New-York tribune., 1901-08-17
LIPTON'S TARS AT CONEY.
WATERMELON AND PIE EATING CON
TESTS AND CAKE WALK CON
VULSE THEM WITH MlRTH.


seventy-four jack tars jolly and ready for
anything that might happen along. invaded
Coney Island last night. All wore the Sham
rock color and all were of the Upton outfit
There were thirty-eight from the Erin and thir-
ty-six from the Shamrock and they came TO the
island in a special ear from Hamilton ferry
which was the rendezvous These were all that
could be spared from the vessels, and they left
behind them who were green with
envy because this is almost the last night that
the sailors of either vessel can get shore leave
until for a week at least, and perhaps not then
Special arrangements had been made for their
reception at Steepechase Park by Mr.. Tllyou,
the proprietor. and they were conducted thither
from Brooklyn by George Stanmore, the cleo
trcal expert They had been promised good
time and they went prepared to enjoy it, 1T
was easy to get them down." said Mr. Stan
more 'I doubt if 1 would have had such an
easy time with a crowd of American sailors
They came like lambs and did whatever told
them to do"
Every man was Quaker sober, but the Twinkle
in every British eye showed that that condi-
ton was conducive and not detrimental to the
kind of fun they proposed to have They walked
along the Bowery with an attempt at formation.
Too many attractions either side, however,
broke the ranks and made stragglers of a dozen
or more before Steeplechase Park was reached
AS they along crowd followed at their
heels though they were a Coney Island at
traction. When they were near the entrance
the band struck up Killarney" following it by
THE Wearing of the Green" as they passed in
and the people who were inside gave them
three rousing cheers, at which they all touched
their hats and stood at attention like many
man-o -wars-men. Then they filed into the
seats that had been reserved for them the
floor Of the big dancing pavilion
First there was a watermelon eating contest
between eight coIored men AS the eaters
scooped up the red of the watery fruit the sail
ors, excited by the haste and nervousness of the
contestants, shouted and pointed and made re-
marks 10 each other. "See 'em eat!" THE little
fellow will bust, sure!' Bet yer pony on the
chunky one!" Why, they claw it out like
Monkeys" These were some of the comments
while the feast lasted. and afterward much was
said about the carrying capacity Of the black
craft"
Gould yer do that 'Arry?" shouted one to an
other, who sitting on the rear seat. st could
if I bigger amidshps" was the answer
but I'd want a heavy keel to carry me home
afterward'
The pie eating contest that followed nearly
convulsed them with mrth- Ten darkes, their
hands tied behind them, dug their faces into as
sprinkled with powdered sugar. and their plas-
tered features as they rose from their stoop-
ing postures to rest and expose their decorated
faces TO the gaze of the sailors too much.
The three CingaIese servants from the Erin all
dressed in white. had not been left behind and
they enjoyed this part Of the entertainment as
much or more than did the others.
Never saw pie eat that way afore," said E.
de Silva. He is known by the nickname Of Erin
among his fellows of the crew. and he speaks
English we'll. But don't think it would be
nice for them to do it in a dining saloon"
Shamrock" otherwise Pallis de Elvis, one of
the Others nudged his companion, known on
board as Shamrock II, but ashore William
Fernando. and said: "Iu never serve buckle
berry pie again without thinking of this"
When Warren Johnson won the contest hold
ing his face uD in the air in his hurry to swal-
low the last piece of pie. the sailors stamped
and shouted. and cheered the victor Some
pieces of money changed hands, too, after the
battle was over, for they are eager to bet when
ever they see a chance TO win or lose.
But the cakewalk that finished the set enter
tainment! That was the feature that took their
eye. AS the walkers gathered on the smooth
floor, each "gemman" and lady" dressed in
the brightest and best he or she had, the tars
became dumb with astonishment.
Wonder If they dress like that all the time?"
MY word, but they're tOppers!' and other eX-
carnations of wonder and admiration passed
from seat to seat. Only one in the whole crowd
had ever seen a cakewalk before, and that
in London He is the boatswain of the Erin.
But they didn't dress like that there" he said.
"I never seen such clothes"
The conditions of the contest were planned
and then the walkers took their places and the
march began. 1t was not long before each had
picked his favorite, and shings were bet with a
freedom that only jack ashore is familiar with.
Some picked the short ones some the long ones,
some the fat ones and some the lean ones. but
each had his choice and stuck to 1t until he or
she was declared out of the contest. And each
encouraged his favorte with word and hand
whenever proximity permitted. But when the
real fancy steppers came along there was not
word from the whole crowd Only for a few
minutes, however, for then they burst into
storm of applause that drowned all other noises,
even that Of the band. The victors were greeted
with equal amount of noise and then the
sailors were served with refreshments In another
part of the grounds
The features in the park were visited, but the
one that pleased them most the electric
fountain, when many could feel the shock
Joined hands and felt the ticklin'."
Some of them left the park after the
cakewalk finished, but they all met at the
trolley station at l o'clock in the morning
and started for their ships. feeling that they
had enjoyed rare evening. But there will be
some tired tars the Erin and the Shamrock
this morning. although not swelled heads