The San Francisco call., 1910-11-13

Blue Slide rush" would be strictly
adhered to.
The mode of procedure as regards
the long looked for contest and the
rules for the same were as follows:
After the boys were assembled at the
foot OF the "sIide" and had listened to
an address by the judge of the contest,
each side was to go into open meeting
for the purpose of electing one Of their
number as their leader.
Here each boy was to draw slip Of
paper from hat If 1t contained a
number he was to take part. II it were
blank, he was barred. The numbers
ranged from 1 to so, which was the
number that each side was to be com
posed OF In order to have the odds as
evenly divided as possible. barring any
difference in weight No boy over 20
years of age was eligible to take part
Time was to be called at p. m. sharp,
and there was to be no fighting with
fists or kicking. Also no rough talk
ing would be tolerated The contest
was to be fought with the same good
nature that marked the contest held
between colleges or schools in any ath-
letic sports To accomplish the defeat
of an opponent was to tie him hand and
foot and carry him from the field
where he was to be left until after
the struggle was over. The team that
tied up all the opposing side first would
be the victorious one. space had
been set apart 100 yards on each side
of the slide for the boys to meet in.
The east side was marked by two red
flags and the west by two blue ones.
When Simon Ray stood up to make his
address It pleased him much to look
over the bright eager faces of the boys,
and he showed it In his kindly greet
ing to them.
When he closed there came a burst
of applause with shouts OF Three
cheers for Simon Ray" Three cheers
for our good friend" Three cheers for
the blue Slide" and last but not least,
Three cheers for the Red Cross
nurses"
The last of the cheers caused q lit
tie pleasurable flutter among the fair
maidens, who certainly looked very
pretty and pink and anything but red
and cross, as Beetles remarked gall
lantly.
The boys then voted for their lead
ers The Ruckford boys selected Beetles
TO lead them, and the Yarrow boys
chose Mark Thorpe. The girls all
clapped their hands and waved their
delight and approval Then the girls
appointed for the pleasant task deco
rated the young contestants each with
rose, the RuclSford boys received red
roses and those Of Yarrow yellow ones.
With one accord the girls sang out
merrily the first of their songs, which
had been practiced for the occasion.
"F'unicuIi, funiculaw went the sweet
chorus of voices.
The boys next drew the papers from
Simon Rays tall hat Those that drew
n 40 "a fri xxttf \
some even successfully stood on their
heads. Those that drew blanks were
banker still. Several of the smaller
boys meeting this latter fate could not
keep the tears back. they were so dis
appointed. At last the SO boys from each
places on the side Of the Blue Slide as
signed to them. Mark commanded
the west side and Beetles the east The
boys were so anxious to begin that their
leaders could scarcely restrain them
from jumping into the fray. The girls
were almost as excited as the boys and
they cheered them again and again At
quarter to two the town bands struck
up "The Star Spangled Banner" and
after that America" With the music,
the singing OF the girls and the cheer
ing that sandwiched in everything, the
blue and red jacketed contestants felt
as proud as young knights at a joust-
ing. Fire crackers snapped and
cracked and torpedo canes fairly rat
tied with their incessant noise. At
p. m. sharp the signal was given by
Simon Ray to begin the combat by
firing pistol. Bang! The boys sprang
toward each other. Each boy carried
two ropes about four feet long and
some waved them above their heads
and shouted their war criest and slo-
gans before diving for an opponent.
For moment they looked like small
editions OF Remington's cowboys with
their raised lariats. 1t was no gentle
jousting! Some of the wiser boys
tucked their ropes securely into their
belts so that their arms would be free
to protect themselves to better advan-
tage.
Splinters was the first to reach the
slide. So inl emit was he in keenine