The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-09-12
NATIONAL GUARDSMEN
RETURN FROM CAMP PERRY
The Best Shooting Was Done at Long Range
Sgt Barry Saves Engineers Life
After Train Accident

The boys of the rifle team of the
National Guard of Hawaii are back
again from Camp Perry, arriving yes
terday morning on the Alameda. They
all express themselves as delighted
: with their trip and state that they had
a fine time from the minute they left
Honolulu till they were welcomed
ashore yesterday morning.
1t is true that the steamer Alameda
IS in debt to some of them for meals,
in fact Sergeant Barry states positive
ay that the steamship company is TWEEN
ty-eight meals ahead of him, eighteen
on the way up and nine on the return
trip. In spite of this they had very
good time on board as soon as they
found their sea legs and it was not
long before their famous sextet got
busy.
Six of the rifle shooters are clever
musicians, Captain Coster, Lieutenant
Evans, Sergeant stSpider'' Evans,
Sergeant "Dudie'' Lemon, Sergeant
VIII Chillingworth and Sergeant Hop
kins. With the aid of one ukulele, two
mandolins and one guitar and the
ships piano these six got together and
made music of the Hawaiian variety
TO the intense delight of the other pas
sengers.
1t was not only aboard ship that
they made hit but all the-way from
San Francisco to Camp Perry, during
their stay in camp and on the return,
they were kept busy by audiences who
constantly elamored for more of their
delightful Hawaiian songs and tunes.
On the way from San Francisco to
Chicago the train was stalled for about
half an hour at a desert station in
Nevada. Immediately the band col
lected and dance was held in the
station house. Not only all the wo-
men from both sections of the train
but some desert bellies as well took
part and there was very merry time
until the conductor gave the unwelcome
signal for all aboard.
1t was a rough trip to San Francisco
from here and the boat was nine hours
late. Arrived IL San Francisco they
went directly to the jefferson Hotel
where they stayed two days. Finally
they boarded their special car on the
Oakland mole and started on their long
journey across the continent to the
shores of Lake Erie. /
They had a very comfortable trip of
st taken all round. Sometimes they
had a dinner on the train and some
times they did not. There was once
when they went thirteen hours without
food and were beginning to feel I'M
commonly empty when a welcome sta
tion was reached where there was a
restaurant.
They arrived in Camp Perry late in
the evening of the fourth day before
the shoot opened and few knew of their
arrival. Blanchard and Barry took
their axes and went into the woods
where they felled a tree, stripped it
and made forty-two-foot flag pole out
of it. Then they returned to camp
with their trophy, dug a hole, planted
the pole and, early in the morning,
turned out and hoisted large silk Ha.
waiian flag.
When all the other campers saw the
flag they Immediately crowded round !
TO welcome the newcomers and then
there was more work for the band and
the other National Guardsmen were so ;
taken with their music that they were
never allowed a leisure minute without
somebody shouting for music from the
Hawaiians.
The days before the shoot COM
meneed were taken up with practise at
different ranges. All of the members
of the. team carried away eighty per
cent. medals, which are given for prae-
tice work at the -hundred-yard
range.
When the first day of the shoot ar
rived and the drawing for position was
made, Captain Riley was fortunate
enough to draw number three, which
gave the team the right hand target
and thus obviated that stage fright
confusion of targets which is so liable
to steal into team of the best marks {
men in the world. At this range our
boys did very we'll and finished up in
eighteenth place.
They dropped back badly, however, {
in the skirmish shooting, and things I
looked very bad until the long range |
1000 yards was reached. Lieutenant {
Whitehead was under the weather that I
day and his place was taken by Ser
geant Sumner. 1t was a mean day I
the wind was blowing in hard, ftful /;
gusts down the range from the targets, /
and it was very bad for all but our l
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