The Washington herald., 1908-09-03
.DASHING KNIGHTS
ATTEND BARBECUE
Butchers Union Holds Tour
nament at Benning.
GROWING OF QUEEN FEATURE
Thousands of Spectators See Thomas
Head. Knight of MunsOn Hill,
John Mercer, Knight of Mount
Pleasant, Captures Gold Medal.

Knights bold and dashing engaged in a
/ spirited contest for the right TO crown
+ lady queen" at the annual barbecue and
tournament given by the Butchers Union
at Benniug yesterday
Ten thousand persons saw Thomas
Head. knight Of MUnson HILL. triumph
ever twenty-five other intrepid knights
and crown a queen in the pavilion at
sunset
Even greater than Mr.. Heads triumph
was that Of John Mercer. Knight Of
Mount Pleasant" who. by skiIlful riding
/ and faultless fitting, captured a gold
medal and became the champion Of all
tournament knights In the District Of
Columbia. Virginia, and Maryland. Mr..
Mercer. veteran tournament rider. com
peted against fourteen other fearless and
reckless knights. all OF whom had won
first prizes and crowned a queen at some
previous uIung contest this season.
Successful Barbecue.
The barbecue was the most successful
ever given by the butchers. and the com
mittee on arrangements was showereo
with compliments. Every one enjoyed
himself 70 the "fuu." and the hilarity
was unprecedented Il was midnight and
after before the joyous and exuberant
throng quilted the race track and reluc-
family returned to the city.
Ten young beeves slaughtered early yes
terday morning were roasted on the huge
open fires in the center Of the race track
Two OF the carcasses were fastened over
stout iron bars. which were kept revolv-
Ing over glowing and spUttering fire
The others were cut into quarters and
roasted in a similar fashion
From . o'clock in the afternoon until
vel Into The night thousands Of men.
women. and children trooped past the
roasting irons. and were given as much
piping hot fresh meat as they could eat
There were several miniature mountains
ot the yard-l0ng lOaves Of bread. All Of
the stan OF life" was not consumed. and
many women carried l0aves Of bread
away as Souvenirs while the men folk
used them as walking sticks
Athletic events were held shortly after
the barbecue began The fat mems race
excited the greatest interest Ten cor
pulent contestants t0cd the scratch and
raced 111 yards. In heartbreak king IN
lsn J. B. o 'SlaugLressy. Of Virginia won
the race and the SO prize. a t5ree-leg-
ged race, potato race. wOmen's race. and
c1.l1Te1 s race followed Al were closely
contested and interesting.
A baseball game between the strong
Center Market aggregation and a picked
team composed Of The best bail tosse-s
in al the smaller markets drew a large
crowd 20 the diamond. Chapel. who
'IObbed EN- uq" for the Center Market
team. had better control and more curves
than Sherwood. who did the honors for
the picked nine. and won haadily by q
score OF i 70 .
Money Changes Hands.
Universal interest was manifested in
the tournament, and it is said that sew
eral thousand dollars put Up by admirers
OF the twenty-five knights changed hands
before the -iIuuE was concluded. A re-
markahie feature Of the tournament was
that VIII Heron. who wears a gold and
be5eUeIed belt for the championship hon
ors, won az BenninE two years ago. did
not finish in the money yesterday.
All Of the knights who met n the tour
nausnt had -estsd steel with one an
other on many various occasions. and
each was on his uet-le and eager for the
fray Two hours or more elapsed before
the final decision Of the judges was rem
dereL
Thomas Head Won the first prize. 81.
with De sales Langley. 7. p. Love. and
Lucisn Love finishing IL The order named
Trs judges OF the tournament were
Capt J. T Davis. W A Thompson. and
T. II Hendricks. all Of whom have
judged probably 5l1 tournaments.
Although there were only fifteen con
testarts in the championship tournament
IL was Lotly fought. and not decided untE
J : B-anford missed one ring on the
final tilt 10 break the tie existing be-
tween him and Ar Mercer Tied for first
houors after a dozen rides. Mercer and
Blanford nerved themselves up fo- a
Eruel-nE contest. and time after time
speared all three Of the oue-ha!f inch
rings suspended from the arches On the
deciding ride however. B-anford missed
the ring, While his rival finished with
perfect score The judges declared Nj
Mercer champion knight.
An orchestra furnished music for the
DANCE. Shortly after the dance began
the couples performing the colonial dance
stopped 10 witness the crow1ing of the
queen and hear the Grafton OF the day.
Committee in Charge.
- The committee on arrangements was
composed Of E T Woody, chairman: J
E Donovan. Charles E Kengla, John
Reynolds. George Hunt. John Lynch.
Frederick F Sheele. and John D. DonO-
van Mr. Sheele had charge Of the roast
lng Of the beeves and the distribution Of
the tOOthsOue meat
While walking in the rear Of the shoot
ing gallery. near the paddock Of the race
track. Edward Ceser Of 1873 Thirty
fourth street northwest, was accidentally
struck in the back by a shot from a rife
IN the hands Of an amateur marksman-
The injury ls not serious. He was re-
moved 20 she Casualty Hospital. where
the BAN was extracted. Later he went
home
Raymond Leizear. Of Rockville. Nd.
was stricken i'll and removed TO SibIey
Hospital After receiving minor treat
ment he was able to proceed on his way.