The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-04-14

Riotous and Amusing Sports OF
British Soldiers In Bermuda.
Mock Tournament with Mops-Novel
Obstruction Race. and Other
Queer Performances Funnier
Than Any Circus.
Copyright. 1871

copyright. 1871
A real, old-fashioned tournament
| with long mops dripping with paint in.
stead of lances-that is a spectacle
worth looking at. if you have any rel.
ish for fun. Indeed. there are o lot Of
things worth looking at when Tommy
Atkins gets a day of. Tommy At,
kins," you know, is the can't name for
a British soldier, just as tramp is
weary Waggles" and sailor is 'JacR
Tar" Tommy, it would seem, has nc
| very serious ambition TO figure as an
athlete, but he loves horse-play. and
his ''field-day" contests are funnier
than a circus with four rings and a
dozen clowns-practically every par
ticipant is clown for the nonce.
Tommy's performances at these
times are so original and amusing as
to be well worth recording; and gro
tesque though they are. they neverthe.
less involve plenty Of nerve and pluck
and muscle.
The field used for these outdoor
sports at ST. George, Bermuda, is a
fat space between two hills, the gen.
tie slopes of which make of the place a
sort of amphitheater. On one hillside
are the barracks, seats for the Of
ficers and their friends, and tents for
the performers; while the other hill
furnishes convenient spot for ordi-
nary spectators. And here, one bril-
liant, breezy day not long ago, was wit
messed some typical Tommy Atkins
fun.
The programme began with the APP
preach Of a procession of ladies and
gentlemen headed by q band, the latter
making energetic if not melodious mu-
sic. The ladies were astonishingly tall,
and as the line solemnly moved down
the hill, the style and "set' of the
dresses, the reckless way the hats were
wom-sidewise, or edgewise, or wrong
end-toenot to mention the dreadful
strides the fair ones executed, soon
betrayed the fact that they were a
company Of jolly troopers masquerad-
ing in feminine toggery.
The first event, after this grand en-
try" was the obstruction race. The
men were formed in a trim line, bare
headed and alert, awaiting the signal.
Then they made wild dash down the
hillside to the first obstacles. These
were a series of barrels suspended
little distance above the ground by
ropes hung from horizontal bar. To
get these barrels at the proper angle, to
crawl through and land straight on the
other side was not half as easy as it
looked. Several illustrated this fact
by landing ON their heads or executing
sudden somersaults. All got through.
however, and the line trailed over the
field to the next obstruction.
This was a very large sheet Of can
vas, pegged down to the ground at in
tervals, and the contestants were ex.
pected to crawl under it. Here was
trouble for the fat fellows. Some tried
opening after opening in the vain hope
of finding one large enough, and some
recklessly squeezed their bodies into
narrow apertures where they stuck,
wriggling like huge earth worms, IN
able either to go through or extricate
themselves.
The successful ones, however, sprang
to their feet, and regardless of their
poor squirning brothers, made a sprint
for a smpll po1d over which they We're