CHAPTER XXIV. BASEBALL PLAYING AND SIGHTSEEING IN AUSTRALIA.

We played our first game at Melbourne on Saturday, December 22d, the second day after our arrival from Sydney, and in the presence of one of the largest crowds that ever assembled at the Melbourne Oval, the handsomest of their kind in Australia. The surroundings were of the most beautiful character and the day itself as perfect as any one could have desired for base-ball purposes. The lawn in front of the Club House was thronged with ladies in light attire, and the many-hued sunshades that they carried gave to it the appearance of an animated flower garden. The Club House balconies were crowded and even the roof had been pre-empted by the ladies and their escorts as a coign of vantage from which to view the game. The grand stand was filled to overflowing and the crowd that overflowed from it encircled the field, extending from the grand stand clear around to the Club House grounds. The scene was indeed an inspiring one, and it is not to be wondered that a good exhibition of the beauties of the game were given under such circumstances. The base-running was of the most daring character, the fielding sharp on the part of both teams, and the batting heavy. Baldwin and Crane were both at their best and pitched in superb style, while the exhibition of base-running that was given by some of the boys brought the onlookers fairly to their feet and they cheered themselves hoarse in their excitement.

Up to the seventh inning the score was a tie, but we managed to get a man across the plate in the seventh inning, as a result of Burns' three-bagger, and Baldwin' single, and another in the eighth, the result of a single by Sullivan and a long right-field hit for three bases by myself, and that I foolishly tried to make a home run on, being put out at the plate by Brown's magnificent throw from the field. The game finally resulted in a victory for Chicago by a score of 5 to 3, and leaving the field we congratulated ourselves on the fact that both at Sydney and Melbourne we had played first-class ball.

Supper parties and banquets were now becoming every-day occurrences with us, and that night we were handsomely entertained by an English actor of note, Mr. Charles Warner, who was at that time touring the colonies, the place selected for the entertainment being the Maison Dore, the swell restaurant of Melbourne. Here we spent a very pleasant evening until it was again time to retire.

The next morning, in the big reading room of the hotel, the boys were given some information by Mr. Spalding that I was already acquainted with, viz., that we should continue our trip around the world, returning home by the way of Egypt, the Mediterranean and Continental Europe. In spite of the fact that it was Sunday morning, this announcement was greeted with a burst of applause by the players, many of whom, even in their wildest dreamings, had never thought that such a trip would be possible for them.

After giving the players some good advice regarding their habits and physical health, Mr. Spalding stated that he wished to land every member of the party in New York sound and well and with only pleasant recollections of the tour, and that he hoped that all would, co-operate with him to that end. That morning the proposed trip was about the only subject of conversation among the members of the party, and pleasant indeed were the anticipations of one and all concerning it.

There was scarcely a spot of interest in or about Melbourne that we did not visit, the weather being delightful, while so constantly were we being entertained that there was scarcely an evening that our dress suits were given a chance to rest. It was the day before Christmas--not the night before--that we played our second game of base-ball in Melbourne, and the crowd, while not so large as that which witnessed the first game, was still of goodly proportions, some 6,000 people passing through the gates. Ryan pitched for the Chicagos and Healy and Crane for the All-Americas on this occasion, and all three of them were pounded in a lively fashion, there being a perfect fusillade of base hits on both sides, and the hard hitting seemed to the liking of the spectators, who cheered every drive to the outfield frantically. In spite of the hard hitting the game was closely contested, the All-Americas finally bearing off the honors by a score of 15 to 13. Following the game Prof. Bartholomew gave his first balloon ascension and parachute drop in Australia, a performance that was new to the Australians, and that they watched with almost breathless interest.

Christmas day in Melbourne the weather was terrifically hot and the lightest sort of summer attire even was uncomfortable. It seemed strange to us to think that at home on that same day there was probably snow on the ground and an icy wind blowing. Christmas in a hot country somehow does not seem like Christmas at all, an opinion that was shared by both Mrs. Anson and myself. That afternoon at three o'clock we departed for Adelaide, where we were scheduled to play three games, and this time we were delighted to find that "Mann boudoir cars" had been provided for us instead of English compartment coaches.

We missed the ladies on the trip, they having been left at Melbourne because of the heat, as had Ed Crane, with whom the hot weather did not seem to agree. At Ballarat, about four hours' distance from Melbourne, where we were scheduled to play a game on our return, we found 'a reception committee at the depot to meet us, together with a number of ladies. The country through which we journeyed that afternoon was fairly attractive, but thinly settled and literally overrun with that pest of the Australian farmer, the rabbits, which, like good race-horses, seemed to come in all shapes, color and size. The country swarmed with them and for the first time we began to realize what an immense damage they were capable of doing to the growing crops in that section.

It was about half-past ten o'clock the next morning when we reached Adelaide, and so hot that a Fourth of July day in St. Louis would have seemed like Arctic weather by comparison. At the depot we found United States Consul Murphy and a committee of citizens in waiting, and were at once driven to the City Hall, where Mayor Shaw made us welcome to the city. The usual spread and speeches followed, after which we were driven to the hotel. That afternoon we played our first game on the Adelaide Oval, which was the equal of either the Sydney or Melbourne grounds, so far as the actual playing grounds were concerned, though far inferior to them in buildings and natural surroundings. Owing to the intense heat and the fact that it was the opening day of the great race meeting at Melbourne there were only about 2,000 people present, and they witnessed a game remarkable for its heavy batting, both Teller and Healy being severely punished. The game went to the credit of the All-Americas by a score of 19 to 14.

That night our party occupied the Governor's box in the Royal Theater, where we attracted far more attention than did the play, the house being a crowded one.

The next morning we were the guests of Mayor Shaw, who took us for a drive in a big four-horse drag, and this proved a delightful experience to us all, the Sea Beach road, over which we drove, being cool and comfortable. Ten miles out we stopped at the wine yard of Thomas Hardy & Sons, who were at that time the most extensive grape and fruit raisers in Australia. Here we were shown over the immense wine yards and wine cellar, after which we drove to Henley Beach, returning in time for the game that afternoon.

At this second game the attendance was somewhat better than the first, and with Baldwin pitching for Chicago and Healy and Ward for All-America, we managed to turn the tables on our conquerors of the day before and win by a score of 12 to 9.

The next day was a holiday, and of these the Australians have many, it being the fifty-second anniversary of South Australia's existence as a colony, and as we were to leave in the afternoon we played our farewell game in the morning, play being called at ten o'clock. With Ryan in the box for Chicago and Simpson for All-America we won the easiest sort of a game by a score of II to 4, having Sir William Robinson, Governor of the Colony, for a spectator during the last four innings. After the game he came out on the grounds and shook hands with us all, complimenting us in a nice little speech on the skill that we had shown and expressing his own liking for the game that he had that morning seen for the first time.

That afternoon we left for Ballarat, the great gold-mining center of Australia, and at one time famous as the home of the bushrangers who for years terrorized that section of the country.

It was six o'clock in the morning when we arrived there, and we were just climbing into the drag that was awaiting us when some one missed Tom Daly. After a search he was found fast asleep in one of the compartments of the car, and being awakened was released by an obliging guard, looking a bit the worse for wear. In the early gray of the dawning we reached Craig's Hotel, where lunch had been arranged for us, after partaking which we were driven to the Botanical Gardens, the roadway winding along the shores of a beautiful lake. The gardens were well worth a visit, and after spending a brief half hour in admiring the flowers and statuary, we were driven back to the hotel for breakfast, stopping on the way for a plunge in the great Ballarat Swimming Aquarium. After breakfast we were driven to the Barton Gold Mines, situated on the edge of the town, going down to a depth of ii,000 feet after we had attired ourselves in overalls, slouch hats and other nondescript disguises. From the mine we were driven to the Town Hall, of West Ballarat, Ballarat being divided into two municipalities, West and East, where we met with the usual Australian welcome at the hands of Mayor Macdonald, thence to East Ballarat, where Mayor Ellsworth did the honors, the latter afterwards accompanying us on a visit to the Ballarat Orphan Asylum, where an invitation was given to the youngsters to the number of 200 to witness the game that afternoon, and that they were all on hand is a certainty.

The crowd that attended the game was 4,500 strong, and they saw the All-Americas win a rather easy game by a score of 11 to 7, the boys being too nearly tired out to play good ball. The ascent and fall of Professor Bartholomew was, however, the sensation of the day, the parachute failing to sustain his weight in that high altitude, and as a result he came down with great speed, and, striking a cornice of a building in the business district, was laid up for a month, it being a lucky thing for him that he was not killed outright. At seven o'clock that night we left for Melbourne, arriving there some four hours later in an all but used up condition.

The next day, Sunday, our whole party started for a drive of twenty-five miles over the mountains in a big four-horse drag, we being the guests for that day of Mr. J. K. Downer, a wealthy citizen of Melbourne. Through a rolling and well-settled country we bowled along until we reached the foot-hills, that were green and well-wooded, the clear notes of Mrs. Leigh Lynch's cornet every now and then waking the echoes. After three hours' ride we reached Fern Glen, the residence of a Mr. Bruce, a friend of the gentleman whose guests we were, and to whose broad veranda we were soon made welcome. The scenery here was beautiful, the house itself being situated in a rift of the mountains and surrounded by giant trees on every side, the grounds about being possessed of great natural beauty. After enjoying a splendid lunch provided for the occasion at Melbourne, and sent out ahead by wagon, we strolled through the beautiful glen, with its great ferns that arched the pathway, and the roots of which were watered by a little mountain stream.

After an extempore entertainment we again climbed to our seats in the drag and were driven back to Melbourne, stopping en route at the stock farm of J. H. Miller, who had gone into the business of breeding American trotters, and who again persisted in wining and dining us before he would let us go. "The Travelers' Rest," "The Golden Swan," "The Bull's Head Inn," and other resorts of a like kind were stopped at on our way back, and it was eleven o'clock at night when we were finally set down at the doors of the Grand Hotel, having spent one of the most enjoyable days since our arrival in Melbourne.

A great day's program of sport had been prepared for Monday, the last day of the year, in which cricket, baseball and foot-ball were all to have had an inning. The weather, however, interfered with the base-ball and cricket part of the program. The foot-ball game between the Carleton and St. Kilda foot-ball teams proved to be a most interesting contest, however, and one that we were glad to have the opportunity of witnessing, a heavy shower driving us back to the hotel before we could indulge in either base-ball or cricket.

Two games were scheduled for New Year's day, but only one of these was played and that in the morning, the attendance being 2,500, and the Chicagos winning by a score of 14 to 7, Tener pitching for us and Healy for the All-Americas. That same day there were 4,000 people at the races and probably as many more at the various cricket matches and athletic games going on in the city and vicinity, so it can readily be seen that Melbourne was a decidedly sporty place and that we had pretty hard competition to go up against, even for New Year's day. After luncheon at the cricket grounds we were treated to an exhibition of rope-skipping and boomerang throwing by a lot of aborigines that was little short of wonderful, and that must be seen to be appreciated. The natives could make these curved pieces of wood do all kinds of seemingly impossible things, while for us they would simply do nothing, but I expect that with a set of billiard balls several of our party could have made them look as much like monkeys as they did us with their boomerangs.

We were booked to sail from Port Melbourne for Ceylon on Monday, June 7th, and Saturday afternoon we played our farewell game in the Victoria capital before a crowd that tested the capacity of the grounds, the gate count showing that 11,000 people had paid their way into the enclosure. The program for the afternoon was a varied one, a two-inning game between the Australian Cricketers and the All-America team being the starter, and in this the American players easily demonstrated their superiority. Next came a game of foot-ball between the Port Melbourne and Carleton teams that was played under a modification of the old Rugby rules, and that proved close and exciting. A four-inning game between Chicago and All-America followed, Baldwin and Daly and Crane and Earle being the batteries, and it is safe to assert that a prettier exhibition of base-running and fielding was never witnessed in Australia than the one given on that occasion. With not a fielding error on either side my boys won by a score of 5 to 0, Pettit finally ending the game with a splendid running catch of Earle's long fly to right field, a performance that the spectators cheered again and again.

An exhibition of long distance throwing followed, Crane, Williamson and Pfeffer attempting to beat the Australian record of 126 yards 3 inches, for throwing a five and one-half ounce cricket ball, and this feat Crane accomplished, he sending the ball 128 yards 10 1/2 inches, a performance that the crowd appreciated.

At three o'clock on Monday afternoon, having said farewell to all of our friends in Melbourne, we took the train for Port Melbourne, seven miles distant, and were soon assigned to our staterooms on board of the "Salier," which was to begin her voyage the next morning.

The scene about the dock where the "Salier" lay that afternoon was an impressive one, the Turks and Hindoos, with their dark skins, red turbans and bright costumes, the circling seabirds with their peculiar cries, and the many craft of various kinds that moved hither and thither over the blue waters, all combining to make a picture that once seen can never be forgotten.

We left Australia with many genuine regrets. In the matter of hospitality that country easily stands at the head of the list of all of those that we visited, and if we could have shot a kangaroo or two before our departure and run up against a party of bushrangers, black-bearded and daring, even though they had managed to relieve us of a few of our valuables, we should have been made happy, but alas! the bushrangers, like the bad men of our own glorious West, had been wiped out by the march of civilization, and even the kangaroo had taken to the woods when he heard that we were coming, so we bore our disappointment as best we could, trusting for better luck in case we should ever be so fortunate as to again visit Her Majesty's Australian Colonies.