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Extremely novel to hard-working American settlers in Le Mars and the surrounding country were the games and sports which their English neighbors introduced. "All work and no play" could hardly be expected from the large number of young Britishers who had flocked from the civilization of England to participate in the reclamation of a wild, prairie region. Amusements and pleasures as old as the race were not easily relegated to the limbo of neglect with the coming of these people to the frontier. And so the forms of excitement and friendly rivalry so characteristic of English country life for generations were naturally perpetuated in a corner of the earth where everything else was in its infancy. This rejuvenating element must have gone far to mitigate the tedium of existence among strangers in a foreign land.
First of the contests which marked the Englishman's love for thrills was a fight between cocks representing Ireland and England, the former winning: the affair promised to be a regular fixture on Saturdays when country folk commonly journeyed to town. (230) Coaching or tally-ho riding, too, became a feature of outdoor life among these people. A four-in-hand with someone winding the horn no doubt startled the rough Yankee settlers of those days and the short newspaper notice, "Lost between Merrill and Le Mars, an English Coach Horn", must have given readers at least a vision of one phase of life in the old country. (231)
But not until a considerable number of the "sprightly young fellows" had been stationed upon the farms in all directions from Le Mars did sporting life take on the aspect of first-class importance. Early in the year 1881. the season opened with a paper chase on horseback. Announcement of the event invited Americans to participate. The start was made from Captain Moreton's farm at four o'clock in the afternoon: Fred Close and Blake as hares started east, strewing bits of finely cut paper from large bags. Ten minutes later the hounds set out on the trail to overtake and capture the leaders. Messrs. Campbell, Dacres, Dodsworth, Gaskell, Oswell, Revell, Richards, Todrich, and Walker followed the scent of the hares who "with the cunning of their tribe curved and doubled over the South side and around the Cemetery, but one of them was overhauled on the homestretch by Willie Gaskell." These paper chases, almost as exciting as fox hunts, usually occurred in the spring or fall and started from the farms of different English owners. (232)
One Thanksgiving day H. N. Waller, Cecil Benson, and A. B. Jones with their hounds sighted a magnificent buck on the banks of the Little Sioux and triumphantly. brought 'in a head of twelve points. (233) Sometimes the Le Mars wolf hounds met for an afternoon's sport in the country six or seven miles west of town; and in honor of the wedding of James B. Close and Miss Humble at Pipestone, Minnesota, the English boys of Sibley and Le Mars were reported as "coming up with a deer and some hounds" for an old-fashioned stag hunt. And it is recorded that H. M. Lord went to Wisconsin on a big bear hunt. (234)
One writer in England pictured the Le Mars colonists in a most alluring way:
Fortunately, the open-air life is a healthful one. The absence of good turf is the only thing which so far has: prevented much progress being made with cricket and football. But a man may be less pleasantly employed than in riding over the prairie through the lanes of flowers -sunflowers if he likes them! - or in herding and driving cattle in the summer months, while there is fair quail or prairie chicken shooting in the autumn, and duck or wild goose as the winter begins and ends. Nor with so large a number of fellow-countrymen within reach is it possible to lack a congenial friend in time of need. (235)
Soon after this story appeared, the national pastime of cricket was introduced to the citizens of Le Mars. Old cricketers who had been members of crack elevens back home sent their names to Fred Paley, so that a match between picked teams might be arranged. The boys practised some "down on the Broken Kettle and at Quorn, just to keep their hands in." On July 1, 1881, a cricket club was organized and the following officers elected: president, Capt. R. Moreton; vice president, F. R. Price; secretary, F. Paley; committee, J. Wakefield, F. Horsburgh, H. Hillyard, G. Maclagan, C. Benson, G. Garnett, J. Brockbank, R. Walker. A match game was played the following-day on grounds near the brick yard north of town. The event was well advertised in order that Americans, "besides being able to witness a new and manly sport, might see how keenly our English cousins enter the very spirit of the game. " (236)
In their enthusiasm for a game which in England was played in immaculate white shirts, trousers, and shoes, the English presented a sharp contrast to their American cousins in a struggle on the baseball field. Cricket matches became a frequent thing. Captain the Hon. R. Moreton's eleven several times took defeat at the hands of the Le Mars eleven. On one side appeared Preston, H. Moreton, Sutton, Dealtry, Stubbs, Captain Moreton, Johnson, Douglas, Kirwan, and Jervis and Colledge as bowlers; on the other, R. Walker, T. Oswell, Clowes, Wakefield, Brockbank, Maclagan, McPherson, H. A. Watson, J. G. Watson, and Horsburgh and Grouse as bowlers. With a baseball game and a shooting match going on while the English indulged in their favorite pastime, Le Mars must have been a very lively place on certain days. (237) A friendly encounter arranged especially for the visiting Lord Harris, a famous cricketer, had to be called off on account of extreme heat as well as rain. (238) At one time the boys from Akron and West Fork defeated the Le Mars eleven. The most interesting match, perhaps, was that between Le Mars and St. Paul. The following account of the game appeared later:
The cricket match between the Gateway team and that of St. Paul came off last Monday on the grounds of the latter club, and resulted in an easy victory for our boys. The grounds were in splendid condition, and nothing could exceed the hospitality of the home team, who had provided refreshments on the ground and an omnibus to take the visiting eleven and spectators to and from the grounds. The St. Paul men won the toss, and Messrs. Ramsey and Davidson were sent to defend the wicket against the bowling of Messrs. Horsburgh and Farquhar, with the score at 1. Ramsey was clean bowled and Davidson failed to score - in fact the only man who could do anything with the Gateway bowlers was Mr. Pardoe, who played a plucky innings for 10 and 12, the innings closed for 30. The battery of the home team was weak, and the scoring throughout small. This, no doubt, was owing to the good bowling of Messrs. Horsburgh and Farquhar. Mr. Harry Clowes' wicket keeping was beyond all praise, and the fielding of the visitors was remarkably good considering the little practice they have had this season. After an interval of ten minutes Messrs. Golightly and Payne defended the wicket for Lemars. Both gentlemen played carefully, and with the score at 22 Payne was caught. Here an adjournment was made for refreshments. After the inner man- had been refreshed Clowes succeeded Payne and showed some fine batting. Golightly was caught after playing a fruitless innings for 25. Horsburgh, Sinclair and Jervis augmented the score by 15, 18 and 10 respectively, and the innings closed with a total of 116. Messrs. Dinwoodie and Ramsey bowled well for St. Paul, and the fielding of Messrs. Pardoe and Myron was particularly noticeable.
In the second innings for St. Paul the Minnesota men were dismissed with a total of 59, the Gateway team thus winning the match by an innings and 27 runs. A dinner was given in the evening at Hurds to the visitors, Dr. Macdonald, the organizer of the St. Paul club, presiding. The boys speak in glowing terms of the kindness and hospitality shown to them while at St. Paul and hope ere long to return the compliment by receiving a visit in Lemars from the northern eleven, by whom they were so royally entertained.
Myron was captain for the St. Paul team, and Price captain for Lemars. The umpires were Vernon, Lemars, and Bethune for St. Paul. Many ladies witnessed the game. (239)
At another time a team composed of Sibley and Le Mars men beat Minneapolis, Messrs. Jervis, Dealtry, Croft, and Wakefield receiving most of the glory. That cricket was still being played in 1887 is clear from the fact that the Cricket Club's bats and balls were stolen - articles "of little or no value to anyone in this country and a robbery of this kind shows more than is common the viciousness of some of our rising citizens." (240)
If cricket science could not be appreciated by persons unfamiliar with it, horse racing was quite a different matter. The fondness of Englishmen for this sport was so great that they organized the Le Mars Jockey Club with an annual membership fee of $10 and arranged for races at least twice a year. Their June races were always widely advertised: for weeks horse talk could be heard on the streets and in hotel lobbies. The English boys or "whips" were sure to get their flyers in training early for each "grand equestrian tournament". Entries were made at the office of the secretary, Fred Paley, and the books were closed several days before the races came off. Every year, beginning in 1880, when the races were held on Captain Laing's grounds, the Le Mars Derby was one of the finest racing events in northern Iowa. (241)
In the spring of 1881 about fifty horses were said to be in training and Americans were informed that "our English sportsmen are in high feather over the approaching contest." A grand stand capable of accommodating a large audience was erected on the grounds at a cost of $1000. Excursion trains at low rates were arranged to lure visitors from St. Paul, Chicago, Omaha, and intermediate points. Some were enthusiastic enough to believe that with encouragement from the citizens of Le Mars the June races would soon bear the same relation to the West that the Rochester course did to the East. The English colonists made all the preparations for a great field day; hotel keepers anticipated the rush of business "by getting out their extra cots and looking up their surplus china"; several hundred invitations were issued to an evening dancing party to be given by the Close brothers; and the first game of cricket ever played in the Northwest was scheduled for the day after the races. Interest in the event increased with the announcement that the English had just received direct from Europe a thoroughbred racer, raised by Lord Falmouth and valued at $5,000. (242)
On the morning of June 30th the streets of Le Mars presented a circus-day appearance. "Red caps and blue caps, green caps and yellow, could be seen filing through the crowds, noise and confusion was apparent on every hand, and Le Mars looked very like a city of the first class rather than the third." Le Mars newspapers declared that the meeting would long be remembered as one of the most stirring days in the history of the city, the races were "second to none in the Union", and such a scene as people witnessed on the course could "certainly not be duplicated anywhere west of the herring pond."
The scene was pictured as "brilliant in the extreme, the throng of people, the vehicles of all kinds, the brilliant costumes of the ladies, the driving, the riding, the music, the fighting, the gambling, the drink, the mounted police, the unmounted, ditto; the jockeys, the 'let-her-roll' of the man at the wheel, (you were not forbidden to speak to this one) all made up a lively panorama that only Le Mars and the English Races can produce. You could back your fancy to any figure you pleased, and the book-makers called the odds in the most approved race-course fashion." The following account may be taken as typical of the way in which the Le Mars Derby was reported for a number of years:
Thursday, the 30th of June, was as beautiful a day as the most ardent friend of the English races could wish for. The way the crowds poured into the Gateway the night before and all forenoon of that day showed that the Lemars turf is rapidly acquiring a popularity that extends far beyond the limits of northwestern Iowa. Representatives from the St. Paul and Chicago press proved that the great metropolitan dailies regard the Lemars meeting of sufficient importance to demand their attention, and though the dispatches they furnished their respective journals were brief, they were both pointed and enthusiastic. Special trains were run on all the roads leading to Lemars, each bringing its contingent of admirers of the manly sport. From Sibley and Sheldon came about fifty or sixty, from Cherokee and intervening stations nearly a hundred, and from Sioux City not far from four hundred visitors, to witness and participate in the day's festivities.
The race course was in most excellent condition - firm as a rock, smooth as a floor and dustless as my lady's boudoir.
By one o'clock the grounds presented
An Animated Spectacle.
The grand stand, just completed the day before, and through which the cooling breeze playfully filtered, was filled to repletion with an anxious, good-natured and well-dressed assemblage. Scores of elegant turn outs were driving leisurely across and around the park. Hundreds on hundreds of men, women and children surged hither and thither. Lemonade stands, refreshment booths, and the inevitable hazard tables were surrounded by throngs anxious to slake their thirst, or make a fortune. Brilliantly costumed riders dashed hither and thither either to test the mettle of their steeds or convey important messages relating to the pending contest. The betting men, with hands filled with greenbacks, pencil and cards, added to the hubbub, by offering to wager in any conceivable way. The whole made up a panorama of life, activity and sportive energy never before seen on any race course in this region. Conspicuous everywhere was the omnipresent Englishman, to whom a horse-race is the sum total of human enjoyment. The ladies, too, English and American were present in force, their elegant toilets' adding picturesqueness to the scene, and their sparkling eyes showing how intensely they were interested in the proceedings. (243)
Fully one thousand people were said to be on the grounds when the race for the West Fork plate was called at one o'clock. This was a mile run for horses owned by English residents and ridden by English gentlemen. Of nine contenders for two prizes of $30 and $10, C. Eller's "Zoe" won first and F. B. Close's "True" won second, Grayson's "Bacchus" being third. Next came a half-mile running race of seven ponies owned by Englishmen: the first prize of $20 went to A. Ridgeway's "Fred Wilson", and the second of $5 to Mr. Grouse's "Lady Grace". The Hail Columbia Stakes called out only two steeds, the property of American citizens: "Kitchen Maid" won $50 for J. C. Kennedy and "Little Harry" $10 for W. M. Blunt. A second pony event for a prize of $25 open to Englishmen and Americans was won by the former.
The Le Mars cup race of one mile and a half over six flights of hurdles, the main event of the day, was open to all comers. In a field of seven entries the prize of $70 went easily to an American horse, "Sunbeam", ridden by Willie Gaskell, an English jockey, Langdon's "Lena" earning second money, and W. B. Close's "Petrarch ", winner of the previous year, finishing third. Farquhar's "Speculation" flew the track at the third hurdle and threw its rider without hurting him much. The victor was loudly cheered by the men who had bet against him as well as by his backers, the jockey "winning golden opinions by the choice way in which he got away".
Lovers of horseflesh were afterwards reminded of the fact that the year 1881 had proven extremely lucky for Americans: "Iroquois" won the Epsom Derby, "Foxhall" scooped the Parisian Grand Prix, and "Sunbeam" carried the day at Le Mars.
The sixth race was a trotting match between the horses of M. Blomefield and F. B. Close, the latter winning an easy first. In the International Scurry of one mile on the flat, open to all, "Kitchen Maid" triumphed with F. Paley's "Ned" second. Spectators voted the Le Mars Derby a great success: the races were put on in a masterly way and fairly conducted; "there was none of the bickering that has done so much to bring the noble sport into disrepute; everything went off smoothly and swiftly, without useless delays while judges jangled with jockeys; and losers made no outward sign of grief." Some men, of course, allowed enthusiasm to get, the better of their judgment and put up their money on the wrong horse. (244)
Horsemanship was an accomplishment of which nearly all the colonists could boast, men , and women alike. Thus, on one occasion Mrs. Fred Paley, "skilled equestrienne like nearly all English ladies", was injured while riding. It is said that the only Fourth of July feature which attracted Englishmen at Le Mars was horse racing. Also, whenever the Plymouth County Agricultural Society held its annual fair in September, they could be depended on to enter their horses: at one time Fred Close rode a race over three flights of hurdles, and despite a bad spill beat Jack Wakefield on W. B. Close's "Petrarch", Mr. Eden on J. B. Close's gray mare, and F. C. S. Dodsworth on Fred Barrow's horse. Autumn races gained almost as much popularity as the June Derby: on October 6 and 7,1881, English horses owned mostly by the Close brothers triumphed in all except the main event, the hurdle race for the House of Lord's Cup valued at $150. As Yankee horses had swept the English turf to the amazement of John Bull, so "our cousins got left last Saturday in a way they, despise." (245)
There can be little point in referring to all the semi-annual meetings of the English Jockey Club in the years that followed: newspapers faithfully lent their columns to lengthy reports of those exciting red letter days in June and October when only horses held the center of the stage for Americans and Englishmen alike. In June, 1882, the Grand International Hurdle Race of two miles over eight flights of barriers excited the most intense interest: W. Clowes's "Badger" with Jack Wakefield in the saddle beat Cecil Benson on H. Gunner's "Sportsman" in three minutes and twenty-five seconds, two other flyers having bolted before the finish. Waddilove, Payne, and W. Gladstone captured a good bit of money in later years.
Sometimes races were arranged on the spur of the moment, as when James Close beat his brother, Fred, in August, 1882; and sometimes horses were matched to run for special side bets or purses. Sometimes English horses also appeared in races elsewhere, as at the Woodbury County fair in Sioux City, Council Bluffs, or Chicago, where R. Jervis's "Nippon" won $250; and in September, 1884, they were invited by Fred B. Close to the Pipestone Jockey Club's first meeting. (246)
Although horse racing proved to be the most spectacular form of excitement from the onlooker's point of view, other sports furnished the participants an opportunity to match their physical skill and strength. The Le Mars Athletic Club was soon formed. Many times the English boys showed their prowess in athletic sports: at the county fair in 1881 they held a field tourney and track meet, each person paying fifty cents for entering an event and the winner obtaining a cup as the prize. Handicap races, as for members of the Prairie Club over thirty years of age, were popular affairs. One year later, at the October meeting of the Le Mars Jockey Club they staged another program of running and field events in which the following men took part: A. C. Colledge, D. G. Phenhallagan, J. Hope, C. L. Robertson, J. B. Close, Capt. Robinson, C. H. Golightly, F. Payne, L. H. Collins, M. Farquhar, F. S. ' Jennings, J. Black, and A. H. Paget. (247)
The game of lacrosse was also played with spirit; (248) and ice hockey must have offered a surfeit of sport during the long winter months. At Adams's rink the boys of Seney matched their wits against a team from Le Mars and won a series; and city versus country also provoked the keenest rivalry. (249) Nor were friendly encounters on the lawn tennis court neglected: cricket and tennis were played on alternate Saturdays in 1882; and five years later the Le Mars Lawn Tennis Club prepared for the tournament at Spirit Lake and planned a club house. (250)
Unfortunately no stream or body of water at or near Le Mars was adequate enough to satisfy the craving of the English for boat racing. In July, 1884, a score of English ladies and gentlemen whiled away some time at Spirit Lake which had already acquired a reputation as a summer resort. The English visitors made themselves conspicuous by appearing at dinner in full evening dress and also by putting on some exciting boat races. The Hon. R. C. Jervis beat A. C. Colledge in the single sculls; J. M. C. Walkinshaw and Jervis defeated J. Dawson and Colledge in the double sculls; and the big event in which four double sculls were entered was won by F. E. Romanes and Jervis over A. C. and A. R. Colledge, Lord Hobart and J. Dawson, and C. F. Benson and J. M. C. Walkinshaw, ladies coxing the boats. So great was A. C. Colledge's fondness for the sport that in the autumn of 1884 he returned to England to train with his old rowing club at Henley for the championship of the world. (251)
It is alleged that Fred B. Close, who came to America in 1872, was the first polo player in the United States. If that claim can not be substantiated, he it was who introduced the game at Le Mars and organized the Northwestern Polo League in 1885, other clubs being formed at Blair and Omaha, Nebraska, at Yankton and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and at Onawa, Cherokee, Sioux City, Salix, Sloan, and Council Bluffs in Iowa. The association's challenge cup was three times won by Le Mars.
Cow ponies proved themselves very adept, alert, and intelligent companions to their riders in this game; but in a match between Sioux City and Le Mars in June, 1890, there was a collision or rather an attempt by one pony to hurdle another which cut across its path, resulting in the death of the Sioux City captain, Fred B. Close. The unfortunate man had but recently returned from England with a shoulder badly bruised in hunting - with upper arm strapped to his body and only the hand free to drive, he was unable to manage his mount well enough to avoid the accident which led to his death before the eyes of Mrs. Close. Among the participants in this contest at Crescent Park, Sioux City, were Jack Watson, A. C. Colledge, G. C. Maclagan, and Count von Mueller for Le Mars and Henry Drake for Sioux City. Polo in this region lasted until the year 1898 by which time Britishers had been pretty well displaced by younger American players whom they had well tutored in this as in all other lines of sport. Thus, in the match between Le Mars and St. Louis in 1893 G. C. Maclagan's American team-mates were Ed Dalton and the Sammis brothers. (252)
Rugby football also served as an outlet for surplus energy among the English colonists. The boys at West Fork or Quorn challenged all comers in the autumn of 1881, and a big game was scheduled for November 19th. At another time Moreton's "pups", old and new, played the Le Mars club; and in connection with the races in October, 1882, a most exciting game occurred between Le Mars and a picked team from West Fork and Akron.
It was also reported that football as played by our English cousins resembled "for all the world an Arkansas rough-and-tumble free fight", and accidents were by no means uncommon. G. C. Maclagan was thrown at one time and received a fractured collar bone, which, like a dislocated joint, a newspaper reporter declared to be "a heavy price to pay for a game." The description of one thrilling match between the two teams above referred to may well be taken as a typical English account of "rugger":
The Gateway team on Saturday avenged their defeats of six months ago. The visiting team was voted a good one but the absence of such men as Crawley, Garnett, Benson shook the faith of many persons as to the ability of the "Portlands" to pull through victorious. About 150 spectators assembled to witness the struggle, the fairer sex mustering in very good force. Only twelve men a side could be mustered and as soon as the preliminaries of the match were arranged the United team turned their backs to the wind and Paget, kicking off, started the game at twelve minutes after four. Walkinshaw was at once called upon to handle the leather and made a good run but on being collared by Paget passed cleverly to Thomson, who, however, was stopped by Colledge. The first scrimmage was formed in the city limits but the home forwards loosing out took, the ball by a series of short rushes to the half way flag. Soon after this Osmanston made a splendid run and succeeded in gaining a try, the place by Paget proving a failure. After the. drop out F. Close got away with the ball and made a rare run passing to Waddilove who nearly got in but was well tackled by J. D. Chiene within 20 feet of the city's goal line. A splendid rush by the Lemars forwards led by Farquhar and Colledge made matters look better for their side and the play was transferred to midfield. Here Walkinshaw made a brilliant run, and the Cheshireman was only held and that after a great exertion by Paget within a few yards of the goal line. Unfortunately in the fall Walkinshaw was so much injured as to place him "hors de combat." The united team, now weakened by the loss of the valuable services of their captain, lost ground steadily, the game being principally contested from this point up to half time in the visitors' quarters.
Ends were now changed and after an interval of five minutes Hewett kicked off on behalf of Portland, Colledge with one of his powerful runs taking the leather into the enemy's quarters. At this point another of the visitors, A. Grey, retired, and although fighting against odds the united team seemed determined to score playing fast and loose in the scrimmage, Hewett and Christian being particularly conspicuous but the home 1/2 backs, Paget and Osmanston's brilliant runs drove them back, and soon after Paget gained a try goal. The ball had no sooner been started from the centre than Colledge and Rollo put in some fine play, and the last named, passing to Paget, the home team's 1/2 back, effected a fine run in, securing a try, but the place by Colledge failed. Waddilove and Capt. Robinson put in some fine work after this, but Lemars carried the scrimmages and A. Paget cleverly obtained a try which he easily converted into a goal. The visitors starting again with a splendid kick off by Hewett, paid a short visit to the city quarters, where a series of scrimmages took place in dangerous proximity to the goal line. No point of interest occurred up to the call of time, when Lemars was declared the winners by two goals, two tries, to nil.
TEAMS - LEMARS
J. D. Chiene, back; A. C. Colledge, E. Rollo, three-quarter backs; Osmanston, A. Paget, one-half backs; Brown, A. C. Sinclair, Sturgess, H. Tarleton, A. J. Colledge, J. G. Hope, Ed Anderson, forwards.
WEST FORK AND AKRON
D. Maclaren, back; J. Walkinshaw, A. C. Waddilove, three-quarter backs; Capt. Robinson, F. Close, one-half backs; C. Hewett, E. Mansel, Thomson, P. Wraight, H. Christian, A. Grey, W. W. Figgis, W. H. Stevens, forwards. (253)
Although young Britishers were not as plentiful in and about Le Mars in later years, one of the most enjoyed occasions during their sojourn was the long-planned celebration of Queen Victoria's jubilee in June, 1887 - seven days being devoted to the great event. On the second day came the Derby at the fair grounds, with the men dressed "in jockey caps, flaring scarlet shirts, and black knickerbockers on their high-mettled horses." English ladies drove through the streets, according to one description, "in queer little carts, or, if on foot, they invariably carry canes and are followed by a parcel of dogs, generally small grey hounds. The English flag floats everywhere, English airs are tooted and drummed in all directions, and the English accent is heard on every hand." (254)
Two thousand people, British and Americans, turned out to see the pony races, the jubilee handi cap of six furlongs on the flat, and the West Fork plate which Fred Close won riding his own horse. With more races on two other days, including a tandem race with six entries, the Jockey Club was reported as having had the best day in its history. There was also a "tug of war" between England and Ireland: A. C. Colledge, E. Nesfield, F. Veal, E. Sturgess, H. Hawtrey, and Fred Close versus J. T. Mahan, C. Sinclair, Tom Dowglass, D. Johnson, D. Warren, and S. Dundas, the latter winning. Then a similar event took place between Americans and Scotchmen, "the Highlanders", A. Weir, Albert Farquhar, Guy Elliott, R. Reade, and F. Carmichael losing. In the final tug between the winners the Americans beat the Irish.
The polo match for the championship of the Northwest afforded lots of excitement: Captain Orde, Carmichael, W. Gaskell, and Fred Close for Sibley versus Captain Maclagan, Watson, Henry Moreton, and O. T. Pardoe for Le Mars, the latter winning three to one. There was also a tennis tournament in. both singles and doubles with the following entries: A. J., and W. Farquhar, J. F. Carver, J. Douglas, A. Dent, E. Winstanley, A. H. Paget, H. Eller, A. C. Colledge, Tom Aldersey, R. Walker, W. Payne, Logan, and F. E. Romanes, Joe Farquhar winning the singles. Two cricket matches between Le Mars and visiting Britishers were won by the visitors Drake, Payne, Scougel, Croft, Sinclair, Medd, Wesfield, Logan, Graham, Eustace, Tiffney, Paget, and A. Farquhar. With a grand ball at Apollo Hall, the week's jubilee festivities were voted a brilliant success, and may be taken as a fitting conclusion of the account of their doings on the playgrounds of northwestern Iowa. (255)
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230 The Iowa Liberal (Le Mars), January 21, 1880.
231 The Iowa Liberal (Le Mars), February 4, 1880.
232 The Lemars Sentinel, March 31, April 28, May 5, 1881.
233 The Lemars Sentinel, December 7, 1882.
234 The Lemars Sentinel, March 29, April 5, 1883, December 25, 1885.
235 Macmillan's Magazine, Vol. XLIV, p. 67.
236 The Lemars Sentinel, June 16, July 7, 1881.
237 The Lemars Sentinel, July 21, 28, 1881.
238 The Lemars Sentinel, August 11, 1881.
239 The Lemars Sentinel, August 9, 1883.
240 The Lemars Sentinel, August 8, 1884, June 7, 1887.
241 The Iowa Liberal (Le Mars), May 19, 1880, August 25, 1882; The Lemars Sentinel, May 5, June 2, 1881, May 25, 1882.
242 The Lemars Sentinel, June 16, 23, 1881; The Iowa Liberal (Le Mars), July 6, 1881.
243 The Iowa Liberal (Le Mars), July 6, 1881; The Lemars Sentinel, July 7, 1881.
244 Sioux City Journal, July 1, 1881.
245 The Lemars Sentinel, July 14, September 29, October 13, 1881; The Iowa Liberal (Le Mars), July 6, 1881.
246 The LeMars Daily Liberal, August 19, September 9, 13, 1882; The Lemars Sentinel, June 15, October 12, 1882, May 31, October 11, 1883, June 6, 12, August 25, October 7, 1884, June 9, October 2, 1885.
247 The Iowa Liberal (Le Mars), August 11, 1882; The Lemars Sentinel, September 29, 1881, October 12, 1882.
248 The Lemars Sentinel, March 29, 1883.
249 The Lemars Sentinel, January 15, 22, February 1, 1884, January 9, 1885.
250 The LeMars Daily Liberal, August 7, 25, 1882; The Lemars Sentinel, July 12, 1887. Of this club, G. C. Maclagan was president, C. N. Richards vice president, J. U. Sammis secretary, and F. E. Romanes and Tom Aldersey executive committee.
251 The Lemars Sentinel, August 1, October 10, 1884.
252 Many of these facts were obtained from Mr. Ed Dalton of Le Mars and Mr. Henry H. Drake of Sioux City. See also Freeman's History of Plymouth County, Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 430, 431; The Lemars Sentinel, February 3, 1885.
253 The Lemars Sentinel, November 10, 1881, October 12, 1882, April 12, 1883.
254 The Le Mars Semi-Weekly Sentinel gives this account of a typical Derby week in its issue of January 11, 1887.
255 The Lemars Sentinel, June 21, 1887.
The only discordant note heard during these jubilee days was the letter Of P. J.
Dunn protesting against the celebration because Queen Victoria had done nothing
to ameliorate conditions in the Empire, least of all in Ireland where the
landlords during the years 1841-1851 had been allowed to destroy 269,253
dwellings and in 1849 to evict 50,000 families. - The Lemars Sentinel, July
5, 1887.
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