The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-08-16

defeated their visitors from Oahu last
Thursday The officials announced that
the visitors had made a safety at the
end of the last period which took one
quarter of a point from their score,
after the message had already been
sent to the Advertiser and too late for
correction, as the wireless Office had
closed.
Tt sounds like an awful beating, and
vet, without being guilty of mere ex-
cuse- making, it may truly be said that
the score gives no idea of the great
game put up by the Honolulu players.
With the ground soaked by the driv-
ing rain, saddles slippery and clubs that
slid off the greasy ball, it is wonder
how the ponies kept their feet and
the riders their seats. But every one
of those players was a horseman, and
the ponies. with the marvellous instinct
of their kind, realized the danger of
the slippery ground and, even in the
excitement of the game, stopped, turn
ed and started off again a Thousand
times without one of them falling.
It was polo-rea1, live. hard and
courageous polo. The kind you read
of in novels about India, where the
hero, ga Whitehead centaur, swept
swiftly down the field, while ever be-
fore him the flying spot of white,
driven by unerring strokes of his cir
cling club, sped onward to the goal. -
But in this game they were all play
ers of that heroic description and, while
courage and GOODNESS were dominant
characteristics of all the players, it
was the Maui men who had-the practise
and team work necessary to give the
one touch of superiority. -
As matter of fact it was not SO
much team work that won the game as
individual practise. The Maui players
were sure in their hitting and the Ca
huans were not sure. MANY and many
a time Single or Castle would break
away with the ball ard seemed sure
for a run down the field and score,
while their team mates were doing as
fine riding off work as was ever seen
on a polo field, but the run would
nearly always end in a disastrous foozle
and the ball would go back into Oahu
territory.
FOUR BALDWINS ON FIELD.
One of the most interested of the
spectators was H. P. Baldwin. He had
good reason to be interested for he
had four sons on the field. Two were
playing for Maui, one was playing for
Oahu and another was umpiring the
game.
David Fleming. surnamed "The De-
mon'' for Polo purposes, was playing
number Four so that, although he did
some scoring on his own account, the
brunt of this work was left to Numbers
One and Two. Sam Baldwin and Krum
bhaar. Frank Baldwin at Three played
a magnificent follow-up game and not
IL f,.A
kept behind in the rushes and sent the
bali forward again with a hard swing
in several cases when Krumbaah or
Sam had missed their stroke.
Harold Castle played a very note.
worthy game. viii Baldwin was TAX
ing good care of Fleming and doing
excellent riding off and this gave Castle
many opportunities of which he took
advantage. only to be stopped by miss.
ing the ball when he was right in front
of the enemies goal.
Single was energy personifed. Not
once did he do the White Knight act
but kept his seat and turned and twist.
ed his pony with never firing energy
through the ruck of the mix-ups. Only
once was there chance to look for
Alice through the Looking Glass and
that was when the ball came close to
the boards in front of the grandstand.
Single s pony took umbrage at the OBJ
.struetion and stopped trifle sudden
Nv. but strong arms encircled the ami
mails neck and visions of white and
black knights, lions and unicorns and
all the other characters in the dream
story, disappeared as Shingle CALAMITY
Strengthened himself in the saddle ana
crossed the barrier onto the field Of
play again.
MAUI SCORES FIRST.
When the umpire blew the whistle
for the game to begin and threw the
bali into the center of the field Sam
Baldwin cleared back to Krumbaah
who eireled to the left and broke away.
He was stopped before he had gone
very far and Castle relieved the sit
nation with q run that took the bali
into Maui territory. Then il was that
Fleming came up with full speed ahead
and his club swung we'll for a hit. He
took the ball away from Castle and
shouted to the others to ride off for him.
They did ride off aud Fleming careered
down the field with a succession OF
clean and straight whacks at the bali
that brought loud cheers from the spec
tators. His clever rush through the
field finished with goal and then they
changed ends.
Castle looked like business in the
next part of this period for he got
away soon after the throw in and clear
ed The field but Fleming stopped his
rush. Not for long. however. far Single
came mp and met the ball NJ full gallon.
sending on TO Castle a@ain. Fleming had
r'>swung wide and could not get close
enough to save with a back stroke and
Castle went by him and down the field,
placing the bah neatly between the
POSTS for the first goal for Oahu. tying
the score Then the Oahu rooters stood
MP and the rain stopped at the souno
of the cheering.
BY this time the field was getting
hastily slippery and it looked as though
a bad fall would happen at any min
ute But both sides rode as they had
never done before and kept their ponies
upright more by eonsummate horseman-