The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-09-18
AMERICANS PUT ON
BIC PERFORMANCE
Railway Engineers from United States
Were Recent Guests of British Troops
Encamped at AldershOt.

American Engineers Training Camp
in England Sept, is correspondence OF
The Associated Pressl.--A large delega.
ton Of the American Railway Engineers
spent a day recently ms guests of the
British troops encamped at Aldershot,
where the king and queen with other
members of the regal family We're pres
ent at the targets program Of field sports
that has ever been held on Salisbury
plain.
The Americans brought with them n
tug g-of.war team, which provided one of
the features Of the afternoon in long,
drawn contest with the championship
team of the British engineers, The result
being finally declared draw
The big fete was arranged by the
British garrison al Aldershot as cele-
bration of the bringing in of its harvest.
For months past men of all ranks and
regiments in the garrison have been
practicing, in addition TO their military
duties, the patriotism that seeks to de-
feat the enemy by providing the nations
with home grown food. Turf that had
never before known the ploughshare was
ploughed and sown, and men who had
never learned the first rudiments of
farming toiled strenuously in their spare
hours under the guidance of their more
skillful comrades The result exceeded
all efforts. The Aldershot harvest was
so bountiful that men and officials ST.
agreed that great har.
vest festival was eminently the thing,
and that nothing would satisfy them
short of the attendance of the king and
queen.
The king. who knows a thing or two
about farming himself. accepted the in
and committee of arrange
ments representing every unit in the
district began work forthwith on a suit
abel program The center of the days |
was huge tent with tables
aden with samples of the Aldershot
harvest. There were fruits, vegetables,
rain, shrubs. and roots of various kinds
The royal party motored down from
arriving early in the afternoon
md remaining for three hours.
The arena in front of the harvest
ent was surrounded By a great circular
grand stand composed of double line
Il ancient and modern transport wag
ms, which afforded seats for the soldiers
nd their friends For sixpense, the gate
money all going to local war charities
he American visitors found they could
ave their choice of number of desir-
BILE positions, either in the drivers seats
t big army lorries or on benches along
ide friendly delegations of British tom
nes and non-commissioned officers.
Ii was like a many-ringed circus. ,
While the field sports were in progress
n the ground, there was continuous !
erformance of high-diving, somersault. Z
ig. trapezing, and all varieties of aero. /
aties by a squadron of British airplsne I
zen up aloft. Relay races and tugs-of /
ar were the most popular items ON the /
rogram, but there were many unusual q
nd very spectacular types of field
ports, such as mounted wrestling | +
,mpetition, in which both horses and /
zen took part in an exciting struggle. :
le team from the royal engineers final v
defeating the army service corps on n
1ints.
There was also 'Victoria cross" race, b
the methods by which mount n
men rescue comrades in the actual Il
thting of to-day. This was followed t,
z mimic exhibitions of bayonet fight j,
&, and a blindfold drill competition. in Q
hich blindfolded non commissioned of {,
'ers of various units Wed with each a
her in putting their blindfolded de-
chments through the complex move o
ents Of open field drill. Il
n Afnn MI ln q
d baby show, in which Mrs. Cor Al
raj Tootle's twin boys secured an easy c.
ctory. The first prize medal was 81
nded to them by the queen. ci
Outside the circle of army wagons ii
IRE the side-shows, including a comic
II fight, which the king declared the in
st thing of its kind which he had ever 81
en-. re