The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-04-07
WILD RACE ALONG |. ESPLANADE DRAWS HUNDREDS ID SCENE Ben Hur Laid in Shade as Con-. pared With Last Nights
 Contestants FIRING OF SHOTS HELPS TO SWELL EXCITED CROWD Lively Times Down Town Last Night Helped to Give the Saturday
 Night RambIers Lit
 tie Excitement.

| The Ben Hur chariot race, with all its was reproduced last night on Third ave- nue In fact the esplanade was the | scene of veritable athletic meet, as no sooner was the chariot race completed than sprinting contest began. The ave- nue was crowded with Saturday night | shoppers and mashers, who fell in be- | hind the racers, shivering at the adven- | turous dashes, and rushing to see the | finish. 1 The first event was the greatest of all. It was pulled off at exactly 9:3O o'clock amid the cheers and yells of thousands. Bob Sullivan, white man, none the bet ter for a few sheets in the wind filled l the role of Messala, while Policeman l Street made an admirable Ben Hur. The l first drove beautiful roan mare, slim and swift, and his chariot was a modern easy running trap.
 Officer Street stood in a noisy wagon, | with his helmet we'll back on his head, | leaning over the dashboard, and applying | the whip to the sides of rather lean chestnut. It was spectacle well worth | remembering.
 Racers Appear on Scene. All was practically quiet except for the hummng of voices and the rumble Of street cars, when there appeared like missile fired from some great gun the mare of Sullivan. Down Eighteenth street from Fourth avenue she dashed, limbs slender. yet with impact crushing inc glorious life The driver had a negro beside him. who piled the lash mercilessly. beating the foam from the animals Hanks.
 Down they flew, burning the wind. An Athenian who happened to be coursing at the Romans right accidentally turned in, and as ill fortune would have 1t, the wheel of the Roman struck him, knocking his feet from under him. There was a crash, a scream of rage and fear. and the unfortunate John Nicholas, fruit vender. picked himself up from the street and rubbed his aching shins. As the mad racers crossed Third avenue Policeman Parker rushed to the middle of the street, pulled out his pistol and or dered Sullivan to stop. AS they whirled by the flinders flew, and Ben Hanes, the negro, yelled, "Jove with us!' Shoots to Draw the Crowd. At First avenue and Eighteenth street the driver turned his steed and returned to Third like lightning in it's groove. Thus to the first goal and round it. Police man Parker, yelling and. threatening with his gun, was of no avail, but as the chariot passed him again he fired his gun four times in succession, enough to draw the attention of the hundreds who lined the esplanade, that they might wit ness the greatest race ever pulled off in Birmingham.
 At this point it was that Ben Hur got into the game. When Officer Street came so near being run over, he rushed to the sidewalk, jumped into d wagon stand ing nearby, and the race was on in earnest.
 Down Eros, up Marsn he shouted, whrling his lash with practiced hand, and caught the well doing animal cut the like of which he had never known.
 Race Under Electric Lights.
 So on up the avenue they flew, the crowds surging in on the course, and the drivers using their every effort The electric lights shed a bright glow over the scene as the horses sped on like the wind. Slowly Street was gaining, with his galloping wagon, and soon he came within fifteen feet.
 At Twentieth street, a street car paused just in the center of the avenue, and sullivan's vehicle came to a sudden stop,
 rxrft, dows Constable Parsons rushed up, snatched Sullivan and the negro out of their chariot; Street came flashing up and the race was won.
 At least 600 people came rushing to the scene. The street was totally blocked, with men from every direction. It looked like a desperate mob, and some foolish fellow did really cry out, hang him." Followed by hundreds Policemen Fully, Street and Parker escorted their priso- ner to jail, where they found the Greek, who had been so unfortunate as to get mixed up with Sulivan's animal. His leg was badly injured.
 Njuhts Excitement Not Over.
 But the nights excitement was not over. No sooner had Constable Parsons 
 walked to Third avenue and Nineteenth street than he found two negroes en- gagged in a fisticuff. Just as he walked up one drew his gun and started to fire. but Mr. Parsons knocked the fel- low down, took his pistol from him, and covered him with 1t.
 This was too much for Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown. Turning quickly around the corner, he and his opponent showed the officer their heels and sprinted for their dear lives. ParsoD fired the pistol once. but the crowd was too thick for him to risk a second shot.
 men, as it was 10 o'clock, spectators too. the cars for home, and the athletic meet Of the Third avenue esplanade was over.
 Holding Down Trash Can.