The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-10-28
MILITIA
FIGHT 4
SHAM FOE
Fine Marksman.
ship Displayed
In Manoa.
NATIONAL GUARD
DOES GREAT WORK
Excellent Practice at Target:
Representing An Inanimate
Enemy.

EETITH the rattle of musketry from
w three sides, showing that the
enemy had been completely
thanked, bullets poured through the tar
gets which represented this foe. eyolu-
tions executed with precision and speed,
the First Regiment, Hawaiian National
Guard, spent yesterday in a field ex-
ercise which was entirely successful
and had much of enjoyment in addi-
ton.
The sham battle of the militia, which
took place on the ranges of the Wood
lawn Dairy in Manoa valley yesterday,
was in every way most interesting, and
for the men who took part instructive.
1t was a sham fight in all that the word
implies, in that there was only a sem
blance of where foe might be, rep
resented in lines of muslin stretched
along the lava hillsides to afford a tar
get for the men. There was a splendid
display of craftsmanship, but the abb
sence Of a. tangible enemy, while it re-
duced the possibility of injury from
powder burns or accidental balls, made
the men a little less careful of exposure
and the lines of battle were not always
as closely concealed.
The outing of the regiment began
with the assembling OF the men at the
Drill shed, where the orders called them
together at 7:15 o'clock But it was an
hour later when the lining up of the
companies began. the staff officers
gathered about the commanding officer,
and the notes of the bugle called the
men TO the march. The men were car
ried to the present end of the Rapid
Transit company's line, at the lower
end of Kamehameha avenue. in spe-
cial train of five cars. There was an
excellent turnout of the soldiers, when
the fact that the valley was wet and
the chances of heavier rains good, were
known 10 the men, the number which
appeared at the camp being close to go.
After the march to the station at Ala
pal street, there was nothing in front
Of the men but the ride and they made
merry all along the route, singing OF
songs and rattle of music marking the
L
the going which told The march VI
the valley was made under bright
moon and had it not been that phase d
the lesser light the trip could not have
been made by the men at all. Through
College Hills there was no danger OF
trouble. for the men had good street
under them, but it was necessary tc
leave this road and take to the regular
thoroughfare. Owing to the fact thaI
the lower Manoa road is almost un-
der water all the time from the FAC
that there are taro and rice fields aIone
it from the foot of the valley to the
head, there was not man in the entire
turnout who expected to find good go
ing. And not one of the number was
disappointed. There was mud hole
on the lower road, which began where
the road runs down to the stream, anc
which extends to the head of the val
ley. The distance to be travelled along
this route was cut to the minimum by
the guides, who led a way across
meadow before striking the mud. Il
was deep and very slippery and the meT
and officers had all they could do keeT
m the line. But this was not all thai
was coming to the soldier. After a few
hundred yards upon this kind of road
the guide was observed to enter a field
which was away below where the
twinklins lights told of the camp. Be
low Chinese shack the order wen
back, Forward by File" and the guide
plunged in to seeming labyrinth o.
Luaunas, all starting from the back ot
the house. For more than five hundred
yards it was tramp the ridge between
tara patches, with the danger Of slip