result was that a big lot of "stayers" were 

 developed, and from start to finish the events were well filled. 



When the last event had been shot and the averages were footed 

 up, the sensible part of the abolishment of Class 1 was shown when 

 first average was won by J. H. Hunter on 94 7-10 per cpnt., Wm. 

 Wagner being second with 91 1-10 per cent., while E. D. Miller, the 

 man who was so greatly feared, came in third on 90 1-10 per cent., 

 along with L J. Alston on the same figures. Fourth man was 

 James Jordan, 89 4-10 per cent., and Paul North was fifth on 88 8-10. 

 The premiums were as follows: First, J£ dozen Monarch shirts; 

 second, tiJ4lb. keg of wood powder; tnird, silver shaving set; 

 fourth. 6Mib. can black powder; fifth, bag of shot. 



In No. 4 event the following premiums were offered: First, a 

 year's subscription American Field; second, 6J4lb. keg wood pow- 

 der; third, rocking chair; fourth, 100 loaded wood powder shells; 

 fifth, bag shot; sixth, 100 fine cigars; seventh, 100 loaded quick 

 shot shells; eighth, 100 loaded wood powder shells. 



There were ties for all except Nos. 1 and 3. According to the 

 conditions, all ties for merchandise were to be shot down to one 

 man in the subsequent events. This was done, and the prizes 

 were finally won as follows: First, S. W, Rhea; second, E. l». Mil- 

 ler; third, R. Van Gilder; fourth, L. J. Alston; fifth, C. C. English; 

 sixth, H, Smith; Beventh, H. L, Lee; eighth, Chas. B, Ross. 



After the regular programme was run out a couple of extras 

 were shot, after which the sport was close i for the day. The 

 number of targets thrown wan a trifla over 6,000. 

 Below are the detailed scores of the day's work- 



1.15 singles, entry $3. No. 2, 15 singles, entry 82, 820 purse . 

 No. 3, 15 singles, entry $3, $20 added: 

 Experts. 



No. 1. No. 2. No 3 



Miller. . . .111111011111111-14 01111111111 1111-14 110011111111111-13 



H Smith 110111111101111-13 110111101 111111-13 111011111111011-12 



F Smith 110101010011010- 8 



R VanGild'rOOimilllUlll— 13 111101110111101-13 lilOlllOOliiiii— lg 

 Eldridge .... 111111110010111-13 onilllfiimiioi— U 



Rliea 11101 1 110100 1 11 — 11 ' 1111011011 1 0101— IK 



J , E Ro8S < 1010.11 1 1 0311000- 7 



Alston :. 1 11 11111101 1 ill — 14 



Wagner ....111110111111111-14 ] 101111111 11111-14 011111111111110-14 

 Hunter 111111111111111—15 111111111111111—15 111111111111110-14 



81 ocum imimiuoiio-i?. 



Vice-Pres. T. C. Eldridge. 



English 111011111101111—13 001111110101010— VI 101010111111111—13 



S Van Gilder 1101 101 110010 11- 10 111111110111011-13 111111111111011-13 



North 101110011111111-12 111101111111001-13 111111110101111-13 



Amateurs. 



Sam King.. .011011100101110- 9 101111101111101-12 011111101010100- 9 



Burrows 111100101111111-12 101111110111101—13 011011101111111-12 



Dallive 11101 noil 111110-11 



Rankin lOOOlOOOlOOlill— 8 



T,d Flos';-:.. Oiiiiliiu - - .... 



White 011110010101111-11 11110100011111-11 1001 1101 1000111- 9 



Ervine lUilHliOUDll- 13 111111111111110— 1M 01 1101110111110-11 



O Ross 11 1 1011 1 1 10111 1—13 1101 11101111100—11 1111.10111111110-13 



Anthony.. ..111111111011001-12 111110001111110-11 111100011111011-13 

 Alston 110010011111011-10 111101111111111—14 



wolf... . oiiwmoioiooi— fl iiioiiuiiioiii-13 1 loom n inn i—i3 



Morris 1010101 000''0101- 0 011010110110111-10 010111001011011—9 



Nelson 111100011100001— 8 011011110111101-11 



McDowell. ..111111010101010-10 101111101111110-12 110110111110101—11 



Jordan 111111101010011-11 111111111111111—15 011111101111111—13 



AEMead...l0l1iil]iliHJliuri— fi 111001110100111— 10 10101 1011 100110— 9 

 Lovejoy 111111101111011—13 010100011101111— 9 111111100110011—11 



A F Smith. 



J E Ross 



S locum 



Rhea 



Dollive 



Gilmer 



Eldridge 



Lee 



No. 4, 20 singles, entry $3, J 

 singles, entry $4, 835 added: 



111001111110110-11 001111101111111-12 



01 1100000010100— 4 



111010100100111-10 111111110111011— 13 



nnimiimti-i5 



oiooomioiuoi- 8 moi minoioi-12 



111111010111010-11 110111111110111—12 



iiomiioomu-12 



111011111111011-13 



!0 and merchandise added. No. 6, 25 



Experts. 

 No. 4. No. 6. 



Miller 11111111111111111110-19 lllllinillllliniU01011-23 



Capt. S. Vax Gilder. 



Wagner 1111011 1111111111111— 19 



Hunter 11 11101111 111 111 til I— 19 



North 11111111111111011111-19 



Jordan 1010111111 1111001111-16 



R VanGilder .... 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10H 110 11111—18 



Alston 01111110101111111111—17 



S VanGilder. . . .1111 '11 1101111111111— 19 



Slocum 11111111101011111001-16 



Lee 10011110101110101111-14 



Eldridge 



A F Smith 



English 



Doflve 



Burrow 1001 OU10110U111111-15 



A Smith 10101111111110010111-15 



Eldridge OllOllOllllimillOl-16 



E Ross 10101100010000101101- 9 



Connor 0111101 0010011101011-12 



c Ross loiiotiiiuoimnioi— 13 



F Mead 10111111110111010111-18 



A Mead 01100000110111111111-13 



Wilson 11111010101110111 001-13 



H Smith 101 11101111100111101-15 



White Ul 11111001011111111-17 



English 01110111111111010111-16 



Rhea 11111111111111111111-20 



T S King 01111011111111110101-16 



McDowell 00111101110111111011-15 



Lovejoy 11111110011010110000-12 



Anthony 01010001010110001100- 8 



Gilmer 00011 110111 111101000-12 



Irvine 0111101 10100 ' 1111111-15 



Dolive lOUllllUOOlllinOl- 16 



Woolfe 10101011011110101011—13 



Dair 01 11 0110100110101001-11 



Leeson lOlOOmOUOmillH— 15 



Jordon 



Lee , , 



oimiiii] linoon iiniu-22 



1111111111111111111101111-24 

 1111111111111111111111111-25 



oi ociiiooniiiiiiiin mo-is 



1111110111111111111111111-24 



ii rio n 1 1 mo 1 1 1 111111001— si 



0110110111011010001111101-16 



ooiioidiiioiiiiiiiiioiiii-io 

 limioi m mi iinomii-23 

 on lom moi noi l non 10-19 

 noinioniooi mm 111011—19 



0110001101011101100101001-16 



1101111110111111111101011-21 

 lnnmnmniiononn— 23 

 1 1 11011111101 10m 001111.1-20 

 loomoooiuooomon 1011—15 



1111 iimomn inn 01101-22 

 1 11001 10111011m 011111 001-17 



1101110111110110111111101-20 



miiiooiivommmmofi-17 

 11 10 nnoiomuioii 0110101— 1« 



1000111111101111011111011-19 



onoiiooioomonoimooi— is 



1111111111111 111111111101-24 



oiommimiiuomim-3a 



