Chicago by day and night

by Harold R. Vynne

The scene when the bell is rung for the great race is one which impresses itself on the mind beyond all possibility of effacement. Spectators are packed in the paddock like sardines in a box. The grand stand is a solid mass of men and women, the toilets of the latter presenting a brilliant picture in the gorgeous sunlight. In the centre of the great in-field, as it is called, jockeys and stable boys are walking about, and scattered here and there are some of the noble brutes that are to take part in the day’s contest. The horses come on the track and a buzz sweeps over the vast assemblage as they go cantering to the post. A few minutes of suspense and then—“They’re off!” cries the crowd and past the grand stand they sweep like a splendid troop of cavalry, the jockeys sitting like statues on the struggling beasts, each one of which is animated by an almost human determination to conquer in the struggle. A moment more and it is over, and a roar goes up as the winner sweeps past the judge’s stand. The great Derby has been lost for some and won by others. After the subsequent and lesser races are over the cavalcade sweeps back to the city again, the winners shouting and singing for joy and the losers solemn in their silence.

The Washington park meeting lasts till the latter part of July. The present officers of the club are as follows: President, George Henry Wheeler; vice-presidents, Samuel W. Allerton, Albert S. Gage, H. I. McFarland, Charles Schwartz; treasurer, John R. Walsh; secretary, John E. Brewster; assistant secretary, James Howard; directors, N. K. Fairbank, Norman B. Ream, Samuel W. Allerton, James W. Oakley, Columbus R. Cummings, Charles I. Barnes, John R. Walsh, Henry Norton, A. S. Gage, S. H. Sweet, G. H. Wheeler, Thomas Murdock, H. J. McFarland, C. J. Singer, and others.

The Garfield park and Corrigan tracks commence operation at the close of the Washington park meeting. The gatherings at these tracks are by no means so aristocratic, but the purses offered are rich and the racing is of the first quality. The betting facilities are ample. For a while the admission to the Corrigan track was free, but it is a question whether the practice will be followed in future.

At present Chicago is one of the liveliest racing centers in the country during the season and the visitor who desires to see a little of this exciting sport will find the amplest facilities at his command for so doing.

CHAPTER XIX.
OPEN-AIR ENTERTAINMENTS.

Under this head come the open-air shows of different dimensions, one or more of which are always running in Chicago during the summer months. Last year Thearle & Cooper gave the public a treat with an entertainment that they styled “A Night in Pekin.” The location was the great vacant lot at the southern limit of Washington Park, across the street from the race-track of that name. Tiers upon tiers of seats accommodated thousands of spectators, who watched the drama, enacted in pantomime, of the destruction of the city of Pekin by the British naval forces. The work of desolation was preceded by games, slack-wire walking and other interesting feats. The bombardment itself was a magnificent spectacle. As the big buildings came toppling down in ruins and the inhabitants rushed screaming about, showers upon showers of fireworks were discharged and the roaring of the great guns kept up until the work of demolition was over. It was conceded at the time that the spectacle, from a pyrotechnical standpoint, was the finest ever seen in Chicago, but from all accounts the shows to be given this year and next will eclipse it. For the World’s Fair year the Kiralfys, those consummate masters of the spectacular, have promised a production on the same order as the “Night in Pekin” that shall totally eclipse anything in the line of an open-air show ever before seen or heard of. Its exact nature has not yet been outlined, but if all the promises are kept it will be something very wonderful.

The attractions of this sort of an entertainment are manifold. Aside from the show itself, which is always interesting, there is the pleasant, happy-go-lucky spirit that always pervades great crowds bent on an evening’s fun. The peanut and lemonade venders ply their calling briskly, and come in for the usual share of “guying” that such merchants always excite. In hot weather the out-door spectacles detract from the attendance at the theatres, people preferring to secure their entertainment in the open air if possible. Spectacles like “Pekin,” it is perhaps unnecessary to say, cost many thousands of dollars to produce.

Speaking of the peanut and lemonade men reminds one that the two great circuses, Barnum & Bailey’s and Forepaugh’s, exhibit in Chicago every summer. They generally appear for two weeks each, and of course parade in due form, according to custom, through the streets of the city on the opening day. Who shall picture the delights of the circus? Are they not as old as the memory of man? Strange but true it is, that the older we get the circus that we remember as the circus of our youth strengthens its charm upon our memory and we would not miss a sight of it if we could. We have the added pleasure of taking our little ones to see the sights that so delighted us in our own childhood, and that should be the keenest pleasure of all.