Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-30
The Drill Of the Competing Knightly
Divisions Today.
SOME VERY EXCELLENT WORK DONE
Hearty Applause Cheers the Con-
testants as They Appear.
AN INTERESTING SCENE.

t6cay at O'Clock, in order to get through
With the contestants who were drawn for
the second day Of the bloodless battle. At
that hour there were two uniformed divis-
ions on the fed, Mystic of Girard, Kansas,
and Williamsport of williamsport, Pa. The
Judges end the committee Of STAFF officers
detailed by Gen. Carnahan had not yet ar
rived. Neither had the audience. unless
abe ut a score Of knights in fatigue dress
lovnging in the bleachers. half a dozen
ladies in the grand stand. and one man In
the left field seats may be termed an audi
ence
But II was the lack Of judges that deter
red the Mystic men, who were first to drill,
from taking the field for the competition.
not the absence Of spectators. IL is one Of
the most significant of facts concerning any
competitive drill executed under the eyes OF
experienced critics that the drill that cap
lures the most vociferous applause from the
benches may round up on the score sheets
with the least average Of all There are 30
many very fne points that cannot be seen
from the stands, or. II seen. that cannot be
appreciated by the usual watcher. but that
count heavily for or against prize winning,
that II is a dangerous thing for any one to
try TO pick the winner according to the
noise Of the handclapping.
Must Follow the Schedule.
Yesterdays drill was an instance Of this
uncertainty. One of the smoothest exhibi-
tions of drilling of the day was a total fall
ure in comparison with Others less brilliant,
merely because the commanding officer, in
his nervousness, failed to follow with exact
ness the schedule of comma nds laid down
by Gen. Carnahan. The rules require that
the orders shall be given in their order"
and one movement once passed shall not be
taken UP again afterward but the omission
shall be scored a zero. This also applies to
the giving Of any order ahead OF its turn.
ha .arllx~ har. afar.a for rro~n
TO ascertain whether his fayorite division Is
drilling in championship time not is to
follow every command with a copy OF the
schedule before him. Yesterday there were
several zeros scored on more than one
division OF the knights.
So that the judges alone. following the
divisions all over the field, ana scattering so
as TO take in every point Of view, can give
any estimate Of the true standing of the
gallant fellows who appear before them.
OF course, applause helps the knights along;
II is very encouraging TO twenty-nine nerv-
Gus men to hear the plaudits OF their friends.
but aside from such moral effect, The audi
ence has nothing 20 do with che case.
Practice by the Mystic Division.
This morning Capt NJ. T. Bussell. COM
II anding the Mystic Division. took advan-
tage OF the delay in the coming Of the
judges and put his men through their
PAGES in the space behind the grand stand.
He might have drilled them on the field it,
self. but this would perhaps have given him
an advantage over his competitors by max
ing him familiar with the ground. so he
took his prize winners OF the space allot-
ted to the drills. This division took first
prize at Kansas City two years ago. and Is
determined TO defend the honor against
all Corners, especially the Hastings Division.
which held the prize for two or three en-
campments but which did not compete two
years ago. But yesterdays drills showed
that at least two other divisions will be in
the race at the finish.
At about s:45 o'clock Col Travis of Gen.
Carnahan's stan, who was On duty yester-
day. arrived with the score sheets. and was
followed In a few minutes by J. w. Baird
of Texas. also of the staff VINO took the
place of Col. Phillips for the day.
At 3 O'Clock the judges had not yet ap-
peared, and Capt. Bussell began to grow
nervous. He had his men fall In, looking as
neat as a lot of new pins. in their silver
helmets, and then he waited until ten min
utes past the hour, when he marched the
line over and reported to Col. Baird. who
told him to give his men rest until the
Judges should come. 1t was fortunate that
this was done, for II was $40 before the
judges entered the field. Lieuts. Woodward
and French were on hand at the hour. but.
owing to some misunderstanding about the
carriage sent for him. Lieut.. KEENAN, was
delayed for over forty minutes. In a very
few minutes Capt. Bussell had his division
lined up before the Judges for the first drill
Of the day. The Mystic knights were with
out their famous wooden grasshopper that
has accomp anied them to victory before.
Fine Showing.
During the drill Col ]. L. Sawyer OF
Michigan reported for duty on the COM
mittee Of stan officers to relieve Col. Travis.
who was needed at headquarters.
The champions completed inspection at
9:5l. and started of at brisk pace to
complete the schedule They worked like
a splendid machine, and MADE no notice
able breaks. The wheels and evolutions
were TO the eye practically perfect The
sword movements were splendidly executed.
the blades flashing in exact cadence. The
division completed the drill in just twenty
two minutes. within the allowance. al
though a trife more than the average. The
spectators. who by this time numbered
mand vigorously as IL left the field.
The Williamsport Division.
In q few seconds the twenty-nine men
from wulamsport. Pa. forming the VIII
Transport Division, No. 10. Capt. W. II.
Faber were facing the judges. II was at
cnce apparent that this command would
have to overcome a large handicap in the
form of a low score on inspection. The men
wore caps on their belts in the first place.
which increased the chance OF reducing the
tally. Then the belts were not as straight
as they might have been, and during the
entire inspection one man stood with his
elbow crooked out nearly a foot in order TO
keep the touch. The movements. too. were
rot smooth. When the division deployed
the lines of the platoons. instead OF being
continuous. converged into a great obtuse
angle. One Of the men dropped his cap
during the cuts and another strated 20 go
to attention too soon from parade rest.
The drill lasted seventeen minutes.
New Albany Division.
The next division 10 drill was New Al
bany. No. 8. Of New Albany, Ind, COM
manded by Capt. II. NJ. Cooper This divi-
sion went into the field under serious diff
culties. One of the men was recently scald-
ed from the waist downward. and has only
been wearing shoes during the last few
days. He wore a huge carpet slipper on his
left foot up TO the time the division fell In
TO take the field. Then another man, a few
weeks ago. was fallen upon by a horse. and
has been a cripple ever since. A third man
has been I'm bed for some weeks suffering
attack of quinsy and his throat was
lanced less than a week ago. AS these
men have drilled with the team only a few
times. the commander felt little hope Of
making a prze-winning drill.
AS the division went the field there
was a footing OF horns down at the end Of
the left field bleachers, and there wheeled
into the field gorgeous array. The knights