FOREST AND STREAM 
701 
Southern Handicap in Three Days 
Book by Ed. Banks, Lyrics and Movies by Bill Beecroft. Conducted by Elmer Shaner. 
Leading Characters-S. T. Day, F. Huseman, D. F. McMahon, F. C. Koch, A. B. Richardson, D. H. Leahy, George Lyon, R. L. Spotts, M. Blake Mount 
and Watt L. Moorman. 
Chorus Trained by The Interstate Association (any Member of the Chorus is Invited to Play a Lead Next Season). 
Cosmetics Furnished by Du Pont, Hercules, Robin Hood, American Powder Mills and Other Powder Companies. Costumes by Abercrombie & Fitch, 
Schoverling Daly Gales, Iver Johnson and Other Sporting Goods Dealers. Pyrotechnics by Morrill Target Co. Property 
Man Mr. Winans of Western Target and Cartridge Co. Box Office in Charge of Mr. Lewis. 
I believe it was Fred Mather who remarked: “It isn’t 
all fishing to fish” and, by the san\e token, this is 
true of trap shooting when one follows the Interstate 
Association routings. For example the Southern Handi¬ 
cap recalls the trip to old Point Comfort on the 
Old Dominion Line—this of course allowing pleasure 
rather than hurry. We take the good ship Hamiltoil, 
named for the man who, when told by Aaron Burr 
that a dog’s tail was not a tail when it was a “waggin,” 
was summarily shot by A. Burr, and we may say 
from experience, a ship that could not be classed as 
a dead one when she passed Cape May. The Hotel 
Chamberlin or Old Point, though advertised like a 
patent medicine, offers hospitality, in its big barnlike 
way. Over yonder Fort Monroe—changed from a 
fortress since suffrage became militant, and, right 
here, the trap shooter, who almost invariably is a 
ball fan, may fill his heart with joy as the sight of 
two of Uncle Sam’s artillery regiments fighting for 
supremacy on the diamond. One never would guess, 
even when told by several privates that the number 
of men who offered or wanted to buy their way out 
of service is ten per cent.—that these lads ever thought 
of anything but base ball. Then we stroll back to the 
dock and w'Uch the big warship Montana sending for 
shore leave, hundreds of Jackies and a dozen of Sec¬ 
retary Daniels officers from the water wagon—and—in¬ 
cidentally most of these gentlemen are knock kneed, 
perhaps due to grape juice. At the dock lies the 
Schooner Sallie Morton, discharging a wriggling cargo 
of 3,500 blue fish, averaging about five pounds, 17,500 
pounds of fish at, they quoted 11 cents, or $1,925 
worth of—But this brings us back to our mutton, we 
are talking about scalers, not scales. We pass lightly^— 
metaphorically only, however—over the eight hour trip 
on the Norfolk & Western to Roanoke, its some trip 
even for a trappist with sea-going spirits—as one cracker 
said: “When I get home I’ll have to get a couple of 
coons to yank my bed around and throw cinders in 
my eyes before I can sleep.” 
So here we are in Roanoke—called the magic city, hav¬ 
ing grown from 5,000 in 1884 to over 50,000 today. Ho¬ 
tels, moderately good and a fresh air trolley trip to 
the grounds, a half hour out. Nothing more ideal than 
these grounds could be imagined, with a possibility of 
realization. A plateau several hundred feet above the 
street level, situated like the frog of a horse’s foot an 
a hoof of Blue Ridge mountains. We blow into the 
office of the genial Elmer Shaner and are introduced to 
the officers of the club and some story tellers present. 
The hospitable secretary takes us all over the plateau 
introducing right, left and center to the fraternity— 
those we know and those we know not. Among the 
most interesting characters we came in contact with 
was Watt L. Moorman, postmaster in Lynchburg under 
Presidents Cleveland and McKinley, and whose populari¬ 
ty would make his reappointment a most pleasing one. 
This gentleman, past sixty, and his pal. Col. R. S. 
Terry, generally are .conceded to be the daddies of trap 
shooting in the South. 
The shoot is on, and bevies of pretty girls lend much 
to the pastoral setting, and from bevy to bevy go Big 
Jim George of the novelty brigrade, always with a 
new toy, Walter Huff and other ladies’ men, for be it 
known trap shooters are lionized—no pun here, just as 
are heroes of the gridiron and athletes in general. 
Special mention should be made of the ladies, who, like 
Red Cross nurses, faced the firing line, feeding the 
hungry and Coca Colaing the thirsty. We have photo¬ 
graphed them, but mayhap the picture will not do them 
justice, in fact it could not. By the way, there was a 
sixteen-year-old kid—a regular Ralph K. Spotts who 
broke 94 x 100, this being his first tournament, in fact 
the first time he ever used a twelvfe-gauge gun, always 
having used, in practice, of which he had little, his 
twenty-gauge “bird gun.” Watch this youngster and 
now read the real story. , . . 
The ninth Southern Handicap Tournament, held at 
Roanoke, Va., May 12, 13 and 14, under the auspices of 
the Roanoke Gun Club, has gone into history as a record 
breaker. Close to 200 different trap shooters took part 
in the several events scheduled for practice day and 
the three regular days of the tournament, and there 
was not a hitch from beginning to end. The members 
of the Roanoke Gun Club, individually and collectively, 
arc to be congratulated on the successful manner in 
which the many details were handled. 
PRACTICE DAY, MAY 11, 1914- 
Given weather similar to that which prevailed today, 
the success of the Interstate Association s 1914 Southern 
Handicap in this city is assured. The management of 
the local gun club has everything arranged at its grounds 
in such excellent shape that Manager Elmer E. Shaner, 
of Pittsburgh, Pa., who has charge of the tournament, 
has expressed himself as fully satisfied with same, and 
also said that, so far as he could see, the tournament 
is sure to be a record breaker, making new history in 
the matter of attendance at the association’s annual 
Southern Handicaps. 
To-day was “Practice Day,” a program of five twenty- 
target events being scheduled. Shooting started at one 
o’clock and before the smoke had cleared away a total 
of 92 shooters had taken part in the several events. 
Such an entry list guarantees a most successful tourna¬ 
ment, and it is confidently expected that before the 
last shot is fired in the Southern Handicap event itself 
on Thursday afternoon next, between 150 and 200 differ¬ 
ent marksmen will have taken part in the events on the 
program for the three days of the tournament. 
To-day’s scores were not quite as high as had been ex¬ 
pected, but still eleven amateurs registered totals of 90 
or better for the 100 targets they shot at. In order of 
merit these were: A. B. Richardson, 96; Vassa Cate, 
95; J. B. Lallance, Jr., 94; J. G. Martin, E. W. Ford, 
and A. M. Hatcher, 93; H. A. Morson, E. C. Gunther 
and G. B. Chapman, 91; George Ebberts and N. Tucker, 
90. Among the professionals H. D. Gibbs and E. M. 
Funk broke 97; E. H. Storr, L. S. German and Joe 
Terry, 95; C. W. Phellis and Walter Huff, 94; W. R. 
Crosby, Edward M. Daniel and J. M. Hawkins, 93. 
The officers of the Roanoke Gun Club, under whose 
auspices this important event in trap shooting circles is 
being held, are": A. H. H. Boyd, president; W. A. 
Bloxton, vice-president, and W. S. Jones, secretary-treas¬ 
urer. The committee directly in charge of all arrange¬ 
ments for the tournament is made up as follows: H. E. 
Elliott, A. H. H. Boyd, C. E. Armstrong and W. S. 
Jones, and apparently these gentlemen have performed 
all their duties satisfactorily. 
Few people, even among the trap shooters taking part 
in a tournament like this one, have any idea of the 
large staff of employes needed to make it a sure-enough 
smooth-running success. The following list, therefore, 
of the employes who will report to Manager Shaner for 
duty every morning during the shoot will be of_ in¬ 
terest: H. E. Winans, of the Western Cartridge Com¬ 
pany, who has charge of the traps. In the office are: 
Lloyd R. Lewis, of the Du Pont Company, cashier; 
D. M. Gann, compiler of scores; H. R. Cox, Mr. Gann's 
assistant; F. A. Winfrey, clerk, and S. S. Scholl, score 
sheet writer. Out at the traps, of which there are five 
installed, are the following: No. 1 trap—Referee, J. W. 
Bushong; scores, W. C. Sheen; puller, Harry Furrow. 
No. 2 trap—Referee, A. E. Perry; scorer, J. P. Pfleger, 
and W. Howell, puller. No. 3 trap—P. W. Stoutamire, 
referee; J. W. Flowers, scorer, anfl E. M. Hartman, 
puller. No. 4 trap—James H. Dyer, referee; H. L. Crum- 
packer, scorer, and Lewis Neighbors, puller. No. 5 
trap—T. H. Hanlon, referee; Leonard Bloxton, scorer, 
and Frank Chapman, puller. In addition to the above 
there are, of course, the trap boys, who do important 
work in the trap houses that often causes many a man 
to wish he knew just which way the target was going 
to fly. Then, too, there are the messengers, five of 
them, who are responsible for the placing of the right 
score sheets on the score boards, the return of same 
properly totaled up to the bulletin-board man (in this 
instance, H. E. Morancy, of the Western Cartridge 
Company, a volunteer for the occasion), and the post¬ 
ing of the numbers telling what squad is shooting at 
a given trap, thus giving information to waiting squads 
as to just when their turn will come. The five mes¬ 
sengers are: C. A. Crueger, J. A. Graves, C. A. Mc¬ 
Hugh, C. Repass and Vivian Ninmger. From the above 
it will be seen that exclusive of the five trappers and 
their reliefs, a grand total of 28 employes are needed 
to enable the shooters to enjoy a perfectly run tourna¬ 
ment. 
A special feature of the many arrangements made for 
re comfort of the visiting shooters and their friends 
; the lunch tent presided over by the ladies of at. 
lark’s Lutheran Church, under the chaperonage of Mrs. 
B. Bringman and Mrs. C. S. Markley. The bill of 
ire offered satisfies every demand, and guarantees that 
o patron will have any complaint to make of the lunch- 
on arrangements at the Roanoke Southern Handicap in 
FIRST DAY, MAY 12, 1914 - 
In weather that was strictly of the made-to-order va- 
iety, Manager Elmer E. Shaner, of the Interstate Asso- 
iation, opened the ceremonies in connection with the 
.olding of the Association’s ninth annual Southern 
landicap at 9:05 this morning with his address to the 
nembers of the Roanoke Gun Club and their guests at 
he local gun club’s grounds. After remarks, he called 
No. 1 squad to the score for event No. 1, the tournament 
commencing a few minutes after schedule time. 
A grand total of 121 entries was registered in the 
cashier’s office as contestants in the ten 15-target events 
on the program, and of that number 120 put in an ap¬ 
pearance at the grounds. While the weather conditions 
were just about ideal, the tricky wind made the shooting 
harder than usual, and as a result scores did not rule 
as high as has been the case on similar occasions. The 
competition, however, was keen, and the interest never 
lagged from start to finish. 
At the luncheon hour Vassa Cate, of Brunswick, Ga., 
led the amateurs with a total of 72 out of 75, his nearest 
competitors at the halfway mark in the day’s race being 
Dr. B. L. Hillsman, Ralph L. Spotts and D. McMahon, 
of New York, with 71. Five others were right on their 
trail with scores of 70 each. Among the professionals,. 
Lester S. German, of Aberdeen, Md., was in a class all 
by himself, as he had a record of 75 straight, while 
H. D. Gibbs, of Union City, Tenh., was two targets 
behind him. Five other professionals had scores of 71 
out of 75, so that the race was a most interesting one 
all along the line. 
After lunch things happened. The wind blew a bit 
stronger, and the targets dipped, ducked and soared 
to such an extent that at times it was hard to locate 
them accurately. Lester German and J. T. Skelly, both 
members of the professional class, went down the line 
with 73 apiece out of the second 75, German having made 
the great record of breaking his first 129 without a 
miss, an excellent piece of work under the conditions. 
Mr. Spotts, who landed high amateur with 143 out of 
150, had to lose his 150th target to spoil his chance for 
a total of 144. 
The final returns showed that among the amateurs 
R. L. Spptts, of New York, was high, with his 143; 
next to him was Vassa Cate, of Brunswick, Ga., with 
142, while in third place came D. McMahon, of New 
York, with 141. Dr. L. B. Richards, of this city; 
A. M. Hatcher, of Bristol, Va.; A. B. Richardson, of 
Dover, Del.; George L. Lyon, of Durham, N. C.; Dr. 
B. L. Hillsman, of Richmond, Va., and E. W. Ford, 
of Washington, D. C.. were close up with scores of 140 
apiece. 
In the professional ranks, Lester German was easily 
high above everybody with 148; then came J. T. Skelly, 
J. M. Hawkins and Frank Huseman, with 142. W. R. 
Crosby, Edward M. Daniel, Walter Huff, Homer Clark, 
E. H. Storr and C. E. Goodrich, were next, with 141, 
while H. D. Gibbs, who struck a snag or two during 
the afternoon’s round, finished with 140. 
Special mention ought to be made of the way in 
which the “March King,” John Phillip Sousa, one of 
the contestants, pulled himself together after a start 
that would have taken the heart out of any ordinary 
mortal. Mr. Sousa (to use his own expression) “gcrt 
off on the wrong foot first,” and dropped 7 out of 
his first 15. He then finished like a Garrison, breaking 
120 out of his next 135. 
Squad 13 in event 9 set a record for its followers 
by breaking 74 out of 75, the squad being John R. 
Taylor, C. E. Goodrich, C. S. Hunt, Vassa Cate and 
T. F. Joerg, the latter gentleman being the unfor¬ 
tunate one to record the missed target. Right after 
them came squad No. 15, in event 10, with a similar 
record. This squad was composed of the following: 
E. H. Storr, E. W. Sanford, J. B. Pennington, E. W. 
Ford and E. M. Funk, and in this instance also the 
fifth man in the squad was the delinquent, Mr. Funk 
losing his second target in the event. 
The second feature of the day’s program was the 
event at “25 pairs,” that is, at 50 targets thrown 
from the traps two at a time. For this event there 
were 59 entries, a very satisfactory showing, judg¬ 
ing by previous entry lists. After all the scores 
were in, it was found that the wind had had its effect 
on the targets, and scores ruled low. George L. Lyon, 
of Durham, N. C., who won the amateur championship 
at “doubles” (pairs) during last year’s Grand American 
Handicap Tournament at Dayton, Ohio, the second week 
in Tune, with the wonderful sdore of 94 out of 100 
(pairs), was high amateur, with a total of 41. Next to 
him was D. McMahon, of New York, with 39. Dr. B. 
L. Hillsman, of Richmond, Va., and W. H. Jones, of 
Macon, Ga., tieing for third place, with 38. Among the 
professionals, Lester German again shot well, breaking 
42 out of his 50, a score which was equalled by Walter 
Huff. Next came Homer Clark, with 40, and H. D, 
Gibbs, with 39. 
