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2 revisions | rstew160 at Oct 31, 2020 03:03 AM | |
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8THE EVENING NEWS GOLD HILL, : : : MONDAY, JUNE 25, 1877 PIONEER PICNIC EXCURSION, The Fourth Grand Bean-eating The fourth annual Picnic Excursion of the Pacific Coast Pioneers last Saturday was a grand and highly gratifying success. One of the special reporters of the NEWS who was present sent a brief telegraphic account of the target shooting, etc., and now gives a few details of the affair. THE TRIP. Thirty-six cars besides the commissary car were engaged for the occasion, but five or six of them were not needed. The weather was a fine and pleasant as could have been desired and everybody started out gay and happy with plenty of lunch, As the big train wound around the turns from Virginia and Gold Hill the whistles of the mining works sent forth their shrill and prolonged blasts of welcome, and the bands mingled their music with the responsive cheers of the joyous excursionists. In coming back, the locomotive Santiago, which was in the lead, did some pretty effectual responding from her powerful whistle. The train sped merrily over the road, stopping at various points to take on passengers and in due time arrived alongside the front fence of TREADWAY'S RANCH. In the suburbs of Carson. The green grass and numerous benches under the shady trees offered plenty of facilities and inducements for the spreading of lunches, and the luscious baked bean, the appetizing sandwich, the good boiled egg, and all that sort of thing found plenty of hungry and appreciative admirers. There were family, social, and other styles of circles, but all were bean-eating circles. Nobody forgot to bring along some beans. Farmer Treadway had also a big public lunch stand where there was plenty of baked beans and other eatables. There were plenty of refreshment stands about the grounds, and nobody had any occasion to suffer. Outside the grounds, along the road in front, were also numerous refreshment stands, and there we found the indefatigable Charley Legate with a full supply of the choicest ice cream in the country. Noon time is good time for lunch, and all seemed to recognize the eternal fitness of things in that respect. How many thousand people there were present could not well be estimated, for hundreds came in all sorts of carriages from all parts of the country. Everybody and his wife was there, and all seemed to have brought their babies along. At any rate there were more little children and babies present than we remember to have seen on any similar occasion. And they were just as happy, playing about on the green grass in the sunshine and shade, as any little ones ever want to be. The Washington guard Band, as well as the other two bands, discoursed some of their choicest music, stationed in different parts of the ground, alternating in furnishing music at the spacious dance hall, where gay youths and lovely maidens together with the festive old Forty-niner and his robust lady mingled in the jolly quadrille, or sweated and fumed in vigorous wrestle with the intricate mazes and collisions of waltz, schottische and mazourka. The National Guard, acting as escort to the Pioneers, together with the various military teams who were present for the target shooting, added considerably to the attractive features of the occasion; and there were more pretty girls there from Carson, or somewhere, than is generally found at anybody's picnic. THE TARGET SHOOTING Took place just after lunch and was conducted in the open field west of the picnic ground. There were seven targets of the regulation style, exactly alike and numbered from one to seven. They were stationed at a distance of two hundred yards from the shooting stand, and the seven teams consisted of ten picked me each, from the Pioneer Society, National, Emmet, Washington and Montgomery Guards of Virginia, the Sarsfield Guard, Gold Hill, and the Carson Guard, Carson City. The prize contended for was a beautiful gold medal given by the Pioneer Society, and J. D. Loynachan, ex-Town Marshal of Gold Hill, offered a $20 gold piece to the winner of the medal. Each man had five shots, and 25 was the hight or maximum of the score that could be made by any one man. The preliminaries were soon arranged, and all the teams went to work peppering their respective targets. There being no wind to interfere, some excellent shooting was done, with the following result: National Guard 192, Sarsfield Guard, 189, Emmet Guard 183, Carson Guard 183, Pacific Coast Pioneers 171, Washington Guard 171, Montgomery guard 170. PIGEON SHOOTING. After the team shooting for the medal, pigeon shooting was declared next in order. A match was made up between Daly, Diamond, Schultz, Jackson and Conroy, on one side, and Gibson, Macauley, Parker, Kaneen and Dormer, each man to have ten birds, and each to put up ten dollars for sweepstakes. The distance was twenty-one yards rise. The supply of birds being exhausted, and there being a tie between the parties, it was agreed to call the match a draw, each man to pay his proper proportion for the birds that had been used. Several birds were lost by falling out of bounds, but few got away unscathed. The match attracted a large crowd of interested spectators. THE LITERARY EXERCISED At the Pavilion followed, and consisted of addresses by Hon. R. H. Taylor, President of the Society, a poem by Hon. C. C. Goodwin, recited by R. H. Lindsay, songs by W. D. C. Gibson and others, and the presentation and acceptance of the medal. The following is the poem: THE PIONEERS. They turned their steps toward the setting sun, For lo! in the beautiful West, And the light of the hope within them shone in the eager eyes; A strong, brave company were they, as strong and brave and fair Who shall repeat what since has been? Where now is that bright band? Long since the wild flowers faded from the California plains– Of that first band a remnant still lingers on this shore; But they are not a sad-browed race-nay, rather they believe There is a lovely legend of a knight, who stooped to pay So, when this band approached this coast, it was a barbarous shore, This is the work of Pioneers. Why should they not rejoice– HOMEWARD. After 5 o'clock P. M., the excursion train was backed up the track and all hands got aboard for home. The train was divided into two sections, and everybody got home safe and sound, with lunch baskets and all. Everybody had a good time and there were no disagreeable incidents or accidents to mar the pleasures of the occasion. Everything passed off smoothly, well and satisfactorily. | 8 |