The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 19, 1901, Page 4

J1SCO CALL, FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1901 STRECKER BEATS BEST RECORDS “THE KING IS here or anywhere. OF WORLD’S DEAD; LONG LIVE THE KING” AIL! HAIL! The king has come.” This was heard on every side yesterday at Shell Mound as Adolph Streck- er passed in and out of the shooting boxes. | yested with authority nor king by right he is the man of the hour on the Shell Mound ranges. bits everything that has ever been done on the point target Of course there is a possibility that some greater shooter may be developed before the Third National Bundes Festival is a thing of the past, but there are no men in Shell Mound these days with aliking for the short end of three to one bets that he will not be produced. 304 points stands by itself and will make him famousthrough- ! out the land and in the country across the water where native Germans shoot as if it were their religion. King Hayes is not yet dead, but his shooting life blood is oozing out of his veins 'ever_\' minute. His body is not yet cold, but the populace is shouting “King Hayes is dead! Long live King Strecker.” Not yet His scores shattered into Strecker’s score of - Peerless California Marksman Completes a Score Which None ‘Dare Hope to Equal and T +* Which May Make Him the Honored King \ GREATEST RIFLEMEN LESS OF CONVIVIALITY ‘ AND MORE INTENSE WORK | HE contest for final honors on the ranges i1s narrowing down. It is no longer the East against the West, for the West is capturing prize after prize in unremitting fashion. With the kingship practically settled and imposed, the inter- est has switched from that point to target. the honorary In the glass cases the fietce rifle battles from which no casual- | ties result will furnish the sport for spectators and participants. | Good shooting is so common at Shell Mound that even extra- | ordinary scores go for nothing. Only the miraculous is of any consequence. viviality ‘is being postponed until the These men, local and Easterners, are showing what it is to have hairbreadth sights and iron nerves. There is | a feverish, nervous atmosphere in the shooting section, and con- close of the festival. From now on it will be bitter, crackling, fire-splitting business. | N the fifth day of the Schuetzen- | fest a new claimant of regal | honors gave signal proof of ‘his prowess at the range, and there | are none who have the hardi- | hood to deny him the crov\'n.‘ Adolph Strecker, a Californian, a San | Franciscan, has broken all records at the king target and he will be “Schuetzen | Koenig” of the Third National Bundes- | fest, unless by miraculous marksmanship | some other contestant snatches the honor | from him. | It = not at every shooting festival that a worid’s record is broken. Never before has a Californian proved himself to be the premier marksman of the world, and Californians were not slow to recognize the worth of the man whose steadiness of nerve and muscle and keenness of eye | eclipsed the greatest feats of the sharp- | shooters of all ages. The Eastern crack- | shots bend the knee to him and join in | the acclaim which greets the new shoot- sng king wherever he appears. For while Strecker is still uncrowned there is scarcely a chance that any one will sur- pass his record and take the honors of the tournament from him. Strecker completed his 200 shots at the | king target at 9:3) a. m. yesterday. His total of points scored was 3%—so far be- | yond previous achievements that all| marksmen chgracterize his shooting as | marvelous. European records are left far | behind and so high a mark is set by the California rifieman that experts sav it | will not be excelled within fifty vears. Willlam Hayes of Newark won the title of shooting king fn 1838 by a total of 373 me fewer than Strecker ement which he com- pleted And Hayes' shooting | was hailed as the greatest the world had seen. Three years prior to that, in the first national Schuetzenfest, F. C. Ross won kingly honors by a total of 371 RED-LETTER DAY FOR CALIFORNIA MARKSMEN Not even under less strenuous condi- L e CAPTAI BITHA DES N BHTIL Kitchener Reports the Killing of Three Boer Officers. L SR LONDON, July 18—Lord Kitchener, commanding the British forces in South Africa, reports to the War Office as fol- lows: “ELANDSFONTEIN, July 18—Captain Charles Botha, son of Philip _Bouu, and ! tions, with less in honor and prizes at stake and less of excitement to unnerve the contestant, has Strecker's feat ever been approached. It wa. great day at Shell Mound Park, and it will live always in the memory of the marksmen who were so fortunate as to be present. More than the usual num- ber of sharpshooters were present, and as Strecker drew nearer to the two hun- dredth shot every one of them gave over marksman scored after the other. And when the last shot had been fired and the full import of it all dawned upon Strecker’s local admirers and the visitors from the Bast, the ranges rang with and the crowd gave way to wild sm such as had never before been at a Schuetzenfest in the New World. For the remainder of the day there was but oast, “Zum neuen Schuetzen Ko and that was drank numberless tim he rarest of Rhine wines and the st of champagnes. The re- mainder of the day was a celebration— for all but the marksmen who kept dog- gedly to their work. With hope low in theis breasts, but with grim determination they did their best, though the crown of the shooting king seemed no longer among things attainable. Strecker began shooting at half past 8 o'clock. He had already fired 160 shots of his 200, and was only six points below the “bullseye average,” as marksmen put it. | He had slept but three hours, so great was the nervous strain upon him, and he began the day with the fear that his | nerve would fail him. But he warmed up to the work and soon he was oblivious of all surroundings and as calm and steady of nerve as if it were only practice shoot- ing. He shot steadily and rapidly, and within less than an hour he started upon his last ten shots. He scored seven bulls- eves in succession, and then something happened. “The strain became unbearable,” said Strecker afterwards, ’and from pure nerv- ousness I saw the bead of my rifle double. I knew I ought to wait, but I had to make an end of the agony. So I picked one of the beads and fired. A miss—I had picked the phantom bead, and the bullet went wide of the black.” But the error served to the steady Field Cornets Humann and Oliver have been killed in the Orange River Colony.” The War Office issued late to-night a dispatch from Lord Kitchener giving the correspondence between Mf. Reitz and r. Steyn that was captured with the latter’s baggage near Lindley, July 11 Mr. Reitz, under date of May 10, wrote Mr. Steyn that a_meeting of the Trans- vaal Government had been held, attended by General Botha, General Viljoen and Mr. Smutz, to consider the national situa- tion. He went on to catalogue the diffi- culties—the numerous surrenders of bur- ghers entailing a heavy responsibility on the Government, the rapidly decreasing supply of ammunition, the disintegration of the Government and the lack of any aeflnlle assurances of European interven- on. “In view of these facts,” he said, “the Government has decided to address a message to President Kruger, pointing out the terrible conditions. The time has passed for us to let matters remain as at present. We must take a final step.” Mr. Steyn, replying May 20, upbraids Mr. Reitz with weak-heartedness, saying: “Thera is still sufficilent ammunition to continue the struggle. You ask what marksman's nerve and he followed with two bullseyes for his last two shots. Then pandemonium broke loose and stayed at large for the day. BUT THREE BULLETS MISS TARGET’S “BLACK.” Of Strecker’s 200 shots, 146 were within three inches of the center, or ‘“needle point,” of the target. Of this 146, sixty- one were within one and a half inches of “reedle polnt”; fifty-one more bullets struck within six inches of the center. The three shots that went wild, so far as results were concerned, struck within half an inch of the “black,” or within six and a half inches of the center. “I am glad,” Strecker said afterward, “that I was able to do so much to dem- onstrate the prowess of California marks- men. If it be my fortune to win the hon- ored title of shooting king I would not surrender it for a present of the finest hcme on Asbury Heights. I am a poor man, but money would not tempt me to part'with the honor,” “Strecker is king,” F. C. Ross, king of the first National Schuetzenfest and a royal good fellow, said. *“No one expects | his wonderful score to be beaten. It was | a great exhibition, and none of the East- | ern cracks hope now to win the crown. American marksmen lead the world, and Californians lead America. The conditions | are right for it here. Your atmospherc | is superb for shooting. Opportunities for practice here are most favorable also. You have an open Sunday, and men of moderate means are able to go to the ranges on that day. In consequence you | have ten active marksmen to our one, theugh our Schuetzen clubs have a much larger membership. Again, we have to shoot_through *port holes” located thirty | feet from the targets. These port holes | are about six inches wide by twenty inches high. The object of this arrange- ment is to prevent stray bullets doing damage in adjacent houses. Here your shooting ranges are remote and the tar- get is open, affording better practice. But, however _attained, results count, and Strecker has done a wonderful thing.” MOST WONDERFUL FEAT OF ALL COMPETITIONS “Those who watched Strecker's shoot- prospect there is for a successful termin- atlon. I ask what chance was there for two small republics when they declared war against the mighty power of Great Britain? You will answer that we trusted in God and in foreign intervention. What reason is there now to place lass trust in God? “I have seen recent European newspa- pers and 1 firmly believe that complica- tions will occur in Europe in the course of a few months which will secure our good fortune.” Mr. Steyn also_says the fact that Mr. Kruger and the Boer delegates remain in Europe convinces him that they consider the case not beyond hope. He adds that he has summoned General Dewet and urges Mr. Reitz to take no steps until he has heard further from him. JOHANNESBURG, July 18—In the course of an inquiry conducted under oath here to-day various non-commissioned of- ficers and men of the British army con- firmed the statement that the Boers shot the British wounded at Vlakfontein. Physiclans sometimes enable men to gostpone the payment of the debt of na- ure. < ¥ . 7 L ~ o THE CALIFORNTA MARKSMAN WHO BROKE THE WORLD'S RECORD YESTERDAY. - of ing,” H. M. Pope sald, “‘saw the most re- markable shooting of any tournament. It was wonderful, superb, and the rifle with five little holes in the end of the barrel showed itself to be about right.” “That record will stand for years,” Cap- tain F. A. Kuhls, president of the Na- tional Schuetzen Bund, said. ‘“This is a proud day for us. The Third National Schuetzenfest wiil live in history because of Strecker’'s remarkable scores.”” Charles Zinkand offered to bet $100 even that no other marksmen would score within 20 points of the mark set by Strecker. Adolph Strecker first came into promi- nence as a marksman in 1574 at Baltimore, when he was but 22 years old. In six days’ shooting at a four-inch target he made the most bullseyes and was_proclaimed king of -American_riflemen. is nearest competitor was William® Hayes of New- ark, then 27 years old, who won the title of king three years ago at New York, and who is. here shooting at the Shell Mound ranges_in defense of that title. Strecker and Hayes met again in New York in 1835 at the first National Bundes- EOWIN HAWLEY 300N T0 RESIGN Will Sever Connection With the Southern Pacific. L e e Speclal Dispatch to The Call NEW YORK, July 18—It was reported in well informed quarters to-day that Ed- win Hawley, assistant traffic manager and director of the Southern Pacific Rall- fest, but Fred C. Ross won the honors of the festival. Tn 1847 Strecker won first prize at the man target, sforing 97 out of a possible 100, and a week later he repeat- ed the performance in New York. Strecker has won numerous honors at tournaments all over the country and has been king of the California Schuetzen Club mcre than fifteen times. He consid- ers his very best performance was achleved at San Rafael ten years ago, Wwhen he fired 235 shots without missing a 12-inch “black.” His score of points, how- ever, was much less than that of his latest feat. MANY PEOPLE ENJOY INTERNATIONAL DAY Yesterday was International day. Hon. Adolph Rosenthal, Consul General of the German empire, and Consuls of other na- tions visited the park and range. They were received by President Kuhls and the officers of the National Bund. Fifteen members of the Colorado dele- gation were the guests of President Kuhls at lunch yesterday. Captain Kuhls, on behalf of the federation, bade the Colo- radoans a hearty welcome and praised them for sending so numerous a delega- tion and for their good shooting. Re- sponses were made by C. J. Barnes of Rifle, M. Jacobson of Denver, W. W. Yea- ger of Pueblo. M. C. Ramsey of Grand Junction and J. C. Hudelson of Trinidad. The Coloradoans shoot well and will cap- ture some valuable prizes. Emil Bergman of Hoboken, N. Y., scored 77 on the man target yesterday, wl;xlch will entftle him to one of the top prizes. KING HAYES SHOOTS BUT MAKES SMALL SCORE King Hayes shot a number of rounds at the various targets yesterday, but failed to make a score in keeping with his rec- ord. He has not been able to round into form during .this festival, and in no in- stance did he make a score that would entitle him to a piace among the top- notchers against whom he was pitted. His best score yesterday was 19, 25, 18, on the honorary target. He was beaten by four points by President Kuhls of the road, will sever his connection, with the road, with which he has been connected so long, and that he will soon assume active direction of the affairs of the Min- neapolis and St. Louis and the Iowa Cen- tral. Both these roads have now their main offices located in the same suite of rooms in.the Broad Exchange building, and an adjoining office is now being fitted wp for Mr. Hawley and one for H. E. untinzton. It was said to-day that Mr. Hawley’s resignation was to be tendered at the meeting of the Southern Pacific directors held to-day, but Chairman Tweed said that this report was incorrect. At the office of the Iowa Central it was said that Mr. Hawley’s friends believed he would soon sever his connection with the South- ern Pacific to devote his entire time to the duties of president of the Minneapolis and St. Louis, a position he has held for several years. Philippine Troops Assigned. WASHINGTON, July 18.—Orders issued by the War Department assign the Twen- ty-ninth and Thirtleth companies, Arm-‘[ lery Corps, to the Department of Califor- ;Iational Shooting Bund, who scored 22, SILVER CUPS PRESENTED TO POPULAR MARKSMEN One of the prettiest features of the day was the presentation of a festival cup to Edward Goetze by President Kuhls. The presentation was made in the-presence of a number of friends of the popular lieu- tenant. A neat little speech was made by President Kuhls as he handed the silver token to the marksman who had won it by scoring more than 300 points. It was filled immediately with foaming, sparkling wine and passed to the friends of the win- ner of the cup. It was filled and emptied several times before it was given back to the marksman whose skill had enabled him to thus add a pretty touch of senti- ment to the schuetzen festival. Fred Bushnell also won a cup yesterday at_the butts. He scored more than 300 points on the standard target and was presented with one of the handsome silver goblets. p Al Lehrke, 'who has been one of the steady shooters since the opening of the fest, made the last bullseye of the da While he has not made a brilliant score, his shooting has given him rank among those who are called ‘“‘cracks.” The best shot on the bear target yes- teurday was made by C. Leighton of Los Angeles. He scored 12 out of a possible 18 points. BELKNAP AND RODGERS TIE ON PUBLIC TARGET F. W. Belknap of Los Angeles shot 74 on the public point target yesterday, and for a time was looked upon as one of the big winners of the festival. His score of 24—25—25 out of a possible 75 was an ex- ceptionally good one, and few of marksmen filgured that it would be equaled. Congratulations were showered upon him, an of Rhine wine on the strength of his shooting. It was while helping several friends to' dispose of a few quarts of the | German exhilarator that he received word that his score had been tied by Dr. L. O. Rodgers of the Golden Gate Rifle and Pistol Club. Dr. Rodgers and Belk- nap were close friends, and the news that he had been removed from the sharp- shooters’ throne by Dr. Rodgers gave nia and the Thirty-second and Thirty- third companies to the Department of the Columbia. These troops have just arrived at San Francisco on the Indiana from service in the Philippines. . PIERRE LORILLARD’S WILL ADMITTED TO PROBATE Bulk of the Large Bstate Is Left in Trust and Is Not to Be Divided. TRENTON, N. J., July 18.—The will of the late Pierre Lorillard was submitted to probate to-day by Chancellor Magie with- out opposition. Mr. Lorillard’s stock farm in Burlington County, New Jersey, to- gether with the livestock there and the horses training in England and elsewhere, goes to “Lillian M. Barnes, also known as Lillien Alliene,” who also receives the car- riages, furniture, bricsa-brac, etc., of the establishment. The rest of the estate is left in trust and is not to be divided until after the death of the ‘three children of the testator, Pierre Lorillard Jr., Mrs. T. Suffern Taylor and Mrs. William Kent. the | Belknap, Los Angeles, 7 he opened several bottles | B R R him no displeasure. He relinquished his seat of honor to Dr. Rodgers in a courtly manner, and wished the genial medico all success in the trial for supremacy which' the tied score necessitated. The best scores on the honerary target Marquis, wig Siebe, The following won prizes yesterday First bullseye, F. P. Shuster; last bulls- eye. A. Lehrke. Silver cup—H. H. H. 1 M. Pope, Massachuset: skotter, Cinei Sp K Cincinnati: W. H. French, Colorado: A Marquis, Los Angeles: C. A. Leighton, Los Angeles; George Keffel, n Jose; F. P Schuster, San Francisco. Gold_ medal ‘Wisconsi Emil Berg, Da . Gu New York: T. J. L J. Meyer, S San Diego | Angeles; Herman | Laughlin, W. E. Doell | Wicker, H. Hellberg, G | Beeckman, K. Wertheim Francisco. Silver medals—0O. Bermeister, Adolph Strecker, Major Falkenburg, John Brug- ger, J. Enge, C. A. Scharfer, J. Hudel Carl Gut, L. Thierbach, L. Vogel, P. R. Schumacher, A. L. Ott, C. Ott, F. P. Schuster, F. W. Belknap, H. Eckhard, T. Binner. W. Straub, H. T Schumacher, W. Hasenzahl, M. Gindele, F.,Kuhls. H. Hinkel, F. H. Bangs, C. J. Barnes, A. W. LehrKe, S. Grounstine. Highest scores for the day on the dif- ferent targets: Man target—E. Berk- mann, New York, 77. Ring target—Dr. Lee | O Rodgers, San' Francisco, #; F. W. Standard tar- et—L. P. Stell, 7. Bear tar- fEet, C: A Leighton. Los Sngeles, 12 ¢ ‘day, and will be de- | voted to receiving the ladies who accom- | pany the visiting sharpshoc from all paris of the Union. Qquet to the representatives of the press. In the afternoon a concert will be given by Ritzau’s American ladies’ orchestra, and a dance will be had in_the pavilion. In the evening a ball and fireworks will be had, and the park will be illuminated. An annuity of $50,000 is left to Mrs. Plerre Lorillard, the widow. Provision is next made for the two sons of Plerre Lorillard Jr—Pierre Lorillard III and Griswold | Lorillard—to whom is given one-fifth of the entire estate. No statement was made as to the value of the estate, but it is geg;)ral'y understood to be in excess of 000, Young Woman Commits Suicide. YUBA CITY, July 18—Martha Hart, a woman 21 years old, committed suicids early this morning by drinking carbolic acid. She was an orphan and had been despondent for several days ———— Two Day Excursions tc Palo Alto, San Jose, Del Monte, Monterey and Pacific Grove. Leave Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Fri- day next week. Round trip, Epworth Leaguers and friends, $8.50, Including ho- tels and Seventeen-mile Drive at Del Monte. Southern Pacific offices, 613 Mar- ket street, Third and Townsend streets, Valencia street and Mechanics’ Pavilion.