The Portland daily press., 1897-10-16
LAST DAY AT TOPSHAM.
A Big but SWeltering Crowd See the
Fun.

Ere MUM Winners.
The famous fair at Topsham ended We S
terday afternoon after three days of IN
excelled attendance. Fully $4,000 people
have passed through the gates OF this
popular exhibit in thsse three days and
the fair officials were hugging them
selves for joy last evening. The Sagada-
hoe Agricultural Society have been lit
tie behind the game in the last few
years, but 1t has made enough money
during this exhibition to square its out
standing indebtedness and have hand
some surplus left over. The fair has
been the best Topsham has ever seen and
it has been managed superbly. The ex-
hibits have been larger and more COM
plete in every detail. The races have
all been closely contested and the track
record of the Topsham fair ground has
been pulled down notch. Taking it
all in all the officials of the fair have
reason 10 feel elated over their success
and they deserve great deal of credit
for all that they have accomplished.
1t was stated on good authority that
$1,000 was taken at the gate on Thursday
when the biggest crowd of the week was
in attendance. Fully as much moro was
taken yesterday and this besides all of
the membership tickets which have been
issued, Is pretty good showing. The
trains over the Maine Central from
Bath, Portland and Lewiston, and inter
mediate stations, were all crowded yester-
day while it seemed as If all of Bruins
wick and the neighbornig towns had
turned out en- masse to see the show.
The first thing on the days programme
was the "slow race" There were four
starters in this and the conditions were
that each contestants should keep his
horse at trot over half mile and the
slowest horse to be the winner. This
was one of the most amusing features
of the exhibition. The efforts made by
the four starters to keep behind one an
otter and travel slow with their horses
still in trot were extremely ludterous.
Nellie E, owned and driven by E. B.
Rankin of Richmond was the sIowest
horse of the lot and won first money. Ste
took minutes and 23 seconds to go half
mile.
During the afternoon Prof. Stevens,
the areonaut, made an ascension which
was in many ways most unsual one.
The professor, with Topsham man
above the parachute, out loose the bal
loon and the balloon slowly arose 1t
didn't go much higher than the tree
tops, however, and Prof. Stevens, who
was seated in the parachute, barely
the fence the balloon slowly commenced
to descend and soon both men ware on
the ground once more. Then Prof. Stew
ems took the parachute off the balloon and
with only one man the balloon again
assembled little ways. When abreast of
the tree tops once more it began to settle
to earth again and was lost to view
among the trees.
''It's SO burned hot" said an old farm
or who had watched this bortive at
tempt at sky exploring from the track
with open-eyed wonder. cts SO burned
hot that the air outside the balloon is
hotter than the air inside it. That's why
it won't go up any higher" Perhaps
he was right, at any rate no one felt
like disputing him.
Kid st. Orne, the tramp cyclist, gave
an exhibition of fancy riding, which
was well received. A band from Bath
furnished the music for the afte rnoon
and enlivened the perspiring crowd by
strains of popular music.
Late in the afternoon team bicycle
race between Bath and Brunswick rae
ers was pulled off. 1t was a most excit-
ing contest. Brunswick won the race
ultimately and the victor was William
Hayes, who made five miles in 10 m.
81 secs. The race was arranged after
this fashion: There were four riders
from Brunswick and the same number
from Bath. The Brunswick men were
Ed. Hayes, Elmer Goud, Joseph Shep-
herd and Charles Colby. The Bath men
were f. G. Farrell, J. Barnes, J. G. Noyes
and j. Sanford. The Brunswick men
were given their position at the grand
stand while the Bath riders were sta
toned at the quarter mark.
The Bath men in order to win he race
had to catch up with and pass the BruHs-
wick men. They couldn't do this and
Hayes having made the fastest time of
any OF them was declared the winner.
THE RACES.
The 2. 40 class, unfinished on Thursday
was pulled off in two heats, Ned o. tax
ing both of them with ease.
= Neither of the other races scheduled for
yesterday were finished. In the 2.20
class Hal Wilkes got two heats in success
sion, then in the third heat broke on the
back stretch and Halle Rollins finished
first and in the fourth heat Tack Ham
mer Morrill, came IN a winner. Hal
Wilkes went to the tune OF 2.i7 Ia in