The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-01-14
WILD AND WOOLLY
The Wild West Feast of the
Fellowship Club
Where William Allen White OF.
ficiated as Orator,
ON WHAT Ais KANSAS
Seems to Have Been a Regular
JambOree.
Judging by the Graphic Ac-
counts by Local Papers.


pers contain accounts of the annual
banquet of the Fellowship club which
was highly original. The TimeS-Herald
says:
There was plenty of sport, and at
times the smoke from the gun shots
and the pipes was so dense that the
tops of the painted mountains were hid
as in a mist. 1t was what they would
call down east a recherche affair, and
there We're napkins at each plate
Another paper gives the following re-
port of the affair:
THE Fellowship club, which seemed
to have exhausted all available ideas
for character banquets in the past,
gave another last night, the first of the
season and the first in point of original
ity and merit of all its performances.
kinsley's banquet hail. which the
club had successfully transformed into
the deck of ship, a Partisan cafe, a
German beer garden and several other
interesting scenes, turned last night
into a plateau in the Rocky mountains
and q wild west dinner The hall had
really been made into a cyclorama and
the guests looked out for so miles in
every direction on snow clad peaks,
canons, lone pines and Indian tepees.
The illusion was perfect
THE dinner was in perfect keeping
with the scene. The tables were plain
and innocent of a table cloth The ia
beware was nothing but tinWare- The
from tin gallon measures into tin cups.
All the guests wore blue check jumpers
and buff sonbre vos, except that the ex-
ecutive committee appeared in red
flannel shirts. AS for the walters they
wore complete cowboy suits from head
to foot.
In the center of the room hung
great camp kettle suspended from a
tripod, with false fire under it, while
off to one side was the water barrel.
The menu included brook trout sad
die of black tail deer fire water punch
and Indian dumplingS.'
w. A WHITE THE GUEST OF HON
OR.
1.-THE latest arrival was the guest of
honor and the only regular speaker of
the evening-Wm. A. White, the editor
of the Emporia, Kan, Gazette, whose
editorial on What Ought to Be Done
With Kansas created such a furOre
Everything was suspended to present
to him the loving cup and introduce
him to the company. He stood up on
chair to make a recognition speech, but
was surprised to hear several angry
demands for him to get down, followed
by a volley of pistol shots. He stood
until he showed that he had not been
frightened, and then suspended his re-
a number of brilliant stories filled with
witticisms, which convulsed his hear
erS with laughter.
THRILLING EPISODES.
The episodes of this dinner could only
be described in a volume. At one time
Franklin Head arose to speak and was
called to order by Major Handy, and as
he would not sit down Major Handy
drew a pistol and fired at him until he
yielded the floor
At another time two hunters trav-
erSed the hall with a deer suspended
from bough. Again there was an ir-
ruption of Sioux Indians and dozen of
braves. with squaws and papooses,
rushed in and daNced a war dance, not
forgetting their tomahawks, the war
cry and the accompaniment Of pistol
shots.
Later two of the company were rush
ed into the hall with ropes around their
necks, charged with horse stealing, and
almost shot and hanged before the
ground that the men who were going
to lynch them were themselves horse
thieves.
SHOOT AT COUNSEL BEALE.
Che of the Hveliest events of the even
ing was the arrival of Corporation
Counsel Beale in the middle of the din
ner. Having come straight from
Springfield, he was ignorant of the fea-
ture of the evening and ventured into
the room without a jumper and SOM
brero AS result he was set upon
by a dozen of the party and shot at
until it was feared the police would
break into the hall. Mr.. Beale was
glad to run back to the court room and
attire himself like the rest of the COM
pany.
No end of laughter was produced by
two members of the Weber quartette,
who made themselves up like H. H.
Kohlsaat and Moses P. Handy and sang
a parody on Reuben and Rachel
TRIBUTE TO JAMES s NORTON
The hilarity of the occasion was sus-
pended for a few moments to enable
Secretary Rice to make a memorial ad-
dress with reference to the death of
James S. Norton, which was as follows:
Last September, on the shore OF
BEAUTIFUL Lake Geneva, James Saeger
Norton fell into that dreamless sleep
which knows no waking, and there
passed from earth one of the kindest,
gentlest and noblest of men. 1 am go
ing to ask you now, members of the
Fellowship club and guests here as
sernbled to rise and with bowed heads
and empty glasses drink in silence to
the memory of our dear, dead friend
When this funereal toast had been
drunk the company returned with fresh
enthusiasm to the unearthly noise and
excitement which formed the staple of
the evenings entertainment. The
bugler of the First brigade, named
Purinton, played Quickstep that cap
tivated the crowd and suspended the
shrielxing for several minutes. Then
bedlam broke loose again and the " ais
ouivered with the war cries and pistol
shots of the company.
1t will hardly be believed that the
venerable Judge Joseph Gary, who was
present and whom Secretary Rice,
when ne had presented the loving cup
to him, had referred to him as Lear
Old Judge Gary" ard who was tu-
multuousiy cheered, was one of this
noisy party and was the mark for mlny
a we'll aimed pistol shot.
INTRODUCES THE SPEAKERS.
When this novel repast was ever,