New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-01-23
XyIu-DOESTlCKs GOES on A TARGET
EXCURSION.
Seventy Hundred and One, Narow.st.
Hyw.YoRK, Monday, Jan. IS, 1855.

deep 6s 10 sop Tie Stages, men afe reHt ioun1 :"
hoe it into symmetrical heaps, like miniature FORTH
cations. IL fact, If plentitude Of mud could avail
to protect town from invading foes, New-York
might bid the world defiance, for oil the allied
mower, Of all the earth could no more redu,e our
lin that case mpregnable City, than the late chva-
rous Lord Forth could take Sevastopol, by lying
fat on his back, and calling for his ma to come and
take him home AS the aforesaid enbankments
ore never removed Of course the first rain meta
morphoees the fragrant mass from an embryo noun
tain 70 dnninutive lake, deep enough to float ferry
boat. and almost nasty enough to mako streetcon-
tractor sick. No lady attempts the perous navigs-
lion Of our streets unless she has been couple Of
cons Of Newport or Rockaway and learned to swim
like mermaid. And any man who would black his
booe in the morning, would be taken to the Lunatc
Asylum before night. search for dry crossing would
be a hopeless pilgrimage and he who wonld fad
get able without eeti your shoes iul-oi mud
street in this metropolis would wear his life out m
frutess exploration and be prematurely planted IN
Greenwood with bis object unattained In ordinary
tmes the ladies sweep the sidewalks tOlerably clean
with their trailing sklrts but now they seem 10 have
thrown up their contract. Coming down town the
other day in stage, our reckless driver tired the
deIh of one Of the above mentioned municipal lakes
the " heels stuck fast-ibe vehicle settled into the
hopeless depth-one scream from the lsdies-one
unanimous curse from the nen-one frantic furious,
Intellectual struggle of the horses and an another IN
slant we were floating, hopeless wreck. Every one
for himself | saw Of the ladies dragged safely
out by the bar-men eventually reached the land IN
safety but reoiced 10 see malignant baby, (which
during journey had screamed and kicked one hall
the time and the other half persisted il calling me
Daddy, and soiling my shrt-front with ils sticky
fingers 90 to the bottom amid universal ehoris OF
thGpksg, ing irop the company. Got Ashore myself,
with my coat spoiled, my hat minus my boots fu OF
water and my whole person dripping from the recent
"8ood, like o be-Venus rising from an odorferous
ocean.
Az a consequence Of my involuntary bath, have
had the tooth ache ever since, on which excuse got
esGe Of absence one day, aud resolved TO attend
ssrget shoot" Here the target companies are COM
posed OF all sorts of peope-fre companies, express
companies, policemen, gangs OF men from all kinds Of
mammoth shops-for wherever thirty or forty mon
woIk in one shop, they form themselves into mill
tary company, and once or twice every year go TO
Hoboben and shoot for whisky and other prizes.
When they want to make fall turnout, the places
of any missing members are hlled by exiempofaneous
volunteers 1t in this capacity that l pro.
posed to 90. In these companies there are always
more officers than men, and more epsulettes
than muskes-aways big band OF music, and
IN daTkies TO carry the target AS 10 their march
ing no two etop together, and they always
nut a tall man by the eide OF short one, so as to
have the average length of steps come right. They
60 forth in the morning in high spirits, and return al
night surly, dusty, oiscontented dilapidated and
drunk A. The target is always carried in triumph
through the streets, and sfterHard exhibited in the
drilroom the darkey arably carries al anger with
him. with which explosive weapon all the best Shots
ore made. Every member has whisky bottle 10 bis
oartIic ee.box or brandy flask in his knapsack. As
n general thing, they turn their toes in, and are
handy. legged-they carry their guns over their
shoulders at all conceivable angles, and so little do
they know about firearms, that probably, If called 10
load their muskets in hurry, two out OF three would
put their cartridges their breeches pockets and stick
their percussion cops on the ends oil their rsrodS'
When they fire salute, and mean TO all shoot to-
eether, the report is so lear simultaneous that
stranger would think they were firing minute guns.
They always select for judges Of the shooting, the
men who will give the most whfky, ana make
the shortest speeches. AS these excursions come
OF lust before election, the candidates for office gem
ersly pay for the prizes, and bear the expenses OF
reporter for the press TO pun the company. lpe
Judges carry out the rewards in the morning. tied up
IN brown paper, and the soldiers wear them back at
night around their necks. Six or eight men, called
pioneers march 10 front, with muffs On their heads
leather aprons tied around their waists, and theoret
ical axes in their hands, which could never, by any
possibility, be made TO cut anything. The officers
walk between the platoons, 9olIishing their dsndy
swerds-their attention being pretty equally divided
between keeping the men in line, keeping the little
boys out Of the ne keeping their white
gloves en- and ing TO keep step with the music In
single file the march like ahock Of geese, on their
winding way 70 the mill pond, and SIX or eight abreast
they 90 with the regularity OF crowd of schooboys
oifeciibg mastery but hurried retreat from some.
bodys melon-patch In order 10 make them form a
straight line il is necessary 10 back them up against
a brick block make them stand between the tracks
of railroad.
Der for brief and eventual time. Its cognomen was
" The Lager Bier american YolsHtoers, aud Naitre
Empire CITY SAHelagk Guards" being composed
of Irish, Dutch, Spaniards, and Sandwich Islsnders
the oily Americans IN the company being the colonel
target. bearer, ana the undersigned.
Convened in the drill-room at A. NJ. As was
new member, and had borrowed my uniform had
difficulty in putting II on-buekled my croesiet
round my neck, got my cap on wrong side before,
stuck my bayonet through my coa.-tail-put my car
tridge-box between my shoulders and my pruning
wire where my pompoD' should have been. Ready
at length 10 start-crossed the Ty-oisembarked-
proceeded to The ground and prepared to arill; lhe
captain finding II impossible 70 get into straight ae
IN the usual manner, at length ingeniously oyercane
this geometrioal difficulty by ranging us against
board felce-he then proceeded 10 pat Us through
the exercise: " Shoulder arms Got my gun on the
wrong shoulder. "Order arms Brought il down
on the toes of my reighbOr. Shoulder arms again.
Got il the right shoulder this time but in doing
knocked eff the cap OF the man next 70 me, &c. Got
through the rest Of the drill without any serious mis-
hap, except IN attempting TO charge my piece, bit
OF the wrong end OF the cartridge, and swallowed the
bah-spDled the powder on the ground, and loaded
the musket with the paper only.
Now came the shooting. Niger set the target 3.
twenty p6ces-four voneys and not oall in it
moved II up 10 hfteen-no better luck-mOved AZ
again, one ball put in it this time By clumsy Dutch
osn who shut his eyes when he fred, and bit il by
mistake. Finding that shooting was uss, captain
adopted the usual plsnse; the sarget al ten PAGES
blindislded the men, and essh one charged il with
the anger where the pon, happened to hit he bored
hole, and the nearest the bulls eye took the prize.
could see little through hole in the cloth-conse-
qutnce; hit the center ard took the first prize Ia
plated cake-basket with pewter handle, bought for
silver by the sagscicus Committee As the brandy had
circulated pretty freely Of the shots were rather
wid-several missed the target entirely and knocked
their heads against the trees; one bored deep hole
N sand BANK and the first lieutenant was put under
arrest for attempting 10 tap the capain The man |