348 
SS eee 

been abolished, each competitor being allowed seven shots 
instead of five. ‘‘ This,” Lieut Col. King, of the Council, 
“¢ considers as a decided improvement, for when a trained 
competitor comes to a prize meeting he ought not to require 
sighting shots.” [We trust, in time, to see this rule adopt- 
ed at Creedmoor for certain occasions. Of course, if 
strangers visit the range, they should be invariably entitled 
to sighting shots, but with our own men, who ought to 
know, after a certain amount of practice, all about the 
ground, and the light, and should be able to judge for 
themselves of the effect of wind, we think sighting shots 
are not necessary. . 
Our own riflemen would do well to look at and ex- 
amine the scores we shall give of rifle shooting in England, 
and to note the same. We shall have to work very hard at 
Creedmoor whe the season opens. They have certainly 
the advantage in England of practice when their ranges can 
be used all the year round. 
Pachting and Boating. 
All communications from Secretarres and friends should be mailed not 
later than Monday in each week. 






se ee 
HIGH WATER, FOR THE WEEK. 
DATE. | BOSTON. | NEW YORK. | CHARL'ST’N 
—— | —— (Se —: 
h, m. h. ie | h a 
3 81 eve. 1 i: 
ie te 4 10 | 057 | eve. 10 
Jan. 4 54 | 1 41 0 54 
Jan. 5 42 2 29 | 1 42 
yan 6 31 | sre 2 31 
Jan. 7 29 | SER ge 3 29 
Jan. 8 27 5 12 l 4 27 
YACHTING REMINISCENCES. 
onan: aE 
WHAT BECOMES OF THE OLD YACHTS. 
AS it ever occurred to any one, where the yachts 
that have become old, or that are laid aside for new 
ones go when their owners have sold them? 
Look back at the yachts that became famous in their 
day, winning prize upon prize, and making for themselves 
good records only to be forgotten when some new clipper 
comes out. How like human nature we are short lived, 
and if we become known for any particular quality or excel 
in any department, we must soon give way to s6me new 
faces, some younger ones, and we are “‘laid up” and forget- 
ten. But in both instances it will be found that often, 
with all the boasted improvements of the time, and advanced 
civilization, a comparison between the old favorites and the 
new, would result unfavorably for the new. 
Withthe June Regatta of the New York Yacht Squadron, 
a glorious one it was too, in my mind I recall the yachts, 
at least some of them, that took part in that race. There 
was the ‘‘Maria,” so speedy as to sometimes be ruled out. 
Were that old craft ‘“‘in commission” to-day, it is my hum- 
ble opinion that she would win as often as she did then. 
The ‘‘Haze,” which yacht was the ‘‘first home” that day, 
was in her prime then; also there was the “Favorite,” the 
Una, Bonita, Mallory, Mannersing, Rebecca, Rowena, 
Scud, Haswell, and the Queen of all sloops the “Julia,” 
and along list of others, not forgetting the little ‘‘Narra- 
ganset,” who came all the way from Rhode Island to win 
the first prize in her class in that race. 
Now ail these have passed almost out of memory in the 
new yachts that have come into popularity. Ihave given 
only a small fraction of the yachts of that day, taking the 
-whole number of them, and most of them must be yet in 
existence; the question arises, where are they? 
Of course a portion of them become utterly useless,.for 
the two main considerations of a yacht, speed and roomy 
cabins, are hardly compatible with great strength. And 
during her service, if her owner be ambitious of a good 
record for speed, she is subjected to severe tests of wearing 
and heavy work. So that in the course of time, she be- 
comes utterly a wreck, is laid up in some out of the way 
place and becomes truly a skeleton of her former self. 
But of those who survive I propose to speak, and J think 
can answer the question as to the present whereabouts of 
a great many of them. They have, like the inscription 
that Squire Raby, in Chas. Reades’ ‘‘Put yourself in his 
Place,” caused to be written on the back of a family port- 
rait, ‘‘gone into trade,” and gone into the /ish-trade. 
Yes, gentle skipper, and brave Long Island Sound Yacht- 
man, the little trim vessels that you were so proud of, and 
the tapestried cabins where you sipped your dry sillery, or 
quaffed the matinal cocktail, m. c. is good, now are occu- 
pied by hardy, bronzed old ‘“‘shell-backs,” who are strong 
in odors of Moss-Bunker, and fish oil. So it is, from poetry 
to prose, from lazy elegance to energetic, active toil. 
This business, the Bunker fishery, has assumed vast pro- 
portions. The ficet of trim looking vessels they keep 
would convince one where the yachts go when passing out 
from the occupation for which they were built. It isa 
necessary qualification to these men that their boats must 
be fast, for when a school of fish is sighted from the mast 
head, and these men can tell one miles off, it is ax object 
for them to reach it as soon as possible to secure it from some 
rival company, in fact they put for “‘school” quicker I im- 
agine than in their younger days. 
When they make a ‘‘haul,” it is wholesale and includes 
sometimes three or four hundred thousand fish, but the 
worst feature is they also ‘‘take in” all the good eating fish, 
and so wherever they are located, with the offensive refuse 
from their factories, and slaughter of blue-fish, Spanish 
mackerel and others, they spoil the fishing with the line, but 
should you happen to get to leeward of one of the factories, 
phew! how it offends the delicate nostrils! 

FOREST AND STREAM. 
I remember some time ago. when in the Summer it was 
no rare thing to go out on the Peconic Bay in a little boat, 
with one to sail and the other to “haul in,” for that’s all 
you had to do, and sure there was a blue-fish, taking in 
an hour or two a bushel basket full. Now, you could 
not get that many in a month, all on account of these fish- 
factories. 
The fishermen keep their boats in splendid order though, 
and barring the ornamental part and the fancy painting, 
they are in as good condition for sailing, as in their days of 
more refined associations. They are not unwilling for a 
“brush” either with the best of the yachts. Uj-on the oc- 
casion of the Atlantic Yacht Club offering a Union Regatta, 
or rather a race free to all, while they were at Greenpoint 
in 1870, I think, several of these fish-boats entered and 
made good records, the ‘‘Orion,”’ Mr. Thayers’ yacht, beat- 
ing one of them in by a “‘scratch,” the owners of the fish- 
ing boat being so dissatified with the result, and being so 
coufident of her ability, offered to sail the ‘‘Orion” or any 
yacht in the club for a purse. 
ever, occupied. 
Of course when the yachts are bought by these men, and 
they watch their chance, and buy them low, they are 
strengthened and overhauled and made fit for the service. 
So important and large, however, has this fishing become 
that they often build them entirely new for this business 
and pay as much as one would fora yacht. I know ofa 
firm on the east end of Long Island having one about the 
size of the ‘‘Vindex,” which they built at a cost of $6,500. 
T cannot close without oné word as to the fate of one 
yacht. lIrefer to the ‘‘America,” twice sailing for the 
Queen’s cup, once winning, and once defending that 
much coveted prize, and which prize Com. Ashbury thought 
so much of that he probably spent $100,000 or more in the 
vain effort to take it back. Her’s has been a varied career 
truly. After what she has done for American Yachting, 
itis strange that yachtsmen should not have kept the 
America as a yacht, for certainly no vessel ever was more 
beautiful. After twenty years of trial, her model has not 
been improved, and she is as ‘‘good to win” to day, proper- 
ly trimmed, as ever, I fancy were she an English yacht, 
with her record, she would be to say the least, more vener- 
ated. I suppose every one remembers the incident of the 
America’s race in England when the Queen asked the ques- 
tion, when the yachts were coming home, ‘‘what yacht is 
what is second.”? ‘‘Nothing,” was the answer. 
ahead was she that the others were not near enough to 
make out their names. Uncle Sam has got her now and 
may he treat her well for the sake of her past brilliant 
career. i. M. 
—The Grammercy Boat Club held a meeting on last Fri- 
day night to present the prizes won at the November Regat- 
ta, to the successful rowers. The contest on that occasion 
was for the single scull championship of the club, the guer- 
don being a magnificent champion belt, with twelve solid 
silver shields, each shield to be engraved with the name of 
the annual winner. The belt cost $150, and was given by 
Mr. Charles B. Zachman, formerly Captain of the club. 
The winner of the most championship races in twelve 
years is by the rules of the club, entitled to be the absolute 
holder of the Club Belt, the committee, however, deeided 
that they would present the annual winners with an ap- 
propriate badge. The one given to Mr. Geo. H. Price, the 
champion of his club, is an elegantly engraved blue enamel 
badge, value $50. The President of the club is E. I. 
Atkinson, Esq. the corresponding secretary, H. R. Mills, 
and the captain Ed. Welch. The officers are making every 
preparation to preserve and acquire aquatic honors. 
—Rowing regattas are of almost2daily occurrence now at 
San Francisco. 
—Joseph Sadler and Robert Bagnall, are at last matched 
for the championshipzof England, and $1,000 a side on the 
Thames, April 15th. 
—A committee of gentlemen from Yale college visited 
Troy last week to inspect the Laureate Boat Club course 
with a view of choosing Troy for the annual meeting of 
the University crews this year. It is claimed for the Lau- 
reate conrse that one side of the river is as good as the other, 
the current is not very swift and the boats can be plainly 
seen the whole length of the course. 

GEORGE Brown, THE Famous SCULLER OF HaLtrax.— 
George Brown was born in Nova Scotia, and from child- 
hood has plied his avocation as a sea fisherman in the 
neighborhood of Halifax, and was presented on December 
31st by his friends with a gold medal, locket and ring. 
Brown has never rowed out of the waters of his native 
Province, and what he has thus lost in experience, it will 
be readily granted he amply atones for by simple worth, 
unobtrusive manners, and an honest wish to do his best to 
win. Having attracted the attention of a gentleman in 
Halifax who has long given a patriotic support to rowing, 
Brown was first brought out to contest for the champion- 
ship of Halifax harbor, and has been successful in winnin 
the belt flve times in succession, and now owns the covete 
trophy. 
His first appearance against men of other than local 
fame was in the single scull race at the Halifax carnival in 
1871. Here in a five-mile race, notwithstanding the primi- 
tive nature of his boat and machinery (which you yourself 
admit) and in ignorance of the many stratagems which the 
laws of boat racing permit to be offensively and defen- 
sively used, Brown madea splendid fight with Sadler, who, 
as you say, was facile princeps everywhere else on this conti- 
nent. The champion took Brown’s water upon turning 
the stake boat, and after giving our man his back wash for 
two and a-half miles only finished five seconds in front, 
decidedly pumped, and evidently in no wise emulous of 
Brown’s feat of then shouldering his shell and walking up 
a steep hill to the club house. Kelley (third) was beaten 
off, as well as Bagnall, Coulter, B. Biglin, and other less 
pretentious scullers. This must be considered a great per- 
The offer was never, how-_ 
ahead”? the answer was ‘‘The America,” She then asked, 
So far 
formance for a ’longshore man, as the pace was good 
throughout, and Brown, instead of pulling znto his oppo- 
nent, was continually pulling off to pass, in which endeav- 
or he was adroitly -rustrated by the leading sculler, who 
had the proverbial nine points of the law—possession. 
Brown next met Fulton, the stroke of the ‘: Paris crew,’ 
at Digby, N. 8., and won an easy race and heavy stake. J. 
Biglin, whose claim to the championship of the United 
States must by ordinary mode of deduction be considered 
valid, met Brown last September at Halifax, and in a sin- 
gle race of five miles for £200 met with defeat from start 
to fivish. 
These performances are thought in Halifax to justify the 
impression that Brown is ow koines aner; and his numerous 
admirers have offered to back him not to ‘‘ whip creation,”’ 
as you assert, but to see if the improvement of two years’ 
practice in better boats shall not have availed to put the 
five seconds the other way. 
It is not forgotten here that on the day of the close and 
exciting finish between Sadler and Brown a large sum was 
forthcoming on the part of the latter to repeat the race over 
the same course; this proposal was declined by Sadler, 
who did not hesitate, however, to express his admiration 
ot Brown’s performance, and to pronounce him one of the 
best men he had ever met.—/eld. 
Aanonal Pastimes. 
—TueE Batu Ur anp TuEen Down.—The Clerk of the 
Weather aggravated the denizens of the Metropolis, or 
rather of its Brooklyn suburb, with a show of ice for skat- 



ing purposes on December 29th, on which day the Capito- — 
line Lake was opened to skaters for the first time this win- 
ter. On the next day the Union Pond, in the same city, 
flew its colors, and both places we-e largely attendcd until 
New Year’s morning, when a southerly wind set in and a 
rise in the temp rature followed, which put an embargo on 
skating, and the rain at night sent the ball down as rapidly 
as it had previously been runseup. Thus have the Brook- 
lynites monopolized the sport, as the Central Park lakes 
were not frozen strong enough to bear the crowds which 
would have thronged there. 
Curting.—On New Year’s Day the Thistle and Cale- 
donian clubs opened the season on Prospect Park, and 
played the first curling match of 1874 with the appended 
result. The weather was delightful, and the ice in good 
condition at first, but by noon it had become soft and too 
wet to play on. No curling has been had since up to Jan- 
uary 7th :— 
Rink No. 1. 
Thistle. 
A. Robinson, skip 28. 
Caledonian. 
J. Nicoll, skip 6. 
Rink No. 2. 
J. Everett, skip 24. K. McPherson, skip 17. 
Total for the Thistle, 52; Caledonian, 23. 
BILLIARDS. } 
—Prof. Ubassy has placed the necessary forfeit, $500, in 
the hands of H. W. Collender, the stakeholder, and chal- 
lenged Champion Garnier for the Challenge Cup, and the 
Championship of the world at three-ballcaroms. Thecon- 
test will come off at an early day. 
Order of Play. Ubassy. Daly. riba Runs 
help ab elie oa nqaeeoasa7 303 350 11 9-80 9 2431 99 59 
Second night.... .....:. 300 177 3811-15 6 1-3 1 41 
sGhird wishits. see) en 500 452 11411 102248 61 91 
Mourth Nightin...ce ar. OCU. 500 6 18-57 34457 55 62 
Tae Oak oa ganadacne 236 300 64-19 77-19 46 51 
Sixthoniphtea eee ee 222 221 75-81 7431 31 & 
1,921 2,000 
Grand average—Daly, 8 8-49; Ubassy, 7 199-246. 
—We learn by telegraph that Rudolph, the famous bil- 
liaadist, is giving exhibitions in Havana, Cuba. He will, 
no doubt, arrive in this city at an early day. 
—Geo. H. Slosson, tne promising young billiard wonder 
of the West, is expected in this city shortly. Daring his 
brief residence in Chicago Slosson has made. hosts of 
friends‘ and Prof. Garnier pronounced him one of the 
toughest antagonists he ever met. 
The game of billiards, after a person has attained to an 
eminent degree of accuracy, say that he can make 100 
points off the balls three times out of five in private, be- 
comes a severe test of firmness and pluck when the same 
person is playing before a large audience. Has this any- 
thing to do with the recent failures of some of our profes- 
sionals? Nobody could accuse Ubassy of the want of for- 
titude or boldness in his playing, perhaps he is just a little 
too sure and his failure in making a difficult shot astonishes 
him so much, that he looses his temper slightly, which 
causes irritability. Land and Water gives an excellent 
example of this kind and says: 
Now, billiards, of all games, is the best test of nerve, 
Without it, however good a player may be in private, he is 
no use whatever in a match. Perhaps the two best illustra- 
tions of this point are young Stanley and his eldest brother, 
who retired altogether from the billiards world many years 
ago. Those, however, who recollect him, will remember 
what a magnificent game he used to play in private, for 
nothing, and yet how perfectly helpless he was in a public 
match, for money. We recollect some years ago, about 
the year 1862, Stanley playing the same day with two ama- 
teurs whose play was equal, giving to each of them 250 
points in 500. On one game there was a considerable 
amount of betting, and the amateur got game before Stanley 
had reached 250. In the match with the other amateur, 
in which there was no betting, Stanley played remarkabl 
well and won. Stanley fortunately knew his own wea 
point, and would never play for money. Far different is 
it with his infant brother; we consider young Stanley to 
possess the best nerve of any man of the day. The only 
one who ever equalled him perhaps was old Roberts in his 
prime, but then old Roberts possessed the advantage of- 
knowing that he was at least 300 in a 1000 better than any | 
mean living, and this consciousness of superiority must of 
course be an immense advantage. On the other hand, 
young Stanley is conscious, or ought to be, that he wins 
more from pluck than from play. 


