Retrospective on the Merano Marksmen's Festival of October 1850

Correspondence.

Merano, 20 Oct. I owe you a postscript to my earlier letters, in which I foremost comply with the wish expressed on several occasions to make mention of the ceremonial reception of the marksmen's companies. It might have been of interest had an account been rendered of the individual festive arrivals, the respective addresses, and any counter-speeches; yet at that time your narrator was short of time, and now, after the event, one may reasonably dispense with the details. Each marksmen's company that had announced its arrival was received at the appointed hour at the respective triumphal arch by the delegates of the united committees and, following a brief greeting and a fraternal handshake, escorted to the shooting range to musical accompaniment. There, amidst the firing of mortars, a member of the reception committee stepped onto the platform of the flag tower hand in hand with the company's leader, offered his words of welcome, which were generally followed by remarks on the significance of this patriotic contest, and presented the honorary draught from the large buffalo horn proffered by a steward; thereupon the company's banner was raised upon the tower and the marksmen filed into the shooting house. This form of reception is not new; especially among our neighbours in Switzerland, from whom we can and should learn so much in matters of marksmanship, it has become a custom, but in Tyrol, to my knowledge, it has only now made its debut and, so far as I can tell, proved its worth! With gravity and joy the marksman shall enter the grounds where he is to measure himself with the weapon in spirited contest with his comrades, not for gold and silver coins, no! but for the honour of achieving the closest shots, of being proficient in cheerful sport as well as in bloody earnest. To point this out was the purpose of the reception, and it were greatly to be wished that this custom might find entry everywhere in our land, and that such earnestness in the conception and practice of marksmanship as befits so popular and manly an institution should prevail!

As I have informed you, 634 enrolled Tyrolean marksmen attended the festival; the marksmen from Bolzano, Parcines and Naturno, Eppan, Tisens, St. Martin in Passeier, Marling and Lana entered in companies with flag-spinners and brass bands, as did those from the Val di Fiemme and Prad; we flattered ourselves that we might also welcome a banner from Vorarlberg and one from the provincial capital, but we had been too hasty in our expectations. From the Adige Valley and the Vinschgau 463 marksmen arrived, 51 from the Lower Inn and Wipp Valleys, 38 from the Puster Valley, 32 from Italian Tyrol, 27 from the Eisack Valley, 18 from the Upper Inn Valley, 2 from Vorarlberg, 2 from Styria, and 1 from Upper Austria; in addition, non-Tyrolean marksmen participated as follows: Dr. v. Franzius from Danzig, C. W. Gälike from Berlin, Johann Kalbak from Schlüsselberg in Bohemia, Adam Kuchenreiter from Regensburg, Countess Leyden from Munich, Jakob Mayr from Graz, Heinrich Müller from Stuttgart, Clara Scholz from Berlin, and Prince Solms of Lich near Frankfurt. At the first main target 324 marksmen shot, at the second 380, at the third 515, and at the fourth 617; among the 7,501 shots fired at the main targets we count 157 misses and 19 dead-centres; the names of those who struck the first 17 centres I reported to you in my penultimate letter, and of the two remaining centres I name the marksmen belatedly: Anton Oberhaidacher of Blumenau and Dr. Anton Putz, chief marksman of Merano. You have already announced the distribution of the main prizes; that of the secondary prizes is as follows: 1. Martin Mair of Trento, 2. Franz Pfaffstaller of Margreid, 3. Joseph Hofer of Hall, 4. Joseph Peratoner of Bolzano, 5. Joseph Stimpfl of Radein, 6. Joseph Zoderer of Prad, 7. Johann Werner of Vöran, 8. Joseph Rottonara of Enneberg, 9. Michael Sief of Sassiano in Fiemme, 10. Dr. Anton Putz of Merano, 11. Alois Putz of Merano, 12. Joseph Peer of Schlanders (up to this point dead-centre hits). 13. Franz Braun of Hall, 14. Johann Keifl of Klausen, 15. Thomas Geiger of Landeck, 16. Johann Hellrigl of Naturns, 17. Dominikus Mulser of Kastelruth, 18. Franz Maroner of Perdonik, 19. Peter Rella of Neumarkt, 20. Joseph Wallnöfer of Innsbruck. The prizes designated for non-Tyrolean marksmen were won by: 1. Prince of Solms-Lich, 2. Adam Kuchenreiter from Regensburg, 3. Dr. v. Franzius from Danzig, 4. Jakob Mayr from Graz, 5. Heinrich Müller from Stuttgart, 6. Joh. Kalbak from Schlüsselberg.

Merano had prepared itself for a large attendance and, particularly regarding the billeting of the expected marksmen, had made provision in the most appropriate manner despite the customary autumn surplus of spa guests and pleasure travellers; we regret that the housing committee in question found insufficient opportunity to put its excellent arrangements into practice. Likewise, every effort had been made to provide entertainment for the guests, even if they partook of it seldom and to a very modest degree; and if over the course of these days we recounted nothing of many a jovial evening, such as took place especially at the old wine tavern at Mannes-Raffl, if we remained silent concerning the musical academy and the two brilliant balls, did not touch upon the Kommers with the Landesvater ritual, student speeches, and the foxes' procession, and even omitted to describe the delightful banquet beneath the broad walnut trees at Löwenberg, the reason for our silence was simply that your correspondent took the most active part in it all himself and did not at all times find enough leisure and inclination to follow up with pen in hand. Of the crown of the festival, the closing ceremony, I did indeed tell in my last dispatch; however, I now gather from your paper, which has just come to my attention, that in my haste I forgot to mention that during that delightful evening entertainment the Meßner marksmen's song, set to music for our festival by Mr. Jakob Schyrasser of Bolzano, met with great acclaim and had to be sung repeatedly. That amidst our patriotic spirit there was no shortage of lively toasts and speeches for the common welfare and the so ardently desired unity in all things was, after all, a matter of course. And so let me conclude my dispatches and repeat the words spoken at the conclusion of the festival by our noble protector and guardian of Tyrolean customs, the much-beloved Archduke John:

"And now, my dear marksmen and friends of marksmanship: next year, when everything is in bloom in May, we shall meet again, then I shall host my shooting match. I will bring my rifle along and we shall show what we can still do; and thus I cordially invite you all. God keep you! Until we meet again!"