The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-04
Won the Cane
Rush
OVER FREsHIEs.
Had Eighteen Hands on
Stick at Finish.

| The rush was one of the least exciting
that have been held at the institute
although scheduled for 10 minutes
duration, the pistol was fired after only
Az minutes Of struggling. The short
enIng of the contest was necessitated
by the unruliness of the hoodlum ele-
ment in the crowd, which broke
through the ropes, in spite of those
holding them, and closed in on the con-
testants to such an extent that the
officials were unable to execute their
duties. Thus Starter O'Reagan was
compelled to put a stop to the rush be-
fore it was half over This may have
initiated to some extent in favor OF
the sophomores, as the freshmen claim
! that they had planned to make a con-
certed effort in the last two minutes OF
the contest, hoping to win out then
However, the stopping of the rush was
eminently fair under the circumstances
and there is no kick coming from the
defeated class, although they naturally
were disappointed that they could not
win. There was the usual amount OF
preparatory hustling on the part Of the
two classes as soon as they were out
of recitation, to get ready for the con-
test. The freshmen had practice In
the shops during the afternoon, and
they assembled on the steps of the shop
annex at 4.30 o'clock, arrayed in
jumpers and overalls, with an occa-
sional foot ball suit scattered among
them. They had bedaubed themselves
with the usual war paint which 1t is
the custom among the freshmen to
wear on their faces, in order to be
recognizable by each other. Some had
on weird patterns in black and scarlet
pigments that would have made the
heart of Sitting Bull turn over with
envy They looked, as one spectator
put it, like Spaniards, and they met a
Cerverasque fate to keep up the like
ness.
The sophs in the meantime had
drawn up their forces on the knoll Of
the campus In the rear of Boynton Hall
and shortly after the appointed hour,
the two factions came dashing out on to
Bliss field, with linked arms, and were
carefully steered by the officials of the
upper classes to opposite sides of the
field, where there could be no chance of
a collision before the preliminaries had
been arranged.
Lined up facing each other, they
hurled taunts, songs and cheers across
at each other until the two classes be-
came like two prize bulldogs thirstinG
to get at each others Threats. The Off
Gals were armed with canes and they
succeeded in checking any attempts to
make the thing a massacre before the
pistol was fired.
The referee, DR.. F. L. Dunlap, at
length got the men who were to hold
the cane for the opposing classes to-
gether in their positions in the centre
of the field and the members Of the
contesting factions massed Is yards
away from them. The three stalwart
champions selected by the freshmen
were Parks, Hathaway and Kimball,
while the representatives of the second
year men were Perkins, Dickinson and
Theodore Brown.
When all had been arranged, Starter
Daniel F. O'Reagan fired the starting
shot, and in an instant the fun was on.
There was a rush that shook the
ground as the classes started for each
other, and then a shock like the col
lision of two express trains or the
frantic charge Of a pair Of Infatuated
billygoats. The unfortunate ones who
were holding the cane were instantly
in the midst of a struggling mass OF
humanity and the cane that was the
object of all the efforts was being
twisted in every possible direction.
The first men to reach the centre of
the field got their hands on the cane,
and some of them stayed there during
the whole ARRAY, but a good many
reached the goal only to be seized and
ruthlessly hurled out of the bunch
with the force Of a catapult. Back and
forth the seething throng surged, with
every now and then a body shooting
out as II propelled from the mouth of
cannon and sprawling on the ground
yards away. Some of these gathered
themselves up and made frantic efforts
to get back, but as a general thing,
once out, all out, was the rule. AS
pirants for honors at the finish had to
be in early and stay in the rush all
the time, in order to be recognized as
point winners when the hands were
counted
| OF course there were the usual num-
Der of Individual scores that were
started along toward a settlement, but
the officials were vigilant and inciptent
| fisticuffs we're checked at once. Only
one pair of enthusiasts were thrown
out, and they happened to have gotten
| in one or two good swings before the
referee saw them. SO he was compelled
| by the rules TO debar them. 1t wat
all in good nature, however, and they
were laughing over it In a minute at.
terward.
| In former years the contestants have
not been suitably dressed for the fray
as they were yesterday, and specta.
| tor could usually provide himself with
|
derclothing IL he was sharply on ths
lookout for it. as it was torn off this
| contestants. On some occasions, the
most earnest of the rushers came GU
of the contest in q decidedly decollet'
condition, but experience had warned
them, and no one lost his costume yes
terday.
1t was just when the fun was at 1T
/ height that the crowd became unruly
IL, f1,a hrng1Qnf N q
AS soon as the contest ended. the Off
Gals and upper classmen began to pull
the excited men off the heap into whicl
they had fallen, to get at the men VIII
had their hands on the cane, but VIII
|, were buried under a mountain Of bod
les which writhed and squirmed like
pail full of cells, in their attempts t
kreach the goal.
After some vigorous work, the count
ing of hands began, amidst the great
est excitement. A hand was counte'
IL three fingers were on the cane, an
when the count was finished, it wa
( found that of the cramped and bruise
digits that had chung to the stick, !
4 belonged to sophomores and only 10 t
4 freshmen. A howl of glee arose fror
the victors, and they formed In soil
4 mass with their leaders, bearing tn
4 trophy, and marched off the field The
then had the usual triumphal process
X sion about the campus, and to the res
4 licences of the various professors, t
B whom they paid their compliments
4 approved student style.
4 The cane was presented by the ju
Nor class, AMI was a handsome on,
A with a carved handle, and having
a plate of silver on which was inscribe
n Glass of 03, from class Of '00"; bu
4 the gift never reached those for whor
il was intended, as the victors keep
3 and will saw II into pieces to be dis