Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1905-09-26

ggatta upon de st1yikiif cahaI on the
9Th of June. Three boats entered-for
the race whichC as. fq anew half>ineh
Russia hemp towllne. They were the
Roaring Maria Of .Marayunk scHeRsE
captain; the RevelT, of Conshohocken
Brown captain and La Sylphide, OF
Pottstown-Capt Hicks. The leader
upon the Roaring Maria's team was a.
cream-cOlored mule. recently imported
from Idaho; the Reveler had three
brown mules, and La Sylphide was bet
against heavily, because Capt. Hicks
tied her up to three secondhand omni-
bus horses, one Of which had the heaves.
The start was made at $3.50 a. m, with
La Sylphide in the lead, in consequence
of the defective nature OF the wind OF
the lea1ing omnibus horse, and because
good Judges generally regarded the hind
horse as a glandered ruin. The Roaring
Maria came second. I . e false sterts
were made, owing to the cream-colorOd
mule from the west having obtained an
enormous impression that the course
ran due south The boy who was driv-
ing him had great difficulty In convinc-
ing hiTa that the route ran directly
north, and during the controversy tho
animal kicked MIR. Dunglinson, Of Per-
coyd, one of the judges, in the stomach
with such violence that Mr.. DungliA-
son clirled all up on the towpath and
was carried home on the lid of La Syi-
ph!de's mizzen hatch. But moment
later the racers got off, Capt. Hicks
horsts going into action ia fine styla,
although the view prevailed that the
two front horses were pulling the
glandered ruin in addition to the boat.
La Sylphide walked the water like Il
thing Of life, her log making one knot
an hour as her speed. The good form
displayed by Capt Hicks in his superb
management of the helm was universal
ly remarked, and the betting Began to
he rather more favorable to him.
The Roaring Maria, however, kept
well up, and it seemed likely that if
Capt. Schenck could command breath
| enough to continue to swear at the boy,
and the boys lungs would hold out so
that he would not be compelled to di-
minish the velocity of the epithets that
he was hurting at the mule, the Roar
ing Maria would hold her own.
The Conshohocken Reveler did mag
nificently upon her first squirt, but about
200 yards further on, her towline
snapped, and the boat sheered and ran
against the bank When Capt. Brown
had pushed her off with scantling, and
expressed his feelings in the most vio-
4 lprf ar fanfixyac q Ho a
llthe rope was tied and it was hard to
makslup the lost ground, especially as
4 The hind mule of the team got his leg
oyer. the swiRgletree, and was thrown
7 partly into the air every time the leaders
ESsave a jerk lA"s
pa At2t5e end of the first quarter it vas
EgepeEted That La Sylphide's last horse
was. beginning to fall to pieces: but
Capt II gcks sent his brother ahead. AID
he affixed eo'the animals tail an adjust
4 able gnnpowder detonator, warranted
Ito give six explosions minute. This
seemed. to give the horse new life. for
he pulled till the rope was taut as a
lpiano string r
I = But the Roaring Maria was gaining
sthat wax clear; and Capt SchencA'Y
friends were beginning to offer odds.
when the cream-colored mule suddenly
stopped, and Kicked the boy carefully
| over the bank into the canal While
Capt. Schenck was hauling the boy out
with a boathook, the mule was struck
by the thought that he might perhaps
win the race by taking a short cut over
land, so he boted up the hill, with the
evident intention to run the Roaring
Maria across Belcher's apple orchard.
! through Marlborough, and around by
the turnpike.
While things were at a standstill, the
ReveleT came booming along, and her
bow went bang into the Roaring Maria =
Tudder, knocking it into ldndling wood.
At the same time the Reveler's mules
got tangled in the Roaring Maria's tow
line, and as soon as the am-colored
mule abandoned the orchard route and
started doWnhill like rocket, the Rev
elers team was dragged into the canal.
Capt. Schenck then proceeded to give
his views at length, and in detail, con-
corning Capt. Browns ancestry, his re-
lations, his seamanship and his sense.
moment later they clinched, and the !
towpath was covered with an assort-
ment of captains, towlines, boys, mules
and miscellaneous effects. Capt. |
Schenck had just got on top of Capt. /
Brown and was about to argue with him,
and to show him where he was wrong,
and to bite his nose, when news camo
that La Sylphide had reached the stake
boat, and won.
THIS settled the matter, excepting
that two of the judges refused to award
the prize on the plea that the use Of the
adjustable gunpowder detonator on the
spawned wreck in Hicks team counted
as foul.
The value of these aquatic sports as a
means of developing the capacities of a
maritime nation like ours, is inestima-