Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-02-26
AN OLD THE BAND CONTEST
In Which the Bass Drummer With
 Victory in His Grasp, Lost.

In Which the Bass Drummer. With
 Victory in His Grasp, Lost. 1 'I know of my own experience" i said an old bandmaster, ''that it's pos
 sible to have too much of good thing.
 ''The- first band I ever led was To- cated in an enterprising small town in Ohio. @In nearby enterprising town there was another brass band; and, whether you might expect it or not, there was between these two
 bands the bitterest rivalry; and, of 1 course in each town the townspeople never had a doubt that their own band was the better. And this rival " and town feeling finally led to a challenge and a public contest be- tween the bands, in which everybody 1 ill the towns was deeply interested. I "Of course everybody In our town thought that our band could play all ;Saround the other band, and in gem eral way I will admit l shared this condolences; but still knew we were weak in one point. Our E Hat cornet ] man could blow zigzag musical light ming out of his instrument as well as anybody, and our bass horn man cer tainly could blow more thunderous oomph-ahs out of his than any man l ] had ever known before or have ever ! known since; and our trombone and l baritone, our clarinet and N colo, and all the rest, were in the business deep but we were weak on the bass drum Now, right there the other band was especially able. It had for bass drummer a young man who could give bass drum about the aW- fullest welt you ever heard. Our big drum man was better drummer, but I he couldn't begin to belt the drum as the other fellow did, and there we certainly were weak, and sound, you can bet counts a heap in such con test.
 "ButSwe had in our town at that 1 time a young blacksmith who could make hole in an anvil every time he struck blow on 1t, and I got him to play our bass drum I'll the march. Of course I knew there was danger that he'd bust the drum, and so bust 1 us in the contest; but you can hit a bass drum terrible swat without bursting it, if you know how, and after training the young blacksmith daily for a month, and letting him bust three drums to show him just how hard he could hit one with safety and then providing him with drum with both heads double, I thought we could trust him and that we had the prize subscribed for by the leading { citizens of the two towns cinched.
 .Ishe contest was on a Fourth of July, and of course all the people of both towns and everybody from the surrounding country, came to hear it. And with the two bands really very evenly matched otherwise, we were little ahead in the crowds favor all most from the start on account of our superiority on Jthe big drum The man in the other band whacked his big drum something fearful, but our young blacksmith all the time went him a little better.
 "With his greater strength and his drum with double heads, whenever he hit the drum he made the whole country round trembie and gained more favor for us with every stroke. And he still had power in reserve, and we would have won sure If he hadn't exerted too much of it.
 Getting more and more wrought I'D he forgot my instructions and went beyond the limit. A bass drum will stand a heap, and this drum was fix ed for trouble with fss double heads; but this drummer was an anvil breaker, and trembled now every time he brought the big drumstick down. He was pounding harder and harder carrying the people right along with him, and I only hoped he wouldn't ponnd too hard. But he did.
 We we're playing our last piece and the whole vast audience sur rounding the grand stand that the bands both played on was still as death, hearing our boys play and es~ pecially watching that man drum and listening to it's booming. They were still and silent, but all wrapped mp and carried away and ready to burst out into wild applause at the finish, and knew 1t, but l. trembled now ev- cry time I saw our drummer raise his drumstick and finally once when he did bring his right hand down with double extra tremendous power, smash. went that drumhead, with the lrumstck plumb through it.
 "But the half of the great sur rounding crowd that stood where it could see that side of the drum and so had seen what had happened. didn't laugh and it was in fact, for q mo- ment anyway. when It saw the dis appointed look on the face of the drummer, decidedly sympathetic. And then they were interested in what the drummer did He recovered him. self in a moment and swung the big drum around on it's strap so as to bring the remaining head to where ne could beat 1t with his strong right artn.
 "And he might have won for us even yet If he had only known. But he did not know that with one head gone he could not pound so hard on the other. He was oyer-anxious, md he came down on that remaining drumheaa with more power than ever and tho inevitable happened.
 "With one fearful slam the drum stick went through that dr,'lnhead and at the same time he lost hold or It. and it went flying through fhe barrel of the drum and sailing out oxer tho heads of the crowd beyond !