Letter to Bessie Anderson regarding the December 1892 Big Game

Palo Alto, Cal. Dec. 25, 1892

My dear Bessie:

Not having received an answer to my last, I venture to write again to remind you of me. I am still here at Stanford spending part of my Xmas holidays, and very dull ones they are too. Everybody is away and there is absolutely nothing to do except study or read. For during the past three days a violent thunderstorm has been raging and flooded the country for miles around. Consequently I have had to remain indoors all the time. Then in addition the raillroad stopped running on account of washouts, for which reason we have had no mail. So you see we are fairly snowed in (or rather, rained in, I should say). I am going away for a week, however, if weather will permit and can obtain transportation. I do not propose to stay here all vacation if I can help it. The reason I have stayed here so far is because I had to wait for a check. It hasn't come yet, but I expect it tomorrow. In my last letter I believe I told you about the great football game we were going to have. Well, it is all over and the football season with it. The game verified all my anticipations. I will commence and tell you all about it. At 7 a.m. Saturday the 17th Dec. a special train came out to the University and lay there for an hour. The students decorated her with cardinal drapery and flags, etc. At 8 o'clock she left for the City carrying a load of as noisy a crowd of young people as you would want to meet. The engine whistled the college yell all the way up, and the students chimed in with horns of every description. I myself did not go up on that train. I went up the day before; but I am writing from description. When the cargo of young people arrived in the City, the City knew it. They monopolized the street cars and decorated them with cardinal. They themselves were fairly draped with it, and a Stanford man was not to be mistaken if he had a yard or two of streaming cardinal ribbon in his buttonhole. The Berkeley faction were equally numerous, and their display of colors rivalled ours. Everybody that wore blue and gold was a U. C. man and whenever a number of both parties met on the street there was a clash. Now to relate my own experience in it. All of us (by that I mean the members of the Z0) assembled at the Palace hotel after lunch and waited there for our four-in-hand which was to take us out to the game. Soon it came rolling into the grand court of the Palace, the horses and chariot fairly blazing in red. The horses (by the way, thoroughbreds) pranced proudly and displayed to advantage the beautiful symmetry of their limbs. It was a noble turnout, and when we were all seated on top it looked nobler still. When we rolled out of the Palace onto Market Street the people stared. We gave the yell and waved our flags, and the people responded. Everybody that was in favor of Stanford wore Cardinal, and everybody on Berkeley's side wore blue and gold. So everybody with blue and gold on we hissed, and when we met anybody with cardinal on we gave three cheers for the Cardinal, Hip, Hip,

2.

Hurrah. All the pretty girls stood in the second story windows and waved cardinal handkerchiefs at us as we went by. I tell you, we were veritably in it. And we knew it too. We yelled all the way out. It was either the College yell are three cheers for the Cardinal. Then we would all say in chorus, "What's the matter with Stanford, she's all right, you bet every time--who's all right, Stanford!!!"

Then occasionally when we met a wagon load of Berkeleyites blazing in blue and gold, we would burst forth with the following poetic rhythm---"Hah, hah, hah---hoo, hoo, hoo---U. C. Berkeley in the soup." When we got (to) the grounds there were about ten thousand people seated in the grand stand. One side was reserved for Stanford retainers, the other for Berkeley. Consequently one side was one mass of cardinal and the other of blue and gold. Young ladies wore dresses of those respective colors. Indeed, the fair sex was just as enthusiastic and even more so. More gaily decked coaches, tallyhos, wagonettes, etc. came in and lined up where the occupants could see. When time for the game was called, there must have been about 15,000 spectators. Well, I will not dwell on the game, but merely say that Stanford had the advantage from the first, and kept it until the end of the 1st half when the score was 6 to 0 in our favor. Well, we were simply frantic. We jumped up and down in frenzied joy. Some would be standing on the seat of a carriage and get so excited that he would fall out. I fell down myself in the bottom of our equipage and got up again only to have the same thing happen. I did not know what I was doing half the time. Well, at the end of the 1st half, both teams rested and refreshed themselves for 15 minutes. At the end of that time the referee blew his whistle and these modern gladiators lined up again in the field. Berkeley had the ball and followed up her advantage to good account scoring a touchdown in a few minutes. That made it 6 - 4 still in our favor. Then we made a touchdown making it 10 - 4. This was the most exciting part of the game. The U. C. men were greatly discouraged, and had well nigh given up all hopes of their team winning. They refused to put up any more bets. Before the game they bet $10 to $6 on their team. But now the superior weight of Berkeley commenced to tell, and our side was gradually forced back with the ball and after a violent struggle lost another touchdown making it 10 - 10. They had hardly commenced play again when the referee blue (!) his whistle. Time was up. Berkeleyites went wild with joy. They were glad they had not lost. They would put their money back again in their pockets for another time. On the other hand our side was glad not to have lost and that it still held the championship, to be contested for again next year. We drove back yelling just as loudly as we came, and when we put up at the Palace again we had no voices left. In the evening everybody went to the theater. It was not a lively theatre party though. The play was poor and the boys could not holler any more. We all returned to Palo Alto next day feeling that we had had as big a time as we could possibly have and longing for next year to come so that we could have the same thing over again. Well, this is about all I have to tell you. I will probably have some more when I go up to

the City at the end of the week. On Thursday I am going to play accompaniment for a young man to sing a musicale in Oakland. I expect to have a nice time. There will be dancing after te musicale. I am going to another party the night following providing only if that check would only come. It is just now a case of "waiting for the check that never came." I have been down here since last Thursday all alone, and amusing myself as best I know how. I have alternately studied, read novels, and played the piano until I am tired, and now I am at a loss (?) for something to do. I really don't know what to do when I finish this letter. I suppose you are having a merry time of it up there at Vancouver where the dew drops fall. I am not speaking detrimentally of the country up there, for we hae had more rain here in the last four days than you have up there all winter long. The country is simply flooded. The railroads are washed out and are forced to stop running. I can't get away from here just now if I would, even if that much wished for check came. Well, I can't think of anything more to write. Remember me to the bachelors and tell them I am living still. Also give my kindest regards to your mother.

Believe me ever yours, Austin Kautz

Palo Alto, Cal., Dec. 25, 1892

My dear Besssie:

Not having received an answer to my last, I venture to write again to remind you of me. I am still here at Stanford spending part of my Xmas holidays, and very dull one they are too. Everybody is away and there is absolutely nothing to do except study or read. For during the past three days a violent thunderstorm has been raging and flooded the country for miles around. Consequently I have had to remain indoors all the tiem. Then in addition the railroad stopped running on account of washouts, for which reason we have had no mail. So you see we are faily snowed in (or rather, rained in, I should say). I am going awy for a week, however, if the wether will permit and can obtain trasportation. I do no propose to stay here

.2.

Hurrah. All the pretty girls stood in the second story windows and waved cardinal handkerchiefs at us as we wenty by. I tell you, we were veritably in it. And we knew it too. We yelled all the way out. It was either the College yell are three cheers for the Cardinal. Then we would all say in chorus, "What's the matter with Stanford, she's all right, you bet every time--who's all right, Stanford!!!"

The occasionally when we met a wagon load of Berleleyites blazing the blue and gold, we would burst forth with the following poetic rhythm---"Hah, hah, hah---hopo, hoo, hoo---U.C. Berkeley in the soup." Whe we got to the grounds, there were about ten thousan people seated in the grand stand. One side was reserved for Stanford retainers, the other for Berkeley. Consequently one side was one mass of cardinal and the other of blue and gold. Young ladies wore dresses of those respective colors. Indeed, the fair sex was just as enthusiastic and even more so. More gaily decked coaches, tallyhos, wagonettes, etc. came in and lined up where the occupants could see. When time for the game was called, there must have been about 15,000 specutators. Well, I will not dwell on the game, but merely say that Stanford had the advantage from the first, and kept it until the end of the 1st half when the score was 6 to 0 in our favor. Well, we were simply frantic. We jumped up and down in frenzied joy. Some would be standing on the seat of a carriage and get so excited that he would fall out. I fell down myself in the bottom of our equipage and got up again only to have the same thing happen. I did not know what I was doing half the time. Well, at the end of the 1st half, both teams rested and refreshed themselves for 15 minutes. At the end of that time the referee blew his whistle and these modern gladiators lined up again in the field. Berkeley had the ball and followed up her advantage to good account scoring a touchdown in a few minutes. That made it 6 - 4 still in our favor. Then we made a touchdown makiing it 10 - 4. This was the most exciting part of the game. The U.C. men were greatly discourged, and had well nigh given up all hopes of their team winning. They refused to put up any more bets. Before the game they bet $10 to $6 on their team. But now the superior weight of Berkeley commenced to tell, and our side was gradually forced back with the ball and after a violent struggle lost another touchdown making it 10 - 10. They had hardly commenced play again when the referee blue(!) his whistle. Time was up. Berkeleyites went wild with joy. They were glad they had not lost. They would put their money back again in their pockets for another time. On the other hand our side was glad not to have lost and that it still held the championship, to be contested for again next year. We drove back yelling justas louldly as we came and when we put up at the Palace again we had no voices left. In the evening everybody went to the theater. It was not a lively theater party though. They play was poor and the boys could not holler any more. We all returned to Palo Alto next day feeling that we had had as big a time as we could possibly have and longing for next year to come so that we could have the same thing over again. Well, this is about all I have to tell you. I will probably have some more when I go up to