Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-09-15
BIG CROWD AT FAIR
ABOUT $4,000 PEOPLE SEE GREAT
SHOW
ENGINES CRASH TOGETHER
Thrilling Spectacle of TWO Locomo-
tiVes in Head-on Collision Wit
messed by Great Crowd-Races are
Fast and Exciting-Riding and
Driving Features.

Milwaukee, Sept lift is estimat-
ed that about $4,000 people attended
the state fair yesterday From the
first opening of the gates in the morn
ing there was a steady jam, and down
town passengers waited for as many
as five and six cars to pass to get
even standing room on the steps. The
gates were the center of a rush for
some hours early and at 9 o'clock the
main gate had a crowd about the
ticket booth that filled the roadway
and spread along the fence for 100
feet in each direction. The walks
and the roads inside, the buildings
and the booths showed the effects of
this @~0wd at ali early hour. and all
morning it continued In fact II was
the biggest opening of state day that
the fair ever saw and both President
McKerrow and Secretary True were
jubilant
AS soon as the crowd reached the
grounds the scattering began, but as
the bulk of the people first looked at
the two engines standing on the in
field end as they made all kinds of
remarks about the engines, the men
who were to run them, the running
that was to be done, the fate of the
two worn out knights of the steel
road, it showed that the great locomo-
tive collision was the drawing card
One Of the favorite places for the
crowd to get to at first was the
stables and cattle sheds. and more
people went here after looking at the
iron horses than anywhere else The
refreshment booths and cane and
knife booths and the snake charmers,
the fortune tellers, the side shows in
general drew some, but not to as
great an extent as the real exhibits
These side shows this year are really
good.
And what various sides of huma1
was one group of sun tanned, muscu-
lar fellows who looked like farm
hands who were standing in front OF
one of the side shows where one of
their number was refusing to go in
"Oh, come on said one of the others.
I'VE worked hard for our money, SO
let's have a good time with it," And
the argument prevailed, and the timid
party went. Then there was the stern
Vlsaged stout woman who lectured the
cider mill man for his sins in HAND
ling the stuff and received the discon-
certing reply: Have one on the
house." as he handed her one of the
very largest glasses.
One Of the features of the day was
the annual reunion of the First Wis
consin cavalry, civil war veterans, one
of the famous cavalry commands of
the late unpleasantness. A large can
vas sign tackled in front of the admin
istration building announced it's head
quarters, and in the corridor there was
a register in which the veterans were
asked to sign their names and resi-
dences. In the afternoon they sat to-
gether in the grandstand and witness
ed the great collision
The sensation of the day was an
nounced as ready at 10 minutes to
o'clock by four shrill blasts of the
whistle from the locomotive standing
on the track on the jnfield. Promptly
at O'Clock the signal was given, and
with Jim" Hicox Of Baraboo, the hero
Of four jumps and two occasions when
he could not jump-his time was too
short, and he was mixed up in the
muss-and Sol futile of the Milwau-
kee road at Madison, who has also
jumped without the audience on an
occasion or two, the engines left their
places in the corner of the ring and
started into the combat, the affaire a
la mOrte. Slowly the two engines ap-
preached each other, then they backed
away, the while putting and snOrting
like well matched beasts. Then to-
gether again only to back away again,
and then they came forward quick,
quicker, then the two men were seen
to slip between the gangWay between
the tank and the cab and drop lightly
to the ground, and as the great iron
steeds, the steaming, snOrting, Whir-
ring foes, gathered way under the
opened throttles, the great crowd held