The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-07-11
A GORGEOUS FOURTH.
Iola's Celebration Captures the Biggest
Crowd ever Assembled i'm Allen
County and Everybody has
A Good Time.

or to the efforts of the marshal or to 9
change of heart in the small boy
the celebration of the Fourth did moi
begin until midnight of the third
Bnt when it did begin there was nc
other choice than for everybody te
give 1t their undivided attention
The program began with q shot from
an anvil, and then came whistle
from the Carriage Works which play.
ed a steady tune for twenty minutes
with variations by the school bell
The whistle and the bell gave it up
after awhile but the anvil pounded
away all the rest of the night at inter.
walls of about ten minutes, determine
ed to let everybody know that our flag
was still there.
Soon after sunrise the town was
blazing with bunting and before long
the people began pouring in from the
country. But why tell 1t all? Every
body who saw 1t knows how they
came and came and kept coming until
every available foot of ground in the
Grove was occupied, 30 that the peo-
pie could not be counted for the multi
tude thereof, how the ladies of the
band, gorgeous in blue and gold, play
ed and played and were cheered and
cheered, how the old war cry of the
Revolutionists was read again, how
Col. johnson made a manful effort
to hold his own against the artillery
and musketry of the small boy and
the shouts of the refreshment vendors,
everybody knows all these things
and it would be but a WEAKNESS to
tell the tale over.
Perhaps everybody doesn't know
the result of the ball game between
Humboldt and lola. 1t was - to
p in favor of the umpire, 1--WE wrote
that Humboldt, but the devil changed
1t to umpire and as he was there and
we weren't, he probably knows) twelve
innings being played todecide thegame
The boys played well on both sides
for four or five innings, but they got
tired then and "let up on their nerve"
But it was an interesting game and a
thousand people stood in the hot sun
four hours to watch it.
And perhaps everybody does not
know the details m regard to the
races, SO here they are:
The great event of the day, of course,
was Col. Bruce's race against time.
The horse made three mile heats with
running Little Mack
Willard Hibbs, rider, the first being
made in 2:2sI, the second in 2:30 and
the third in 2:22l. The last heat was
the fastest time ever made on this
track and was the prettiest piece OF
work that could be imagined. Twice
around the track without a break
or a bobble, every motion as easy and
graceful as the flight of a bird, obey.
ing with human intelligence the
slightest touch or word of his driver
with the fine head extended and the
thin nostrils a-quiver, apparently as
eager in his enjoyment of the race
as any one of the spectators, the
beautiful horse made a picture that
will linger long i'm the memory Of
those who saw him. Two minutes
and ~ seconds is good time; but
plenty of men who know about such
things predict that Col. Bruce will
cut ten or twelve seconds off of il
by fall.
The green trotting race, best two
out of three, mile heats, was entered
by Smalley's stallion, of Bronson, and
Brightley's brown mare, of Carlyle
Won in two straight heats by the
Smalley horse, time 800 and $50.
The first running race was a hall
mile dash, entered by Boots" the
Meade horse and the Wilcox horse
Won by Boots i'm two straight heats,
time fifty-three and fifty-six seconds
The second running race was be-
tween the Fitzpatrick horse and the
Willhite horse, won by the latter in
fifty-seven seconds.
The third running race was between
a couple of ponies whose owners we
did not learn, and was won in sixty.
one seconds.
There were four entries for the slow
mule race, but the judges thought
there was too much monkeying u
and declared the race off.
NOTES.
The REGISTER has heard the crowd
estimated all the way from 5000 to
10000. The man who estimated II
at 5000, we learned afterwards, had
suffered disagreement with his din
ner and was therefore inclined to take
q gloomy view of things. The man
who thought there were 10000, we
found out, had started to get into the
grove in a great hurry just as the
crowd began coming out.
-.
1t wasn't exactly a magnificent
display" Of fireworks. But it was
the best that could be done under
the circumstances.
-
1t is unanimously voted the smooth
est, orderliest, biggest, all-'roundest
success of any celebration ever held in
Allen County.
~