Evening star., 1898-07-30
SEASIDE SHOOTING
Interest in the Ocean City Midsum-
mer Tournament.
MANY EXPERTS TO COMPETE
Beach Birds and Bluefish' and Sea
Bass Plentiful.
9TH Err ATTR ACTION S
aft Correspondence of The Evening STAR

stan Correspondence OF The Evening Star.
OCEAN CITY. Nd, July 2s, 1898.
Sportsmen will gather here in large num-
bers next week to participate in the second
annual midsummer shooting tournament,
which will be held August 1, and 6. Man
ager James R. Malone of Baltimore has re-
ceived assurances of the presence of many
of the most noted shots in the country. and
the program prepared is excellent one.
The first two days will be devoted to tar
get shooting and the last to live birds. At
the clay pigeons amateurs will shoot from
the fourteen-yard mark, semi-experts from
sixteen and experts eighteen yards. All
money in target events will be divided-40,
80, ~ and 10 per cent. Ali live-bird events
will be from the thrty-yard mark, except
in the twenty-bird event, whsn all shooters
will be handicapped, according to their
records, from twenty-four to thirty-two
yards. There viii be ten events on each of
the first two days-two at ten targets, 81
entrance; three at fifteen targets, $1.25 en-
trance; four at twenty targets, S1.50 en-
trance, and a three-men team event at
twenty-five targets each. s6 entrance per
team, each team to consist of three men,
bers of an organized gun club
The third day the shooting will commence
with a fve-bird race, entrance So, and q
StVan-bird race, entrance 81; high guns;
birds included The Ocean City handicap,
a twenty birds, viii; follow, entrance SIS,
money divided-5O. 30 and 20 per cent; class
shooting; birds extra.
The sport will close with miss and out
event, S. entrance, and a sweepstakes miss
and out, 81 entrance.
The tournament committee consists of
Mr. G. H. Gent, Mr.. j. NJ Hawkins Mr. J.
R. Malone and Mr. ]. C. Hicks The mem
bers of the reception committee are Mr. s.
Baker, Mr.. Robert Richardson, Mr. H. T.
Ducker, Mr.. Charles ]. Merriken and Mr.
w. V. Wilson.
Shooting Reach Birds.
There was heavy rain for an hour or two
yesterday afternoon, and this morning saw
an exodus of shooters down the bay and the
beach after yelIow-shanks, gray-backs and
robin-breasts. A party went yesterday morn
lEg down the beach, scarcely mile distant
from the Atlantic Hotel. and brought In
sixty-six gray-backs. All familiar with
the sport here declare this season, which is
now opening in earnest, promises better
than any other year in the last ten The
birds are showing a very gratifying ten
dency to come to the decoys.
Gray-back shooting is conducted in this
way: The shooter digs himself a hole in
the sand just above the surf line sticks
his decoys in the sand in front of him and
goes down out of sight in the sand blind so
prepared. The snipe come In flocks, and
man frequently shoots so fast that his gun
barrels become too hot to hold. Yellow
shanka and robin-breasts come to the same
decoys- All the birds this year are very
fat.
Sport That fs Exciting.
The bluefish are beginning to get raven
GUS and many of those who are fond of
deep-sea fishing accompany the boats out
on their early morning trips. Sea trout and
sea bass are also biting freely. and when
an eight or ten FOUNDER gets on the end of
your line 1t needs muscle and tough palms
10 handle him. 1t is a very cheap sport
too. The stranger pays the boatman q
dollar and this includes lines, bait and all
the fish one wants, whether he catches any
or not, when the boat returns. A man with
weak stomach or weak nerves would scarce
ly enjoy one of these excursions. The boat
is launched through the surf from the
sandy beach and goes out anywhere from
twelve to sixteen miles, where bluefish or
bass are the objects desired. Coming in the
landing is also made through the surf right
on the sand. When the little craft strug-
giles IN the breakers going out and coming
in and tosses between times on the ocean
waves out of sight of land it is an exhila-
rating experience, ard the first feeling is
as near like that which one experiences
when the first toboggan ride is taken as
could well be imagined.
An Eastern sho' Town.
There are many other interesting things
here and in the vicinity besides bathing
boating, fishing and shooting. A seven
mile railroad run takes one to Berlin, a
bustling. busy town of 500 people. At
the Atlantic Hotel there one can get dia-
mond-back terrapin-the real thng-cooked
TO perfection, for price that would be
asked for fried oysters in the metropolitan
cities. where you get one part diamond
back and four parts slider for $3.50.
Berlin is manufacturing town of no
mean Importance. Nearly all the thin
wooden bitter trays Lsed in the east are
made there, and hundreds of thousands of
strawberry and similar boxes. A peculiar
kind of gum tree furnishes the material
There are white oak and pine timber mills
q Hnrrr mil
four churches and a school, renowned for
its excellence. When a stranger reaches
town he is made to understand that east
ern sho hospitality is as warm and earnest
and sincere as it Is deservedly famed
to be.
Up the beach here at Ocean City IS an
Interesting establishment. the summer
home of st. Marys Industrial Home School
of Washington. 1t is not yet open TO the
public generally, but the sisters very kindly
receive visitors whose object is not idle
curiosity. The life-saving station, a few
yards from the Atlantic Hotel, is another
place well worthy a visit. The coiored
population is today pleasurably excited and
the visiting population expectant over an
entertainment to be given In the Atlantic
Hotel dining room by the bell boys of the
establishment. There are to be concert, a
cake walk and a prize waltz. and tickets
are already at p premium. The two latter
events are expected to be productive Of
great rivalry, and dusky beaux and choco-
late-colored bellies are in nervous tremors
ever the outcome
Personal Mention.
So 1t will be seen that Ocean City has It's
fun, as well as other admirable attrac-
uons.
Mr.. NJ. G. Seckendorff arrived last night
and Joined his family at their cottage
here.
Mrs. r. vandergriff and her maid are at
the Atlantic Hotel
DR.. James P. Young is guest at the
Plinhimnion-
A popular recent arrival is Mr.. George
Gibbs. the well-known artist. He has
brought his palettes and brushes with him
and will work and recuperate at the same
timo. There are rare opportunities here
for an artist, and Mr.. Gibbs admirable ia
cility for getting In close touch with ma
ture will undoubtedly be proven anew
hen the results of his studies here are
shown. CLUSKEY CROMWELL