The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-07-24 00:00:00

SHOOTING FOR THE QUEEN'S PRIZE

AT WIMBLEDON.

The Queen's Prize was competed for at Wimbledon on
Tuesday, when Private Fergusson, Ist Argyle, won the gold
medal and £250, with a total of 7'4 —nine points less than the
winning score made by Corporal Taylor, of the 47th Lanca-
shire, last year, who carried off the prize with a score of 83
points. The contest between the four leading marksmen was
very close, and Fergusson won by only one point.—The finish
is thus described by the Correspondent of the Daily News :

After the third round interest began to centre in
Kelman, who had made two bulls and an inner to
begin with. His fourth shot, however, was a magpie,
his fifth a miss and his range total only 26. At the
time when his ;hooting began to fall off many another
good man came to grief; the elevation and windage
changed every minute. On the other hand, however,
some who had gone back from 800 yards with
much lower scores began to creep up steadili.,
Kelman's total at the two ranges was 53. Brooking,*
of the Queen's Westminster, very regular shooting,
got to within one point of alis. Lieut. Stewart, of
Renfrew, had so far maintained his position that he
stood third on the list ; while Lieut. Lockhart, of
Northumberland, by brilliant shooting (considering
the adverse influences of light and wind), had added
twenty-eight to the meagre score of 19 made at the
first range, and forced his way into fourth place with
a total of 47. Among those who lagged only a
little behind with 46, at the two ranges, were
Hargreaves, of Manchester; and Fergusson, of
Argyle. When the men got into position at a
thousand yards, the people stood in a compact mass
behind the inner line of ropes, regardless of the fact
that they had invaded the enclosure reserved for
members. In vain tickets were asked for, and a few
not provided with the necessary pass olismissed to
seek a place in the ranks of outsiders. By some means
others managed to gain admission. The arrangements
were not equal to the occasion, the police seemed 1
powerless to prevent the incursion, and at last
the enclosure became so crowded that it was im-
possible for any of those who presumably had a
right to be there to see what was going on. Where
Kelman's scarlet jacket and plaid trews were to
be seen, there, or as near to it as they could
get, pressed a throng of his countrymen, whose
dogged determination not to miss a single feature of
the struggle made them equally proof against poiirsua-
sion and sturdily defiant of threats. The champion of
Ross-shire began with an outer, while the Queen's
Westminster man put on an inner, and followed up
the advantage with another. Then after a long aim-
ing, Kelman rose to see no answering disc on the target,
and " He's missed!" sounded like a knell of doom to
their hopes in the ears of the gathered clans. Still
the brawny Scot was not to be shaken off. An inner
and a bull placed him level with Brooking, who, how-
ever, had still a shot in hand. With this he in turn
failed to And the target, and the tie was hailed
with subdued murmurs of delight among the
braw Northmen—with solemn 'silence by those
whose hopes pointed towards a victory for the
Westminster man. At the fifth round Kelman made
an inner, followed by another. Brooking got on an
outer and an inner, so that the advantage lay with
Scotland's representative by two points. Everything
hung on the last shot, and the excitement among the
bystanders grew intense. Rumours came that Har-
greaves, of Lancashire, had been creeping up quietly
but steadily, and that he stood at his sixth round only
one behind Brooking. Unless Kelman should miss,
however, even a bullseye would probably not be good
enough to ensure a victory for Manchester. Then
there came another whisper that an Argyle man
had actually passed Brooking by one point, and
among those who thought that either he or
Kelman must surely win, this news spread so
audibly that the two between whom victory had
seemed to rest could not help hearing how much de-
pended on their last shot. Again all became quiet,
and the friends of each man stood fixedly gazing
at the white targets in breathless suspense.
Brooking WM first to break the spell, and, alas!
no welcome signal answered his shot. Then Kelman
went down, took his time, pulled steadily, and
i
again the onlookers waited n vain for any disc to
appear. Then all eyes turned to where Har-
greaves was lying for his last shot, that seemed a
long while coming. At last the report rang out
clear and the sharp, blue wreath of smoke drifted
away, and the target was seen slowly to move. That
moment of suspense before the dummy came up in its
place must have seemed an age to the two men. At
last it appeared with the magpie disc on it that pro-
claimed a tie between Kehl-lan and Hargreaves. Then
all become confusion. The friends of each rushed in
to see and hoist their champion aloft, but both de-
clined. Then there came a cry of " Fergusson wins !"
that startled everybody, above the din of the crowd
that had invaded the space set apart for com-
petitors, even while many had still a shot to fire.
The London Scottish men had who first seized
Kelman, rushed off to find the lad of Argyll
and to hoist him high above the heads of the
multitude. Wholly unknown to Wimbledon fame,
he was not easily discovered, but when at last he was
lifted on the shoulders of two or three stalwart High-
landmen he was readily recognised as one who has on
many an evening entertained his comrades in the re-
freshment tent with the plaintive airs that never fail
to find a responsive echo in the breasts of Scotchnien
when the influences of the still evening hours are be-
ginning- to he felt. Then there was a rush for the
council tent, whither the hero was borne by half-a-
dozen of the London Scottish, who would brook no
interference with the privilege that belongs to them
in virtue of long custom.
There was some delay before the scores could be
verified. At length Major Thompson handed the
esult to Lord Stanhope, who read it aloud, and then,
amid tremendous cheering, Lady Stanhope pinned the
gold medal of victory on the young marksman's breast.
Among the first to step forward and congratulate the
hero was Sir Garnet Wolseley, who was, perhaps,
among the first of any military men of high distinc-
tion to recognize the importance of the 'Volunteer
movement. Fergusson was again hoisted on the
shoulders of the London Scottish and borne in
triumph to the regimental camp, headed by
.the band
of the Victorias, playing "See the Conquering Hero
comes."

About six o'clock on Tuesday
evening Sir Garnet
Wolseley visited the Canadian camp, where the
team under Colonel William's command was drawn
up to receive him. After inspecting the ranks, Sir
Garnet said it gave him very great pleasure to be
on the parade ground of the Canadian militia
once more. It was ten years since he had been
first associated with them in the first military
expedition he had the honour of commanding. He
had then led two battalions of them six hundred
miles across something like a wilderness to Fort
Ghenie, and for discipline, endurance, and soldier-
like qualities had never seen men in all his campaigns
more worthy of wearing her Majesty's uniform.
Colonel Williams, in reply, referred to his own ser-
vice under Sir Garnet Wolseley in the Red River ex-
pedition. Then the spirit of self-reliance had not
been tested in Canada. Now it had become developed,
and the militia force had since extended almost from
the Pacific and the prairies to the Altantic and Nova
Scotia. Subsequently Sir Garnet Wolseley was intro-
duced to Major Wilson and Private Hurton, two of
the Canadian team who had also served as volunteers
under him in the arduous campaign.