The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-09-26
LAST DAYS AT THE FARMERS FAIRS.
The Cumberland Club Adds Another
To Its Many Successes.
The West oxford Exhibition One To
Be Long Remembered.
Pleasant Weather Attracts Large
Crowds to All the Shows.


Club fair at West Cumberland was an i'm
provement upon the auspicious opening of
Wednesday. The weather was more mild,
aud the attendance larger. There were full
ly 5000 people on the grounds in the after.
noon to witness the races and take general
look at the exhibition.
The hall received much attention for its
tasteful display, and the ladies having that
feature In special charge are deserving of
many pleasant words Of praise.
Among the curiosities was box made by
gentleman rs years old, chiefly from wood
from every state in the Union, and each
block that formed the mosaic was cut quite
closely to the geographical lines Of the state.
In the dining room above. hundreds tasted
the wholesome cookery Of those famous din
ners for which the ladies interested in the
club have so long been noted. For some two
hours the dining hall was crowded. and so
were many departments Of the interior"
that came under the influence Of the charmed
spot.
Trial of Cattle Strength.
The excitement of the morning was the
trial Of strength Of draft oxen, which took
place within the enclosure for that purpose.
In the centre Of the grounds. 1t was sur
rounded by a large and much interested
crowd. The first trial was for cattle seven
feet and under. the weight on the drag being
3,05S pounds. William II. Smell took the
first premium, and r. B. Morrison the sec
ond. The other premiums were:
Under 715 feet-Nathaniel Packard, 1st John
g. Barstow, I'd; weight on drag, 4,60S pounds
Over TIA feet-Wlliam Haskell 1st; Robert
Leighton, I'd; weight, 1906 pounds.
There was great deal Of interest among
oxen. Mr.. Leighton's pair girt eight feet.
nine inches, and Mr.. Haskells, seven feet
and eleven inches. Mr.. LeightOn's cattle
had not been worked this summer. They
started the load handily and stones were put
on the dray until the weight was increased
to 8467 pounds. They started this six inches
on the first jump but the nigh OK evidently
went into the yoke so suddenly that he hurt
himself and the pair were then in measure
disabled. They pulled the load in all nine
feet. Mr.. Haskell's pair pulled the origina
load Of stone twenty-nine feet and when
weighted to about S469 odd pounds took it
nine feet further.
The Races.
The races were started promptly the same
Judges officiating on the stand. Messrs. Sam.
Pompilly, S. K. Porter and E. N. Greeley.
For the race open to horses with no recor
better than 2.3O, there were flour that ap
peared to contest and they drew these po-
sitions for the start; Gray Eagle /, Ticonic
2, Sam q 8, Fannie w. 4. 1t was hard field
to get away even but finally they
were sent off. After slight collision which
knocked out a couple of spokes from the
sulky of Sam H., some one in the crowd who
had got out of patience shouted go" and
three Of the horses speeded half mile with
out getting the word from the stand.
First heat-They finally got send of and
there was considerable breaking and chang
ing positions before the horses settled to
their work for the full mile. Gray Eagle
led but was outfooted by Fannie w. on the
home stretch, the same little mare having
passed both the other horses and was an
easy winner. Gray Eagle was second,
TicOnic third and Sam III. fourth. The latter
came under the wire third but was set back
for breaks. Time, 2 37f.
Second Heat-More tiresome scoring be-
cause Fannie would speed down so fast that
the other horses could not get up with her.
When they got away Fannie shot to the front
and Gray Eagle and Sam FL had tuSSle for
second place. Ticonic was acting unsteady
but settled and did some handsome trotting
at the finish, getting up to good fourth from
an impending distanced standpoint. Sam H
got to second, Gray Eagle third. Time 235.
way, and it looked as though she could have
distanced the field had she been driven for it.
The other horses were in the same positions
as In the previous heat. Time 2.35a.
This settled the 80 race, and the purse
was awarded, first money to Fannie W. sec-
ond to Sam II, third to Gray Eagle, fourth to
Ticonic. The summary: