Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-03-08

cept on holidays, as far as finding
work for idle hands And their holt
days are very decorou5 IN Bermuda.
The athletic sports were Of the usual
sort, throwing the cricket ball. putting
the shot; races of all kinds from free
foot races to hurdles and three-legged
| and sack and bicycle and obstacle
races, tugs of war. short football con-
tests, mop tournaments and tent pitch
! ing The sports were held on the
brigade parade ground Of Camp Pros
pect, and lasted from neon till 6
o'clock
! The day was perfect Bermuda day,
with blue and cloudless sky and clear
air. but no wind The parade ground
is a large green meadow, surrounded
by rising ground. on the outskirts Of
which are cedar groves or immense
screens Of rhododendr0ns which are
just now in full fower Of pink, white
and red Three large tents had been
pitched at each end Of the grounds,
and in front Of these we're seats for
spectators suitably classified, and
tables with refreshments were spread
i'll each tent. A portion Of the parade
! ground was rOped off for the games
and the remainder was covered with
groups of redcoats and bluecoats and
| the the yellow kaki-unifOrmed rank
and file. who as on-lookeTs were more
deeply interested than any Of the
thousands who had gathered. None of
| the prizes amounted to more than $40
| but the competition was keen, espe-
| cially in the tug Of war when 10 stall
wart men on each side pulled at the
cable like young giants The artillery
won, as usual, for their practice with
the heavy guns makes them tough and
sturdy opponents. The amusement
eliminated in the sack and obstacle
races. The latter involving crawling
beneath a huge sail spread upon the
ground, climbing through empty casks
whose heads had been knocked out
and their bodies suspended in the air,
scaling a huge open frame with rope
ladders, and running up a creased roof
at an angle of about 30 degrees. The
| mistakes and misadventures and alb
surdities of the situations involved an
amount of sport which kept the crowd
in roars Of laughter. and as this is an
age which infinitely prefers laughter
to anxiety and tears, the audience
went home in great good humOr, and
voted the entertainment a success. The
regimental band played selections dur
ing the afternoon, and the governor
and many prominent men Of the army
! and navy were on hand.
The position of Bermuda. which is
of great Importance to Great Britain
in military point of view, renders it
! impregnable. This has been practical
ly accomplished by constructing chan
nels through the reefs. by which men
Of-War can be gathered in the harbors
of the islands, by series Of fortifca-
tons, and by the constant presence of
! sufficient land force for defense. In
! the general system Of defense the
navy is, of course, prominent. The
| army is always ready to march to any
! part of the islands, but as it would be
| almost impossible for any hostile
| force to reach the mainland the chef
! reliance is upon a guarded channel
and the ships of war which are as
| sembled at Grassy bay, where are also
! the government works and the largest
floating dock in the Morld--The ships
of war which are on the North Amer
! lea and the West Indies station at
! present, under the command Of Vice
! Admiral Sir John A. Fisher, X G.. B.,
are the RenOWn, an arm0red twin
screw battleship Of Il, 500 tons and IA
guns; the Talbot, a tWin-screW cruiser
of $500 tons and II guns; the Indefat-
| igable, Pallas, Intrepid, Pearl and
! PrCsperine, each tWin-screW cruisers
of varying tonnage, from 2,135 to
$500 tons, and carrying eight guns
each; the HOtspur an armOred coast
defense ship of 4010 tons, with four
guns; the Quail, a tWin-screw torpedo
| boat destroyer, with five guns; two
screw sleeps with six and eight guns,
and the tender to the RenOWn. There
/ is also in dock the receiving ship Ter
rOr, with eight guns, and the depot
ship Urgent with two guns. Such is
! the force which Great Britain keeps
constantly within 500 miles of our At
1antic coast, commanded by men who
have served in the Baltic and Black
seas during the Crimean war, who
have bombarded Alexandra, broken up
the slave trade on the coast of Africa,
explored the Arctic seas and the rivers
OF the dark continent, and fought
{ with Chinese and Egyptians, East In
dams, Arabs. Cretians and Zulus,
whose breasts are covered'With med
ais and underneath are hearts OF
| English oak. where honor and valOT
dwell in unity. The governor of the
island was with Havelock's column in
the Indian mutiny of 1857, marched to
the relief of Lucknow and was present
ct it's capture, and members of his
staff have seen honorable service in
the Soudan.
Such a military and naval estab-
lishment gives character and tone to
the entire business and social life OF
the islands Military parades and
maneuvers, lunches and dinners on
the ships, balls on the flagship and al
the admiralty and government houses
and a variety Of teas and cricket
matches. and some very tame horse
races, in all of which officers of both
branches take part, occupy society
during the winter months. In sum,
mer everybody goes away or goes te
sleep. for though the temperature is