The Book of
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS 
 
 AND 
 
 OUT-OF-DOOR SPORTS 
 
 ( i )\ PAINING PRACTICAL ADVICE AND SUGGESTIONS FROM COLLEGE 
 TEAM-CAPTAIN'S AND OTHER AMATEURS, ON FOOT-BALL, 
 BASE-BALL, TENNIS, ROWING, GOLF, SPRINT- 
 ING, BICYCLING, SWIMMING, SKAT- 
 ING, YACHTING, ETC. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 NORMAN W. BINGHAM, JR. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY G. IV. PIC KNELL AND OTHERS 
 
 BOSTON 
 LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1895, 
 
 BY 
 LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 TYPOGRAPHY BY C. J. 1'ETBRS & SON, 
 
 PRESSWORK BY ROCKWELL AND CHURCHILL, BOSTON, U.S.A.
 
 Stack 
 Annex 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IN compiling this " Book of Athletics," no at- 
 tempt has been made to produce an exhaustive 
 treatise on every branch of sport now popular 
 with the boys and girls of America. The design 
 has been, rather, to give to those who are 
 interested in, and have some knowledge of, the 
 principal out-of-door sports the benefit of the 
 experience and observation of those who have 
 spent considerable time in their pursuit. Discus- 
 sions which would be intelligible and of interest 
 only to experts, as well as definitions and de- 
 scriptions for the benefit of the wholly uninitiated, 
 have been generally avoided. 
 
 In the list of games, no pretence has been made 
 of including all that are practised at the present 
 time : the intention has been to include those 
 which have a strong hold on popularity, such as 
 
 5 
 
 1IJ18287
 
 6 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 foot-ball, base-ball, rowing, tennis, cricket, swim- 
 ming, skating, and the like. 
 
 Several forms of sport not properly included 
 under the term " athletics," but which are emi- 
 nently desirable for the recreative exercise they 
 furnish, have been thought worthy of a place in 
 a book which aims quite as much to awaken and 
 increase a healthy interest in out-of-door life as 
 to point the way to absolute excellence in com- 
 petition. At the same time, it is felt that the 
 advice offered by such authorities as Messrs. Ban- 
 croft, Dwight, Cumnock, Bliss, Mapes, and others, 
 cannot but be of interest to all lovers of sport. 
 
 The descriptive article on " Knots, Hitches, and 
 Splices" has been included as a valuable adjunct 
 to the paper on " Yachting."
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 I. THE USE AND ABUSE OF ATHLETICS 9 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 II. ADVICE TO SCHOOL FOOT-BALL CAPTAINS .... 21 
 BY ARTHUR J. CUMNOCK. 
 
 III. HANDLING A COLLEGE NINE 33 
 
 BY LAWRENCE T. BLISS. 
 
 IV. SEVEN GOOD RULES FOR BASE-BALL PLAYERS TO 
 
 BEAK IN MIND 40 
 
 BY W. S. MARTIN, JR. 
 
 V. A SERMON ON LAWN TENNIS 42 
 
 BY JAMES DWIGHT. 
 
 VI. HOW TO TRAIN A CREW 56 
 
 BY \VILI.IAM A. BANCROFT. 
 
 VII. CRICKET AS PLAYED IN AMERICA 75 
 
 BY RALPH CRACKNELL. 
 
 VIII. GOLF: THE COMING GAME 88 
 
 BY HUGH S. HART. 
 
 IX. ABOUT BICYCLES . 96 
 
 BY KIKK MINROE. 
 
 X. Rl NMNC, AM) Hi RULING IO7 
 
 l!v NORMAN \V. BINGIIAM, JR. 
 7
 
 a 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 XI. HARE AND HOUNDS RUNS 121 
 
 BY DAVID W. FENTON, zd. 
 
 XII. HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS 128 
 
 BY CHARLES M. SKINNER. 
 
 XIII. OUT-OF-DOOR GYMNASTICS 146 
 
 BY JOHN GRAHAM. 
 
 XIV. HOW TO MAKE AN OUT-DOOR GYMNASIUM .... 156 
 
 BY WILLIAM F. GARCELON. 
 
 XV. HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN 164 
 
 BY JULIUS A. PALMER, JR. 
 
 XVI. THE ART OF SWIMMING 190 
 
 BY HARRY E. ROSE. 
 
 XVII. SPORT IN THE WATER 203 
 
 BY ALEXANDER BLACK. 
 
 XVIII. A CANE RUSH .225 
 
 BY MALCOLM TOWNSEND. 
 
 XIX. HURDLING 238 
 
 BY HERBERT MAPES. 
 
 XX. THE RUNNING BROAD JUMP 252 
 
 BY E. B. BLOSS. 
 
 XXI. SKATING 259 
 
 BY CHARLES R. TALBOT. 
 
 XXII. HAND-IN-HAND SKATING 267 
 
 BY W. G. VAN T. SUTPHEN. 
 
 XXIII. KNOTS, HITCHES, AND SPLICES 280 
 
 BY CHARLES R. TALBOT. 
 
 XXIV. SUMMER SPORTS 295 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 INDEX 315
 
 THE USE AND ABUSE OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 C 1 VERY healthy boy likes to be out of doors ; and 
 almost every boy is, at some period in his life, 
 an enthusiast on the subject of athletics. Every 
 sane man is ready to allow that a certain amount of 
 out-door life and exercise is desirable, a tonic to 
 both mind and body, and, on the whole, quite essen- 
 tial to a well-ordered existence. But on the value 
 of competition, the grown men are hardly as ready 
 to agree as are the boys. 
 
 There are some, to be sure, who, bidding for 
 popularity with youth, are ever willing to overlook 
 excesses. With " Boys will be boys," or " Wel- 
 lington's armies were trained on foot-ball fields," 
 they meet all objections raised against athletics, and 
 end by saying impressively, " Mcns sana in corporc 
 sano" quite taking it for granted that the mens 
 sana will be there any way. They talk as they 
 
 9
 
 IO THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 do because it is easier and pleasanter to let evils 
 exist than to attempt to reform them. They should 
 not, and I believe do not, enlist any great measure 
 of respect from sensible boys. 
 
 Then, there are the chronic grumblers, though 
 luckily their number is small. These men, having 
 forgotten that they were ever boys, or perhaps 
 never having been real boys, fume and rant, and 
 give you to understand that all time spent in the 
 field or on the water is worse than wasted. Feel- 
 ing themselves that, sooner or later, the world must 
 look dark to every one, they would hurry the 
 natural course of things by forcing boys and girls 
 to wear smoked glasses. Their opposition to ath- 
 letics is prejudiced, abusive, and often absurd. 
 They are more deserving of pity than of anything 
 else. 
 
 But there is still another class of the older men 
 who have the real welfare of the boys close at 
 heart; by them the athletic craze which has pos- 
 sessed the country during the past few years has 
 been observed with no little apprehension. They 
 shake their heads, and rightly, at the all-too- 
 marked difference between the zeal with which the 
 boy of to-day enters into his games, and the list-
 
 THE USE AND ABUSE OF ATHLETICS. II 
 
 lessness with which he performs the more serious 
 tasks which his school duties bring him. They are 
 not, like the grumblers, hostile to all that is bright 
 and pleasure-producing ; but they do realize that, 
 when what should be a means becomes an end, 
 something is going wrong. They find a boy in the 
 class-room working out foot-ball problems on the 
 fly-leaf of his algebra, looking at no part of the 
 daily papers except the sporting-pages, sometimes 
 almost deifying a favorite pitcher or half-back, and 
 they wonder what the end of all this is going to 
 be. They ask themselves if, on the whole, the 
 good that comes from athletics is not more than 
 outweighed by the evil ; and they do not always 
 find at once an easy answer to the question. 
 
 Now, between those who enter into competition 
 solely for the sake of winning a prize or a victory, 
 and those who love the sport for its own sake, there 
 has always been a distinction. The word " athlete" 
 found its derivation in a name which was applied 
 to those old Greeks who strove for prizes in the 
 games. It was never used to designate those who 
 daily practised in the gymnasium from love of ex- 
 ercise pure and simple. The athlete of that time, 
 however, did not think one quarter as much about
 
 12 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 the prize itself as about the glory that went with 
 victory, which was very great. We have all read 
 with some wonder of how a Greek town would 
 make a breach in its walls at the home-coming of 
 its victorious representative, and would erect a 
 statue to his honor. But, after all, the esteem which 
 is paid to some young athletes to-day is scarcely 
 less extravagant, and, were we not used to hearing 
 of it, might sound nearly as strange. 
 
 What, then, it may be asked, is the justification, 
 if any, for the intense interest in these games, and 
 the spending of so much time and money in their 
 pursuit? Do not the " highly competitive" sports, 
 as compared with the lighter games and those 
 out-of-door pursuits which are purely recreative, 
 receive proportionately too great an amount of 
 attention? Probably they do, and yet some of the 
 benefits they bring with them are so undoubted 
 that they cannot be lightly disregarded. 
 
 The average American boy is of rather a high- 
 strung and nervous temperament. He likes action ; 
 he wishes to be doing something, and, quite nat- 
 urally, prefers that something to be anything rather 
 than real work. Very fortunately the greater part 
 of his superfluous energy finds its escape through
 
 THE USE AM> AI'.USE OF ATHLETICS. 13 
 
 his devotion to athletic sports. Fortunately, I say, 
 for in thus harmlessly gratifying his appetite for 
 excitement he involuntarily learns many a useful 
 lesson. 
 
 First of all, he learns, when he trains for a team, 
 what it is to be subject to discipline. He readily 
 and willingly imposes on himself many hardships, 
 because he sees that they are necessary if he would 
 succeed. He is at an age when there is something 
 which he can do as well as any one, even though 
 that something is only athletics. For once he be- 
 comes interested, and works with enthusiasm, an 
 enthusiasm which, if it is mistaken, must neverthe- 
 less gain the respect even of those who see its 
 folly. If this sometimes leads him into error, he 
 should be set right, but not necessarily deprived 
 of his sport. 
 
 Perseverance, otherwise known as " sand," is an- 
 other thing of which a boy soons learns the value. 
 He sees that he must fight hard to the very end, 
 every time, if he is to accomplish anything The 
 "quitter" never amounts to much; and this fact 
 the boy who undertakes the practice of any form 
 of athletics must quickly recognize. It is hard 
 to see how this steady pegging away in the face of
 
 14 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 all discouragements can fail to have its influence 
 in making a more valuable lot of men. 
 
 Aside from the effect on the disposition, there is 
 of course the physical good which comes from 
 regular exercise. It will probably be argued that 
 the exercise could as well, or better, be taken with- 
 out the strain of severe competition. This is per- 
 fectly true ; and the only question is, Would it ? 
 It is doubtful if, without the incentive of the com- 
 petition, it would be possible to get anything like 
 the number of young men to take regular exercise 
 that now do so. Once one has formed the habit, 
 however, it is noticeable that he will generally 
 arrange to spend a certain amount of time in 
 the open air long after he has given up regular 
 games and training. To know the blessedness of 
 being in perfect condition is enough to make any 
 one feel that, in training or out, it is worth while 
 to take care of himself. 
 
 And yet the evils which are charged to athletics 
 are not all imaginary. Not even the warmest en- 
 thusiast can claim that. The point which perhaps 
 is responsible for the greatest number of strictures 
 is the question of interference with studies or work, 
 concerning which one hears a great deal of worth-
 
 H.
 
 THE USE AND ABUSE OF ATHLETICS. I*] 
 
 less talk. It is easy, on one hand, to show that the 
 hours occupied in getting to the grounds and back, 
 and going through the daily training, are no more 
 than every boy ought to spend in such a way ; and 
 it is equally easy to turn around and point to 
 numerous cases where boys do neglect their stud- 
 ies for athletics. Considering the question calmly, 
 it seems perfectly evident that, as a rule, the boys 
 who take active part in any of the games do devote 
 too much time to them. But this is because a great 
 amount of time is wasted. Boys will linger about, 
 long after they are through practising. They let 
 their attention wander off to the field when other 
 subjects have claims upon it. This is a bad habit, 
 not alone from the standpoint of the instructor, but 
 also from that of the athlete. " Over-training" is 
 
 O 
 
 well known to result from mental as well as physi- 
 cal causes ; and he who lets himself brood con- 
 stantly over the games he is to play, or the races 
 he is to run, will more than likely soon find himself 
 growing "stale." It is perfectly possible to take 
 part in athletics, and to do the rest of one's school 
 work properly ; and when every boy who is a lover 
 of out-of-door sports makes up his mind to demon- 
 strate this statement, the objections will cease.
 
 1 8 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 The trickery and deceit which are countenanced 
 in some o-ames which, indeed, are sometimes 
 
 c5 
 
 considered a part of them are all wrong. The 
 games should breed manliness and generosity, not 
 treachery and cunning. Yet we find that, in base- 
 ball, boys who in most things are the soul of 
 honesty will cut across from first to third base if 
 the chance offers, will claim to have caught a ball 
 " on the fly," which they know to have touched the 
 ground, and will do many other things which are 
 simply dishonest. There is certainly a danger that 
 such loose standards may in time be applied to 
 the rest of a boy's living. What is wanted is the 
 nobler spirit of " fair play." 
 
 Athletics, as they are, doubtless tend in many 
 cases to distort a young boy's estimate of the de- 
 sirability of physical as compared with intellectual 
 and moral force. This tendency can best be coun- 
 teracted by a determined effort on the part of the 
 boys who have grown up. They must try to keep 
 in touch with the younger generation, set things 
 right where they go wrong, and, above all, prevent 
 boys who lack stability of character from becoming 
 leaders. 
 
 Meanwhile, the tremendous and irrational excite-
 
 THE USE AND ABUSE OF ATHLETICS. 19 
 
 ment which has been customary at the time of our 
 more prominent athletic contests seems to have 
 reached its limit, and already there are signs of 
 a healthy reaction. The result of this reaction will 
 doubtless be to force athletics to the field they 
 should occupy a systematic means of physical 
 development. Incidentally, an increasing- interest 
 in sport for sport's sake may be aroused. As the 
 number of spectators at a big game diminishes, 
 so may the number of people exercising increase. 
 Competition is a good thing, but it may be car- 
 ried too far. Moderation seems to be what is 
 most needed at present. 
 
 What we have to look forward to, then, is not 
 the arranging of more " championship " games, 
 which draw from ten thousand to thirty thousand 
 people to see them, but a more careful and more 
 intelligent caring for the bodily welfare on the part 
 of a larger number of people. Most men do not 
 take as good care of themselves as they do of their 
 dogs and horses. Athletics, rightly used, will tend 
 to counteract this carelessness. 
 
 It would be well if every boy were to set up for 
 himself a standard of manhood to which he would 
 like to attain. Let him remember that strength
 
 20 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 and power are the results of generations of temper- 
 ance and right living, and that in taking the best 
 of care of himself a boy is, at least, doing his share 
 toward the realization of a race of stronger men 
 and more beautiful women.
 
 ADVICE TO SCHOOL FOOT-BALL 
 CAPTAINS. 
 
 BY ARTHUR J. CUMNOCK, 
 
 Captain of the Harvard Foot-ball Teams of 1889 and 1890. 
 
 HE average school, with small num- 
 bers and only a few large boys to 
 pick from, is at a disadvantage 
 when pitted against one of the 
 great schools, such as Exeter, 
 Andover, Groton, St. Marks, or 
 
 Running and Warding Off. T '11 n,' r ^ l_ 11 
 
 Lawrenceville. But in loot-ball, 
 skill and spirit will take the place of weight and 
 brute force every time. 
 
 Every school captain is anxious to work, but per- 
 haps does not know where to begin or how to 
 develop his team. The game seems to be formi- 
 dable and intricate at first, and one is apt to begin 
 at the wrong end. Instead of planning " touch- 
 
 21
 
 22 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 downs" and big scores, you must begin at the 
 foundation ; you must creep before you can walk. 
 On this foundation, so often neglected, everything 
 depends ; without it you cannot hope for team play 
 or success. 
 
 In order to make clear what is meant by founda- 
 tion, let us look at a few practical facts. 
 
 A team cannot make ground against an equally 
 good team, unless it can " block ; " and, vice versa, an 
 eleven cannot stop an opponent from advancing 
 the ball, unless it can get through and tackle. A 
 team's offensive play depends almost entirely upon 
 the accuracy with which the centre rush passes 
 the ball to the quarter-back ; on the ability of the 
 quarter to pick the ball up, however badly it may 
 come back, and pass it accurately to the runner ; 
 on the ability of the halves to run strongly, 
 dodge, use the arm, and catch the ball ; on the 
 blocking off of the team, and the runner's ability 
 to take advantage of it. When a team is pressed 
 to the last extremity, it depends upon a sure kick. 
 A game has often been saved by a safe catch or 
 a quick fall on the ball after a muff. 
 
 These few examples will serve to show you that 
 every movement in foot-ball depends directly upon
 
 ADVICE TO SCHOOL FOOT-BALL CAPTAINS. 23 
 
 several details. Such details are what make up the 
 foundation, and on their perfection depends good 
 team play. 
 
 I can best illustrate what is meant by " team 
 play," and its relation to these details, by asking 
 
 The Snap Bach. 
 
 you to imagine a board in which eleven ink-wells 
 have been imbedded. Pour ink into each of these 
 wells. Then as you pour a little more into every 
 one, they overflow their edges till the overflow of 
 each meets the overflow of its neighbor, and the 
 
 o 
 
 board is covered. If you should neglect to pour 
 the " little more " into any well, the overflow of the 
 others would have to cover its part, and the total 
 covering would be just so much thinner. 
 
 So when each boy on a foot-ball eleven conquers
 
 24 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 the duties of his own position, he can enlarge his 
 sphere of action till he meets the rest of the team 
 doing the same thing ; then the relations between 
 the different positions can be perfected, one boy 
 helping another, till the whole team takes a part in 
 every play. The mastery of these details is often 
 neglected ; and when the time comes for the eleven 
 to exert itself as a unit, each player is so much oc- 
 cupied in " filling his own well," that he cannot give 
 any strength or attention to the rest of the team, 
 but leaves it to the other ten. 
 
 The aim of every captain is to have his team play 
 as one man ; and this is evidently dependent on the 
 strength and resources his players are able to give 
 to a concentrated effort. So he may well study into 
 everything that will tend toward this end. 
 
 Every detail of foot-ball is a problem which may 
 be solved by study. These details must be studied 
 out of the field, however, and the solutions put to a 
 test during practice games. To solve these difficul- 
 ties on the field you will find is as perplexing as to 
 learn an arithmetic or geometry lesson out there. 
 
 Take, for instance, blocking and getting through. 
 There are a great many ways of doing these things, 
 and you cannot find them all out in a minute or
 
 ADVICE TO SCHOOL FOOT-BALL CAPTAINS. 
 
 two ; you must live with them. Think out ways, 
 invent new methods, and then try them. Do not 
 make them too complicated, and do not get dis- 
 couraged because something you thought was good 
 " doesn't work." No two boys 
 are of the same size, strength, 
 quickness, or mental capacity ; 
 and what one boy can do well, 
 another would find himself un- 
 fitted for. Each boy's quali- 
 ties must be studied into to 
 get the best results. For in- 
 stance, Newell, the old Har- 
 vard player, used to get 
 through as well as, if not better than, any one in 
 the country. Some one at Yale understood this, 
 and invented a new way to stop him. Winter, who 
 was his opponent, stood back a yard or two and let 
 Newell start first. As he was going by, Winter 
 and Bliss, a half-back who stood near, threw their 
 weight on him from an angle, and either pushed 
 him back or blocked him off. 
 
 Tackling is only a knack, and can be studied as 
 well as wrestling. For instance, S. V. R. Crosby, 
 Harvard '91, an end-rush, could not tackle; and it 
 
 Punting.
 
 26 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Tackling. 
 
 was almost impossible to explain the way to do it. 
 Finally a bag was hung up, on which was a projec- 
 tion representing an arm, so he 
 could not tackle high. 
 This bag was swung for 
 Crosby to get the knack 
 of ducking, taking hold, 
 and throwing. He studied 
 it all out, and in three or 
 four days he tackled 
 - beautifully. 
 
 Practice off the field 
 will enable the cen- 
 tre-rush to pass the ball correctly to the quarter 
 every time. By passing for an hour a day during 
 the summer, a quarter-back will find that he can 
 handle a foot-ball as easily as he can a base-ball, 
 and throw it as accurately. If he follows the ball, 
 trying to get into imaginary plays when he is 
 practising, in a regular game he will keep up with 
 the ball, and be able to block off for the runner. 
 
 A back's duties require skill and accuracy for 
 every movement, and there is no limit to the possi- 
 bilities of his position. He can work up kicking, 
 catching, running with a ball, using his arm, and,
 
 ADVICE TO SCHOOL FOOT-BALL CAPTAINS. 29 
 
 among many other things, how to take advantage 
 of blocking off. 
 
 During one whole summer, Everett Lake, the 
 Harvard half-back, practised warding off tacklers 
 with his arm. When autumn came he was one 
 of the most difficult halves in the country to stop, 
 because, in addition to his great weight and strength, 
 the tackier was nearly always kept at arm's length. 
 
 The kicking of Captain Trafford of the Harvard 
 '91 and '92 elevens illustrated what study and hard 
 work can do for a full-back. In July, in the sum- 
 mer before he came to college, he could not drop- 
 kick at all. Part of a week was spent in simply 
 studying the way to make a drop-kick. He worked 
 an hour or two every day during the summer ; and 
 when he came to college in the fall, he could drop 
 the ball from the thirty-five yard line between the 
 goal-posts nearly every time. 
 
 When a captain gets so that he is able to reason 
 these details out, and when his team sees how easy 
 it is for them to settle any difficulty by study, they 
 are on the road to success. I know of a team 
 that was said to have coached itself ; this simply 
 means they played foot-ball not like so many ma- 
 chines, but like thinking and reasoning beings.
 
 3 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 During the practice game, when a misplay is 
 discovered, do not blame the team without telling 
 them how to overcome it. Put them back in the 
 positions they were in when it happened, and the 
 trouble will soon appear. Then show them the way 
 to prevent it ; and if you do not happen to know, do 
 not be ashamed to study it out with them. 
 
 The spirit of a team is another important element. 
 An eleven going into a match with great skill and 
 a thorough knowledge of the 
 game possesses a confidence 
 that is half the battle. In se- 
 lecting the boys for your team, 
 give preference to those who 
 
 are honest hard workers ; ^3&ESJ? <> 
 
 avoid " stars," who save 
 
 A Try for Goal. 
 
 themselves from the regular team work for startling 
 individual plays. A Harvard captain was once 
 giving his last instructions to the team before a 
 Yale game. Turning to the end-rushers he said,
 
 ADVICE TO SCHOOL FOOT-BALL CAPTAINS. 3! 
 
 " I shall hold you alone responsible for being down 
 on the ball every time after a kick ; " when the 
 centre-rush, whose duty it was to block, and who 
 had little chance to do anything else, said, " I am 
 going to be down there too." And he was. He 
 did his own blocking, and was often down the field 
 before the ends got there. That kind of spirit will 
 win a victory every time. 
 
 You will find, in executing the different plays 
 and moves you may plan, that the matter of detail 
 still occupies a prominent position. You may tell a 
 player to go to a certain place; but to obtain the 
 best results you must show him how he is to go, 
 and what he is to do when he gets there. Make 
 your players start from the same positions in as 
 many moves as you can, so that your opponent 
 cannot tell what your plan of action is ; in this 
 way you can pass quickly from one play to another 
 without a change of position. Make each boy's 
 duties simple, and have him do the same thing in 
 as many moves as possible. Do not waste your 
 time on complicated tricks ; team play is absolutely 
 necessary for success. This comes from developing 
 the players and their positions from the foundation 
 up, and not from attempting intricate moves with
 
 3 2 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 boys who do not understand the rudiments of the 
 game. 
 
 Make your signals simple, easy to be remem- 
 bered, and at the same time effective. A com- 
 plicated code of signals will puzzle your own 
 side, when excited, quite as much as it does your 
 opponents. 
 
 In conclusion, study the details of each posi- 
 tion of your eleven, and develop your players so 
 they may have resources at their 
 
 ^Bhi 
 
 command. flBc~~ir~~ ^fets. Show them the re- 
 la t i o n s be- 
 tween the 
 
 Falling on a Muff. 
 
 different positions, and teach them to play into 
 each other's hands. Your reward will be that in 
 every movement, from making a hole to stopping 
 an end play, you will have eleven players concen- 
 trated, who know how to play together for the 
 same end. 
 
 This is a hard kind of a team to beat, for they 
 make few misplays themselves, and know how to 
 take advantage of their opponents' errors.
 
 HANDLING A COLLEGE NINE. 
 
 BY LAWRENCE T. BLISS, 
 Captain of tlie Yale Base-ball Team of 1893. 
 
 the last few years the game of 
 base-ball, in colleges and univer- 
 r/V s iti es has lost much of its popu- 
 larity, and has given way to foot- 
 ball, which, as now played, is prac- 
 tically a new game. 
 
 The reason is that base-ball is 
 more or less in the hands of pro- 
 fessionals, while foot-ball is as yet 
 entirely free from what one would 
 call " professionalism." 
 This article is written from a college point of 
 view, and is designed to tell the young base-ball 
 enthusiasts something concerning the handling and 
 training of a base-ball team in one of our Ameri- 
 can collegv 
 
 As soon as the foot-ball season is over, the cap- 
 
 33 
 
 Hip Exercise.
 
 34 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Knee Exercise. 
 
 tain and manager of the base-ball team decide as 
 to their plans for the coming season. These include 
 the number of games that shall 
 be scheduled away from home, 
 and also the home games, plan- 
 ning for the Easter trip, obtain- 
 ing a competent man to coach 
 the candidates for pitcher, and 
 many other minor details that 
 scarcely need mention here. 
 
 No regular training is com- 
 menced until about the first of February, when 
 all candidates are requested to present themselves 
 at the gymnasium. 
 
 The first training is an av- 
 erage daily afternoon run of 
 from a mile and a half to 
 two miles ; after this the can- 
 didates go to the " cage." 
 In this building the candi- 
 dates assemble, and go 
 through a variety of move- 
 ments designed to limber up 
 the muscles ; these exercises include moving the 
 body up and down, keeping the back straight, and 
 
 Bach Exercise.
 
 HANDLING A COLLEGE NINE. 
 
 35 
 
 The Pitcher. 
 
 bending the knees ; then, bending the back from 
 
 the hips, with arms straight out from 
 
 the shoulders, and trying to touch the 
 
 ground without bending the knees ; 
 
 raising one's self on tiptoes, revolv- 
 ing the arms in a circle in front of 
 
 the chest, first in one direction, then 
 
 the opposite ; and finally, with hands 
 
 on hips, moving the body from one 
 
 side to the other. 
 
 On Wednesday and Saturday after- 
 noons, these being half-holidays, the 
 
 training work commences earlier. Before taking 
 
 the accustomed run, a few 
 grounders are knocked to 
 each man, the benefit being 
 very great, as it teaches a 
 player to handle himself 
 well, even though he is 
 an outfielder. Outfielders 
 have quite a number of 
 grounders to stop during 
 the season, and many 
 games have been lost 
 
 through the inability of some of the men to stop 
 
 The Catcher in Armor.
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 such balls. This practice also limbers the player's 
 throwing arm, as he throws nearly the length of 
 the cage. It is also a great help to 
 a captain, as it is the only way in 
 which he is able to test, weed out, 
 and get rid of some of his superfluous 
 material. For these reasons, too, it is 
 well to practise picking up grounders 
 even in a gymnasium with a wooden 
 floor, if a school team is deprived of 
 the advantages of a cage. 
 
 When the number of candidates is 
 watching eases. rec ]uced a little, and the clays grow 
 longer, the Wednesday and Saturday afternoon 
 practice is taken up daily, and base sliding is 
 added. 
 
 Base sliding on the hard around in the ca^e 
 
 o o c> 
 
 requires a good deal of nerve for a man who has 
 never slid head first before. Even if he has the 
 required nerve, he is often liable to injure him- 
 self. For this reason Mr. Stagg, a former captain 
 of the Yale base-ball team, invented a sliding 
 machine, which consists of a wooden frame with 
 a heavy piece of carpet stretched tight across it. 
 This is so placed that the carpet rests upon the
 
 HANDLING A COLLEGE NINE. 
 
 37 
 
 ground. After a few lessons on this, the new men 
 slide on the ground without fear of being hurt. 
 
 About the first of March the coach arrives, 
 and takes charge of the pitchers. 
 A college team should have four 
 pitchers. Two of them should be 
 first-class ones, and the other two 
 above the average. It is always 
 a good thing to have an eye on 
 the future in selecting and coach- 
 ing pitchers; for a college, sooner 
 or later, has to lose its star play- 
 ers, as graduation day comes 
 around and the senior is no 
 longer an undergraduate. 
 
 There are many different opinions in regard to 
 the advantages and disadvantages of using a cage 
 to practise batting in. It has many disadvantages 
 for this particular use. The light is apt to be very 
 poor; the space too small. Because of these two 
 drawbacks the eye is compelled to follow the ball in 
 an enclosure with a background. When he is in the 
 
 5 
 
 open field the player will find what a difference this 
 makes. A good example of these disadvantages 
 was seen in the Harvards' heavy batting team of 
 
 The First Baseman.
 
 38 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 1891. They did not use the cage to practise bat- 
 ting in, although they have an excellent one. 
 
 But, on the other hand, this cage practice is ex- 
 cellent in giving a man batting form, and practice 
 in swinging the bat. The cage is invaluable also 
 for battery practice. 
 
 It is very seldom that a team can obtain more 
 than a week's out-door practice before the Easter 
 trip ; so by the end of March, 
 which is the time that the Easter 
 trip commences, the team is very 
 rusty. About fifteen or sixteen 
 men are taken on the trip, and 
 a game is arranged for every 
 
 Sliding for Base. 
 
 day. These games, as a rule, are against profes- 
 sionals. After a week's play the team returns 
 home, and plays two or three games a week dur- 
 ing the remainder of the season. The work at 
 the field every afternoon, except when a game is 
 scheduled, consists of an hour's batting and a half-
 
 HANDLING A COLLEGE NINE. . 39 
 
 hour's fielding, a little base sliding, and fifteen or 
 twenty minutes' team practice. 
 
 It might be well to say a few words here concern- 
 ing table diet when training for base-ball. The old 
 custom was to feed the different athletic teams on 
 nothing but rare beef and potatoes. Now, how- 
 ever, the bill of fare consists of wholesome food 
 with quite a variety. For breakfast we have fruit, 
 oatmeal, steak, omelet, and potatoes ; for lunch, 
 steak, cold beef or chicken, and potatoes ; for din- 
 ner we have soup, chicken, beef, mashed potatoes, 
 pease or corn, and tomatoes, with bread, tapioca or 
 custard pudding for dessert, and twice a week we 
 have ice-cream. Toast is served at every meal ; 
 oatmeal water and milk to drink. The potatoes 
 are cooked in nearly every style except fried. 
 Hashed and browned is generally the favorite way. 
 So, you see, training is not starving. 
 
 This brief statement of training, though referring 
 to college base-ball work, may also be of sugges- 
 tion and use to boys who are going in for a course 
 in base-ball, and wish to make their home club 
 strong and successful players.
 
 SEVEN GOOD RULES FOR BASE-BALL 
 PLAYERS TO BEAR IN MIND. 
 
 BY W. S. MARTIN, JR. 
 
 Captain of the Tufts College Base-ball Team of 1893. 
 
 . Base runners must always remember and 
 turn to the right of the foul line in returning 
 to first, when they have overrun that base. 
 
 Two. Batters should run whenever they touch 
 the ball, or whenever they have struck three times 
 and missed it. No matter if two men are out, you 
 may not be the third one if you run well. 
 
 THREE. It would be well for young players 
 to remember and keep a base runner on the third 
 base, if the opposing catcher is weak up under the 
 bat. or if the opponent's pitcher is wild. 
 
 FOUR. To be a good batter you must stand up 
 to the plate fearlessly, and the ball must be met by 
 the weight of the body instead of the swing of the 
 
 40
 
 SEVEN GOOD RULES FOR BASE-BALL PLAYERS. 4! 
 
 arms. This can be done by resting on one leg, so 
 that you can easily step forward to meet the coming 
 ball. 
 
 FIVE. Infielders should always run out to help 
 the outfielders, on the throw in of a hard-batted 
 ball. This may save a run. 
 
 Six. Always play for the advancing man. If 
 there is a man on first, the ball when hit should be 
 played to second and then to first base. If there 
 is a man on first and second, the ball should go to 
 the third base, and then to second. 
 
 SEVEN. Captains should always strive to per- 
 fect their team play. It is what wins games. 
 Coach your third baseman to try for all balls batted 
 down that way, and have him backed up by the 
 short-stop. Have the second baseman always back 
 up your first baseman, and see that your second 
 baseman and short-stop assist each other.
 
 A SERMON ON LAWN TENNIS. 
 
 BY JAMES DWIGHT. 
 
 T AWN TENNIS is a curious game. It simply 
 consists in hitting a ball over a net and back 
 again. Nothing else, except that you try to hit it 
 as hard as you safely can, and to put it out of your 
 opponent's reach. It sounds easy enough, and yet 
 think how few can play well. You see people play 
 for years, and play very little better at the end. 
 This would be right and natural enough if they 
 took no real interest in the game, but many of 
 them do. 
 
 In other games and sports it is not so. There 
 seems to be no game that so many play and so few 
 play well. Any ordinary man can learn to row, 
 respectably at least, if he gives several years to it. 
 Almost any boy can learn to play base-ball. Most 
 men with practice can learn to shoot pretty straight. 
 
 And so on ; but with lawn tennis it is different. 
 
 42
 
 A SERMON ON LAWN TENNIS. 43 
 
 There the multitude are "duffers;" and " duffers " 
 they remain all their lives. It is a few only who 
 come forward out of the ranks. 
 
 Why should this be so ? For many reasons; the 
 game is not as easy as it looks. It is easy enough 
 to hit the ball gently out of your hand over the net 
 into some part of the opposite court, but it is not 
 so easy to hit it hard and keep it in court. It has 
 to go very close to the net to do that. Then again, 
 it is not enough to hit it into any part of the court ; 
 it must be placed in some particular spot to gain 
 any advantage. It may be necessary to place it 
 within a few inches of the side line. On top of all 
 this, you may have to run at the top of your speed 
 to reach the ball at all. 
 
 All this does not sound so easy. Yet there is 
 something more, the faculty of playing the right 
 stroke every time. It comes to a very few men 
 as an instinct. It comes to a larger number as the 
 result of years of thought and practice. To the 
 immense majority it never comes at all ; in fact, 
 they do not know that such a faculty exists. Even 
 now we have not got through with the difficulties 
 of the game. Running about the court is not easy 
 work. The distance of each man is not great, nor
 
 44 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 need the speed always be high ; but you must start 
 very quickly, almost, in fact, before you are sure 
 where the ball is coming. It is really a succession 
 of jumps, rather than a steady run. For this you 
 need great quickness and agility, and, beyond all, 
 great endurance. In other words, the game needs 
 young men in good condition to play it well. On 
 the other hand, it requires judgment and experi- 
 ence that usually come only later in life. 
 
 Such are some of the difficulties of the game ; and 
 one does not wonder, as he thinks of them, that the 
 game is not better played. Why, then, some one 
 will ask, is the game so popular ? Why do so 
 many play it, if they know that they can never play 
 it well? Because the " duffers" have just as good 
 a time as the " cracks." Sometimes I think that 
 they have a better time even, for with them it is 
 all play ; with the better players it is serious work. 
 
 I remember well the first time I ever played the 
 game. It was at Nahant, in the summer of '74. 
 A set of lawn tennis had been brought over from 
 England early in the summer ; but we had taken 
 no interest in it too little, indeed, to try it. At 
 length one day we put up the net, marked out a 
 rude court, and started, more in jest than earnest.
 
 A SERMON ON LAWN TENNIS. 
 
 45 
 
 In a few moments we were playing in earnest 
 indeed. There was all the feeling of personal an- 
 tagonism which is to me one of the great attractions 
 of the game. My first opponent was Mr. F. R. 
 Sears, an elder brother of the ex-champion. I re- 
 member that each won a game, and that in the after- 
 noon we played in 
 the rain in rubber 
 coats and boots. 
 How odd it would 
 look now ! 
 
 Of course we 
 could not play 
 much, but the in- 
 terest was just as 
 great. I fancy that 
 one reason for the 
 great popularity of 
 the game lies in 
 the fact that you do not need to play well to have 
 a good time. You need only an opponent of 
 about your own strength, so that there may be a 
 continual struggle for the mastery. For this very 
 reason, two players are apt to get into the habit 
 of always playing together, and they naturally im- 
 
 Playing the Right Stroke.
 
 46 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 prove very slowly. Often they see no good play, 
 they have the same ideas about the game as when 
 they started, they have the same faults, because 
 they know no better. 
 
 I look to see much better lawn tennis in the 
 future than exists at present. The game has been 
 generally known about a dozen years ; and it was 
 first taken up largely by grown men, who had 
 played rackets, or base-ball, or cricket. They 
 learned all they could with no one to teach them, 
 comparatively soon, and before this time have 
 dropped out of active play because the exertion 
 is beyond them. I am an example of the class 
 myself; though I lasted longer than most, as I 
 cared more for the game. 
 
 Of course all this time boys were learning to 
 play, but very few of them turned out well. They 
 learned as they chose ; few of them wished for any 
 teaching ; fewer got it. So for a long time the 
 older men were in front. 
 
 There has now come another change, and in the 
 right direction. The interest in games of all kinds 
 has increased so much, and so much attention is 
 devoted to training boys in the preparatory schools 
 and afterward in college, that we have not only a
 
 A SERMON ON LAWN TENNIS. 
 
 47 
 
 very large class of trained athletes, but boys have 
 learned how important good "coaching" is. They 
 :/<> into the game more earnestly than they used, 
 large 
 
 " 
 
 Owing to the 
 n u m b e r of tourna- 
 ments, they see the 
 best players, and they 
 copy their styles. Each 
 has some one whom 
 he looks up to as a 
 model of what good 
 play should be. 
 
 Now, too, they play 
 in tournaments them- 
 selves ; and playing in 
 public, they are more 
 careful as to their 
 faults and peculiarities than they used to be in 
 private, for fear of seeming ridiculous. In this way 
 they learn to play well at an earlier age than any 
 class before them. Thus they have their agility 
 and their knowledge of the game at the same time. 
 Heretofore I used to say that the trouble with the 
 game was, that few had brains enough to play it 
 properly until they got too old to play it at all. 
 
 With no Side Twist.
 
 48 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 This, I think, is no longer true ; and the change 
 is due to the improvement of the boys. For in- 
 stance, I do not see any great improvement in the 
 best players in the past few years, but among the 
 middle-class players the improvement is enormous. 
 They are largely young players, and are still im- 
 proving. The number, too, of good players has 
 increased very much ; and in the first class itself 
 there are twice as many players as there were a 
 few years ago. 
 
 The practical part of all this discussion is, " Can 
 we do anything to help the advancement of young 
 players ? " Something we can do : we can encour- 
 age tournaments between the different schools, etc. 
 The interscholastic tournaments held at Harvard, 
 Yale, and Princeton are good examples. If any one 
 doubts the value of this system, let him look at the 
 success of the foot-ball competition between the dif- 
 ferent preparatory schools in training players for 
 Harvard. Harvard has not won with them, but that 
 is a different story. 
 
 By giving tournaments, we help the boys in 
 several ways. They get used to matches, a very 
 necessary thing. They get interested in the game, 
 and their ambition is aroused. They see good play
 
 50 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 and good players ; and they meet every variety of 
 style, instead of having their practice confined to 
 playing against one or two players only. 
 
 This is surely good. Can we now add any 
 preaching that can be of use ? I hardly know ; I 
 look on preaching with great disrespect. Few 
 listen, few believe you, and fewer still take the 
 trouble to try to put the teaching into practice. 
 There are, however, some general instructions 
 so simple that it would seem folly to write 
 them, if it were not that they are constantly lost 
 sight of. 
 
 Take a boy at the beginning. Probably he can- 
 not get one of the most expensive rackets. It 
 really does not matter. Some of the cheaper ones 
 are practically as good, but it matters a great deal 
 what sort of a cheap one he gets. Let him get 
 one of fourteen or fourteen and a quarter ounces, 
 a little lighter in the head than most rackets are 
 made. Have nothing fancy about it, no gold braid, 
 no curious stringing, no fluted handle. It needs 
 to be well balanced and well strung, and that is 
 
 o 
 
 enough. As to flannels and shoes, there is nothing 
 to be said, except that the shoe should be comfort- 
 able and solid enough to hold the foot together,
 
 A SERMON ON LAWN TENNIS. 51 
 
 else there is a good deal of danger of straining the 
 foot. 
 
 As to balls, I do not know what to say. Balls 
 are very expensive, and last a very short time. A 
 boy cannot expect to have new balls every da)' ; and 
 if he is in earnest, and does not mind taking trouble 
 in order to learn, the best thing that he can do is 
 to practise with two or three balls only. They will 
 need a good deal of chasing, but he will always 
 have them in good condition. If he brings out a 
 boxful, they will all suffer more or less the first day, 
 and he will have to use poor balls till he can get 
 another box. It is a great mistake to use uncov- 
 ered balls or last year's balls. Neither are of the 
 slightest use. 
 
 o 
 
 No advice can be given about courts. One must 
 play on the best available. 
 
 To begin with, the player may make up his 
 mind that it will take a long time to play even 
 tolerably well. The first thing to do is to learn 
 to hit the ball straight that is, with no side twist. 
 The ball should go directly down the court. If the 
 player stands on the central line, the ball should 
 drop on the central line on the other side of the 
 net. This is the very essence of a good stroke.
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 If you can play straight, you can tell where the ball 
 is going. If you have a curve on it, you will be 
 constantly hitting out of court on the side, or else 
 bringing the ball into the middle of the court when 
 you intended it to go down 
 the side line. 
 
 Next in importance is the 
 length of the court. You 
 must learn to hit from one 
 base line to the other ; that 
 is, to hit from the back of 
 your own court and make the 
 ball drop about a yard from 
 the other base line. A mo- 
 ment's thought will show that 
 if the ball goes only as far as 
 the service line, your oppo- 
 nent can easily come forward 
 to volley. 
 
 These two points are the foundation of the game. 
 As to the service, don't bother about it. A very 
 fast service is terrible to bad players ; but good ones 
 return it easily. Wait till you play fairly well before 
 you try for a very fast service. Next comes the vol- 
 ley. Wait till you have brought the ground strokes 
 
 A Girl " Champion. '
 
 'A Rest in the Game.'
 
 A SERMON ON LAWN TENNIS. 55 
 
 under control before you begin to practise much 
 volleying. When you do begin, keep one point 
 clearly in mind : you must always hit the ball. You 
 must not let it hit your racket. The only exception 
 is when you are close to the net ; then you may 
 block the ball, if your opponent is far back. Don't 
 try any wild " smashing." Hit quietly, but always 
 hard. As a principle, never hit a ball easy ; always 
 make a real stroke. One word more. Don't play 
 very long at a time. Three or four sets are enough. 
 Always play with a better player if you can, and 
 take odds enough to make him work as hard as he 
 can. 
 
 Win quietly ; lose quietly, and don't get angry.
 
 HOW TO TRAIN A CREW. 
 
 BY WILLIAM A. BANCROFT, 
 
 Captain of tlie Harvard Crews of 1876 to 1879. 
 
 BEFORE training comes the selection of men. 
 Too great care cannot be taken that the 
 o 
 
 members of a crew are, first, physically sound; and, 
 second, anatomically fitted for rowing. Men whose 
 organs are unsound, not only are likely to suffer 
 themselves, but, when they break down, new men 
 are taken in their places, and there is lost the uni- 
 son of a crew the result of weeks of preparation. 
 The work must be done over, if there is time. If 
 not, the crew is weakened to that extent. Men 
 should have a suitable stature and suitable propor- 
 tions. Men too tall or too short, men with ex- 
 tremely long or short arms or legs, conform only 
 with great difficulty, if at all, to the movements of 
 the rest of the crew. Men from five feet eieht 
 
 o 
 
 inches to six feet in height, and weighing, without 
 clothing, from one hundred and fifty to one hundred 
 
 56
 
 HOW TO TRAIN A CREW. 57 
 
 and eighty-five pounds when in racing condition, 
 are generally the best. There is, of course, great 
 choice in fibre. Some consideration also should be 
 given to temperament and disposition. A man 
 should have resolution, spirit, good judgment, amia- 
 bility, and equanimity. A good crew must be essen- 
 tially harmonious, and this involves adaptability on 
 the part of all of its 
 members to each other. 
 Boat-racing should not 
 be undertaken, as a rule, 
 by those under seven- 
 teen years of a^e ; and 
 
 J > 
 
 it would be safer to be- 
 
 "On the Machine." 
 
 gin at eighteen or even 
 
 nineteen. The sport is a violent one, and is likely 
 to be too exacting for persons in mid-youth. The 
 organs are not then sufficiently powerful ; and an 
 arrested development, even if nothing more seri- 
 ous, may result. 
 
 Training involves the amounts and kinds of 
 exercise, food and drink, sleep and bathing for the 
 body, besides the occupation of the mind and its 
 discipline. 
 
 And first of exercise:
 
 58 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 If the persons selected have the time at their dis- 
 posal, it is always better, before beginning to row, to 
 practise for a week or two several forms of exercise, 
 for the purpose of strengthening certain muscles of 
 the back and legs, as well as the wrist muscles, and 
 to get the heart and lungs accustomed to greater 
 activity. As the crew, which at this time should 
 contain at least two more men than the number of 
 oars to be pulled, must conform to the powers of its 
 weakest member, and as it is not prudent to begin 
 by taking a large amount of exercise, at first not 
 over twenty minutes ought to be spent on gymna- 
 sium apparatus and in calisthenic exercises, and not 
 over a mile ought to be covered in walking and 
 running, three-quarters of tfrfiich should be walk- 
 ing. This exercise ought to be gradually increased 
 until thirty-five or forty minutes are spent in the 
 gymnasium, and a run of a mile and a half at a pace 
 of seven or eight miles an hour is taken. 
 
 The gymnasium exercises should consist of work 
 on vertical bars, on wrist weights, to some extent on 
 arm and chest weights, and in doing the military 
 "setting up" exercises, such as are now prescribed 
 for the army of the United States, especially the 
 exercise which consists in lowering and raising the
 
 HOW TO TRAIN A CREW. 
 
 59 
 
 body by bending the legs at the knees, or " squat- 
 ting." The gymnasium exercises ought to be done 
 by all together at the word of command, both for 
 the sake of acquiring uniformity of movement, and 
 also of acquiring a habit of obedience. A crew is 
 a machine. Its parts must fit each other, and the 
 whole must start and move and stop as directed. 
 
 The " Setting-up " Motion. 
 
 These gymnasium exercises for the first two or 
 three years of rowing should be kept up daily, until 
 within about six weeks of a race, usually from ten to 
 fifteen minutes being given to them, even after the 
 actual rowing has begun ; and the runs should be
 
 60 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 kept up until nearly as late a date. During the six 
 weeks or thereabouts immediately preceding a race, 
 a smart walk of a mile or more, according to the 
 time available, oup^ht to be substituted for the ex- 
 
 o 
 
 ercises and the running. For students and those 
 whose vocations are sedentary, it is a good plan to 
 take the walk immediately upon rising, and, while 
 perspiring, follow it with a quick shower or plunge 
 bath, and a rub-down before breakfast. If there is 
 time, instead of this, a longer walk at a less rapid 
 pace may be taken during the day. Overdoing, 
 however, is to be avoided. What a given crew can 
 do must be learned by experience ; and individuals 
 should be relieved, if it is found that they are doing 
 too much. Especially as the day of the race ap- 
 proaches, care should be taken that no one is over- 
 trained. If there is doubt, a given exercise had 
 best be omitted. 
 
 The food should consist of meat and fish, vegeta- 
 bles, light puddings, and fruit ; the drink of pure 
 water, and good milk if wanted. Pastry, confec- 
 tions, alcoholic drinks, and tobacco should be 
 prohibited. The food should be abundant and 
 wholesome. Steaks, chops, or broiled chicken, with 
 fish for breakfast ; soup, fish, and a roast for dinner
 
 HOW TO TRAIN A CREW. 63 
 
 in the middle of the day ; and a cold roast or break- 
 fast dishes for supper. The roasts should not be 
 overdone, but should be suitably cooked so as to 
 retain the juices. The best of vegetables should be 
 selected, and fruit in its season. The bread should 
 be neither too fresh nor too stale. In short, all these 
 articles of food should be prepared as they are at 
 a first-class hotel. The best of good, wholesome 
 food, and that in abundance, is needed. There 
 ought to be no regret if weight is not lost, provided 
 each man does his share of the work in the boat. 
 Good food and plenty of exercise strengthen the 
 muscles ; and if this process is going on, an increase 
 in weight is of little moment. 
 
 The oarsman should have all the sleep he wants; 
 and between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five 
 he will need about nine hours in bed, if he does 
 honest work in the boat. He should sleep in a 
 well- ventilated room, and on a hair mattress and 
 pillow, with no more covering than is necessary for 
 warmth, and this will not be much. His sleep 
 should be taken at regular hours. Besides the 
 morning bath, one other cold bath daily may be 
 taken after the row, or after the harder row if there 
 are two ; but the bath must be taken while perspi-
 
 64 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 ration is going on, that is, at once after the row is 
 done. The bath should not be prolonged, and 
 should be followed by a vigorous rubbing down 
 with a dry towel. This rubbing may advantage- 
 ously be followed by another rubbing of the 
 limbs by the hands of an attendant, whose hands 
 are moistened with spirits for the purpose. Care, 
 however, should be taken to do the rubbing in a 
 room sufficiently warm and free from draughts to 
 avoid taking cold. If, for any reason, the oarsman 
 has stopped perspiring before taking a bath, the 
 bath should be in warm water. 
 
 The mind should have a rational occupation. 
 Freedom from extraordinary care or unusual excite- 
 ment should be insured. Regularity of both bodily 
 and mental habits should be observed. While in 
 the boat the closest attention should be given by 
 each man to his performance, and time enough 
 should be taken when out of the boat to understand 
 and to master what is required of him. If there is 
 time, and the sole object in view is to win a race, 
 much time may profitably be spent by every mem- 
 ber of the crew in perfecting, by discussion or 
 otherwise, the details of the stroke, or of the work 
 of individuals, or of the crew as a whole. At all
 
 HOW TO TRAIN A CREW. 65" 
 
 events, the mind should be kept healthy by the 
 contemplation and the consideration of none but 
 wholesome subjects. 
 
 While there should be a regularity in matters 
 of food, sleep, and habits, and, in general, in exer- 
 cise, the latter should not be allowed to become 
 irksome through its monotony. It is better to 
 give up rowing occasionally for a day, and substi- 
 tute some other exercise of a recreative character, 
 or rest altogether ; and, if the preparation for a 
 race lasts for six months, a vacation of a week 
 ought to be taken when the time is half gone. 
 But even then exercise ought not to be wholly 
 abandoned ; and the rest of the requirements, those 
 relating to food, drink, sleep, etc., should be 
 observed. 
 
 Few races ought to be undertaken, and none by 
 new men, without at least three months of prepara- 
 tion. By this is not meant that, after a race is over, 
 a man's habits may be radically changed. The 
 true oarsman never essentially changes his habits. 
 Unless his concerns prevent, he will always get 
 plenty of sleep at regular hours, will eat nothing 
 but the kinds of food described above, will not 
 become a slave to any appetite, and will not give
 
 66 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 up athletic exercise. Such a man will be, in a 
 sense, always in condition ; without inconvenience, 
 he will readily assume the more exacting obli- 
 gations necessary to prepare for a race. A crew 
 of such men may, of course, prepare for a contest 
 in less than three months' time ; but even they will 
 do well to give as long a period as three months, 
 
 if the race is to be any but 
 a very short one. 
 
 The stroke to be rowed 
 will depend somewhat upon 
 circumstances. If it should 
 happen that there be avail- 
 able for the stroke oarsman 
 of the crew, a man who has 
 already acquired a smooth, symmetrical, regular, and 
 effective movement, it may be expedient to teach 
 the rest of the crew his stroke, no matter what the 
 style. Good results have been obtained from such 
 a course. Good crew shell-rowing, no matter what 
 the style of stroke, has certain requirements. The 
 shell must be rowed so that it \vill not roll from 
 side to side ; so that it will not sink unnecessarily 
 either at bow or stern, when the weight of the crew 
 shifts as it is moved with the seats. The oar-blades 
 
 Position of " Stroke."
 
 HOW TO TRAIN A CREW. 67 
 
 
 
 must take the water on the " full reach" at the very 
 farthest point to which they are carried, without 
 " clipping " or rowing the first part of the stroke 
 in the air. They must take the water also without 
 " backing " it, or throwing it towards the bow. 
 They must leave the water at the end of the stroke 
 without " slivering," or pulling water up as they 
 are taken out ; that is, the blades must take and 
 leave the water so that the least possible retar- 
 dation shall be given to the onward movement of 
 the boat, or, as it is sometimes said, they must be 
 put in and taken out " clean " and " smooth." 
 
 After the blades are taken out of the water at the 
 end of the stroke, they must be returned to the " full 
 reach " again without touching the water ; for the 
 friction of drawing them along the surface tends to 
 
 oo o o 
 
 hold the boat back. The blades, of course, ought 
 to be dipped together, taken out together, feathered 
 together at a uniform height, and turned again 
 together for another stroke. Again, there should 
 be uniformity of movement inside the boat ; indeed, 
 unless there is such uniformity, there is little likeli- 
 hood of uniformity of movement outside. The 
 backs, therefore, of a crew that rows well will 
 always be parallel, the legs will move simultane-
 
 68 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 ously, and so will the seats, and the arms will be 
 drawn in at the same time, the wrists dropped 
 together at the finish of the stroke, the arms 
 extended again at the same time, and the hands 
 will be turned simultaneously on the full reach to 
 begin the stroke. All these requirements are com- 
 mon to good crew shell-rowing, and, when lacking, 
 are indications of a faulty stroke. But none of these 
 faults, however, may belong to any one of several 
 crews, no two of which are rowing the same stroke. 
 There may be good rowing, therefore, under various 
 styles of stroke. Still, some one must be adopted. 
 When no other stroke has been adopted, the fol- 
 lowing may be used : Assuming the boat to be 
 stationary and the oarsman to be at a " full reach," 
 arms extended, back straightened from its lowest 
 extremity and inclined, seat as far aft as it is 
 intended to be moved, blade in the water turned for 
 the stroke and just covered, the shoulders squared 
 and held down and back, the neck and head in pro-* 
 longation of the back, the wrist of the hand next to 
 the rowlock slightly convexed, and that hand resting 
 diagonally upon the oar handle, the legs opened 
 slightly, but symmetrically, enough to receive 
 between the thighs the lower front part of the
 
 HOW TO TRAIN A CREW. 69 
 
 trunk, and the boat resting evenly upon the water, 
 the stroke is begun by swaying the trunk back as 
 though pivoted at the seat until it has reached the 
 vertical position, then the legs are straightened out 
 with vigor, the seat moving back with the shoulders, 
 the hands being kept at such a height that the blade 
 will remain just covered, until the seat has been 
 moved toward the bow to its limit, and the trunk has 
 swung just a trifle beyond the vertical. The stroke 
 is finished by drawing in the arms until the hands 
 touch the body, when, by dropping them a bit, and, 
 at the same time slightly turning the wrist, the blade 
 is taken out of the water. Care should be taken 
 to keep the blade just covered in making this 
 finish. To return to the 
 " full reach " again the 
 hands continue moving, 
 and are shot out parallel 
 with the surface of the 
 water until the arms are 
 straightened, the trunk is 
 
 /-ill In Single Scull. 
 
 swung forward, and almost 
 
 at the same time the seat is started aft, while the 
 trunk continues to swing until everything gets to 
 the " full reach" simultaneously and is ready to be-
 
 yo THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 gin another stroke. Nothing but practice, of course, 
 and the assistance of an experienced " coach," will 
 enable a crew to row smoothly, gracefully, and 
 effectively the stroke here attempted to be de- 
 scribed. The separate parts of the stroke are given 
 as though they were independent movements, in- 
 stead of forming, as they do, one continuous but 
 complicated movement. At the beginning of the 
 stroke, or at the " catch " as it is called, the shoul- 
 ders should be driven back vigorously and rapidly, 
 care being taken not to make the motion a jerky 
 one by burying the oar-blade too deeply, and thus 
 stopping the movement of the shoulders. At the 
 finish the most difficult part of the movement to be 
 acquired is a rapid " shoot" of the arms away from 
 the body, without a jarring motion by which the 
 hands are either sent down into the lap with a 
 violent thump, or else the shoulders are brought 
 forward with a jerk. The "catch" and the " shoot" 
 give no little trouble to beginners ; but, when once 
 mastered by a crew, it is believed that, other things 
 being equal, no stroke without them is so effective. 
 Every motion must be such as to waste no energy. 
 After the arms are shot out, the trunk, which scarcely 
 stops in changing direction, should not be rushed
 
 HOW TO TRAIN A CREW. 7! 
 
 towards the " full reach," but should follow at a rel- 
 atively moderate pace the " shoot " of the arms. 
 Especially, care should be taken not to let the trunk 
 drop down on the " full reach " with a jar or thump, 
 and pains should be taken to have the hands 
 high enough as they approach the " full reach " to 
 bring the blade as close to the water as it can be 
 brought, without "backing water," to begin the 
 stroke. 
 
 The tricks of watermanship, or of rowing the 
 boat " on an even keel " as it is called, that is, 
 
 A Turn to Starboard. 
 
 without its inclining either to port or starboard, 
 can most of them be learned only by experience. 
 It is a general rule, when the boat inclines to port 
 during the feather, for the starboard men to lower 
 their hands and for the port men to raise theirs,
 
 72 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 and vice versa. If the boat rolls to port during 
 the stroke, the port men must pry her over, done 
 by lifting, as it were, their oar-handles, and vice 
 versa. Every muscle should, of course, be trained 
 to be under absolute control, so as to adjust itself 
 to the various conditions of wind, wave, and cur- 
 rent as they appear, to anticipate, and, by the 
 necessary motions, to counteract their effect upon 
 the "trim" of the boat. Power must be applied 
 vigorously at one instant ; at the next, it must be 
 taken off so as to maintain the "beat" or rhythm 
 of the stroke. 
 
 It is best to teach a novice the motions of the 
 trunk, legs, and arms upon a rowing-machine. 
 The muscles are then accustomed to many of the 
 requirements of the stroke, so that when, later, 
 the beginner is seated in a boat, there is not so 
 much to be learned at once. Before he is allowed 
 to row with a crew, he should be taught first, in a 
 pair-oared boat of sufficient steadiness not to roll, 
 the proper method of handling an oar. From the 
 pair-oar, the members of the crew should next be 
 seated in a steady barge, and there be taught to 
 row " together." Lastly, the shell should be 
 entered. In the meantime, the way to lift boats,
 
 HOW TO TRAIN A CREW. 73 
 
 to carry them, to put them into the water and to 
 take them out should be taught ; also the way 
 to get in and to get out of a boat ; the way to 
 turn a boat without straining it, as well as how 
 to "hold" it and to "back" it. A shell must be 
 used with the greatest of care, in order that its 
 lines may be kept. 
 
 In placing the crew in a boat, care should be 
 taken to select for the stroke oarsman a man of 
 quick motions, clear head, and self-possession, 
 plucky, and of endurance. He should be able 
 to set a long stroke, the pace of which he can 
 regulate without throwing the crew out of time, 
 and he should have power enough to " drive " the 
 rest of the crew in a spurt. The next man behind 
 the stroke oarsman should be a stronger man 
 than he, and one who rows a stroke quite as long, 
 and who can keep in perfect time with him. The 
 weight of the crew should be so arranged that 
 the boat will never " trim down by the head," 
 that is, sink lower in the bow than in the stern ; 
 and, as nearly as possible, the strength of the men 
 on one side should equal the strength of those 
 on the other. 
 
 There are two objects in training a crew
 
 74 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 one to enable it to acquire an effective stroke, 
 the other to enable its members to be in the very 
 best physical condition at the hour of the race. 
 The first consideration should always yield to the 
 second.
 
 CRICKET AS PLAYED IN AMERICA. 
 
 BY RALPH CRACKXELL. 
 
 Of the Boston A tluetic A ssociatioti and L ottg-wood Cricket Club. 
 
 ENGLISH and American boys are pretty much 
 the same kind of fellows in their love of out- 
 door sports ; and in neither country does a boy get 
 into knickerbockers, without beginning at once to 
 learn to play ball. 
 
 The very small boy is usually content to begin 
 by playing " catch ; " that is, tossing the ball back 
 and forth ; but it is only a short time before we find 
 him trying to follow the example of the older boys, 
 and play the national game in America, base-ball ; 
 in England, cricket. 
 
 And as soon as he becomes a pretty fair player, 
 we find our boy joining some small club ; next, 
 playing on his school team ; then on his college 
 nine or eleven, and all the while going to see games 
 between the best players of the great teams, study- 
 
 75
 
 76 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 ing the fine points of the game, learning the science 
 of play, and unconsciously getting the good health 
 which comes from being in the open air, and which 
 is likely to carry him through life. 
 
 The difference between the games of the two 
 countries, is, however, that cricket means much 
 more to the English boy than base-ball does to the 
 American. 
 
 This follows naturally ; for while our American 
 game has been in existence only about thirty-five 
 years, cricket has been the English national sport 
 for two centuries ; and where, with us, our best 
 players of base-ball are men who make a business 
 of playing, and are paid large salaries, in England 
 the greatest cricket teams are made up very largely 
 of amateurs, it being seldom that in one game more 
 than two or three professional players will be found. 
 
 It is this strictly amateur element of the game of 
 cricket that has won, and kept for it, its popularity 
 in England, where the hero of the hour in school, 
 college, county, and international matches is the one 
 who has made a big score, or broken through the 
 defence of his opponents by skilful bowling. 
 
 Many boys will be surprised to learn that the first 
 game of cricket played in America, of which we
 
 CRICKET AS PLAYED IN AMERICA. 77 
 
 have record, was between eleven colonists and an 
 equal number of Londoners, in 1751, and we take 
 pleasure in recording the fact that the "cockneys" 
 were beaten. 
 
 In Boston, in 1809, the first organized club was 
 started by a number of Englishmen, under the name 
 of the Boston Cricket Club ; and just twenty-one 
 years afterward the St. George's Club, of New 
 York, was founded, and began the work of foster- 
 ing and encouraging the progress of the game. 
 
 Cricket is so little understood by the many to 
 whom base-ball and tennis have been the principal 
 summer sports, that it may be well to give a brief 
 outline of its objects, and the way it is played. 
 
 A field as large as possible, in which the grass is 
 kept as carefully clipped and level as a lawn, is the 
 ideal cricket ground. Near the centre of the field, 
 the pitch, as it is called, is selected, and the wickets 
 are placed twenty-two yards apart, opposite and 
 parallel to each other. 
 
 It must be understood that the "pitch" alluded 
 to is the space which corresponds to the space 
 between the pitcher and catcher in base-ball. 
 
 Each wicket consists of three round wooden 
 sticks, called " stumps," which are driven into the
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 ground, and just near enough together to prevent 
 the ball from passing between them, while their 
 height must not exceed twenty-seven inches, and 
 their total width, when ready for attack, not more 
 than eip-ht inches. 
 
 c> 
 
 On top of each wicket are placed two small sticks 
 of wood, called " bails ; " and 
 so lightly are they poised 
 that at the slightest dis- 
 turbance of the wicket they 
 fall to the ground. 
 
 The bowler's crease, cor- 
 responding in base-ball to 
 the pitcher's box, from be- 
 hind which the ball must 
 be bowled, is in line with 
 the wicket. Another line, 
 four feet from the wicket 
 and parallel with it, is called 
 
 the popping crease ; and the batsman, to be safe, 
 must have some part of his body or his bat inside 
 this line when the ball is in play. 
 
 The bat used is made of willow, with a spliced 
 handle, usually of cane. It is nearly flat, and not 
 more than four and a quarter inches wide, or more 
 
 Ready for the Attach.
 
 CRICKET AS PLAYED IN AMERICA. 79 
 
 than thirty-eight inches long. The ball has a basis 
 of cork, and is bound with leather, and weighs be- 
 tween five and one-half and five and three-quarters 
 ounces. 
 
 A match is played between two sides, of eleven 
 players each, unless otherwise agreed ; each side 
 has two innings except in one-clay matches, when 
 one innings each decides the contest. 
 
 The chance of innings is decided by tossing. 
 The batting side sends two men to the wickets, and, 
 as each man gets out, another replaces him until the 
 whole side is out ; one man being " not out," be- 
 cause by the rules of the game there must be a 
 batsman at each wicket. 
 
 The side which takes the field selects two bowlers, 
 one of whom delivers four, five, or six balls as pre- 
 viously arranged. 
 
 The umpire, at the bowler's wicket, now calls, 
 " over." The field then changes to suit the bowler 
 from the opposite end, and he delivers the same 
 number of balls, when " over" is called by the other 
 umpire, and the field changes again, and so on. 
 
 The bowler's object is to hit the wicket ; or he 
 is to bowl such a ball that the batsman hits it in the 
 air, and is caught by a fielder, or is coaxed outside
 
 8o 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 of the popping crease, when, missing the ball, the 
 wicket is knocked down by the wicket keeper, who 
 corresponds to the catcher in base-ball, and the 
 batsman is stumped out. 
 
 The batsman's object is to hit the ball through 
 the fielders, or in such a location as to give no 
 chance for a catch, and score a run. A run is 
 
 "How's that?" Stumped Out. 
 
 scored as often as the batsmen, after a hit, or at any 
 time while the ball is in play, shall have crossed, 
 and made good their ground, from end to end. If 
 caught between the wickets while running, or if at 
 any time the batsman while in play is out of his 
 ground, and his wicket be struck down by the ball 
 after touching any fieldsman, he is " run out." 
 With a few minor rules added, this is the way
 
 CRICKET AS PLAYED IN AMERICA. 8 1 
 
 in which the game is played in England and 
 America. 
 
 The placing of the field, which is done by the 
 bowler or the captain of the team, requires the 
 greatest judgment, so that the kind of ball delivered 
 receives the support it should by the fielders when 
 hit by the batsman. The field can be changed at 
 any time during an " over." 
 
 The difference between bowling and pitching is 
 that the ball must not be thrown. 
 
 The arm must be straight as it leaves the shoul- 
 der. The bowler twists and curves the ball from 
 the ground. The pitcher makes his curves, and 
 shoots in the air. 
 
 Returning to the history of cricket in America, 
 we find that in 1855, with the formation of the 
 Young America Club in Philadelphia, the game 
 began to acquire an American individuality which 
 has since marked the play of the followers of the 
 game in the Quaker City, the leading cricket city 
 in America. It has been called the " home of 
 American cricket." Through the influence of the 
 cricketers of that city, teams from England, Ire- 
 land, and Australia have visited this country ; and 
 each contest has marked the progress of the game
 
 82 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 in America, until, in 1891, the Philadelphians gained 
 a brilliant victory over a strong- eleven of English 
 cricketers, captained by Lord Hawke. A few years 
 ago an eleven of university men from Ireland visited 
 this country, and won one match with Philadelphia, 
 and lost one, drawing a third. The Philadelphians, 
 however, did not play in their best form, and prob- 
 ably underrated their opponents, who had suffered 
 defeat in Boston when playing twelve men against 
 fifteen. 
 
 At matches like those last mentioned, the attend- 
 ance at the beautiful Manheim grounds of the Ger- 
 mantown Cricket Club, where the international 
 contests are played, rivals that of an important 
 match in England or Australia. In England the lar- 
 gest attendance on record is at a match played last 
 season between Surrey and Nottinghamshire, when, 
 in the three days, seventy-eight thousand people 
 passed through the gates. In Australia the record 
 was made in a match between England and Aus- 
 
 o 
 
 tralia, when sixty thousand people attended. At 
 Manheim, during the three days' match with Lord 
 Hawke's eleven, over twenty-five thousand people 
 visited the grounds ; and the scene was as pictur- 
 esque and as animated as can be witnessed at Lords
 
 CRICKET AS PLAYED IN AMERICA. 
 
 when a university match, or the crack public school 
 match between Eton and Harrow, is being played. 
 
 The patron or player of base-ball, accustomed to 
 the bare-looking field, with its tawdry grand stand, 
 and rows of uncomfortable wooden seats called 
 " bleachers," would be agreeably surprised could he 
 see the beauty and luxury which 
 surround the game of cricket as 
 played at Manheim. 
 
 Skirting the ground, drawn 
 up in the welcome shade of 
 tall, graceful trees, are coaches 
 crowded with ladies in light cos- 
 tumes, many wearing the colors 
 of their favorite elevens. Inside 
 these, and completely surround- 
 ing the ground, is a black line 
 of spectators ten and twelve 
 deep, with here and there groups of old cricketers 
 chatting of the past contests, and liberally applaud- 
 ing any good play. In the middle, is the arena 
 where the battle is being fought ; the white flan- 
 nels of the men as they move over the green 
 turf, the constant activity, the call to players, and 
 the shouts of the audience, making a most ani- 
 
 Bowler Delivering a Ball.
 
 86 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 mated scene. To this, are added the beautiful 
 pavilions, crowded from floor to roof. These in- 
 clude : first, the great main pavilion, used for 
 the members of the club, the players, and their 
 
 friends; second, the ladies' 
 pavilion, which is like a 
 Newport cottage, and here 
 will be found as interesting 
 and delightful a gathering 
 as ever graced with its pres- 
 ence any afternoon tea at 
 that fashionable summer resort 
 by the sea. 
 
 Last, but by no means least in 
 importance, is the boys' pavilion ; 
 and here is one of the chief fac- 
 tors in making cricket in Phila- 
 delphia so successful. 
 
 Great pains are taken to en- 
 courage boys to take up the 
 game. They have this pavilion, and their owner- 
 ship is marked by the sign of the " kid." 
 
 The custom of Philadelphians in training up the 
 youth to love the game of cricket, and to know its 
 fine points, has placed that city in the front rank of 
 
 Blocking a Twist from Leg.
 
 CRICKET AS PLAYED IN AMERICA. 87 
 
 the cricket cities in America. Boston has a crood 
 
 o 
 
 club at Longwood, and several Americans play the 
 game there ; but cricket in New England is at pres- 
 ent played principally by Englishmen. The same 
 is true of New York, Chicago, and Detroit, and 
 partly so of Baltimore and Pittsburg. 
 
 Not until the schools and colleges of America 
 take up the game will it become universally under- 
 stood, and reach the popularity it has attained in 
 other English-speaking countries. 
 
 St. Paul's School, near Concord, N. H., has a 
 beautiful cricket ground ; and there can be found 
 the same interest, rivalry, and skill, as in a large 
 English school. Haverford College and the Uni- 
 versity of Pennsylvania have been the educational 
 grounds of many of Philadelphia's famous cricketers. 
 Harvard has struggled manfully to support an 
 eleven, and Yale in some years has attempted to 
 do so, but the interest is very slight. 
 
 With its rank as an amateur sport, and its quali- 
 ties of good nature, courtesy, and forbearance, which 
 are necessary to make a true cricketer, and with its 
 opportunity for exercise after more active games 
 have been given up, cricket should, in America, 
 receive the encouragement it can justly claim.
 
 GOLF: THE COMING GAME. 
 
 BY HUGH S. HART. 
 
 Of the Jiavier Athletic Association. 
 
 GOLF is the coming game. Already it has 
 more than kept pace with its younger rivals ; 
 and, from a purely local Scotch game, has ex- 
 tended its fascinations to every English-speaking 
 community. 
 
 That the international popularity of golf, wide- 
 spread as it already is, will go on increasing, seems 
 an assured fact, as it is based on certain unique 
 characteristics, in which the grand old game has 
 no rivals. 
 
 In golfing, the mental, as well as the physical 
 and muscular, qualities are called into full play. 
 Like the surface of the ideal golf link, the game 
 presents a series of perpetual changes. Difficulty 
 after difficulty arises, which the player is called 
 upon to surmount by cool judgment and prompt 
 
 88
 
 GOLF : THE COMING GAME. 
 
 action. The same complication may never occur 
 twice in identical circumstances ; therefore the in- 
 genuity, skill, and intelligence of the golfer have 
 unlimited scope. 
 
 Meanwhile, although the violent, intermittent 
 exercise, which renders base- 
 ball, cricket, and foot-ball 
 impracticable to all save 
 veritable athletes, can al- 
 ways be avoided in golf; 
 the legs and arms are called 
 into equable and invigorat- 
 ing action. 
 
 Unlike almost all other 
 out-door games, golf can 
 be played all the year 
 round. This is even 
 possible during the 
 winter months, as an 
 admirable game can 
 be insured upon the snow by the use of red 
 balls. 
 
 But its most generally appreciated peculiarity 
 is, that it may include among its devotees five 
 of Shakespeare's " Seven ages of man," from the 
 
 A Long Stroke.
 
 90 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 immature schoolboy to the " lean and slippered 
 pantaloon ; " while the girls, too, are afforded an 
 equal opportunity to develop practical enthusiasm, 
 if not proficiency. 
 
 Almost the only indispensable requisite of a 
 golf course is space. If a sufficient area is avail- 
 able, the impracticability of the surface for other 
 games is rather a recommendation ; all such irregu- 
 larities and impediments are known as " bunkers." 
 Without these, all would be literally flat, stale, and 
 unprofitable to the chronic golfer, who estimates 
 his enjoyment by the number of " hazards " such 
 obstructions oblige him to play. 
 
 The full course may be any distance from three 
 to five miles, though a course half the size may 
 be played round twice. Eighteen holes, from four 
 and a half to five inches in depth and diameter, 
 are cut in the turf at intervals, not necessarily 
 equidistant, and kept in shape with a metal lining. 
 
 The turf around each hole for about twenty 
 yards must be perfectly level. These spaces are 
 known as " putting greens," and are tended as so 
 many gardens. In each hole is placed a long rod, 
 surmounted by a flag, to indicate its locality ; but 
 should the course be unusually undulating, addi-
 
 GOLF : THE COMING GAME. 
 
 tional " guide flags " are placed to mark the route 
 from hole to hole. These flags should be of a 
 uniform color for half the circuit, while those in- 
 dicating the return route should be a distinct con- 
 trast. 
 
 Adjoining each "putting green," a small space 
 within painted lines is 
 reserved as a " teeing 
 ground." It is from this 
 the ball is " teed" to- 
 ward the next hole. To 
 facilitate the game, a 
 box of sand is gener- 
 ally placed within reach 
 of the players ; and, from 
 this, a bit of sand may 
 be taken to elevate the 
 ball slightly, and insure 
 a clean and effective hit. 
 
 The ball used is of solid rubber, about five 
 inches in circumference. The game commences 
 by each side playing a ball from the teeing 
 ground, where the start and finish of the course 
 converge in the direction of the first hole. A 
 side may consist of one or more players, and two 
 
 Among the Bunkers.
 
 92 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 or more sides constitute a game. The hole is 
 won by the side "holing its ball'' in the fewest 
 strokes. When the strokes are equal, the hole 
 is divided. 
 
 As the hole is approached by the leading player, 
 the flagstaff is temporarily removed until the hole 
 is scored. The ball is then struck from the adja- 
 cent "teeing ground" in the direction of the sec- 
 ond hole, and so on. In a match the partners 
 strike alternately from the tees, and also during 
 the play of the hole. 
 
 The players who are to strike against each 
 other should be named at starting, and continue 
 in the same order. The side winning a hole leads 
 in starting for the next. This privilege is called 
 the " honor." 
 
 One round of the links (a round amounts gen- 
 erally to eighteen holes in all) is a match, unless 
 otherwise agreed upon. The match is won by 
 the side which gets more holes ahead than re- 
 main to be played, or by the side winning the 
 last hole when the score is even at the previous 
 one. 
 
 When there is only one player on each side, the 
 match is called a " singles." Two players on a side
 
 GOLF I THE COMING GAME. 93 
 
 constitute a " foursome." These are the two most 
 common and popular forms of golf. 
 
 What lends golf the variety and uncertainty 
 which are its chief fascinations, is the diversified 
 surface over which it is played. All obstructions, 
 from scrub to stone walls, intercept the ball in its 
 progress from hole to hole. As it cannot be 
 handled, save in very excep- 
 tional cases, it must be 
 " played out " of the " bunker " 
 or " hazard" which stopped its 
 flight. To make the smallest 
 number of strokes to release 
 it, clubs in great va- 
 riety are used. 
 
 A moderate golf 
 equipment is sup- 
 
 Teeing with the Driver. 
 
 posed to include the 
 
 driver, long spoon, short spoon, brassy, driving 
 iron, lofting iron, mashy, cleek, niblick, and putter. 
 The first four and the last have wooden heads. 
 The remainder are of iron. The driver is used 
 for " teeing," and easy, long-distance strokes. The 
 long spoon is used in high grass, and when ele- 
 vation of the ball is desired. The "driving" and
 
 GOLF I THE COMING GAME. 95 
 
 " lofting " irons serve as more powerful alternates. 
 The short spoon is used for short drives, and when 
 the player stands below the level of the ball. The 
 brassy, niblick, and cleek are tried in very awkward 
 " hazards." The " mashy " and " putter " come into 
 play when on or near the " putting green."
 
 ABOUT BICYCLES. 
 
 BY KIRK MUNROE. 
 
 Founder of the League of A merican H'heelmen. 
 
 NEVER, since the beginning of the world, have 
 boys and girls been provided with so many 
 opportunities for having good times, combined with 
 healthful recreation, as in these days of what is 
 truly called " the age of sports." Boating and 
 canoeing on the water, tennis and bicycling on land, 
 are as freely offered to girls as to boys, with base- 
 ball, la crosse, cricket, and foot-ball, thrown in as 
 extras for the latter. Of all these sports it seems to 
 me that bicycling should rank first, not only for the 
 pleasure that it gives, and the excellent exercise 
 that it affords, but on account of the practical good 
 that the bicycle is accomplishing. One of the chief 
 needs of this great country is good roads. The 
 value of a farm is doubled the moment it is con- 
 nected with its nearest market town by a well mac- 
 
 9 6
 
 ABOUT BICYCLES. 97 
 
 adamized road. Not only this, but all its products 
 can be sold more cheaply to the dwellers in towns 
 and cities. But very few people realized how bad 
 our American roads were until they began to ride 
 bicycles over them. Then they found out quickly 
 enough ; and now every wheelman in the country is 
 an advocate of good roads. This being the case, I 
 am sure that when the great and ever-increasing 
 army of boy and girl riders of to-day become old 
 enough to have a voice in public affairs, their very 
 first demand will be for good roads for their bicycles 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land. 
 
 There are many complaints made that bicycles 
 are ridden on sidewalks, and we see signs every- 
 where forbidding this practice that is, everywhere 
 in the neighborhood of bad roads ; for where the 
 
 o 
 
 roads are good the signs are not necessary. If the 
 roads were as smooth and hard as the sidewalks, or 
 even smoother and harder, as they should be, no 
 bicycle rider would ever think of taking to the side- 
 walks, or have the slightest desire to do so. With 
 such roads as the Beacon Street extension running 
 out of Boston, or many that exist in Brookline and 
 the Newtons, or around Chestnut Hill Reservoir, or 
 in Central Park and the New York boulevards, or in
 
 98 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 the Oranges of New Jersey, or in Fairmount Park of 
 Philadelphia, or Druid Hill Park of Baltimore, or 
 the streets of Washington, or the Chicago boule- 
 vards, or the Cliff Drive in San Francisco, no 
 wheelman has any inclination to ride on the side- 
 walks, nor are any warning signs needed. Where, 
 on the other hand, he comes to such disgraceful, 
 rocky, sandy, and rutty roads as exist in and around 
 most of the smaller cities and towns of the country, 
 he must either give up riding entirely, or else take 
 to the footpaths and sidewalks ; and in spite of the 
 risk of arrest and fine thus incurred, he generally 
 prefers to do the latter. 
 
 In this connection I wish to suggest to all young 
 bicycle riders that there is no time or place where 
 politeness pays better than when you find yourself 
 compelled by the state of the roads to share a foot- 
 path with pedestrians. They have as good a right 
 there as you have probably a better one. Do 
 not, then, attempt to pass them without warning and 
 at full speed, or shout to them to " look out of the 
 way," or demand a free passage by the ringing of 
 bells or the blowing of shrill whistles. All of these 
 things are rude, startling, and exceedingly ill-bred. 
 Moreover, they serve to make enemies where, it is
 
 ABOUT BICYCLES. 99 
 
 most important the bicycle should have friends. 
 No one will refuse to allow you room to pass if you 
 slacken speed, and politely ask him to do so ; and a 
 pleasant "Thank you" in acknowledgment of the 
 courtesy thus rendered will go far toward securing 
 that person's favorable consideration of the rights 
 of bicycles, and the need of good roads for them, 
 the next time the question is brought to his atten- 
 tion. 
 
 Now, boys, for a word with you. Will you tell 
 me why, as a rule, you double yourselves up like 
 jackknives, and bend over so as to almost touch 
 your handle-bars while riding ? Is it because you 
 think it a becoming attitude ? Well, it isn't. It 
 makes you look like so many wooden monkeys, 
 climbing sticks. If you gain any speed by it you do 
 so at the expense of wind, for it is certain that you 
 can't breathe so well in that position as when sitting 
 straight. Besides, do you find it necessary or even 
 enjoyable to " scorch " or ride at full speed all the 
 time ? I will admit that in riding up a steep hill, or 
 against a strong wind, there is something to be 
 gained by bending over, though it is not necessary 
 even in those cases. In horseback riding only 
 jockeys, while engaged in racing, bend low over the
 
 IOO THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 horse's neck. The road rider who assumes such a 
 position would be a subject for derision. Moreover, 
 by persistent bending over, you are weakening your 
 lungs, curving your spines, and rounding your 
 shoulders. You are training yourselves to become 
 crooked-backed, hollow-chested, stoop-shouldered 
 men. If this is what the bicycle is doing for you, it 
 would be better that you had never seen one. So 
 there, boys, drop this practice of bending over just 
 as quickly as you know how. Sit up as straight as 
 the girls do, or, better still, as straight as a cavalry 
 soldier on parade ; throw back your shoulders, ex- 
 pand your lungs, and in after years you will have 
 good cause to bless the day that gave you your first 
 bicycle. 
 
 As for the girl bicycle riders who, as a rule, put 
 the boys to shame by riding as straight as though 
 they were on horseback, I am afraid that in some 
 cases they only do so because they can't bend over 
 and breathe at the same time. How is it, girls ? 
 Are not some of you trying to ride in corsets, or at 
 least in tight waists and belts ? If so, you are pre- 
 paring for yourselves a future of even greater suf- 
 fering and unhappiness than the monkey-like boys 
 who bend low over their handle-bars ; and to you,
 
 A Halt by the Way. 
 (Ry permission of the ll'estrm ll'/ieel ll'orks, Chicago, III.)
 
 ABOUT BICYCLES. 1 03 
 
 too, I would say that it were better never to have 
 seen a bicycle than to attempt to ride under such 
 conditions. Can you, when dressed for a ride, raise 
 your arms straight above your head and bring the 
 palms of your hands together ? Can you stoop over 
 and touch your toes with the tips of your fingers 
 without bending the knees? If you can, your rid- 
 ing costume is all right. If you cannot, it is all 
 wrong. 
 
 Before dropping the subject of riding costumes, 
 I want to suggest that bicycle riding is a most ener- 
 getic form of exercise, and that one becomes quickly 
 heated by it even on a cool day ; therefore, the wear- 
 ing of underclothing of light flannel, which readily 
 absorbs perspiration, is most important. In these 
 days of pneumonia and kindred troubles, it is also 
 very desirable that a coat, jacket, or sweater should 
 form part of the equipment of every bicycle. It 
 should be compactly folded, and strapped to the 
 handle-bar or luggage-carrier during the ride, and 
 put on by the rider the moment a halt is called. It 
 makes little difference how thinly you are clad while 
 engaged in the heating exercise of riding, so long 
 as you are provided with a warm over-garment to 
 cool off in. All athletes recognize this necessity.
 
 IO4 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Note, for instance, the heavy woollen sweaters that 
 are drawn over the heads of the foot-ball men the 
 moment they stop play. We blanket our over- 
 heated horses in order to save them from the effects 
 of a too sudden cooling. Shall we not give to our- 
 selves at least the same amount of care that we 
 bestow upon them ? 
 
 So much for the rider. Now for the machine. 
 The bicycle is at once the lightest, strongest, and 
 most easy-running of all wheeled vehicles. With 
 its air-cushioned rubber tires, steel spokes, ball 
 bearings, spring seat, and hollow steel frame, it is 
 perfectly adapted to its work. At the same time all 
 of its adjustments are so delicate and so dependent 
 upon each other, that a disturbance of any one 
 affects the whole machine. A squeak or rattle 
 should not be tolerated for a minute. Every prop- 
 erly equipped tool-bag contains the means for re- 
 moving either of these nuisances. Always examine 
 and test every part of your bicycle before starting 
 on a ride, and never fail to have your tool-bag pro- 
 vided with wrench, screw-driver, a full oil-can, a bit 
 of soft rag, and a small bottle of cement. Above 
 all, make a point of knowing your machine, its every 
 adjustment, screw, and nut, as well as you know
 
 ABOUT BICYCLES. 1 05 
 
 your alphabet, before you take it away from the 
 place at which you have purchased it. 
 
 Do not attempt to ride either far or fast at first. 
 The bicycle brings into play a different set of 
 muscles from any that you have exercised before, 
 and you must give them time to become accustomed 
 to their work. When they have done so, and you 
 have obtained a perfect mastery of your machine, 
 you will be able to take daily rides of from ten to 
 fifty miles with less effort than you formerly ex- 
 pended in walking a third of those distances. To 
 the wheelman, free to go when and where he will, 
 to stop where and for as long as he pleases, to regu- 
 late his speed at will, and thus to have absolute 
 control of his own movements, all other modes of 
 .conveyance seem tame and inadequate. With all 
 this the bicycle is now among the cheapest of lux- 
 uries. Any boy or girl may earn one by obtaining 
 a few new subscribers to some popular or enter- 
 prising magazine; while those whose means will 
 permit them to purchase outright will find by con- 
 sulting the advertisements that prices are tumbling 
 all the time. Twenty years ago I paid more for 
 an old wooden-wheeled, iron-tired, plain bearing, 
 and springless velocipede, or " bone-shaker " as
 
 io6 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 it is now called, than would purchase a first-class 
 safety bicycle to-day. Wherefore, my young read- 
 ers, be thankful that your youth has come to you 
 in an age of bicycles, rather than in one of " bone- 
 shakers."
 
 RUNNING AND HURDLING. 
 
 BY NORMAN W. BINGHAM, JR. 
 
 Captain Harvard Track Team of 1895. 
 
 CARCELY any form of athletics 
 has so many followers who dif- 
 fer so absolutely in physique 
 from the popularly accepted 
 idea of an " athlete," as do the 
 so-called " pedestrian " sports, 
 which include running and 
 
 o 
 
 hurdling. The frailest and palest youths have 
 sometimes proved themselves the most powerful 
 racers ; and it is no uncommon sight on the track to 
 see a thin, weak-looking boy run a big, muscular 
 fellow " off his feet." The possession of a pair 
 of long legs is no assurance that their owner will 
 be able to get over the ground quickly, nor, as has 
 often been proved, do decidedly short ones prevent 
 his doing so. The fact is, there is absolutely no 
 
 107
 
 IO8 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 means of judging off-hand what sort of a racer one 
 will make. For this reason, the boy who is too 
 small to play foot-ball or to row, or was not born 
 with the base-ball instinct in him, may turn his 
 attention to the cinder-path, with the consoling 
 thought that from just such as he many a cham- 
 pion has been developed. 
 
 There is no better athletic sport than running ; 
 none which should bring with it less danger of phys- 
 ical injury, and none which demands so small an 
 amount of time daily for practice, or getting into 
 " form." Lasting and serious harm, however, may 
 result from improper training. 
 
 The boy who desires to enter for a foot-race 
 should, first of all, be sure that his heart is strong ; 
 he should assure himself that he has no special 
 weakness which the strain of competition might 
 aggravate. 
 
 He probably knows whether his abilities lie in 
 the direction of long or short distances. Only ac- 
 tual trials and racing experience, however, can de- 
 termine for just what distance he is best fitted. 
 There are often cases in which boys start out with 
 the idea of going into the short dashes, and, 
 after attaining little success at that, turn out first-
 
 RUNNING AND HURDLING. 1 09 
 
 class middle-distance or distance runners. A poor 
 showing in a first race, then, should not discourage 
 a boy from further effort. 
 
 The most popular distances with amateurs in 
 America are the one hundred yards' dash, the two 
 hundred and twenty yards' dash, quarter-mile, half- 
 mile, and mile runs. The three-mile and five-mile 
 runs are less often attempted, and the still longer 
 distances are seldom covered except in " cross- 
 country" running. 
 
 There are many theories as to the best method of 
 preparing for each one of these distances. One 
 trainer may tell you to do one thing, and another 
 will say that is just wrong. Moreover, persons of 
 different temperaments and dispositions will not 
 always do well under the same treatment. Experi- 
 ence alone will prove just how much and what sort 
 of work will bring a man into the best possible con- 
 dition. Without attempting to discuss or compare 
 the advantages of different training methods, I shall 
 simply attempt to throw out a few hints to boys 
 who have no chance to secure a trainer, or to watch 
 others train. 
 
 The first danger to be avoided is that of trying to 
 do too much at once. I shall always remember
 
 I IO THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 one evening on Holmes' Field in Cambridge, watch- 
 ing a number of " town " boys training. Some 
 were tearing wildly about the track as if running for 
 a record ; others had thrown themselves on the 
 grass exhausted. 
 
 A young man with a stop-watch in his hand called 
 out to a very weary-looking lad who had thrown 
 himself face-downward on the grass : 
 
 " Let's see, Jo, what you training for?" 
 
 " Quarter," was the reply. 
 
 " What ye done to-night ? " 
 
 " J g& e d two miles." 
 
 " Feel like being timed a quarter?" 
 
 " Well, I reckon I'll run one first, 'n' see how m' 
 wind is." 
 
 So up jumped the sprinter ; he ran around the 
 track at a smart pace, and then ran his quarter-mile 
 on time. 
 
 Absurd as it seemed, it was but the exaggeration 
 of the common fault of all beginners a tendency 
 to do more than is good for them. 
 
 If the beginner intends to "sprint" that is, 
 run the short distances up to a quarter-mile he 
 had better, for a few days, take slow jogs of three 
 hundred or four hundred yards.
 
 RUNNING AND HURDLING. Ill 
 
 Having accustomed his muscles to the exercise, 
 he may vary this work every other clay by running 
 at fair speed for about two-thirds of the distance he 
 intends to made his specialty. If it be the hundred- 
 yard dash, he may do it twice, with a few minutes' 
 rest between each dash. The slow work will serve 
 to strengthen the muscles, and the quick work to 
 keep them limber. Proceeding in this manner, the 
 sprinter should be able, after 
 ten days or two weeks, to 
 run at top speed without 
 danger of straining his mus- 
 cles. 
 
 So much depends on a 
 good start in sprint races 
 
 The Standing Start. 
 
 that much of a man's time 
 
 must be devoted to getting away quickly after the 
 
 starter's pistol is fired. 
 
 In all races the starter gives two preliminary com- 
 mands to the men before sending them off. At the 
 first " On your marks ! " the men are supposed 
 to take their positions on the track ; they may, if 
 they like, scrape out small holes to prevent the feet 
 from slipping in starting. Then the word comes, 
 " Set! " when the contestants get in position, ready
 
 112 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 for the signal " Go." As every false start entails 
 
 the penalty of being set back, it is necessary that 
 
 this position should be a steady one. 
 
 Speaking generally, there are two prominent 
 
 styles of starting, each of which, however, has its 
 
 modifications. 
 
 First, there is the standing start, which is used 
 
 by all long-distance runners when there is no 
 need of starting off in the lead. 
 The runner plants one foot on 
 the " scratch," or starting-line, 
 the other ' foot is placed from 
 twenty inches to a yard back ; 
 then throwing the weight as 
 far forward as is possible with- 
 
 The Low or "Crouching " Start. 
 
 out losing the balance, with 
 
 one arm thrust forward and the other back, he is 
 11 set." 
 
 Nearly all sprinters nowadays, however, have 
 adopted some form of the low or " crouching" start. 
 The commonest and perhaps the easiest way to 
 learn is that in which both feet are back of 
 " scratch." One foot is planted a few inches be- 
 hind the line, and the other from six inches to a 
 foot still farther back. When told to set, the run-
 
 RUNNING AND HURDLING. 115 
 
 ner stoops, places his hands or finger-tips on the 
 mark, and throws his weight forward on the arms. 
 When the hands are raised from the ground the 
 tendency is to pitch forward, and he must either run 
 or fall. A start which is used successfully by many 
 sprinters is a sort of combination between a stand- 
 ing and crouching position. The runner takes his 
 position as if for a standing start, with his feet 
 spread a trifle farther apart. At the word " set," he 
 places the hand corresponding to the forward foot 
 on the line just inside that foot, and thus divides 
 his weight between the arm and leg. This affords 
 him the advantage of being steadier than in the 
 standing start, and does not give him so much of a 
 strain as does the low start. Of course, on the days 
 that are devoted to starting, the runner can make 
 his other work lighter. It is well, also, while start- 
 ing, to keep on occasionally and run out for forty or 
 fifty yards. Otherwise it may be difficult for a man 
 to get into his regular stride after he starts. 
 
 The general scheme of training for the sprints 
 may, to speak very roughly, be applied to the other 
 distances. That is to say, there must be some long 
 work, and more shorter fast work. As I have said 
 before, however, no two men can train in exactly
 
 Il6 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 the same manner. Delicate men who rely largely 
 on their "nerve" to carry them through a race, 
 cannot stand as much severe work as their more 
 rugged fellows, though they may run their races 
 quite as fast. 
 
 Men who are training for distances from the quar- 
 ter mile up scarcely need to be sent beyond their 
 distance oftener than once or twice a week. The 
 rest of the time may be spent in running from half 
 to two-thirds the distance at a much sharper pace. 
 
 As to a man's "style" in running, there is not 
 much to be said, except that he should be as natural 
 as possible. He should stride out freely, getting 
 his knees well up in front of him, but should not 
 attempt to step too far. The arms should swing 
 easily backward and forward, and should not be 
 hugged up to the chest in such a way as to contract 
 the lungs. Above all, don't attempt to run with 
 your mouth closed. It is pitiful to see some men 
 half strangle themselves in a race by attempting to 
 breathe through the nose alone. 
 
 "Hurdling" (or leaping over obstructions while 
 running) requires not only the speed and endurance 
 of flat-running, but also a coolness and grace which 
 some men can never acquire.
 
 RUNNING AND HURDLING. I IJ 
 
 There is a material difference between hurdling 
 and a common jump. The spring being taken from 
 one foot, the other should be brought up so that it 
 will be nearly as high as the knee, and only slightly 
 forward of it. 
 
 The leg from which the spring is taken should be 
 allowed to follow with the foot well back, and knee 
 up to one side. Never hurry this foot forward. In 
 order to clear the hurdles with the smallest possible 
 loss of time, the athlete must regulate his stride so 
 as to be ready to leave the ground at practically 
 the same distance from each hurdle. He must not 
 go higher than is absolutely necessary to clear the 
 hurdles, and must land on the ground poised in a 
 position to continue his running. 
 
 The two popular distances with hurdlers are one 
 hundred and twenty yards, and two hundred and 
 twenty yards. In the former, there are ten hurdles, 
 usually three feet six inches in height, and placed 
 ten yards apart. The first hurdle is fifteen yards 
 from the scratch. In this race the runner is able to 
 get in just three strides between the hurdles. This 
 forces him to take his spring, every time, from the 
 same foot. Fear of the hurdles, and a tendency to 
 get too near them before leaving the ground, are
 
 I 1 8 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 difficulties against which the beginner has to con- 
 tend. If his stride comes right, however, and he 
 is able to run fast between the hurdles, it will only 
 require practice to enable him to run through with 
 as much certainty about coming up to the hurdles 
 properly as if he were a machine. One well-known 
 high hurdler has expressed confidence in his ability 
 to run his race blindfolded. 
 
 The two hundred and twenty yard hurdles are 
 each two feet six inches high, placed twenty yards 
 apart, the first one being set twenty yards from the 
 start. The runner will find it necessary to take 
 either seven, eight, or nine strides between the 
 hurdles. The best hurdlers require only seven. 
 This enables the runner to spring or " take off" 
 always with the same foot. Few men, however, 
 have a long enough stride or sufficient endurance 
 to enable them to go through all ten hurdles, taking 
 only seven strides between. Eight strides demand 
 of the runner the ability to " take ofT " equally well 
 with either foot, while nine strides are too many to 
 enable a man to attain any great speed between 
 hurdles. The ability to hurdle easily may be gained 
 in the winter by using a single hurdle in the 
 gymnasium.
 
 120 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Whether in flat-running or hurdling, it should 
 always be remembered that a race is won at the 
 finish. There the supreme effort should be made. 
 It is a frequent mistake with novices to stop run- 
 ning a yard or two from the finish, and many a race 
 has been lost in this way. 
 
 Chapters might be written about the proper way 
 to run the different distances, but the fine points of 
 racing are best learned from experience.
 
 HARE AND HOUNDS RUNS. 
 
 BY DAVID W. FENTON, 2u. 
 
 Harvard and Manhattan Crass-Country Teams, 1892. 
 
 E'NG before cinder tracks and spiked shoes were 
 known, our ancestors settled their disputes of 
 superiority in regard to their powers of speed by 
 running across the meadows and plains. It is an 
 interesting fact to note the decline of this long- 
 distance running during the past century, and its 
 revival again, chiefly through the medium of hare 
 and hounds runs, in the larger American univer- 
 sities. 
 
 Any one who has enjoyed these runs on brisk 
 fall afternoons, and experienced their invigorating 
 effects, will never avoid an opportunity to take part 
 in this popular out-door sport. The delicate youth 
 who is urged into it by the enthusiasm of the 
 old runners, increases his powers of endurance, 
 gains health and strength, and sees Nature in all 
 her beauty. 
 
 121
 
 122 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 The general code of rules governing hare and 
 hounds runs, often called "paper chases," is prac- 
 tically the same in all the larger colleges. Two 
 of the runners, termed hares, start out in ordi- 
 nary running costume with canvas bags filled with 
 paper cut in pieces an inch square. The paper, 
 
 or " scent," is scattered pro- 
 fusely along the course, so 
 that it may be easily fol- 
 lowed. Five minutes later, 
 the pack of hounds break 
 away, headed by the master 
 of hounds, whose duties are 
 to set the pace and keep 
 the men together. The trail 
 must be followed at all times 
 except where there is water, 
 in which case the runners 
 can go around the stream or ford it, as they choose. 
 The hares run much faster than the hounds, as the 
 former must make up a time allowance of seven min- 
 utes ; that is, the hares must arrive at the starting- 
 point twelve minutes before the arrival of the first 
 hound, or else they are caught. After the hares 
 have run in a circuitous route, ranging from five to 
 
 A Hare. Scattering Scent.
 
 The Hares. Coming to the Break.
 
 HARE AND HOUNDS RUNS. 125 
 
 ten miles, they strew a profusion of paper on the 
 ground as the signal for the "break." When the 
 hounds reach this point, they line up, wait awhile 
 for the stragglers, and then break away, racing for 
 home. The first and second hounds in at the 
 finish receive appropriate prizes. 
 
 The hares are rarely caught, as many circum- 
 stances cause much loss of time by the hounds. 
 Sometimes the wind blows away part of the scent, 
 and the small boys along the route often pick up 
 the bits of paper and lay a false trail. Thus 
 much time may be lost in discovering the true 
 course. The desire for prizes has sometimes 
 caused the hares to lay double trails and resort 
 to other unsportsmanlike means to deceive the 
 hounds ; but this fault has been remedied by the 
 passage of a rule which provides that the hares 
 shall receive no prizes. 
 
 The ideal course usually lies about a hilly coun- 
 try, through patches of woods, and over fences with 
 numerous water-jumps occurring along the way. 
 These different obstacles lend variety, and the 
 distance is not realized half as much as when 
 one encircles a running track for an hour or so. 
 Many men fail to compete in these runs on the
 
 HARE AND HOUNDS RUNS. 127 
 
 supposition that they are short-winded, and have 
 not the endurance to withstand the effects of a 
 five-mile chase. This is no criterion, for the suc- 
 cessful competition of sprinters and short-distance 
 men has proved that all classes of runners can 
 compete with ease and success. The pleasantest 
 features of this sport are the social intercourse, 
 and the feeling that one is not compelled to en- 
 dure the hardships of a contest ; for the race from 
 the " break " usually narrows down to the six fast- 
 est men in the pack. 
 
 In the past, college hare and hounds chases 
 have been confined to the fall ; but any number 
 of fellows thus inclined can enjoy this sport at 
 any season of the year. Those who are accus- 
 tomed to the routine work of chest weights and 
 dumb-bells should take part in this out-door exer- 
 cise, by going out for a five-mile spin twice a 
 week, and, on the return, experience the reaction 
 of a cold shower-bath.
 
 HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS. 
 
 BY CHARLES M. SKINNER. 
 
 IF I could inspire ten wide-awake young fellows 
 with a fondness for pedestrian exercise, I 
 should be quite satisfied to jot down some hints 
 on walking tours, suggested out of an experience 
 of many excursions, aggregating several thousand 
 miles of walking. 
 
 A self-reliant lad of good constitution should 
 be able to get along by himself for a week or two, 
 and to find his way through almost any part of the 
 United States without other assistance than civil 
 speech and a small map ; and if he is not a self- 
 reliant lad, I know of few things that will do more 
 to develop his pluck, and cultivate a habit of think- 
 ing and acting for himself, than walking. Mind, 
 I do not mean walking about a sawdust ring with 
 the object of scoring a higher number of miles than 
 some other contestant ; for, while admitting the 
 
 128
 
 HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS. 1 29 
 
 value of non-professional track-athletics as an edu- 
 cator of nerve and muscle, it is to be remembered 
 that nerves and muscles are kept on a strain 
 that often produces bad effects when the walk is 
 over ; then, too, in plodding over dull ground or 
 empty floors the thoughts are tied down to the 
 work and the surroundings, instead of being free 
 to roam, as when the walker is in open air and 
 in the midst of beautiful scenery. 
 
 In the first place, you want at least a week for 
 your trip. If you have more time to give, you will 
 be in better trim the longer you walk, as you 
 should aim to increase your distance a little every 
 day. Many people unaccustomed to long walks 
 are exhausted by a ten-mile tramp ; but by begin- 
 ning, say with seven or eight miles, and increasing 
 a mile or so daily, walkers become able to pace off 
 forty miles a day and to be none the worse for it. 
 The object of a pedestrian trip is not, however, to 
 ascertain how much or how fast you can walk, but 
 to see the country, gain new experiences, and enjoy 
 yourself. Of course, in order to do this you must 
 attain a reasonable degree of speed and endurance, 
 otherwise you will find walking a poky affair. To 
 find yourself at night near the place you left in the
 
 130 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 morning is discouraging, for you will begin to con- 
 sider life too short to see much without the assist- 
 ance of horses and railroad trains. 
 
 Lay out your route before you start, calculate 
 your expenses, and supply yourself with money 
 enough to meet them, as well as to provide for con- 
 tingencies. Arrange for the reception of letters 
 at various points, allowing two days between the 
 time of writing and of receiving, for distances over 
 one hundred and under five hundred miles from 
 home. By planning your trip before starting, as 
 you may with the aid of maps and guide-books, 
 you will know exactly what you are undertaking, 
 and will avoid mistakes and confusion. Be sure 
 that you know where you are going, and that you 
 are posted as to the points of interest along the 
 line of march. 
 
 Do not encumber yourself with useless luggage. 
 If you carry more than three or four pounds of 
 " traps," you will be tempted to turn about and 
 take them home before you have been more than 
 two hours on your journey. If you intend to camp 
 out every night, you must be content to go heavily 
 weighted, and to put up with many discomforts. 
 You will sleep cold, you will get wet, you will be
 
 HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS. 13! 
 
 obliged to carry a tent, hatchet, pan, pot, cup, 
 knife, fork, spoon, and some provisions ; and you 
 will be inclined to doubt if the fun equals the 
 trouble, unless you accompany a jolly party, and 
 have the whole summer before you. Here is my 
 whole equipment for tours of any length ; it is all 
 I took on a trip across the continent, and were I 
 to visit Europe I should acid nothing to it : 
 
 (i) A soft leather satchel, about ten by twelve 
 inches, slung from the shoulder by a strap. It 
 contains (2) a gossamer rubber overcoat, (3) a 
 nightgown, (4) a collar, (5) a neck-tie, (6) a guide- 
 book, or map, (7) postal cards, (8) comb, (9) 
 toothbrush, (10) "telescope" cup; and room is 
 still left for packing small minerals or photographs 
 of places that I visit. In my pockets I carry (n) a 
 watch, (12) sketch-book, (13) pencils, (14) knife, 
 (15) diary, (16) toothpicks, (17) handkerchief, 
 (18) money, (19) and a book for reading during 
 bad weather and at inns in the evening. I also 
 carry (20) a stout cane, which gets to be a com- 
 panionable sort of thing, and may be of service as 
 a weapon. It is worth carrying for the sense of 
 protection you receive from it, if for no other rea'- 
 son. The rubber overcoat is more than a comfort in
 
 132 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 showery weather. The nightgown should be indis- 
 pensable to everybody ; for it is unhealthful and 
 uncleanly to wear the same clothing day and night. 
 Even when compelled to sleep in barns and 
 there are worse beds than a hay-mow I laid 
 aside at night every vestige of clothing worn dur- 
 ing the day, allowing it to air and dry thoroughly 
 until morning. It is a luxury to slip out of your 
 dusty clothes, damp with perspiration ; it is pleasant 
 to find them fresh and serviceable when you awake. 
 Clear water is the best adjunct to a toothbrush in 
 the care of the teeth. Soap and towels you find 
 everywhere, so there is no need for taking them. 
 By all means carry a note-book, or diary, and make 
 a daily jotting of your distances and adventures. 
 Though you write but five or six lines a day, those 
 little hints will serve in after years to strengthen 
 memories of what will probably be classed among 
 the happiest days of your life. So with the sketch- 
 book. The roughest and hastiest of my sketches, 
 though of interest to nobody but myself, calls 
 up a hundred circumstances, and puts me back 
 among the hills in a twinkling. Be earnest in 
 your sketching, and let your drawing, although but 
 an outline, be as true as you can make it. My
 
 HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS. 133 
 
 sketch-book is carried in a large pocket inside 
 my coat. 
 
 Now as to clothes. It is plain that you should 
 not set out upon a two-hundred-mile walk dressed 
 in broadcloth, kid gloves, and patent leathers. 
 Take your every-day suit, see that all the pockets 
 are sound, and the buttons sewed on tightly. Be 
 sure that your shoes are thick-soled, well oiled and 
 broken in ; and, if you are going to climb moun- 
 tains, tell the cobbler to put soft iron nails into the 
 heels instead of hard iron or steel, for the latter 
 become smooth and slippery, making your footing 
 unreliable on steep ledges. There is no need of 
 suggesting that you may paddle about barefooted 
 now and then. You will be sure to do that be- 
 fore you have been a day from home ; but take 
 smooth roads for it. Bathe your feet every night, 
 and if they are a little tender put soap on your 
 stockings. You will see from my inventory that I 
 carry no stockings except those that I wear. It is 
 more convenient to wear out the pair you start 
 with, washing them now and then, than to carry 
 extra ones. When they are no longer serviceable, 
 throw them away and buy new ones. You may 
 buy them at country stores for fifteen cents. Wear
 
 134 TIIE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 a flannel shirt with gauze underclothing next to 
 the skin. Let the shirt be one of those convenient 
 arrangements with a rolling collar that you can 
 turn down your neck on state occasions, placing 
 over it a linen or paper collar, and a scarf. As 
 the collar and tie conceal all traces of the shirt, 
 nobody knows that you are not arrayed in the 
 finest linen. How do I get my shirt washed? In 
 this way : my nightgown is arranged with collar 
 buttons, and I conceal the front with the collar 
 and scarf, wearing it in place of my shirt while the 
 laundress is scrubbing the dust out of that gar- 
 ment. Flannel shirts need washing but seldom 
 where underclothing is worn, a good shaking 'often 
 sufficing to get the dust out of them. The night- 
 gown, collar, handkerchief, and underclothing should 
 be washed and ironed for you within eight hours, 
 if you make the laundress understand that you can 
 wait no longer for them. 
 
 You will find it so difficult to organize a pedes- 
 trian party, that you may as well make up your 
 mind at the outset to go alone. For a day or so 
 you may feel the lack of company ; but it will take 
 only a short time to accustom yourself to it, and 
 you will find great delight in the absolute liberty
 
 HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS. 137 
 
 you will enjoy. I have never succeeded in finding 
 a companion for a longer excursion than twenty- 
 five miles. No matter what plans are made in 
 advance, at the last moment one pedestrian finds 
 himself up to his ears in business, another has a 
 sore toe, and another has paid his tailor's bill and 
 hasn't a dollar left. I have long given up hope 
 of walking in company ; but one is seldom lonely 
 where nature is beautiful, and there is always 
 enough to think about without talking. Even in 
 seemingly well-assorted parties, if one of the num- 
 ber proves to be lazy, or sulky, or dissents from 
 schemes in which the majority concur, or cannot 
 walk fast, or wishes to linger in uninteresting 
 places for selfish reasons, or is always expressing 
 dissatisfaction with the route, or complains loudly 
 at the little privations of travel that should be sub- 
 jects of merriment instead of melancholy, or has 
 some hobby that he indulges, to loss of interest in 
 his walk, or is vulgar or vicious in his talk or habits, 
 the whole trip may be spoiled. There should be in 
 a party the cheerfulness, delight in nature, and sin- 
 gleness of purpose, that you would feel alone ; and 
 it is difficult to find this, for wherever people are 
 assembled together, differences of opinion arise.
 
 138 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Supposing you have started upon your tramp. 
 The sun shines, flowers and foliage sweeten the 
 air, birds sing in the wood yonder, the brook 
 bubbles its cooling music beside the road, the dis- 
 tant hills are clear and blue. Very likely you 
 have seen the landscape hundreds of times before, 
 but it has a new charm now; for you are, perhaps 
 for the first time in your life, absolutely free. 
 Steal into some cornfield by the wayside, and stand 
 on your head for a few minutes to relieve the 
 immense enthusiasm that this feeling is certain to 
 awaken, and resume your walk. You have eaten 
 a hearty breakfast, and your appetite is, no doubt, 
 healthy enough to fill your landlords with some 
 anxiety when you begin your depredations in their 
 dining-rooms ; but do not eat a big dinner at noon. 
 If your means are limited, you cannot afford it ; if 
 your time is limited, the hour you will spend at the 
 table will be a heavy sacrifice ; and if your stomach 
 is heavily loaded, you cannot walk as blithely as 
 you did before dinner. Take your heartiest meal 
 later in the day. At noon, or thereabout, knock at 
 some farmhouse door ; and ask for bread and milk. 
 You will receive enough for three, your bill may 
 reach fifteen cents, but it is more likely to be ten,
 
 HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS. 139 
 
 and you will be in better trim to continue the walk 
 than if you had been eating meat, vegetables, and 
 pie. I have often obtained lunches at farmhouses 
 that were almost equal in variety and abundance 
 to a regular dinner. Here is what a man in the 
 Catskills once set before me, after apologizing 
 for the emptiness of his pantry : cold meat, pre- 
 served fruit, cake, bread, pot-cheese, and fresh 
 cider. Now guess the amount of his bill. Thir- 
 teen cents ! Don't be bashful about asking for a 
 bowl of bread and milk, at least in any farmhouse 
 of respectable size and appearance. It is the one 
 thing sure to be found: it is nourishing; and though 
 the charge for it, if one is made, is so low that you 
 feel compunctions of conscience for not paying it 
 twice, remember that money goes farther than in 
 town, while the lunch costs your worthy host the 
 merest trifle. For dessert, help yourself to fruit 
 and berries from the wayside. If benighted, storm- 
 bound, or astray, you will have little difficulty in 
 getting the good farmer folk to give you a lodging 
 over night, offering to pay them, of course, for 
 their trouble. They will perplex you with their 
 curiosity ; but if you talk cheerfully and frankly, 
 they will like you, and your stay will be pleasant.
 
 I4O THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Unless you are well supplied with money, do not 
 stop over night in cities and large towns upon your 
 route. Arrange your trip so that you can pass 
 through them, and put up at the tavern in a village 
 beyond. Not in the suburbs, for there the hotels 
 are wretched, but in some country settlement ; 
 there the beds will be clean, the tables well-sup- 
 plied, the charges will be moderate, and you will 
 not be compelled to " dress up " to an alarming 
 extent on account of the company you will meet. 
 Always ascertain the amount of your bill in advance. 
 If you are compelled to stop in a city, it will be 
 wiser, unless your stay is of several days, to engage 
 rooms and pay for only such meals as you have, 
 than to lodge in a pretentious hotel where you pay 
 full day's board if you are there only two hours. 
 Should you lose your way, or find yourself belated 
 and compelled to spend the night in the open air, 
 contrive some sort of covering that shall keep off the 
 dew. A tree is better than nothing. Do not light a 
 fire unless the night is cold, for it will attract bugs, 
 moths, and flies by hundreds ; but if you do light 
 one, sleep with your feet towards it, and make sure 
 that nothing in the vicinity is likely to catch the 
 flame. I doubt if your first night on the ground be
 
 HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS. 141 
 
 passed in very sound sleep. You will better enjoy 
 thinking and telling about your experience after- 
 ward, than undergoing it at the time. Mysterious 
 murmurs will be heard in the branches ; soft foot- 
 falls and gliding noises will come from thickets ; 
 night birds, crickets, katydids, and frogs will talk 
 persistently ; now and then you will start up pre- 
 pared to affirm that you heard a whisper ; you will 
 wonder if there are snakes, skunks, weasels, and 
 rats in the vicinity ; and it may be some hours 
 before you realize that the queer noises are only 
 produced by wind and harmless insects ; then your 
 tired head will sink upon the grass, you will thrash 
 about and partly wake at intervals, and will pres- 
 ently sit up to rub your stiff elbows and discover 
 that it is morning. Before lying down, remove all 
 hard things except watch and money from your 
 pockets, as they will press into your flesh when you 
 lie upon them, and hurt you. Then turn up your 
 coat collar and button your clothing well about you, 
 for dew will fall and the night be chilly. If your 
 hat or cap is too good to sleep in, tie your hand- 
 kerchief about your head. Ease your feet by partly 
 unlacing or unbuttoning your shoes, and be sure 
 that your shirt is not tight about the neck. Use
 
 142 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 your satchel or nightgown as a pillow, your rubber 
 overcoat as a blanket, a heap of grass or leaves 
 as a mattress. You will rest more comfortably if 
 you will make a hollow in the ground about three 
 inches deep, for your shoulder to slip into, and 
 another like it for- the hip. I don't recommend 
 sleeping out of doors " for fun." I have tried 
 hoard floors, wagons, and freight cars, and have 
 found them, with a little dressing of weeds and 
 grass, pleasanter beds than bare ground. 
 
 As to a " stamping-ground," all parts of the 
 country offer attractive pedestrian routes, though 
 1 should fancy that the plains and prairies might 
 become monotonous to the walker. Among re- 
 gions favorable for walking, I can, from experience, 
 recommend the White and Green Mountains, Cat- 
 skills, the Lehigh region, Hudson, Connecticut, 
 Housatonic, Delaware, Potomac, and Shenandoah 
 valleys, the New England coast from Cape Cod to 
 Portland, Western New York and Niagara, and the 
 regions about Montreal and Quebec. These dis- 
 tricts are penetrated by railroads and the telegraph, 
 so that in case of accident, sickness, or loss of 
 funds, you could return or communicate with home 
 at once.
 
 HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS. 143 
 
 The walker may pleasantly vary his route by re- 
 turning over different roads from those upon which 
 he set forth. Here is a sample route, taken from 
 one of my summer tramps : Boston to Alton Bay, 
 N. H., across Lake Winnepesaukee by steamer, Cen- 
 tre Harbor, Campton, Pemigewasset valley, the Pool, 
 Basin, Flume, Franconia Notch, Profile, Echo Lake, 
 FYanconia, Bethlehem, Fabyan's, Mt. Deception, 
 Mt. Washington, Crawford bridle path over the 
 Presidential ran ere to the Crawford House, White 
 
 o 
 
 Mountain Notch, Bartlett, Glen Road and return, 
 Iron Mountain, North Conway, Lake Ossipee, 
 Portland, Salem, Lynn, and Boston. It is some- 
 times practicable to establish one's headquarters in 
 the centre of an interesting region, striking out 
 in various directions from that point. Thus, in the 
 Catskills, the village of Hunter affords a convenient 
 point of departure for Hunter Mountain, Stony 
 Clove, Kaaterskill Clove, Plattekill Clove, South 
 and North Mountains, Cairo, Windham, Lexington, 
 and Grand Gorge. 
 
 The young traveller who has the entire summer 
 before him, and a purse long enough to attempt 
 such an undertaking safely, may adapt the following 
 route to his liking by cutting from or adding to the
 
 144 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 list of interesting points, going over some portions 
 of the country by rail, and perhaps accepting the 
 numerous invitations to ride that farmers, travelling 
 from town to town, extend to people they overtake 
 upon the road. Starting up the Hudson River 
 from New York visit Sunnyside, the home of Irving; 
 Tarrytown and its quaint Dutch church ; Sing Sing 
 and the State prison there ; the military school and 
 old forts at West Point ; Storm King, highest of 
 the Hudson hills ; Newburg and Washington's 
 headquarters ; Saugerties, from which point a de- 
 tour can be made, embracing some of the finest 
 portions of the Catskills, returning to the Hudson 
 River at Catskill village ; Albany and the Capitol ; 
 Troy ; Saratoga and its famous springs ; Glen's 
 Falls ; Fort William Henry ; down Lake George 
 by steamer ; Ticonderoga and its historic ruins ; 
 down Lake Champlain by steamer, stopping at 
 Port Henry or Essex for a brief run into the Adi- 
 rondack region ; Port Kent and Au Sable Chasm ; 
 Burlington ; up the Winooski, ascending Camel's 
 Hump and stopping at Montpelier ; Wells River ; 
 Woodstock, N. H., from which point make a tour 
 of the White Mountains, similar to that just out- 
 lined ; Boston, or Connecticut valley, to New York.
 
 HINTS FOR YOUNG PEDESTRIANS. 145 
 
 There ! Some of the grandest and most beautiful 
 scenery in the world is yours to enjoy upon this 
 trip. Or, if that programme is not sufficiently am- 
 bitious, you may omit the walk across Vermont, and 
 extend your trip from Port Kent to Montreal and 
 Quebec, descending into the White Mountain re- 
 gion of the North. 
 
 The interest of your walk will be much increased 
 if you will glance through the history of the region 
 you intend to explore ; or, if you have a scientific 
 turn, you might post yourself on the geology, min- 
 eralogy, or botany of the country.
 
 OUT-OF-DOOR GYMNASTICS. 
 
 P,V JOHN GRAHAM, 
 
 Athletic Manager Boston Athletic Association and Ex-Superintendent C/tar/es&ank 
 Gymnasium. 
 
 TO the healthy boy or girl, exercise is always 
 attractive. It is also helpful and strength- 
 ening. The practice of gymnastics develops the 
 muscles, tones the system, and yields toughened 
 sinews in place of debilitating fat. The gymna- 
 sium is the means to this end ; its simple or com- 
 plicated appliances alike affording that opportunity 
 for systematic development that modern gymnas- 
 tics aims to secure. 
 
 But fresh air is the chief tonic. An out-of-door 
 gymnasium, where such is possible, is then an 
 even better means toward the acquiring of muscle 
 and sinew, strength and health, than one in-doors. 
 
 Realizing this fact, the "powers that be" in 
 the city of Boston instituted in the strip of park 
 known as the Charlesbank, an open-air gymna- 
 
 146
 
 OUT-OF-DOOR GYMNASTICS. 147 
 
 slum, fitting it up with the appliances that give 
 the best exercise chest weights, pulleys, parallel 
 bars, horizontal bars, climbing poles, vaulting poles, 
 giant strides, jumping boxes, jumping standards 
 and ropes, sand bags, quoits, dumb-bells, hurdles, 
 swings, perpendicular and inclined ladders, rope 
 and Jacob's ladders, flying rings, inclined and per- 
 pendicular poles, trapezes, breast bars, balance 
 swings, etc. 
 
 This out-of-door " gym " is almost in the heart 
 of the city. It occupies a space in the fine em- 
 bankment along the Charles River near to the 
 bridge that Longfellow made famous. It is free 
 to the public ; and a systematic attempt for prac- 
 tical instruction has been attempted with excel- 
 lent results. 
 
 A class of boys was formed for the purpose of 
 experimenting in these class drills under no roof 
 but the sky. Having a large space that was not 
 being occupied for anything in particular, a plat- 
 form was built upon the ground, made from the 
 plank walks used on the park during the winter. 
 This platform was marked off in spaces, and was 
 found to accommodate about forty in a class. 
 None of the boys was over eighteen years of
 
 148 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 age ; the youngest was fifteen years. All wore 
 a costume consisting of a white shirt, amateur 
 running pants, and rubber-soled shoes. 
 
 Every one of these boys worked all day at some 
 light trade ; so, to make it convenient, the class 
 was called together at half-past six every alternate 
 evening. 
 
 Drills lasted fifteen minutes, each drill being 
 followed by class work in light athletic exercises. 
 The drills were changed every night, so that the boys 
 did not receive the same platform drill once in two 
 weeks. Drills consisted of free movements, Indian 
 clubs, dumb-bells, bar bells, sometimes followed by 
 parallel bars, flying rings, and athletics in the pri- 
 mary exercises. As an experiment I feel sure it 
 was a success. At the beginning it was impossible 
 to have the boys go through these exercises without 
 feelinor conscious of the crowd of lookers-on outside, 
 
 o 
 
 who amused themselves by making personal re- 
 marks on the different attitudes of the members of 
 the class. This did not add to the esprit of the 
 class, and at last the outside critics were requested 
 to cease their remarks. They readily complied, and 
 after a few days really took as much interest in the 
 exercises as did the scholars themselves. Now, it
 
 OUT-OF-DOOR GYMNASTICS. 
 
 149 
 
 must be understood that these boys had never at- 
 tended a gymnasium, so that it was much harder for 
 them to face a large crowd than it would be for boys 
 who had been accustomed to doing their " gym " 
 work in public. 
 
 After the novelty had 
 worn off, it was found that 
 the exercises could be 
 made as attractive as are 
 in-door gymnastics, and 
 much more beneficial be- 
 cause of the purer air and 
 the pleasant surroundings. 
 
 It is in the open air that 
 one attains the very founda- 
 tion for physical strength ; 
 and if this out-of-door ex- 
 ercise is but carried on sys- 
 
 The Medicine Ball. (On Top of Head.) 
 
 tematically, it will prove of 
 
 the utmost importance to growing bodies. 
 
 The field for out-door gymnastics is wide ; people 
 are beginning to see the value of parks and breath- 
 ing places ; and gymnasiums in these parks are of 
 the greatest value, both physically and morally. 
 The exercises that are carried on in-doors can be re-
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 peated out-doors when the same apparatus is at 
 hand. 
 
 The German Government, through its school 
 board, makes gymnastic work almost compulsory, 
 and has it carried on out-of-doors. There are a 
 
 number of out-of-door 
 gymnasiums, and these 
 are attended by all the 
 school children. Each 
 gymnasium is provided 
 with a director-general of 
 gymnastics. The gym- 
 nasiums are built about 
 the same as the Charles- 
 bank Gymnasium. 
 
 At the Charlesbank 
 the giant stride is a pop- 
 ular piece of apparatus. 
 This consists of a stout pole fixed in the ground, 
 with a revolving plate on its head ; hung from 
 the plate are ropes, with handles attached to them ; 
 there are four, six, or eight ropes, and these are 
 grasped separately, while each performer pushes 
 on the ground with his feet until all attain suf- 
 ficient momentum to swing around without touch- 
 
 The Medicine Ball. (On One Arm.)
 
 OUT-OF-DOOR GYMNASTICS. 151 
 
 ing the ground. For the children, instead of 
 ropes, ribbons are used. As the children march 
 around the pole the ribbons are plaited around it, 
 making a very pretty sight when the ribbons are of 
 different colors. By reversing the order of march- 
 ing, the ribbons unwind from the pole. The heavier 
 apparatus is very valuable as a strengthener of the 
 grasp, and assists in the development of the chest 
 and abdominal muscles. 
 
 All the special apparatus can be used out-doors. 
 Of this, special mention may be made of the Neck 
 Developer. It is a plain band of canvas with a 
 cross piece over the ears, the whole being brought 
 to a point in front of the forehead. Fastened to the 
 canvas is a slip-hook, which can be attached to the 
 handle of a chest weight. By standing and facing 
 sideways (left and right), and back to the weight, 
 the muscles of the neck can be exercised. 
 
 Another piece of apparatus is the Medicine Ball, 
 the invention of Mr. Roberts, of the Boston Y. M. 
 C. A. Gymnasium. This is a large, leather-covered 
 ball weighing about ten pounds. The mode of ex- 
 ercising is to pass it from one to the other from 
 different positions, with both hands, each hand sepa- 
 rate from over the head, between the legs, from
 
 152 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 the right and left side, and numerous other ways. 
 When used as it should be, it is one of the best ex- 
 ercises known, both as a strengthener of the whole 
 muscular system and a means of recreation. 
 
 Another popular exercise is the Spring Board. 
 This apparatus is customarily used in connection 
 with the Jumping Rope, or Buck. In the former the 
 gymnasts run to the Spring Board, and leap over 
 the rope at different heights. When this is done in 
 connection with the Buck, in much the same manner 
 as leap-frog, finishing with a roll over on the mat, 
 the exercise it affords the legs is most admirable. 
 
 Another piece of apparatus not found in the 
 in-door gymnasium is the Tilting Ladder. This 
 appliance is a source of great enjoyment to those 
 who use it, and is a very popular piece of apparatus. 
 It is arranged so that it can be used as well by the 
 small boys as by the men, for the pin through the 
 centre can be drawn out and placed lower down on 
 the posts supporting it. The sensation of flying 
 through the air induces many to try it, for it is a 
 fact that an apparatus that has any swing in connec- 
 tion with it is the most popular. The Tilting Ladder 
 acts in a like manner with the Giant Stride, as far 
 as developing the muscles is concerned.
 
 '54 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 The Jacob's Ladder, or, as the boys have termed 
 it, the " Razzle Dazzle," is another piece of appara- 
 tus not frequently seen in a gymnasium. This 
 ladder is hung from the framework by a swivel 
 
 hook, and is not fas- 
 tened in the ground, 
 but is allowed to swing- 
 loose. The rungs of 
 the ladder are about 
 eighteen inches apart, 
 and fastened together 
 by a chain or steel bar, 
 
 f 
 
 through the centre of 
 the rung. This ar- 
 rangement allows the 
 rungs to swing loose. 
 The mode of exercis- 
 ing with this apparatus 
 
 The "Razzle Dazzle.' 
 
 is to grasp a rung at 
 the full reach, and lift 
 
 the body from the ground to a rung opposite the 
 waist line ; then the legs are spread apart, and 
 come to a sitting position on the rung. The hands 
 grasp another rung, higher up the ladder, the legs 
 are spread apart, and so one pulls himself to the
 
 OUT-OFDOOR GYMNASTICS. 155 
 
 top of the ladder. This is splendid exercise for the 
 muscles of the hips and thighs, while the back and 
 arms also come in for a great deal of exercise. 
 
 The interest in out-door work is growing every 
 year, as the attendance at the Charlesbank shows. 
 \Yhen the gymnasium was first opened, it was 
 looked upon as a place for fun ; now it is esteemed 
 as a place where the needs of the muscular sys- 
 tem are attended to systematically. 
 
 The success of this Boston out-of-door gymna- 
 sium should lead to the adoption of the system in 
 other cities ; while the fact that such appliances for 
 open-air exercise are possible should suggest to 
 inventive and wide-awake boys a means of furnish- 
 ing fun and exercise, with a wide scope for their 
 ingenuity and skill.
 
 HOW TO MAKE AN OUT-DOOR 
 GYMNASIUM. 
 
 BY WILLIAM F. GARCELON. 
 
 GIVE a Yankee boy a suggestion, and his native 
 ingenuity will devise a way to surmount any 
 difficulties that may arise during his attempt to fol- 
 low and develop it. Every boy delights in exercise ; 
 but the solid ground and his own body do not offer 
 chance for enough diversity of action to satisfy his 
 restlessness, and consequently we find him climbing 
 fences and " shinning " trees at every opportunity. 
 There is something fascinating about a gymnasium 
 to the young lad and older youth, but unfortunately 
 gymnastic facilities are not available to a great part 
 of energetic Young America. Few boys, however, 
 in the country realize how easily home-made appa- 
 ratus can be constructed. A few suggestions as to 
 the building and equipment of a rough-and-ready 
 out-of-door gymnasium such as any boy can make 
 
 '56
 
 HOW TO MAKE AN OUT-DOOR GYMNASIUM. 157 
 
 for himself, may be adapted by the reader to the 
 circumstances and facilities at hand. 
 
 Every boy knows what is required for the con- 
 struction of the ordinary swing. If trees are near 
 by, they may be made very useful, as they are often 
 so formed that they will furnish support for a beam 
 or joist to which the ropes may be attached. 
 
 Often a single large branch will support the 
 pendent apparatus. 
 
 Or, if in-doors, there is always some convenient 
 beam in barn or shed which can be utilized. 
 
 If made rightly, the swing may serve both as a 
 swing and as a trapeze. The trapeze bar should 
 be from an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. 
 The handle of a broken pitchfork, hoe, or rake is 
 often used. 
 
 Notch the bar near the ends to prevent the rope 
 from slipping ; hang the bar so that it can just be 
 reached from the ground, and the trapeze is ready 
 for use. Ropes reaching almost to the ground 
 may be fastened to the bar, and there you have a 
 complete swing and trapeze combined. When the 
 trapeze is used, the lower swing may be laid aside. 
 
 A still better arrangement is to have the trapeze 
 bar a foot or six inches above reach. Attach iron
 
 158 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS 
 
 rings to ropes, and hang them from the trapeze bar 
 so that they will be about as high as the head. 
 Numberless little combination tricks can be per- 
 formed with this double apparatus. Rings can be 
 purchased at one dollar a pair. 
 
 If, however, the rings 'are not readily procured a 
 handy boy can make them himself of plaited rope ; 
 while not having the stiffness of the iron rings, 
 these will serve the purpose. 
 
 Of course, the rings may be detached from the 
 trapeze at any time. Thus we may have with little 
 or no expense, trapeze, swinging rings, and an 
 ordinary swing. 
 
 These equipments require, of course, some over- 
 hanging support. 
 
 What boy has not circled the cross-bar of some 
 old barn door? Yet, this is simply the horizontal 
 bar ; and the horizontal bar is one of the most pop- 
 ular pieces of apparatus in a gymnasium. The best 
 bars are made of hickory, and are one and a half or 
 two inches in diameter. The ends are square and 
 when regular uprights are used, there are small 
 holes at the ends for the insertion of the supporting 
 pins. 
 
 A very good bar can be purchased of dealers
 
 A Wrestling Match.
 
 HOW TO MAKE AN OUT-DOOR GYMNASIUM. l6l 
 
 in gymnastic goods for two dollars. But boys may 
 make a bar for themselves out of maple or hickory, 
 or by using a large pitchfork or hoe-handle. 
 Home-made bars should, however, always be tested 
 thoroughly before being used, and should not be 
 used by very large or heavy boys. 
 
 The greatest difficulty arises in fixing the bar 
 firmly. If an old tree is at hand, a hole about an 
 inch and a half deep may be cut out, into which one 
 end of the bar should exactly fit. 
 
 Then, if a large post or an ordinary piece of joist 
 can be firmly planted at a distance of four or five 
 feet from the tree, the other end of the bar may be 
 inserted in that. The planted post should be well 
 propped to prevent spreading. The bar should be 
 about five feet from the ground. 
 
 All the feats on the horizontal bar, except a few of 
 the more difficult and dangerous, may be performed 
 with the bar at that height. But a tree is not al- 
 ways available, and the boy must often depend for 
 one support upon the side of a house or barn or 
 upon a fence. If he squares the end of his bar, he 
 can easily arrange a support by nailing firmly to 
 the house a piece of thick board or plank, with an 
 opening cut to receive the end of the bar.
 
 1 62 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 The boara should be thick enough to prevent the 
 bar from coming out of the opening when it bends 
 with the weight of the performer. The other end, 
 of course, may be supported by upright joist or 
 plank as described above. 
 
 If a rough mattress of hay or straw cannot be 
 made, it would be well to loosen the earth on one 
 side of the bar to save any unnecessary jars ; for 
 beginners are quite liable to fall upon shoulders or 
 back. 
 
 Jumping standards are most easily made. Place 
 two upright sticks firmly in the ground. Drive in 
 nails, an inch apart, allowing them to project an 
 inch or two for holding the cross-bar. The up- 
 rights should be six feet apart, and the ground in 
 front should be firm and solid in order to assure a 
 good take-off for the jump. A small stick is gener- 
 ally used as a cross-bar ; although many use a small 
 rope, to the ends of which weights are attached to 
 keep it taut. 
 
 A handkerchief or white paper placed on the cross- 
 bar aids the jumper. These standards may also be 
 used for hurdling, pole-vaulting, or high diving. 
 For the diving, a thick, soft mat is necessary. 
 
 The vaulting-horse is a piece of apparatus not
 
 HOW TO MAKE AN OUT-DOOR GYMNASIUM. 163 
 
 well known to those who have not attended the 
 gymnasium. But a great variety of exercises may 
 be done upon it, and a rough one may be easily 
 constructed, especially in the country. Secure a 
 smooth log about five feet long and from twelve 
 to twenty inches in diameter, and after rounding it 
 at the ends, insert four substantial and firm legs, 
 about two and a half or three feet long. One set 
 should be about a foot from one end of the log, and 
 the other two legs about two feet from the other 
 end. 
 
 This log may be covered with canvas, under which 
 a little straw or hay may be placed, or it can be used 
 without a covering. By attaching curved pieces of 
 wood to the log, pommels are supplied which will 
 greatly add to the usefulness of the apparatus and 
 to the number of feats that may be performed upon 
 it. 
 
 All kinds of vaulting and many easy tricks are 
 done on the horse. 
 
 None of this apparatus can be constructed with- 
 out perseverance and patience ; for trifling difficulties 
 will nearly always arise, which, owing to the differ- 
 ent conditions under which boys may work, cannot 
 be considered here.
 
 HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN. 
 
 BY CAPTAIN JULIUS A. PALMER, JR., 
 
 Of the American Shipmasters' Association. 
 
 I. ON BOARD. 
 
 LORIOUS sport is yachting! 
 It is, however, a pastime of 
 recent introduction ; many 
 of those who are not con- 
 sidered old remember when 
 its nucleus was no more 
 than occasional " sailboats," 
 owned by private parties, or 
 let for excursions ; now, from 
 the mosquito fleet of some 
 sheltered bay to the five- 
 hundred-ton steam yacht, 
 able to circumnavigate the 
 
 globe, the shores of both sides of the Atlantic 
 swarm with craft of every size and description, 
 manned and managed by volunteer sailors. 
 
 164
 
 HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN. 
 
 The earth's surface is, to the extent of two-thirds, 
 covered with water, and there has always been a 
 proportion of the human race 
 living upon the ocean. Yacht- 
 ing is, therefore, a perfectly nat- 
 ural development; and its possi- 
 bilities are, in the future, greater 
 rather than less. This being the 
 case, just as the boy who enters 
 a store looks at the European 
 buyer, the head salesman, or 
 the manager of some depart- 
 ment, as the 
 holders of po- 
 s i t io n s to 
 which he may 
 aspire, so 
 from his cat- 
 boat along shore he 
 may see the sea- 
 going yacht, under 
 steam or sail, taking 
 her departure for the 
 
 broad ocean, and form for himself the resolution 
 that by the time he can hope to have such a one, 
 
 Off for a Cruise.
 
 1 66 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 he will know all that is essential to her proper 
 management. 
 
 The Concord philosopher, Emerson, tells us to 
 fit ourselves for any position, and God will send 
 the opportunity; ignorance is no disgrace, but it 
 is a shame to be willing to remain ignorant ; so 
 the young man who owns a twenty-foot boat may 
 
 master, and even practise, principles which will 
 make him a better yachtsman, and, if he persevere, 
 a thorough sailor. 
 
 Take first the mariner's compass, for it is the 
 most essential of any of his belongings ; we can 
 cross the ocean without a chart, but not without 
 a compass. 
 
 ' When ministers try poor sailors to teach, 
 Compass, no chart, is the figure of speech. 1 '
 
 
 

 
 HINTS FOR VACHTSMKN. 169 
 
 I was once on a yacht in Salem Harbor ; the 
 skipper was a man of experience ; it had been 
 foggy, then had cleared a trifle, with a light breeze ; 
 and as night was coming on, all sail was made for 
 home that is, according to the bearings relied 
 on by the skipper. I was not just satisfied, and 
 took the liberty, although only a guest, to ask him 
 if he had a compass. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " he said ; " there's a box-compass 
 down in my bunk." 
 
 I hastened below, and on my return startled him 
 with the information that he was then steering due 
 east. The schooner was put about at once. 
 
 Now, the nautical custom is, in fair weather 
 or foul, along shore or on the deep sea, to never 
 lose sight of the lubber's-point of your compass ; 
 the proper place for a steering-compass is just 
 forward of the wheel or tiller ; if your yacht is 
 roomy aft, a metallic binnacle can be fixed at the 
 right spot ; but if you have only a cat-boat, a neat 
 box holding a small compass can be secured to the 
 slide over the companion way, or entrance to the 
 cuddy ; thus, when you are sailing, you will nat- 
 urally keep your eye on the fine black mark in line 
 with the keel, and not fail to know the course you
 
 I7O THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 are steering. The mariner's compass has the 
 needle fixed to the back of the card, so that this 
 latter moves on its centre ; the compass in use by 
 engineers and surveyors has a fixed card, over 
 which the needle rotates. 
 
 Then, as the Government examiners in Great 
 Britain say, " You must be well up on the com- 
 pass." " Oh ! but I could always box the com- 
 pass," interrupts one of my readers. To begin at 
 one point, and name them all until you reach the 
 same again, is pretty practice for the memory, and 
 that is about all. You should know your compass 
 just as you know your watch ; the face of the latter 
 is divided into hours, minutes, and often seconds ; 
 that of the former, besides the points, into degrees, 
 minutes, and seconds. Of late, it is customary to use 
 the latter, rather than the points, so that a vessel's 
 course might be given as N. 45 E., instead of N. E., 
 the one term being equal to the other. Space does 
 not permit further illustration ; but for a few cents a 
 compass card, marked for both degrees and points, 
 may be bought, and a little study will enable you to 
 master this, the very a b c of nautical knowledge. 
 
 By the compass and chart, the distance of your 
 yacht from any vessel, or any point of land, may
 
 The Winner of the Race.
 
 HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN. 
 
 be found ; this may seem paradoxical, yet it is so 
 simple that it can be explained in a few words. 
 Suppose that Nahant, east point, bears due west, 
 and at the same moment the south point of Marble- 
 head is seen bearing due north ; now, is it not per- 
 fectly clear that if you rule a line on the chart, 
 running in the directions given from each of these 
 points of land, at the very spot where those two 
 lines cross, your yacht must be lying? Or again, 
 suppose you are running past Boston Light, visible 
 twenty miles, bound for the north shore of the bay, 
 how far are you from it ? The first bearing of it 
 you have is W. N. W., and you rule a line from the 
 Light running indefinitely from that direction out to 
 sea ; in about an hour it has changed its bearing, 
 as you have sailed north, say five miles, so that it 
 now bears W. S. W. ; rule another line to corre- 
 spond ; now go to the edge of the chart, and ex- 
 tend your dividers five miles, and move each arm 
 of the instruments along the two lines you have 
 ruled ; there will be but one place where the dis- 
 tance between the two ruled lines is equal to just 
 five miles ; at its northern limit is the spot where 
 your yacht is ; at its southern is the place where 
 she was when you took the bearing.
 
 I 74 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 The compass-card has no needle affixed to its 
 under side, but it is useful to you in this way : run 
 a stout thread through the centre, and put a knot 
 in one end, letting the other remain to a length of 
 about fifteen inches ; now, when you wish to know 
 in what direction any place is from another, go to 
 the chart, put the card plumb with the chart's pro- 
 jection ; that is, let the north point on the card be 
 at the exact north, etc., and keeping it thus, by 
 moving either the east and west points on a parallel 
 of latitude, or the north and south points on a merid- 
 ian of longitude, when the string runs in a straight 
 line between the two places, on the margin of the 
 compass-card is the true course. 
 
 When sailing your boat as close to the wind as 
 she will lie, if the sea is rough, look over the stern 
 and you will notice that the wake, instead of being 
 right aft, is to windward ; slanting, as a landsman 
 would say. This means that she is making leeway, 
 or that the wind is pressing her away from the 
 course to which her head points, so that although 
 the bow is headed in a certain direction, the whole 
 body of the boat is sagging off to leeward ; if you 
 glance at the compass as you look at the wake, you 
 will obtain the amount of this deflection from your
 
 HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN. 
 
 steered course, and allow it always away from the 
 wind. 
 
 Every ambitious yachtsman should begin at once 
 to learn both seamanship and navigation ; there are 
 excellent manuals, in both branches, to be bought 
 at the nautical bookstores. It is better to know too 
 much than too little of your craft; you thus avoid 
 the error of the novice in the use of the compass, 
 who nailed it down at the course he was told to 
 make, simply saying it was the only way "the 
 thing bobbed round so." You are also spared the 
 danger which attended the amateur master of a new 
 steam yacht, which was found by the inspectors with 
 the safety-valve strapped down ; the excuse offered 
 was, that " the hole made such a noise you couldn't 
 talk." 
 
 Even in the management of boats, there is much 
 to be learned. Never keep the sheet of a small 
 boat fast when sailing on a wind, if your craft is 
 small ; always have a hand stationed at the cleat to 
 which it is belayed, providing your boat is too large 
 to allow you to hold a single turn with your hand. 
 This is the very first principle of sailing a yacht 
 with safety. For, if the breeze freshens, or a squall 
 strikes you, and you slack the sheet of a fore-ancl-
 
 176 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 aft sail, it becomes no more than an immense flag, 
 blowing loosely to leeward ; your boat cannot cap- 
 size, and the sail can be thus lowered or managed. 
 Directions for fair-weather sailing are perhaps 
 superfluous ; but suppose you are caught at quite 
 a distance from land in bad weather ; then you may 
 have an opportunity to show your seamanship, 'for 
 seamen are made only by rough weather and the 
 perils of their calling. Naturally, as a yachtsman, 
 you would run for a harbor, and would choose such 
 a one as would make of the gale a fair wind. But, 
 at a time like this, accidents are likely to befall you ; 
 you may lose a rudder ; you may be in a " single- 
 sticker," and your only mast may be carried away, 
 or the seas that follow may threaten to swamp you. 
 Now, what can you do ? The first and best thing 
 in such cases that is, a rule which will apply to 
 most of them is to bring your boat's bow, instead 
 of the stern, to the wind; for by its sharpness she 
 will ride far easier, or divide the combers with less 
 danger to herself. If she is still manageable by the 
 helm, this should be at once done; if not, a small 
 piece of canvas, even an open umbrella, well aft, 
 where some boats carry a little sail called a jigger, 
 will swing her head to the sea. To keep her there,
 
 - / 
 
 o /
 
 178 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 bend a bucket or tin pail, or more than one of these 
 common utensils, to a line, and throw it over at the 
 bow ; the more line you can pay out, the better 
 your sea-anchor will hold, and the resistance of this 
 drag to the water will enable you to ride the seas 
 with perfect ease, all the time drifting, instead of 
 running, toward the haven you have chosen. If 
 the mast sail and rigging attached goes by the 
 board, that is, breaks off and hangs over the side, 
 cut it loose from your boat, but do not let it 
 go adrift ; make one end of a line fast as near the 
 centre of gravity of the wreckage as you can reach, 
 pay out on the line all you can, and make the other 
 end fast at the bow of the boat ; now, as you drift, 
 the surface-drag, being to windward of your boat, 
 will meet each sea before it approaches you, and 
 thus you will ride safely in smooth water until you 
 gain a place of refuge, or receive the aid of some 
 of your companions. 
 
 By the hints here given, I desire to inspire yachts- 
 men with ambition for their higher duties. By con- 
 stantly learning something of one's vocation, its 
 pleasure is enhanced and its utility increased.
 
 HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN. 
 
 179 
 
 II. 
 
 SEA-TERMS. 
 
 O each profession beiongs its own 
 language. A full list of the 
 terms in use aboard ship could 
 scarce be printed between the 
 covers of this book ; but a few 
 of such as would be used by a 
 yachtsman may be mentioned. 
 When you go a-sailing, you first 
 " ship " (put in place) your rud- 
 der, and "step" (put in place) your mast; be sure 
 to get both " pintles " directly over their " gudgeons " 
 before you cast off the " painter" or get "under way." 
 Suppose you wish to "weather" some dangerous 
 rock " under your lee," you will haul aft the " sheet," 
 which last term does not refer to a sail, but to the 
 rope which is fast to the "clew" or lower "after" 
 corner of a "fore-and-aft" sail. After you have 
 made a short " board," let us say, on the " star- 
 board tack " that is, run a short distance with 
 the wind on the right-hand side of your yacht 
 you will have to " go about," and perhaps can make 
 a "long board" on the "port tack." You are now 
 clear of the land, and can " gybe the boom," so as
 
 l8o THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 to let her " go free ; " after " running" out to sea, 
 you put your "helm down" and "luff up," so as 
 to speak one of your companions. If the latter 
 should be a steam yacht, it is the master's duty to 
 "keep out of your way" that is, so manage his 
 vessel that there shall be no danger to your boat ; a 
 very reasonable rule, since with steam he can go 
 in any direction, while you are dependent upon the 
 wind. But if both yachts are under sail, then the 
 one on the "starboard tack" has the "right of 
 way," and the one on the "port tack" must "give 
 way." I will not even guess at the size or the rig 
 of your yacht, but it is safe to presume that the 
 " clew of the mainsail " is hauled out to the end of 
 a boom ; this would be true of a schooner, a sloop, 
 a British cutter, or a cat-boat. A very few sail- 
 boats now carry " sprit-s'ls " that is, sails ex- 
 tended to the wind by a light spar, one end of 
 which spreads the head of the sail, while the other 
 is supported by an " eye- splice " in a short length 
 of rope fixed on the mast a few feet from the "gun- 
 wale " of the boat. The edge or part of the sail 
 to which the " bolt-rope " is sewed is called the 
 "leech;" "the head, the foot, the after-leech, and 
 the luff," are the four sides or edges, and any rope
 
 Rounding the Buoy.
 
 HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN. 183 
 
 which hoists anything aloft is called its " halliards." 
 The spar at the head of your mains'l is the " gaff; " 
 and it is sometimes furnished with both " throat 
 halliards," near the mast, and " peak halliards," near 
 to the " after-leech." Your jib, or three-cornered 
 sail forward of the mast, has its "jib halliards ; " it 
 also has a " down-haul," while any sail which is set 
 on a boom has an " outhaul." A sail is "furled" 
 when it is taken in and stowed in its place; it is 
 " reefed " when it is reduced in size by gathering 
 in some part of it to the yard or the bolt-rope, tying 
 it there by small ropes fixed in line in the sail itself. 
 These are called " reef- points," while the .larger 
 rope which is securely passed in a lashing at the 
 "bolt-rope" is called the " earing." This takes the 
 strain off the "body" (the central cloths of the sail), 
 and is itself restrained from tearing the canvas by 
 being passed through an iron ring worked into the 
 sail. This iron ring is found wherever it is needful 
 for the sail to bear the strain of a rope, and is called 
 a " thimble ; " but a piece of rope usually passes 
 around it in a loop, and this entire loop, protected 
 on its inner side by the " thimble," is the " reef 
 cringle." You "carry away" a mast or other spar 
 when it breaks away from its fastening, or when
 
 184 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 a part of it breaks off. If it simply weakens or be- 
 comes unsteady, it is only " sprung." 
 
 Let us suppose that in your cruise you are far 
 enough from land to sight a " square-rigged " vessel 
 inward bound ; she has " hove to" for a pilot, while 
 near to her may be seen the pilot-boat, usually a 
 small schooner " lying to." The first-named has 
 simply " braced her main yards aback," so that 
 there is as much sail-power forcing her astern as 
 ahead ; while the pilot-boat, being desirous to re- 
 main for hours where she now lies, has " shortened 
 sail" that is, reduced it to just enough to keep 
 her hull balanced on the waves, over which she 
 rides with her bow pointing almost into the wind, 
 and drifting off to " leeward." 
 
 But the pilot goes to the " bark " (a three-masted 
 vessel with one mast, the " mizzen," rigged just like 
 your sloop, the two others having " yards," crossing 
 the masts, on which are square sails) in a small 
 boat ; he seizes hold of the " man-ropes," one on 
 each side of the " Jacob's ladder" hanging over the 
 "lee" side in the " waist," or about half-way from 
 the bow to the stern of the vessel. These ropes 
 are sharply pointed at one end, and at the other 
 they have a knot made not like the one a landsman
 
 HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN. 185 
 
 would make, but squarely built in the very centre 
 of the strands by passing each one of them around 
 the " standing part." and through the " bights " or 
 loops made with the strands. 
 
 There are few mechanics on shore that work as 
 incessantly as merchant seamen when at sea. If 
 not engaged in making or taking in sail, they are 
 at work on the ship's hull, its sails or its ropes ; and 
 they do in their way as skilful, even as ornamental, 
 work as that executed in silk or worsted by their 
 sisters and sweethearts at home. Watch a sailor 
 handle a rope, and you will notice that he does just 
 the right thing for each emergency ; for example, 
 he will hoist the ensign aloft in a small roll, then 
 with a twitch of the halliards he shakes it out, and 
 it floats in the breeze ; he will put a running bow- 
 line in the end of a rope which is "rove" through 
 a "block" at the "mast-head," and lower himself 
 safely to the deck, when a landsman could not even 
 trust himself to knot the rope securely. For each 
 purpose he has its appropriate " hitch, bend, splice, 
 seizing, or lashing." Far more of this ornamental 
 and seaman-like work might be done aboard yachts, 
 so that, however small the craft, she might show 
 that she was owned by a sailor. I thought in be-
 
 1 86 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 ginning this article that I might possibly give some 
 directions as to this work, but it is not easily ex- 
 plained without engravings. Mr. R. H. Dana, a 
 Boston boy who went two years before the mast, 
 and wrote a famous book about it, also published 
 a work entitled The Seaman s Friend, in which 
 may be found plates of great use to those who 
 wish to learn how to handle ropes. It is also the 
 most correct and comprehensive manual of sea- 
 manship as practised on sea-going vessels that has 
 ever been printed. We should all be proud of the 
 fact that it was the work of a man of education, for 
 many years a celebrated lawyer, who followed the 
 seaman's vocation for the benefit of his health, but 
 perfected himself in every duty of his station. So 
 great is the fascination of the life of a sailor, that 
 Mr. Dana himself said to me, within two years of 
 his death, that he could not go to one of our wharves 
 and see a square-rigged vessel without feeling all 
 the old longing to go to sea.
 
 HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN. 
 
 i8 7 
 
 III. STARBOARD AND PORT. 
 
 HEN you go a- 
 sailing, remem- 
 ber that every 
 vessel has a for- 
 ward and an af- 
 ter part ; the for- 
 mer is the bow, 
 the latter the 
 stern : these 
 names are con- 
 stantly applied 
 aboard ship; 
 
 thus, a rope is made fast forward of the mainmast, 
 or a boat is ordered astern. Every vessel has 
 also a right and a left side : the former is star- 
 board, the latter port, or larboard ; and in familiar 
 speech the two sets of men, or watches, have been 
 sometimes called Starbowlines and Larbowlines. 
 The words right and left are not sea-terms : if a 
 man were to say that his bunk was on the larboard 
 side (although port is more usual) he would be 
 set down as a mariner of experience ; but if he said 
 it was to the left, he would be considered a landsman.
 
 1 88 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 No one unacquainted with nautical life can realize 
 how incessantly these two words are used at sea ; 
 for the jibboom, there must be starboard and port 
 guys ; the ship must have a starboard and port 
 anchor, a starboard and port light ; square-rigged 
 vessels, or those with yards, have most of their rig- 
 ging alike on both sides, so we prefix to orders the 
 word starboard or port, unless we use instead the 
 terms weather and lee. It has been proposed to sub- 
 stitute the ordinary words right and left ; but while 
 with steamers or yachts no inconvenience would re- 
 sult, aboard sea-going vessels such a change involves 
 far more than can be apparent to any landsman. An 
 order to overhaul the right clewline might be ambig- 
 uous, but " Overhaul the starboard clewline " is plain. 
 " Is the wheel a-port ? " cannot be misunderstood ; 
 but how about " Is the wheel a-left?" 
 
 "Right your wheel" means to bring the rudder 
 in line with the keel. All ancient steering-gear was 
 identical with that used by small boats to-day, or an 
 arm of wood fast to the rudder-head ; every boy 
 knows that to carry this tiller to the starboard side 
 brings the rudder to the opposite side, and thus the 
 bow of the boat is turned to port ; the first improve- 
 ments in steering conformed to this rule, and the
 
 HINTS FOR YACHTSMEN. 
 
 189 
 
 wheel itself moved to the right or to the left, so that 
 in old vessels a channel may be seen worn into the 
 deck, where the man at the wheel has followed the 
 tiller. Stationary wheels came, moving the rudder 
 in the direction indicated by the wheel ; but the 
 terms were not changed. So that to this day the 
 man moves his wheel exactly to the contrary of the 
 order, following the old rule that the vessel must go 
 to the side opposite that to which the helm is put. 
 
 The terms port and starboard only are in use on 
 the sea : two vessels approaching must port the 
 helm ; if sailing-vessels, the one on the starboard 
 tack has right of way ; if steamers, one whistle in- 
 dicates that each keeps to starboard ; two to port ; 
 at night a green light is carried on the starboard 
 side, a red one to port ; the distinction being easily 
 recalled if you remember that port wine is red.
 
 THE ART OF SWIMMING. 
 
 BY HARRY E. ROSE. 
 
 SWIMMING is an art so manly, so graceful, and 
 so useful, that no one ever regrets the trouble 
 of learning. And every one can learn, unless he 
 be physically infirm or naturally a coward. 
 
 Dr. Franklin truthfully said : " The only obstacle 
 to the acquirement and improvement in this neces- 
 sary and life-preserving art is fear." The coward 
 had better stay out of the water. He is safer on 
 land. But he is not necessarily a coward who is 
 afraid to plunge boldly into unknown water such 
 a reluctance is natural ; the best swimmer, unless 
 he be foolhardy, would not do that. Some of the 
 best swimmers have learned in shallow creeks, have 
 practised alone until skilled, and then polished their 
 self-education in deep water. 
 
 The first lesson should be taken in a tideless 
 river or quiet stream, the depth of which you have 
 
 190
 
 THE ART OF SWIMMING. 19! 
 
 previously studied. On entering the water, wet 
 your head and neck thoroughly, and before sub- 
 merging the body stand for a few minutes knee- 
 deep. 
 
 Having fixed your eye on a favorable spot, 
 advance into the stream until breast-high. Now 
 face the shore, and prepare for striking out. Lie 
 gently on your breast, keeping head and neck up- 
 right, breast distended, and back bent inward. 
 
 o 
 
 Withdraw the legs from the bottom, and immediately 
 strike them out, not downward, but horizontally ; 
 strike forward with the arms simultaneously with 
 the feet, holding the hands like the blade of an oar 
 when in action, fingers closed, the thumb placed 
 by the side of the first finger, a little below the 
 surface ; draw them back again while gathering 
 up the legs for a second attempt ; and thus push 
 forward, making use of the hands and feet alter- 
 nately. The farther forward you reach, the faster 
 you will swim. The secret of a good stroke is to 
 kick out with the legs wide apart. The propelling 
 power is secured by the legs being brought from 
 a position in which they are placed wide apart 
 to one in which they are close together, like the 
 blades of a pair of scissors. In this position the
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 heels should touch each other ; and in drawing up 
 the legs, the toes should be pointed backward 
 to avoid the resistance of the water against the 
 insteps. 
 
 It may happen that you will swallow water in 
 your first efforts ; but this should not discourage 
 you, neither should the fancy that because you 
 make but little advance you are not capable of 
 learning to swim. Every beginner has his mishaps, 
 no matter what the art. 
 
 Some lads will learn to swim " dog-fashion " 
 quicker than any other style ; and while it is not 
 at all graceful, it gradually leads into the smooth, 
 even, scientific breast-stroke, and therefore should 
 hardly be discouraged. Every boy, of course, 
 knows that "dog-fashion" is that frantic motion 
 of the hands and legs like a large paddle-wheel, 
 in which more bluster and foam than headway are 
 made; and every boy likes to swim "dog-fashion" 
 occasionally, often just to " show off," or to imitate 
 some friend not so far advanced as himself. But, 
 "dog- fash ion" swimmer, don't let such mimics 
 dishearten you; keep right on, and soon you 
 will master the breast-stroke as we have de- 
 scribed it, and by studying some of the tricks in
 
 THE ART OF SWIMMING. 193 
 
 this article, you may soon have the laugh on your 
 mockers. 
 
 Having mastered the breast-stroke, which is 
 adapted to long-distance leisurely swimming, the 
 next movement is the side-stroke ; it may be the 
 left or right, or either. You can accomplish it by 
 shooting the right arm forward, while the left, like 
 an oar, is forcing the water back, and the legs are 
 propelling the body onward. This stroke, which 
 is a powerful one, will move you on like clock-work, 
 and for long distance moderately fast swimming 
 is excellent. 
 
 Then follows the alternate right-hand, left-hand 
 movement, or the overhand-stroke. This is per- 
 haps the most graceful and convenient of all. In 
 reaching forward, the arms are alternately brought 
 out of the water, and then curved so that the tips 
 of the fingers enter again directly in front of the 
 head. This movement can be made very graceful 
 by daintily skimming the palm along the surface, 
 and merely dipping the water before it disappears. 
 For short distance swimming, you will find no 
 speedier stroke. Advancing the right and left sides 
 of the body alternately, secures greater continuity 
 of motion and materially reduces the friction ; in
 
 IQ4 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 conjunction with the powerful propulsion of the 
 legs, it sends you along with the speed of a fish. 
 As it is very swift, so it is very exhausting ; it is, 
 therefore, best adapted to racing, say fifty or one 
 hundred yards. 
 
 I once saw Dennis F. Butler, the ex-champion of 
 America, finish a seven-mile race against the tide 
 with this overhand stroke ; and he did it in a pecu- 
 liar manner. With every dip of the arm his head 
 would go under water ; and thus he lolled, yet fairly 
 plunged for the goal, taking breath every time he 
 turned on his sides. 
 
 The boy aspirants to racing honors will do well to 
 practise this movement diligently. 
 
 Back performances are more easily learned than 
 those on the breast, and floating is quite simple. 
 
 Turn yourself over on your back, as gently as 
 possible, elevate your breast above the surface, put 
 your head back, so that your eyes, nose, and chin 
 only are above water. Keep in this position with 
 the arms and legs extended, the latter perfectly 
 rigid. Now, move the hands from right to left 
 horizontally, fast or slow as you choose, and you 
 will find yourself buoyed up and gradually moving 
 along. If you wish to make greater speed or swim
 
 THE ART OF SWIMMING. 1 95 
 
 on your back, begin to work your legs, precisely as 
 in breast swimming, taking care not to lift the knees 
 too high nor to sink your hips and sides too low. 
 Keep yourself as straight as possible. You are now 
 progressing finely getting along easily and speed- 
 ily. If your arms grow tired, lay them on your 
 breast, but keep the legs going ; thus you can rest 
 your arms ; if your legs tire, let them remain quiet, 
 and renew work with your hands. Thus alternating, 
 you will find yourself able to cover a long distance 
 without fatigue. 
 
 Just at this stage of progress you will be anxious 
 to dive. There is great sport in this ; but it re- 
 quires practice to dive " cleanly." 
 
 Diving may be performed from the surface of the 
 water, when swimming, by merely turning the head 
 downward, and striking upward with the legs. It is, 
 however, much better to leap in, with the hands 
 closed above the head, and the head foremost, from 
 a pier, boat, or raised bank. The proper attitude 
 for a " clean " dive which means without splashing 
 more than the sharp cut of the hands is to place 
 the hands over the head, close together, give a 
 sudden spring, and descend through the air, heels 
 together and body perfectly stiff. Your hands will
 
 196 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 cleave the way for your body, protecting your head, 
 and you will pass beneath the surface just like the 
 inimitable bull-frog the master-diver. 
 
 By striking with the feet, the same as in swim- 
 ming, and keeping the head toward the bottom, you 
 can drive yourself to a considerable depth. 
 
 If you wish to reach the surface, turn your head 
 upward and .work your hands, up and down ; you 
 will ascend like a flash. 
 
 To turn under water, merely swim in whichever 
 direction you wish. 
 
 Some swimmers prefer to keep their eyes open 
 while beneath the surface ; I do not consider it wise, 
 as the strain is great, and often foreign substances 
 in the water are liable to injure the eyeball. Of 
 course, if you dive for an object at the bottom, you 
 will need to open your eyes to find it ; at other 
 times I advise you to keep them closed. 
 
 Swimming under water is accomplished by the 
 ordinary stroke, but take care to keep your head a 
 little downward and strike a little higher with your 
 feet than when swimming on the surface. 
 
 Perhaps as easy a way as any of learning to swim 
 under water is by beginning, in shallow water, to 
 simply sink below the surface of the water. This
 
 The Diver.
 
 THE ART OF SWIMMING. 199 
 
 can be done by letting the air escape from the lungs, 
 so that they lose their power of buoyancy. The 
 beginner, having no fear of being unable to reach 
 terra Jirma, will learn far quicker in this way to be 
 at home beneath the surface than if he attempts to 
 swim at the outset. When once confidence is 
 gained, all that remains is to learn the trick of stay- 
 ing below the surface when the lungs are inflated. 
 
 If you have successfully practised these lessons, 
 you are familiar with the three essential elements of 
 swimming, and in prime condition to study a few 
 tricks. 
 
 " Treading water " is a fine feat. To tread with- 
 out the use of the hands, work your feet up and 
 down, precisely as though ascending a flight of 
 stairs, only with more speed and steadiness. You 
 will find this very simple, and oftentimes you can 
 stand where the water is a fathom deep and by 
 treading hold the hands high over the head, and 
 make the uninitiated suppose you to be on the 
 bottom. In this position, also, you can walk a con- 
 siderable distance, when you are expert. If you 
 want to ease your legs, put your arms under, and 
 work them horizontally right and left, as in floating. 
 
 The feat of breast-swimming without the use of
 
 200 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 hands requires strength in the legs and back. At 
 best, but a short distance can be made in this way. 
 The same may be said of swimming without the use 
 of the legs. But it is well to practise both of these 
 movements they may save your life in the event 
 of cramp or accident. 
 
 To show the feet while floating, bend the small 
 of the back downward, support yourself by moving 
 your hands to and fro just above your breast, and 
 stretch your feet above the water. Now, if you 
 wish to swim on your back, feet-foremost, make 
 precisely the same stroke as in breast-swimming. 
 
 To swim with one hand out of the water, say the 
 right, turn on the left side, and vigorously use that 
 arm, and the legs. 
 
 If you wish to turn while on your back, keep one 
 leg still, and embrace the water beside you with the 
 other ; you will thus find yourself turning to that 
 side on which your leg by its motion embraces the 
 water, and you will turn to the right or left accord- 
 ing to which leg you use in this manner. 
 
 There are a variety of feats performed by expert 
 swimmers ; such as floating on the back with the 
 arms above the surface ; taking the left leg in the 
 right hand out of the water when swimming on
 
 THE ART OF SWIMMING. 2OI 
 
 the back ; pulling- the right heel by the right hand 
 toward the back, when swimming in the common 
 way ; throwing somersaults in the water, backward 
 and forward, etc., for which no particular directions 
 are necessary, as you will be able to do them and 
 any tricks which your fancy may suggest. 
 
 A , few hygienic hints for swimmers will surely 
 not be out of place here. 
 
 Do not bathe too soon after eating ; an interval 
 of an hour and a half at least, should be allowed. 
 Do not bathe when tired out, either mentally or 
 physically always wait till you feel rested. The 
 best time for this exercise is in the forenoon, be- 
 tween breakfast and luncheon. 
 
 If overheated on arriving at the water, do not re- 
 move your clothes until the excessive feeling of 
 heat has passed, and your breathing and circulation 
 have become regular ; never expose the skin to the 
 direct action of the air when overheated. 
 
 Keep in motion after you have gone into the 
 water ; do not stand around chatting and lounging. 
 As soon as you have swum sufficiently, dry yourself 
 thoroughly, put on your clothes, and keep the blood 
 in circulation by exercise. 
 
 Do not stay in the water too long half an hour
 
 202 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 is long enough for the strongest man. More deli- 
 cate persons will find that too much ; for some, ten 
 minutes should be the limit. Fifteen minutes is a 
 good average for all. 
 
 If seized with cramp, endeavor not to be alarmed, 
 but strike out vigorously with the affected limb, or, 
 turning on the back, extend it forcibly into the air. 
 By paddling with the hands you can easily reach 
 shore,, or keep afloat until assistance is rendered. 
 
 And, never, never " duck" your weaker brother! 
 The poor fellow might take fright, and never again 
 essay to learn ; besides, you might accidentally 
 drown him. 
 
 In conclusion : if you have followed these sugges- 
 tions, not merely mentally, but in the " aqueous 
 element," as the student would say, you will have 
 become dexterous swimmers, and soon shall be able 
 to join Byron in this stanza : 
 
 " How many a time have I 
 
 Cloven with an arm still lustier, breast more daring, 
 The wave all roughen'd ; with a swimmer's stroke 
 Flinging the billows back from my drencrTd hair, 
 And, laughing, from my lip the audacious brine, 
 Which kiss'd it, like a wine-cup, rising o'er 
 The waves as they arose, and prouder still 
 The loftier they uplifted me."
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 
 
 BY ALEXANDER BLACK. 
 
 NY one who has ever seen 
 a tub race and those 
 who have not may be as- 
 sured that they have missed 
 one of the funniest sights 
 in the world will remem- 
 ber the screams of laughter and little shrieks of 
 momentary fear that come from the spectators 
 when the first conspicuous tub turns wrong side 
 up, and dumps its occupant head-first into the 
 water. For the moment, it seems to those of the 
 audience who are unskilled in swimming as if 
 the overturned racer were certain to drown. But 
 very soon his head pops up through the foam, the 
 tub is righted, and, if the racer is skilful, the uncer- 
 tain craft is manned again. By and by the specta- 
 tors begin to realize, if they never have before, that 
 
 203
 
 2O4 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 there is really no danger that any one will drown, 
 and every new mishap brings more laughter and 
 fewer sounds of fright. 
 
 In fact, while it is easy for everybody to think of 
 sport on the water, a comparatively small number 
 are able to fully appreciate the idea of sport in the 
 water. The seaside bather cannot be said to know 
 what water sport means ; for the seaside bather, in 
 the great majority of cases, does not know how to 
 swim. Only those who know how to swim can really 
 know what water sport is ; for only these can know 
 what it is to be free, safe, and " at home " in the water. 
 
 Probably water sports are as old as any other kind 
 of sports. The very fish in the depths of the lake, 
 in the shallows of the brook, or in the clear green 
 depths of the sea, are continually giving a hint of 
 the gayety that is to be found in the water. Life 
 under water has many amusements. Seals have set 
 games that they romp in, day after day, when the 
 weather is inviting. Naturalists tell wonderful sto- 
 ries of the fishes and of those animals who can get 
 along very comfortably both in and out of the water. 
 And does anybody suppose that the boys of antiq- 
 uity did not follow the sportive example of the 
 light-hearted frog ?
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 
 
 205 
 
 Among wild people living near any sort of deep 
 water, there have always been water games. Indian 
 boys were experts in various contests and festivals 
 in the water, and some of the South Sea Island boys 
 seem to get along about as well in the water as out 
 of it. 
 
 Winning the Tub-Race. 
 
 Tub-racing, which is a very old sport, is to be 
 classed with sports in the water, like swimming, 
 rather than with sports on the water, like rowing or 
 sailing ; for it is understood that the tubs turn over 
 a good deal, and that cleverness at swimming and 
 manoeuvring in the water will come into play. And 
 of course tub-racing gets its main excitement and
 
 2O6 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 fun not so much from the mere progress of the tubs 
 as from the continual chance of accident that is, 
 the comical accident of the racer's plunge into the 
 water. 
 
 Somebody who understood how much delight was 
 to be had from the make-believe danger of this kind 
 of accident, as well as from other absurd intentional 
 blunders, invented the modern water circus. For 
 there is such a thing as a water circus, a circus 
 with a ring but a ring of water instead of sawdust. 
 
 Away back in the old Roman days the water 
 circus was a wonderful affair. Arenas would be 
 flooded, and naval battles would be fought between 
 great galleys for the amusement of the emperor and 
 the people. Things are not on quite so vast or se- 
 rious a scale now, however ; and the water circus, as 
 it is seen in Europe to-day, is but one of the fea- 
 tures of an ordinary circus. But, the American 
 reader will ask, how can a water circus be part of an 
 ordinary circus? Can they flood the ring? And 
 even if they did, would it be deep enough for any 
 kind of water sport ? The fact is, that they do not 
 flood an ordinary ring, which would not hold more 
 than an ankle-deep puddle ; but this is the way it 
 is done :
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 2OJ 
 
 When that point in the circus programme that 
 is set for the beginning of the water show has 
 been successfully reached, a small army of clowns 
 and "supers" begin dragging into the arena sec- 
 tions of an iron tank, which, amid much ludicrous 
 play on the part of the clowns, is fitted together 
 in the ring, before the eyes of the amused and 
 expectant audience. The pieces lock tightly to- 
 gether, and a huge roll of rubber that is tumbled 
 into the circle with many comical struggles and 
 mishaps, is spread out to make the bottom of the 
 lake thoroughly water-tight. When this has been 
 done, a bridge, generally with a double arch and 
 a central platform, which has been suspended over- 
 head with the trapeze bars and other circus para- 
 phernalia, is lowered to the little lake and duly 
 fits into its place. 
 
 On one side of the ring now the lake a 
 series of embankments rise to the musicians' gal- 
 lery. At the proper moment, generally when the 
 attention of the audience is directed to the final 
 preparations in the circle below, there is a gush 
 of water from under the gallery, and a fine cascade 
 splashes its way over the embankments down to 
 the now completed tank. Generally somebody
 
 2O8 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 screams at the first roar of the water ; then every- 
 body joins in shouts and stampings of applause 
 at the sight of the waterfall, which dances and 
 sparkles and splutters in the rays of the electric 
 light. The cascade is, indeed, one of the great 
 features of the show ; for the electric glare changes 
 in hue, until the bubbling torrent, from seeming 
 like a flood of very green sea-water, turns to a 
 crimson and then to a golden shower, and is once 
 more foaming white again. 
 
 And then, while the water is splashing, and the 
 people are laughing and chattering, and the band 
 is performing with great energy, the clowns toss 
 several screaming ducks into the lake, which is, 
 of course, in a very turbulent state, and gives the 
 ducks a good deal to do for a little while. Very 
 soon, however, the ducks make themselves at 
 home, and the spectators take as much interest 
 in seeing the fowl swim about as if the sight 
 really were very novel indeed. 
 
 When once the tank is quite filled, a decided 
 change comes over the scene. A skiff containing 
 a young man and a young woman who is much 
 afraid of the water makes its appearance, the 
 young man rowing with an air of conscious ele-
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 211 
 
 gance and dexterity. A group of dancers comes 
 skipping over the bridge to the jaunty strains of 
 the band. Various picturesque promenaders fol- 
 low the dancers. Then a delightfully solemn, 
 matter-of-fact squire makes his appearance, fishing- 
 pole in hand, and casts a line with every sign of 
 lively expectancy. Presently he has a most extraor- 
 dinary bite, one of those bites that you read about 
 in the fish-story column of the newspaper. The 
 squire, amusingly bewildered, tugs at the pole, 
 and raises what seems to be a tremendous fish, 
 whose struggles spatter the occupants of the skiff, 
 and completely destroy the self-possession of the 
 squire. 
 
 While things are at this crisis, the spirit of 
 mischief seems to break loose. Some mischief- 
 makers who appear on the bridge complete the 
 squire's anxiety by knocking his hat into the water ; 
 and very soon the fisherman himself manages to 
 tumble in, pole, line, fish, and all. A country 
 woman with a basket, who is solicitous about the 
 squire's fate, falls with a great splash, and so does 
 a dude, who has been shocked to discover that 
 his shoes are wet. Matters are considerably jum- 
 bled in this way when a policeman appears on
 
 2 I 2 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 the scene. The policeman wears beneath his uni- 
 form a rubber suit which has been inflated to a 
 wonderful size. He wobbles upon the bridge, 
 looking about with great concern and indignation, 
 asking what all this means. In his efforts to re- 
 store order or rescue somebody, he shares the 
 fate of the others, bouncing into the lake in a 
 manner so absurd as to excite fresh screams of 
 laughter from the audience. The people in the 
 water, discovering how buoyant the fat policeman 
 is, at once seize upon him as a life-preserver, 
 and the dude actually clambers astride of the 
 portly figure, while the spectators laugh until the 
 tears come. When the skiff has been overturned, 
 and everything in the water is in a state of the 
 liveliest confusion, a great spurt of water rises 
 through the centre of the bridge, the spray of the 
 sudden and graceful fountain is lighted by flashes 
 of colored fire, and the water circus is at an end. 
 
 I think it will appear to be quite natural that 
 the water circus should be very popular. It has 
 already appeared in this country, though not to 
 the extent it has been given in Europe. It will 
 probably become more popular with us as time goes 
 on, though perhaps an entertainment in which so
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 
 
 2I 3 
 
 many actors have to run the risk of colds and 
 rheumatism may not be considered very promising 
 in our climate. 
 
 But if this should be an objection, why is it that 
 the latest and most 
 popular of our water 
 games is played al- 
 most wholly in win- 
 ter? I am speaking 
 of water polo, which 
 within a few years 
 has been growing in 
 favor, until it is now 
 one of the most cor- 
 dially welcomed of 
 all our sports. Tem- 
 perature has, of 
 course, a great deal 
 to do with a game 
 
 that is pursued in the costume of the swimmer. In 
 the swimming-tanks of athletic clubs or gymnasi- 
 ums, the temperature of the water can be regulated, 
 and the temperature of the air can be brought up to 
 the warmth of what has been called the " Turkish 
 bath " atmosphere. There is no reason why the 
 
 
 
 GOAL 
 
 I 
 
 GOAL n/LL BACKS LINE. 
 
 o 
 HALf BACK 
 
 
 
 LEFT END RIGHT EN Q 
 
 S3 
 
 
 
 CENTER 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 BALL 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 CENTER 
 
 
 
 LEFT END RIGHT END 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 HALFBACK 
 GOAL o LINE 
 
 ! 
 
 oFULL BACKS o 
 
 GOAL 
 
 Water Polo Diagram.
 
 214 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 same conditions cannot be supplied in summer, 
 when the air is naturally warm, and the water in 
 a tank, without artificial heating, would soon be 
 sufficiently warm. Undoubtedly there has been, 
 hitherto, little water polo in summer, because in 
 the warm season out-door sports of another kind 
 tempt the athlete. Lake, river, and deep-sea swim- 
 ming lure him away from the narrow dimensions of 
 a tank. But as water polo gains in popularity, and 
 begins to take rank as something more than a game 
 to be played in-doors and in winter, when other 
 forms of athletic sports are comparatively inacces- 
 sible, it is less likely to be set aside in the summer 
 season. Indeed, water polo is continually on the 
 increase as a summer sport. 
 
 Our American water polo is simply foot-ball played 
 in the water. It might seem more out of place to 
 use the term foot-ball in a water game which does 
 not permit the kicking of the ball, if modern foot- 
 ball had not done away with a great deal of the 
 kicking that once seemed the special characteristic 
 of the game. The fact that foot-ball has, paradoxi- 
 cally, become so much of a hand game, makes it 
 much more feasible than it once might have been 
 to transfer the game to the water.
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 215 
 
 Water polo is not yet an exact science, either as 
 regards the manner of the game or the place where 
 it is played. There is much difference of opinion 
 as to the proper size of the tank in which it should 
 be played. Some players hold to a deep tank, in 
 which everybody would have to swim throughout 
 the game. Others are much in favor of a tank with 
 a uniform depth of five feet or thereabouts, so that 
 the player could stand when swimming was not 
 demanded. Most of the games thus far have been 
 played in the regular athletic club tanks. These 
 are four or five feet deep at one end, and increase 
 in depth toward the other end, until there they hold 
 six feet or more of water. Unless special water 
 polo tanks are constructed, in-door games will prob- 
 ably continue to be played in the tanks that are 
 comparatively shallow at one end although four 
 feet of water is not to be despised in the opportuni- 
 ties it gives the swimmer. 
 
 A water polo team consists of six men, who are 
 organized on the same general plan as a foot-ball 
 team. Thus, there is a centre rush, two end rush- 
 ers, a half-back, and two full backs or goal keepers. 
 The accompanying diagram will give an idea of the 
 way the team ranges itself in the water. The goal
 
 2l6 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 boards are about four feet long and twelve inches 
 wide, and on each is painted the word "Goal" in 
 large letters. The boards are about eighteen inches 
 above the water-line. The goal line indicated on 
 the diagram is an imaginary line, running between 
 two marks on the sides of the tank, four feet from the 
 end. The tank we shall suppose to be one hundred 
 feet long and twenty feet wide. As the side with 
 the shallower end has somewhat of an advantage, 
 choice of end is decided by toss at the beginning 
 of the game, and the sides alternate in position. 
 
 Only the full backs or goal keepers are entitled 
 to remain within the goal-line ; and it is one of the 
 duties of the judges or umpires, who stand each at 
 a goal, to declare a foul against any player who 
 enters the goal enclosure ahead of the ball. It is 
 one of the rules, too, that the ball must be carried, 
 and cannot be passed, over the goal-line. 
 
 There are several points of difference between 
 the English and the American game. In the Eng- 
 lish game, as I understand, the player is permitted 
 to strike or push the ball with his hand. He may 
 interfere with an opponent only when the opponent 
 has the ball in his possession. In this country a 
 player may carry the ball in any direction, and may
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 2\"J 
 
 "tackle" any player who either has the ball or is 
 within three feet of it. 
 
 At the moment before the beginning of the game 
 the teams are marshalled on the platforms, at the 
 respective ends of the tank, as determined by the 
 toss. It is a moment of expectancy. The twelve 
 young men in their swimming costumes make two 
 attractive groups. The ball, ready for its lively 
 bath, is the regulation foot-ball. The umpires, time- 
 keeper, referee, are all in place. The audience 
 gives signs of that tension exhibited at the moment 
 in foot-ball when the two teams, drawn up in deter- 
 mined lines, await that first movement of the ball 
 which begins the excitement of the game. 
 
 " Go ! " 
 
 The ball is in the middle of the tank, and with a 
 great splash the players are plunging into the water. 
 The two centre rushes are swimming toward the 
 ball from opposite sides of the tank, the other 
 players scurrying into position behind them. For 
 a few seconds only there is the suspense of not 
 knowing which leader will first get the ball. Almost 
 at the same instant the Red and the Black reach for 
 the dancing globe. But" the Red gets it; and quick 
 as thought he snaps it to the half-back, the end
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 219 
 
 rusher continuing to plunge toward the opposite 
 goal. The half-back, clutching the ball, dives out 
 of sight for an instant, but is soon seen on his way 
 toward the left centre of the tank. The centre rush 
 of the Blacks makes a great sweeping stroke for 
 the bail, and the left end rusher of the Blacks is 
 right in the swimmer's path. There is a big fluster 
 of spray, and the left end rusher of the Reds is seen 
 swimming with the ball that was cleverly passed to 
 him. But the half-back of the enemy is alert, and 
 by a swift side-stroke wrenches the ball from the 
 daring rusher, and makes for the other side of the 
 tank. Here two of his team make a lively effort 
 to keep a passage for him. Five swimmers are 
 soon in such a tangle that it is difficult to determine 
 who has the ball. Three or four of the figures dis- 
 appear beneath the foam ; and one man, another of 
 the Blacks, is seen swimming hard for the Red 
 goal. 
 
 There is a great cheer from the spectators as the 
 lusty youth cleaves the water with his free left arm. 
 But the swimmer can o-ain but a few strokes. He 
 
 Q 
 
 is seized by two of the Reds ; he writhes, dives, and 
 appears two yards away, rising, unfortunately, under 
 the very nose of the Red left end rusher, who has
 
 22O THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 waited for him. Two other Reds are but a stroke 
 or two away, and all of them disappear and rise 
 again. The head of the Black with the ball cannot 
 be seen by the eager spectators. They are holding 
 him under. Yet he seems determined not to give 
 up the ball. Re-enforcements from both teams are 
 now at hand. Two of the Blacks dive with the pur- 
 pose of passing the ball. But a man with his head 
 under water and three or four men struggling with 
 him cannot discriminate very readily in such a mat- 
 ter. The plucky fellow, who cannot tell whose 
 hand is friendly, must soon let go the ball, and who 
 shall get it when he does let o-o ? 
 
 <z> O 
 
 Then all at once two of the players who have 
 been on the outskirts of the struggle discover that 
 the ball has come to the surface a yard away from 
 the outer line of the scramble. A Red now has the 
 ball. He is making straight for the right of the 
 tank. The crowd of swimmers turn upon him. A 
 signal has told the Reds that the ball is in their pos- 
 session. Three times the glistening rubber changes 
 hands, the Reds still carrying it nearer and nearer 
 to their opponents' goal. The Black goal keepers 
 gird themselves for the struggle beyond the goal 
 line. Twice the Blacks get the ball. Twice the
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 221 
 
 Reds recover it. The spectators are finding it hard 
 not to shout improperly loud, and not to stand on 
 the seats. The shouts in the water often end in a 
 gurgle, and a seething hum is punctuated with an 
 occasional splasl^on the surface. 
 
 In the scramble at the goal-line it is again impos- 
 sible to tell who has the ball, but the Reds are hold- 
 ing all the ground (or water) they have taken. The 
 effort is to touch the goal-board. This is no easy 
 thing in the presence of two goal-keepers with arms 
 like a blacksmith's. The water is white with foam, 
 and every swimmer is doing his utmost to turn the 
 crisis to the advantage of his side. When the ref- 
 eree's whistle announces that the Reds have won 
 the goal, a congratulatory shout greets the panting 
 and dripping figures that leave the water for a few 
 minutes' breathing-time. 
 
 Enthusiasts in water polo think that before the 
 present summer is over the game will be established 
 in favor as a warm-weather sport. There is, these 
 enthusiasts tell me, no reason in the world why the 
 game should not be played in any water that is with- 
 out current; and, even in a river with moderately 
 strong current, it would be possible to play it across 
 stream, the goals and limits being once definitely
 
 222 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 placed. Probably, however, the popularity of the 
 game will result in the arrangement of warm 
 weather arenas for the sport, where everything can 
 be done scientifically and in order. I think it has 
 been suggested that there is a good deal of 
 " science " in water polo. While the game is being 
 studied out, there will be a good deal of roughness. 
 But this roughness will in great measure diminish 
 as skill and precision are acquired. 
 
 Whatever may become of water polo, the new 
 sport has certainly given a great "boom " to swim- 
 ming. All athletics in the water are based on the 
 swimmer's art ; and when swimming is surrounded 
 by proper precautions against accident, it is one of 
 the most healthful forms of exercise, encoura^ino- 
 
 o o 
 
 muscular self-confidence, strengthening the frame, 
 and building up the lungs. There will always, I 
 suppose, be differences of opinion as to the best 
 kind of stroke. The "overhand" stroke is fast for 
 a short distance; the English "side stroke" is 
 highly praised, and is practised by many prize win- 
 ners. But the old-fashioned "breast stroke" is not 
 likely to go out of fashion for a long while. 
 
 I suppose that in that interesting future we all 
 like to talk about we shall have some surprising
 
 SPORT IN THE WATER. 
 
 223 
 
 devices for travelling- as well as amusing ourselves 
 in water. We already have the water bicycle. Cap- 
 tain Boynton's water-shoes sound better than they 
 look, and I fancy that they look better than they 
 feel. As might be imagined from their appearance, 
 
 The Water Shoes. 
 
 these water-shoes do not permit a seven-league 
 stride ; in fact, they do not permit striding at all. 
 You simply have a boat on each foot, and must get 
 yourself along with an oar or some other means of 
 propulsion. If a person were in a hurry, it would 
 pay to get these shoes off and swim. Captain
 
 224 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Boynton's floating-suit was better, because it did 
 not give so good an opportunity for getting the 
 head under water and keeping it there. With an 
 umbrella up to keep off the sun, a little floating box 
 of provisions and utensils, and a neat paddle, Cap- 
 tain Boynton was really ready for a long and safe 
 water journey. 
 
 But the ability to swim well, and for a long dis- 
 tance if necessary, is worth all the water apparatus 
 that will ever be invented.
 
 A CANE RUSH. 
 
 BY MALCOLM TOWNSEND. 
 
 ID you ever see a " cane rush " ? 
 It is not altogether new ; for 
 when the Greek boys of the 
 Twenty-third Olympiad- 
 twenty-five hundred years and 
 more ago tugged and strug- 
 gled for the mastery in the game of 
 strength and muscle known to them as the pancra- 
 tiiuu, they were but striving for the prize of the 
 wild olive wreath in a rough and tumble game 
 which, centuries later, was to reappear in what is 
 known in certain American colleges as the " cane 
 rush." 
 
 All athletic sports have in them a certain element 
 of danger; all of them, pushed to extremes, may 
 degenerate into brutality. The deadly pitching of 
 
 225
 
 226 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 the base-ball field, the "slugging" of many a foot- 
 ball match, have again and again brought discredit 
 upon those noble tests of strength and skill. But 
 the gentleman cannot be a brute ; and if but the 
 demands of courtesy and manliness are kept ever 
 in view, no field sport, however exciting, however 
 risky, or however absorbing, need ever pass that 
 border line that separates chivalry from brutish- 
 ness. 
 
 A cane rush may be reduced to a brutal level, 
 and become dangerous to the participants. But 
 when planned upon a manly athletic basis, and 
 controlled by the spirit of friendly rivalry, it is, 
 perhaps, one of the most exciting contests adopted 
 by the restless college "men." When participated 
 in along the lines of courtesy and courage, it enlists 
 a Spartan element of honor. It is regarded as a 
 duty which no loyal class member would think of 
 shirking. It cements a class union that otherwise 
 would never be formed, enthusiastically contributed 
 to by the many secret meetings, private conferences, 
 and careful "pointers" that precede the day of 
 contest. 
 
 Let me describe for you a cane rush in a certain 
 college, where brutality is frowned down, and the
 
 A CANE RUSH. 227 
 
 boys can be gentlemen even in the heat of 
 conflict. 
 
 It is the battle for supremacy between Sopho- 
 mores and Freshmen the class of '94 and the 
 class of '95. And the sign of supremacy, to be 
 borne away by the victors, is the conquered cane. 
 
 The time at last has arrived a cool fall day. . 
 The combatants are full of pluck and determination. 
 After class hours the rendezvous of the collegians 
 is the green field not far away a piece of turf still 
 famous as the scene of a deadly encounter between 
 two rival American statesmen. 
 
 The field is thronged with spectators. Here are 
 representatives of the alumni, the professors, the 
 friends, the brothers, the fathers, and a goodly 
 sprinkling even of gray-haired grandfathers. 
 
 The Sophomores have had the advantage of 
 experience. The year preceding they, as Fresh- 
 men, fought the " Sophs" the Juniors of to-day. 
 This apparent disadvantage under which the Fresh- 
 men enter the contest generally turns the sympathy 
 of the spectator to them, so that they become the 
 centre of attraction, being the new blood of the 
 contest. 
 
 The arena, or battle-ground, is a rectangular plot
 
 228 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 one hundred feet in length, with its outer lines 
 marked and guarded by stakes and rope. A well- 
 sodded part of the field is generally chosen. Across 
 the centre of the enclosure a chalk-line is drawn. 
 The cane is a strong, smooth, rounded stick, about 
 five feet in length, and from an inch and a half to 
 two inches in diameter. 
 
 Judges chosen from the alumni are detailed to 
 see that neither kicking nor striking an opponent 
 takes place ; they are also to decide the final count 
 of hands remaining on the cane at the call of 
 " time." A " hand" is three fingers, or two fingers 
 and the thumb ; both hands of one party on the 
 cane is counted as two hands. A kick or blow 
 decided against a class member is a forfeit of " one 
 hand " at the final count a serious penalty. 
 
 Signals are given by pistol-shots from the starter: 
 first shot, ''make ready;" second shot, "charge;" 
 third shot, " withdraw." Five minutes is allowed 
 between the second and the third shot. 
 
 The contestants are the Sophomores and the 
 Freshmen ; the former are the challengers. 
 
 The men are divided into five sections for special 
 work : the Gladiatorae, or centres, who hold the 
 cane ; the Robustse, or strongest men ; the Avelli,
 
 A CANE RUSH. 
 
 229 
 
 or " pullers ; " the Salturae, or "jumpers ; " and the 
 Palaestrae, or "wrestlers." 
 
 " Time is up! " announces the starter. Out from 
 the dressing-room of the club-house come the chal- 
 lengers, the " class of '94," marching under the 
 
 The Gladiator ice Holding the Cane. 
 
 leadership of its captain, who ranges his men at the 
 northerly line of the arena, forming his line with 
 the strength in the centre, and graduating it down 
 to the " light weights " at the extreme ends. The 
 " class of '95 " next marches out, and in similar
 
 230 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 manner is lined up at the extreme south end, 
 ranged according to strength. 
 
 The costume donned for the fray presents a 
 gladiatorial effect ; every man is stripped to the 
 waist ; the exposed parts have been rubbed thick 
 
 The Palestra Wrestling for Time. 
 
 with vaseline to produce a slippery surface that 
 a grip will not hold. The palms of the hands are 
 heavily coated with resin to overcome, in a measure, 
 the greased skin. Out from under the greasy gloss 
 is outlined in yellow, on the chest and back, the class 
 number, " '94" or " '95," marked large and distinctly
 
 A CANE RUSH. 231 
 
 with iodine. It is a "flesh-mark" of identification, 
 as class members are not always recognizable. The 
 heaviest and strongest of trousers are worn buckled 
 tightly around the waist by inside strapping, twine 
 lashing the trousers at the feet around well-greased 
 strong shoes that will not break. Every means 
 is adopted to prevent the advantage of obtaining 
 a " hold." 
 
 First shot : " Make ready." 
 
 The " centres," two of the strongest men from 
 each class, take a position on each side of the chalk 
 line. The cane, after examination, is handed them 
 by one of the judges ; immediately the eight hands 
 twist and slide around its surface to get a lasting 
 grip. 
 
 Then the class " yell " goes up from the contest- 
 ants, who now drop into a foot-racer's position and 
 await the word " go ! " Each man sights the cane 
 and their "stalwarts" who are holding it, and in- 
 wardly vows to do his best. 
 
 Second shot : " Charge ! " 
 
 And a hundred young men cover the distance of 
 fifty feet in a twinkling, and come together with a 
 crash and crush, taking clown to the ground, almost 
 unseen, the " centres," burying them three to four
 
 232 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 deep each " unseen" reaching desperately, strain- 
 ing every muscle to wedge his hands down to the 
 cane and maintain a grip. 
 
 Appearing like some immense octopus whose 
 tentacles are human legs, this live mass of humanity 
 surges, oscillates, wriggles, writhes, and struggles. 
 Around its outer edge the "pullers" are active, as 
 they reach into the pile and grab a leg or legs, and 
 with a "long pull and a strong pull" drag out a 
 powerless wight, and fling him out into the field, 
 where the " wrestlers " interlock and down him, 
 keeping their hold to the last. The outer field is 
 besprinkled with these wrestlers, each with his man 
 in tight embrace a realistic representation of the 
 dead gladiators of the Coliseum, for in fact dead 
 they are to a chance of having a " hand " on the 
 cane. 
 
 The squirming mass, head rubbing head, keeps 
 up its straining ; the " pullers " still haul out their 
 victims and lessen the pile. Then new muscle en- 
 ters the contest. With a run and spring high over 
 the mass, headlong down into the central pit of 
 heads, dive the " fliers," and working their way 
 through by squeezing out the most exhausted, 
 thrust their hands to a fresh hold of the coveted 
 cane.
 
 A CANE RUSH. 235 
 
 "Three-quarters of a minute yet," remarks a by- 
 stander. It has seemed an age since that last shot. 
 Not a word is heard from the strugglers ; there is a 
 bottling of all the reserve air in the lungs. Grunts 
 and puffs are the only exhibit of breathings ; the 
 centre fairly steams from the perspiring mass. 
 
 Bang ! the third shot. 
 
 The struggle ceases and the living mound dis- 
 solves ; the upper tier is disentangled, the second 
 strata backs off carefully, the third layer is rolled 
 off, and then the judges, demanding stillness, note 
 the names of the victors who hold the " mark of 
 three " that counts for his class. Swathed with per- 
 spiration and dirt, with back tatooed by scratches 
 of button or shoe, and face etched with finger-nail 
 or pebble, one by one the rushers are picked up 
 and led to quarters, proudly passing inspection, 
 and displaying their battle scars and ragged rai- 
 ment. 
 
 The judges announce the score. It stands, "thir- 
 teen hands for "94," and " sixteen hands for '95." 
 The crowd shouts its approval ; loud and strong is 
 given the class yell of '95 ; and '93 (the Juniors), 
 who back the winners, echo the Fresh yell with 
 their own.
 
 236 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 It is the first victory for a Freshman class in the 
 history of the college. 
 
 The victory gives the privilege to the Freshmen 
 to carry a cane for a year, and denies it to the 
 Sophomores for the same period. The buttonhole 
 in the lapel of the coat of each Freshman the next 
 morning sarcastically carries to class a miniature 
 
 'Ninety-fiiue I 
 
 cane, and each man expresses a desire to see a 
 Soph walking with a cane, that he can exercise his 
 battle-won privilege of breaking it. 
 
 When the next fall comes around, the Freshman 
 of to-day becomes the " Soph " of to-morrow, and 
 must again fight over the cane to maintain the su- 
 premacy he has won. A rough and tumble game, 
 do you say ? I grant it ; but, as I said at the outset,
 
 A CANE RUSH. 237 
 
 a cane rush, when " rushed " by young gentlemen 
 who can keep their heads cool and their hearts 
 friendly, however may go the day, is able to be 
 carried out, from start to finish, along the lines of 
 courtesy and courage.
 
 HURDLING. 
 
 BY HERBERT MAPES.* 
 
 Intercollegiate Champion at the High Hurdles, 1888-89. 
 
 EXCEPT among athletes and college men, in- 
 terest in the minor athletic sports is, com- 
 paratively, confined to so few people that it would 
 not be strange if many young Americans had never 
 seen, nor even heard of, a hurdle race. Hence, 
 perhaps, it is advisable to begin by briefly describ- 
 ing one. 
 
 As the name implies, the race is run over hurdles. 
 The hurdle is of wood, and consists of two uprights 
 and a cross-bar. This cross-bar is either two feet 
 
 * Herbert Mapes, of the class of 1890 in Columbia College, was drowned 
 while bathing in the surf at Fire Island, in the summer of 1891. He was a 
 young man of rare promise, distinguished in his college, and much beloved 
 by his classmates and a wide circle of friends. His record for scholarship and 
 in athletics was equally high, and his work at the hurdles was almost phe- 
 nomenal. This article on hurdling, written by him, is here reprinted by 
 permission of his father, Mr. Charles V. Mapes, and of the St. Nicholas 
 magazine, in which the article originally appeared.
 
 HURDLING. 239 
 
 six inches or three feet six inches from the ground, 
 according to the distance to be run. The longer of 
 
 o o 
 
 the two distances commonly run by hurdlers is two 
 hundred and twenty yards, and for this the hurdles 
 are two feet six inches high ; the shorter distance 
 is one hundred and twenty yards, with the hurdles 
 three feet six inches high. There are generally ten 
 hurdles, which are set across a track, or path, made 
 either of fine cinders or of turf. When arranged 
 for the race, these ten hurdles are technically known 
 as a " flight." The contestants are drawn up in a 
 line a few yards from the first hurdle, and at a given 
 signal they run and jump each hurdle in -succession, 
 the one who first reaches the finish-line being the 
 winner. 
 
 Now, hurdling, being merely a combination of 
 running and jumping, might appear to require no 
 special ability. Some people foolishly believe that 
 any boy who has long legs must be a fast runner ; 
 and, more reasonably, those of better judgment 
 might be led to infer that a good runner and 
 jumper must necessarily be a good hurdler. But 
 experience has shown that this is not the case. 
 Not every good runner and jumper makes a good 
 hurdler ; and, strangely enough, some of the most
 
 HURDLING. 241 
 
 celebrated hurdlers have been neither very fast 
 runners nor exceptionally good jumpers. For, be- 
 sides skill in running and jumping, other qualities 
 are necessary ; and it is in these that the true genius 
 for hurdling seems to lie. Without special skill, 
 which can come only after long practice, success in 
 hurdling is not to be attained. 
 
 It is difficult with few words to make clear in just 
 what this skill consists, or why so much practice is 
 necessary. Perhaps the best way to explain matters 
 is to indicate some of the difficulties that appear 
 before the new hurdler when he begins his training. 
 Suppose, for instance, he is training for the shorter 
 race of a hundred and twenty yards, where the 
 hurdles are three feet and six inches high, and 
 are set ten yards apart. 
 
 Like all other athletes, the hurdler must undergo 
 a regular course of training in order to acquire 
 strength and endurance; but from the very begin- 
 ning he concentrates his attention more especially 
 upon his "style." The first particular to be con- 
 sidered is, naturally, the manner of jumping over 
 the hurdle. As the race is one of speed, it is of 
 great importance for him to learn to clear the 
 hurdles with as little room to spare as possible.
 
 242 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 He must learn to "take" the hurdle without chan- 
 ging his stride or stopping his speed, in such a 
 way that jumping the hurdle comes as near as 
 possible to running over the hurdle. With this 
 end in view, he sets up a single hurdle and betakes 
 himself to practising the jump. When in this he 
 has succeeded to his satisfaction, he sets up two 
 hurdles, and practises taking them in succession. 
 And here a new and very important question arises. 
 
 The hurdles are ten yards apart ; and after he has 
 jumped the first and run to the second, he very often 
 finds himself coming before it with his wrong foot 
 foremost. In order to jump, he must slacken his 
 pace and change his stride. Here is a difficulty. 
 He must devise some way of jumping the hurdles 
 in succession without hesitating between them. 
 There are two or three methods of doing this, 
 though one method has come to be regarded as 
 the right one. 
 
 In the first place, he may practise jumping from 
 the wrong or awkward foot, and so be prepared to 
 jump in whichever way he may come to the hurdle. 
 But the hurdles are too high to make this plan 
 practicable, and it is generally abandoned after a 
 few days' trial. (It is, however, only in the shorter
 
 HUKULIM;. 243 
 
 race that the hurdles are so high as to prevent 
 this method from being successful. The low 
 hurdles, two feet six inches high, used for the 
 longer race, have been jumped from alternate feet 
 with notable success by A. F. Copeland, the 
 American champion.) 
 
 With the high hurdles there is but one good 
 method. A hurdler must either shorten his natural 
 stride and learn to take five steps beween hurdles, 
 or he must lengthen it considerably and take only 
 three. In either case he is brought to the suc- 
 cessive hurdles with the same foot. But taking 
 five steps makes the stride too short to allow of 
 fast running ; and, although many of the poorer 
 hurdlers have used this method, it cannot be re- 
 garded as successful. So there is nothing for the 
 hurdler to do but continually to practise taking 
 three long strides, until this becomes natural to 
 him. 
 
 Even when the hurdler has learned to jump low 
 and fast, and to take three strides between the 
 hurdles, the development of " style " is hardly more 
 than begun. There are a thousand and one re- 
 quirements in the turn and twist used in the jump ; 
 and it is in the methods of taking the hurdle that
 
 244 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 the marked differences between advanced hurdlers 
 are shown. Here the individuality of each hurdler 
 asserts itself. After he has attained a certain de- 
 gree of proficiency, his attention is confined almost 
 wholly to perfecting his " turn," the aim always 
 being to clear the hurdle as closely as possible with- 
 out interfering with speed or stride 
 
 This, as might be supposed, leads to frequent 
 accidents, and is the chief source of danger in 
 hurdling. In his anxiety to take the hurdle closely, 
 the hurdler sometimes jumps too low and strikes 
 the hurdle ; the result in many cases being a heavy 
 fall on the cinder-path. But it takes a strong 
 knock to tumble, or even to stagger, an experienced 
 hurdler. Indeed, the best hurdlers have been 
 known to win races in which they struck nearly 
 every hurdle, and even knocked down a number 
 as they went along. 
 
 A. A. Jordan, the celebrated hurdler of the New 
 York Athletic Club, contracted the habit of striking 
 hurdles to an extreme degree. Yet this did not 
 seem to interfere in the least with his success ; nor 
 did it mar the beauty of his style, which was per- 
 haps better than that of any hurdler who had then 
 appeared in America. He was the first exponent
 
 Hurdling on Skates in Canada.
 
 246 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 of the peculiar finished style that has been adopted 
 by so many leading- hurdlers of to-day ; and, indeed, 
 he might perhaps be called the " Father of Ameri- 
 can Hurdling." He and Copeland of the Manhat- 
 tan Athletic Club were at one time the best-known 
 hurdlers in America, and their struggles for suprem- 
 acy have been hard-fought and brilliant. 
 
 After a hurdler has perfected his style, and is in 
 the pink of condition, all ready for the race, there 
 is no prettier sight on the athletic field than to see 
 him taking a practice-spin over the whole flight of 
 hurdles. True and strong in his motions, running 
 and jumping with all his might, he yet rises and 
 falls lightly as a bird, handling himself so gracefully 
 withal, that, to a mere observer, the sport appears to 
 be without difficulty. 
 
 The real question of supremacy each year con- 
 cerns only three or four hurdlers, who make the 
 great championship struggle. All the others can 
 expect only lesser honors, though always there are 
 many who have secret hopes of improving sufficiently 
 to enter the first rank. In order to provide oppor- 
 tunity and incentive for the mass of athletes of no 
 special distinction, numerous handicap races are held, 
 in which the different competitors are allowed starts
 
 HURDLING. 247 
 
 according to their supposed abilities. Of course 
 there is no great interest at stake in these games 
 beyond the individual desire to win. Even for the 
 novice the honor of victory is much diminished on 
 account of the handicap in his favor ; and among 
 athletes the winning- or losing in such cases is con- 
 
 o & 
 
 sidered of less importance than the merit of the 
 performances. But for all that, there is always 
 a certain satisfaction in being victorious ; and the 
 prizes given, in themselves, make success worth 
 striving for. 
 
 From this fact there is quite a large class of 
 athletes, called " mug-hunters," who have no further 
 ambition than to win as many of these handicap 
 games as possible. As it is essential to their suc- 
 cess that they should have big handicaps, they use 
 every means to conceal their true ability, whatever 
 it may be, and always take pains to win a race by 
 no more than is absolutely necessary. Fortunately, 
 however, such athletes are hardly more than tolerated ; 
 and the name "mug-hunter" has come to be used 
 as a term of reproach. 
 
 A handicap hurdle-race, although there are no 
 great interests at stake, is a very pretty sight. 
 When the contestants take their positions for the
 
 248 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 race, it looks like a hopeless struggle for the 
 " scratch" man (that is, the one who stands farthest 
 back of all the contestants, and who allows " starts" 
 to all the others. He is called the "scratch" man 
 because he toes the " scratch," or line, at the begin- 
 ning of the course). Often he is small in stature, 
 as is Copeland, for instance ; and when he stands 
 there with the other contestants, many of them 
 larger and stronger than he, and some of them ten 
 or fifteen yards in advance of him, the arrangement 
 appears altogether unfair, and the spectator, who is 
 likely to regard the " scratch " man's chance as hope- 
 less, is filled with sympathy for him. When all is 
 ready, the starter calls out, " On your marks ! " All 
 stand upright in their positions. " Settle." They 
 all lean forward, ready for the start. " Bang ! " goes 
 the pistol, and they are off! The leaders are almost 
 to the second hurdle before the "scratch" man 
 reaches the first ; it seems impossible that he should 
 overtake them. But now see skill and speed tell. 
 While they rush and jump clumsily and high, lum- 
 bering along with all their might, truly and prettily 
 he skims the hurdles and flies over the ground. Yet 
 the handicap seems too large, and they are three- 
 quarters through the race before he has had time
 
 250 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 even to close up the gap between himself and the 
 man nearest him. As they draw closer to the finish, 
 his speed seems to increase ; and he shoots by them 
 one by one, until, when the last hurdle is reached, 
 he is abreast of the leader. Then with a burst of 
 speed he rushes for the tape, and wins the race ! 
 
 Of course the " scratch" man does not always win ; 
 but if he is in his best condition, he is not likely to 
 be beaten. At all events he is sure to give a fine 
 exhibition, because to be "scratch" he must be a 
 good hurdler, and often he is the champion. 
 
 Far greater, however, in real interest than any 
 handicap event are the great " scratch " races of the 
 year, the amateur championships and the intercolle- 
 giates, where only the best of amateur and college 
 hurdlers compete, and all start even. The intercol- 
 legiate contests are, perhaps, even more exciting 
 than the championships, because college rivalries, 
 as well as those of friends and contestants, are con- 
 cerned in the result. For some five months each 
 representative has been faithfully training in prepa- 
 ration for the great race that lasts only a few seconds. 
 A single misstep, and he feels that all the work goes 
 for nothing ; his college may lose the cup, and there 
 is a year's disappointment before him.
 
 HURDLING. 251 
 
 It is no wonder that the boys are nervous as they 
 take their places and wait for the start. But when 
 once the signal is given and they are off, all is for- 
 gotten ; the race has begun, and ever) 7 one flies over 
 the hurdles, conscious only that the supreme moment 
 has come, and that he is rushing on for victory.
 
 THE RUNNING BROAD JUMP. 
 
 BY E. B. BLOSS, 
 
 Intercollegiate Cluimpion of 1892-93. 
 
 IN explaining my method of broad jumping, I think 
 I can arrive at greater clearness by dividing the 
 subject into several parts, and treating the reader 
 as one entirely unacquainted with the sport. 
 
 In the first place, it is very necessary for the 
 athlete to go to work systematically ; otherwise it 
 will be impossible to attain satisfactory results. 
 He should, first of all, find out where his " marks" 
 come. He can do this by starting at the farther 
 end of the jumping-path, and running toward the 
 take-off at the top of his speed. It will be only after 
 repeated trials that his jumping-foot will strike the 
 take-off exactly. Having succeeded in this, let him 
 trace back his strides, and, at a convenient distance 
 from the take-off, make his first or front mark. 
 The number of strides should be determined by 
 
 2S2
 
 THE RUNNING BROAD JUMP. 253 
 
 the athlete himself, who knows best how much 
 ground he must cover before he gets up his great- 
 est speed. I am in the habit of counting back nine 
 strides, which is just fifty- nine feet from the take- 
 off. Suppose the athlete counts back this number. 
 At the point where the ninth stride comes, let him 
 make a mark along the running-path ; then from 
 this mark count back about a dozen more strides, 
 and make a second mark. Now he has his two 
 marks, and can feel reasonably sure that if he starts 
 from the second, strikes the front mark squarely 
 with his jumping-foot, and then runs nine strides 
 at the top of his speed, he will hit his take-off 
 exactly and make a good jump. Various condi- 
 tions, however, may alter somewhat the position 
 of this front mark. If the wind happens to be 
 blowing noticeably in the athlete's face or on his 
 back, it will have the effect, respectively, of short- 
 ening or of lengthening his stride, and the mark 
 should be moved accordingly. Again, the fact 
 that the running-path has just been rolled hard, 
 or chances to be wet and heavy, should also cause 
 the position of the mark to be altered. Neglect to 
 attend to these seeming trifles may spoil the ath- 
 lete's run, and prevent him from doing himself justice.
 
 254 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Next let us learn how to run up to the take-off 
 properly. The athlete, having started with his right 
 foot on the second mark, should run toward his 
 front mark at such a rate of speed that he will 
 neither fall short of striking it, nor go over it alto- 
 gether. If he fails to strike his front mark fairly, 
 it is better to go back and try again rather than 
 to take his chances, especially as there is no pen- 
 alty against it. Now, suppose he has reached his 
 front mark all right, and is going at the top of his 
 speed toward the take-off. As he is reasonably 
 sure of hitting the latter fairly, he can run ahead 
 confidently, but he must not allow the length of 
 his nine strides to the take-off to vary in the 
 least ; otherwise he will not strike it properly. It 
 is not difficult to keep the strides even, as the 
 athlete has only to run naturally, with the body 
 bent well forward, the arms swinging regularly, 
 and his sole thought that of jumping strongly on 
 reaching the take-off. If he steps over the take- 
 off even a few inches, his foot will sink into a 
 hollow dug on the opposite side of the jumping- 
 beam, and he will make what is called a foul, which 
 counts as one of his trials. There is but little 
 danger of spraining the ankle on a foul ; that fear,
 
 THE RUNNING BROAD JUMP. 255 
 
 therefore, should never be in mind, for it is liable to 
 worry him out of his best performance. On the 
 other hand, if the athlete fails to get up to the take- 
 off, he must lose just as much of his jump. This 
 is because his jump is not the actual distance he 
 covers, but the distance from the opposite side of 
 the take-off to the place where he first breaks 
 ground in the jumping-box. Bearing these points 
 in mind, he will see the necessity of compelling 
 himself to keep cool, and will use his strength with 
 greatest effect. 
 
 Now as to the act of jumping itself. Before the 
 very last stride, and while running at the top of his 
 speed, let the athlete gather himself together for 
 the effort. He should bend his legs under him, get 
 down as low as his high speed permits, fix his eye 
 on some high distant object (to secure elevation), 
 concentrate his strength in his back and hips, and 
 then throw himself into the air. All these things 
 are done in a flash, naturally, and not mechanically. 
 It is necessary, however, to omit none of them if 
 the athlete wishes really to out-do himself. Now, 
 just as he hits the take-off, let him snap his right leg 
 (if that is his jumping-leg) up as high as he can, 
 and then push it down on the take-off with all his
 
 256 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 power, at the same time jerking both arms up 
 quickly. The snap and push will lend the athlete 
 additional power, and the jerk-up of the arms give 
 elevation, an essential to a long jump. Just after 
 leaving the take-off, let him curl the legs under his 
 body, bend the head forward, and hold the arms 
 rigidly at the side with every muscle in the body 
 perfectly taut, so that his own weight will not bring 
 him down immediately. Then, as he feels himself 
 about to land, he should have sufficient presence of 
 mind to kick his legs forward, bend the head still 
 further over, and alight in that position. These 
 latter movements will add a few inches to the jump, 
 and that is what he needs. It will be seen that the 
 jump is over in a few seconds, and the athlete may 
 at first fail to act on all these suggestions. Repeated 
 trials, however, will impress them upon him, and 
 in a little time he will find himself observing them, 
 almost without thinking. 
 
 It is well that the athlete should acquaint himself 
 with the act of landing ; that is, lighting in the 
 jumping-box. The method I use is to land with my 
 feet together; thereby obviating all danger of losing 
 my balance, falling back, and spoiling my jump. 
 The athlete should also steady himself for a moment
 
 THE RUNNING BROAD JUMP. 257 
 
 after landing, and get out of the dirt feet first, 
 breaking the layer of dirt no more than is absolutely 
 necessary. A little care may mean several inches 
 to the jump. Finally, it is also well for the athlete 
 to see to it that the measurements are correct. 
 
 In conclusion, perhaps it is not out of place to 
 make a few general remarks as to the broad jump. 
 The athlete should remember never to jump without 
 first limbering himself by a brisk dash, for he runs 
 the liability of snapping a cord, and forever ruining 
 himself for competition. He should not jump his 
 best on the first trial unless he has been allowed 
 several preliminary jumps. But on the second trial 
 let him go in to win ; and, if he gets a place in the 
 finals, strive to improve on every effort. If possible, 
 the athlete should keep his head, even under the 
 most trying circumstances ; because the moment he 
 becomes rattled his skill departs, and actual strength 
 counts for little. Half a dozen jumps twice a week 
 should be sufficient to keep a man in form ; and a 
 complete rest of three or four days before a com- 
 petition (provided the period of training has been 
 rather long) is oftentimes the best thing that can 
 be done. It is a good plan also for the athlete 
 sometimes to do " staying-up" work, running, say,
 
 258 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 a brisk quarter of a mile once a week. On days 
 when he is not jumping, the training need only 
 consist in running short dashes in order to get 
 up speed. As to diet, it need not be so heroic 
 with the jumpers as with athletes whose work de- 
 pends more on real power and less on nervous 
 strength; if he keeps his stomach in good condition, 
 and does not partake too freely of liquids, he should 
 be able to jump without exhaustion and in good 
 form. 
 
 Such is the method which I have followed, and 
 such are the various observations that experience in 
 competition for several years enables me to make. 
 I can see no reason why others, with fairly strong 
 natural ability and aptitude for jumping, should 
 not be fully as successful as I have been, or per- 
 haps beat the record that I have been able to 
 make.
 
 SKATING. 
 
 BY CHARLES R. TALBOT. 
 
 FOR your first lesson in skating, choose a piece 
 of ice of moderate roughness. Take plenty 
 of time to learn to stand well and safely on your 
 skates, and to get confidence. Your danger as to 
 falling is not, remember, of falling to one side, but 
 backward or forward. Learn to stand up straight. 
 There is nothing so awkward as a skater who leans 
 forward. Avoid, too, swinging the arms about. 
 They should be carried easily, much as in walking. 
 Keep the feet close together, toes turned out, and 
 the legs straight and firm. 
 
 Having come to feel somewhat at home upon 
 your skates, and being able, perhaps, to move 
 about a little, you may begin at once upon the 
 Plain Forward Movement. With the left foot firmly 
 planted, the inner edge of its skate bearing a little 
 on the ice, boldly throw out the right foot until the 
 
 259
 
 26O THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 outer edge of its skate touches the ice. At the 
 same time throw the right shoulder steadily forward, 
 and keep the body balanced upon the right leg as 
 long as possible. Then throw out the left leg and 
 shoulder in the same manner, and so continue. If 
 you begin with these rules well in your head, it will 
 save you much painful experimenting. Having 
 learned to make progress in this manner with firm- 
 ness and power, you will have learned to skate. 
 Any other movement, simple or complex, belongs 
 to " Fancy Skating." But, first of all, this plain 
 stroke must be thoroughly learned. 
 
 The " rolls " forward and backward are the basis 
 of all fancy skating. The forward outside-edge roll 
 is made as follows : The impetus is obtained as in 
 plain skating; but, as the stroke is made with the 
 right foot, the left shoulder is brought forward, the 
 right arm drawn back, and with the face looking t 
 the right, the whole body is swung easily in the 
 direction of the stroke ; then the left foot is lifted 
 from the ice, and, being brought forward, is set 
 clown a few inches in advance of the right. The 
 same movement is then made to the left, the right 
 skate having now its inner edge to the ice until 
 ready to be lifted. The Dutch roll is performed in
 
 SKATING. 263 
 
 this same manner, save that, perhaps, the roll is not 
 quite so broad, the movement being more nearly in 
 a straight line. The marks left upon the ice are 
 something as in the figure. 
 
 The outer-edge roll leads very easily to the cross 
 roll, each foot when off the ice being swung, in the 
 latter, across the one on the ice and starting in its 
 stroke from the crossed position. 
 
 Having become proficient in the various rolls for- 
 ward and backward, the skater is now prepared to 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 attempt for himself the almost infinite number of 
 figures and movements that make up the rest of 
 fancy skating. Most of these will require long 
 practice. They are, too, for the most part, almost 
 impossible to be described upon paper. You will 
 have to pick them out for yourself, getting what 
 helps you may from those about you who have al- 
 ready acquired them. 
 
 A favorite movement, and one easily mastered, is 
 that which used to be familiarly known as "Cutting 
 the Derby." It is now spoken of as the " Left-over-
 
 264 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Right," or the " Right-over- Left," and consists in 
 skating in a circle by constantly putting the outside 
 foot over forward and inside of its fel- 
 low. A few steps of this figure, thrown 
 in now and then, first to one side and 
 then to the other, makes a very grace- 
 ful and easy variation of the plain for- 
 "* 2 - ward roll. 
 
 "Cutting the Crab" is another simple figure. 
 While going forward, one foot is suddenly thrown 
 out, turned and drawn heel foremost directly after 
 the other ; and the greater part of a circle is then 
 described, the two heels being brought close to- 
 gether and the toes turned 
 straight outward. This 
 is a neat way of coming 
 to a stop if one has plenty 
 of room. 
 
 The " Figure of Three " 
 and the " Figure of Eight " 
 have always been well 
 known to skaters. The 
 
 r i i Fig - 3 ' 
 
 former begins at exactly 
 
 the same point at which one would begin in writ- 
 ing the figure, and is performed on one foot, the
 
 SKATING. 265 
 
 first part on the outside edge forward, and the 
 second on the inside edge backward. The " Figure 
 of Eight " is a combination of two circles. A very 
 pretty " Rosette" is made by combining a number 
 of " Figure of Eights," as seen in the figure. In 
 this " Rosette," it will be observed, the first circle 
 of the first " Eight" is gone over again and again, 
 though the second one is constantly changed. 
 
 Then, there are all the other Arabic numerals to 
 be made, and all the letters of the alphabet, if one 
 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 be patient and skilful enough. And there is the 
 "Scissors," and the "Grapevine Twist," and the 
 " Virginia Fence," which leaves a mark upon the 
 ice that describes itself, and the " Locomotive," 
 single and double, so called, doubtless, because the 
 sound of its strokes somewhat resembles the puff- 
 ings of an engine, and whose track is something 
 as here seen ; and there is the " On to Richmond " 
 (cross one foot in front of the other, and with 
 back stroke outside edge go backward or forward) ; 
 and ever so many others.
 
 266 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 You should see a programme for a skating con- 
 test as set forth by the American Skating Con- 
 gress. I can assure you that the skaters who carry 
 off the prizes from such contests must indeed be 
 
 -I I I I I I 
 
 Fig. 5. 
 
 artists. And if you could only get hold of one 
 of these Prize Skaters, and he would go to the 
 pond with you, he could teach you more of Fancy 
 Skating in half an hour upon the ice than I could 
 do upon paper in half a year.
 
 HAND-IN-HAND SKATING. 
 
 BY W. G. VAN T. SUTFHEN. 
 
 From Harpers' Round Table. Copyright, 1895, by Harper & Brothers. 
 
 T 
 
 HERE can be no last- 
 ing interest in any 
 form of sport unless some 
 definite end is kept in 
 
 view, some problem finally 
 
 worked out, some purpose 
 accomplished. There is 
 no amusement in shoot- 
 ing arrows aimlessly into 
 the air, or in carelessly knocking tennis-balls over a 
 net. The archer is intent on seeing how often he 
 can hit the gold ; the tennis-player tries to put that 
 ball over in such a way that his opponent cannot 
 return it. The score, the game something is the 
 object. 
 
 Now, skating is one of the oldest and most popu- 
 
 267
 
 268 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 lar of winter amusements, and yet how many of the 
 thousands of boys and girls who anxiously await 
 the hoisting of the " red ball " know anything more 
 than the merest beginnings of the art ? The vast 
 majority of skaters are perfectly satisfied with being 
 able to progress in an aimless, desultory fashion up 
 and down the ice, and keep out of the way of the 
 hockey-players. And I may add that, good game 
 though it is, hockey is not skating, in the real sense 
 of the word ; and it can never help you to anything 
 better than the ability to keep your feet (and your 
 temper) in a rough-and-tumble scrimmage after a 
 little block of wood or a rubber " puck." And yet 
 there is something better. 
 
 Aside from speed-skating, in which few can hope 
 to excel, there is figure-skating, as it is popularly 
 called. It is generally supposed to be very difficult, 
 and in some respects it is so. To attempt it with- 
 out the assistance of a teacher requires unlimited 
 pluck and perseverance. There are a number of 
 books on the subject, illustrated with elaborate dia- 
 grams, and everything made easy in theory. But 
 the actual thing in practice that is very different! 
 It is like " French at Home, in Six Easy Lessons," 
 or, "The Violin without a Master." The hard work
 
 HAND-IN-HAND SKATING. 269 
 
 does pay in the end, if persevered in ; but the begin- 
 ner generally gets disgusted after the first few fail- 
 ures, and goes back to tag and hockey. Perhaps 
 that has been your experience you have tried, and 
 found it of no use ; and yet you do envy the expert 
 skater, who glides past you on the " back cross-roll" 
 so easily and gracefully that you are certain that it 
 must feel like flying. Well, that is exactly what it 
 does feel like, and I am going to suggest a plan by 
 which you may secure that delightful sensation for 
 yourself at the expense of comparatively little time 
 and trouble. After you have once known the fasci- 
 nation that there is in true figure-skating, you 
 will probably feel encouraged to take up again 
 the explanations and diagrams of the discarded 
 text-books. 
 
 Hand-in-hand figures are among the prettiest 
 things that can be done upon the ice from the spec- 
 tators' point of view, and they are easiest for the 
 performers. You have the assistance of your partner 
 at every critical moment; and movements such as 
 the forward-rocking turn, which require weeks of 
 practice to do alone, can be executed hand in hand 
 with comparative ease. In individual figure-skating 
 you are obliged to advance very slowly in order to
 
 270 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 preserve correct form ; in hand-in-hand skating the 
 " form" is of less importance, or, rather, it seems to 
 come of itself. 
 
 Let us take the " Mercury," or 3-scud as the 
 English call it. If you will analyze the move- 
 ments in the " Forward Mercury" (Fig. 3), you 
 will see that there is first a glide on the left-foot 
 outside edge backward (L.O.B.), then a glide 
 forward on the right-foot outside edge (R.O.F.), 
 and finally a cross-roll on the left-foot outside 
 edge forward (L.O.F.), which finishes in a little 
 backward turn on the same foot, leaving you in 
 position to repeat the movement with the right 
 foot on the outside edge backward (R.O.B.). 
 Examining in like manner the detail of the 
 " Backward Mercury" (Fig. 4), which is done by 
 your partner at the same time that you are per- 
 forming the " Forward," you will notice that it is 
 exactly the same, except that there are two back- 
 ward glides and one forward, while in the " Forward " 
 there are two forward glides and one backward. 
 
 It is necessary, then, that both you and your 
 partner should be able to skate the outside edge 
 forward and back and make the little curl-like turn, 
 and also that one of you should be reasonably pro-
 
 HAND-IN-HAND SKATING. 
 
 271 
 
 ficient on the cross-roll backward. It sounds very 
 difficult, but remember that I am not asking you to 
 attempt all this alone : the secret lies in the fact 
 that you will help each other. 
 
 R F CMPIOUD. 
 FIG. 1. 
 The Dutch Roll. 
 
 FIG 2 
 
 Backward Cross-Roll. 
 
 The outside edge forward is the first movement 
 
 to be attempted. Try it with hands joined and 
 
 crossed, and endeavor to make the stroke together 
 
 - that is, in the same time. Lean boldly outward, 
 
 and make the curve as long as possible. Try it
 
 272 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 again, but this time hand in hand, that is, with 
 one hand free. It will be well to change sides 
 occasionally. 
 
 Now for the same edge in a backward direction. 
 To put the first question in the catechism to a 
 very practical use, and to simplify the explanation, 
 I will assume that you are M and that your partner 
 is N. Join hands (not crossed), and let M try 
 the outside backward on alternate feet, while N 
 keeps both feet on the ice and simply squirms 
 along in a serpentine line, and helps M to preserve 
 his balance. M can then perform the same kindly 
 office for N. 
 
 The only difference between the outside forward 
 and the corresponding cross or Dutch roll (Fig. i) 
 is that the unemployed foot, instead of being put 
 down alongside of the employed, is swung entirely 
 over, and set down in front of the foot on which 
 you have been gliding, and which is then imme- 
 diately taken up. Join hands (not crossed), and 
 let N skate backward, keeping both feet firmly on 
 the ice. M will then follow on the outside forward, 
 remembering to cross the unemployed foot just at 
 the end of the glide. After the unemployed foot 
 is swung over and put down, lift the other quickly
 
 
 On the Ice. 
 (From the painting by J. Scalbert.)
 
 HAND-IN-HAND SKATING. 275 
 
 and let it swing gently out over the ice, and then 
 bring it in ready for the next cross. You will 
 soon find that you will not have to push off as 
 you did on the ordinary outside edge ; the swing 
 of the unemployed leg is quite sufficient to bring 
 you around. 
 
 Now for N's part, the backward cross-roll (Fig. 
 2), which is not quite so easy. As before, M 
 will keep both feet on the ice, so as to give his 
 partner a firm support. Join hands (not crossed), 
 and let N take several backward steps as though 
 he (or she) were walking, but crossing his feet 
 alternately, the one behind the other, and turning 
 the skate so that the outer edge is the one placed 
 on the ice. After seven or eight steps, press the 
 blade firmly into the ice as you set it down so that 
 you can feel it " bite." Now give the unemployed 
 leg a swing as you take it up ; let it come all the 
 way around, so that you can put it down (on the 
 outside edge) well crossed behind the employed 
 foot. Lean out as you do this, and let the skate 
 that is on the ice move freely. Your partner can 
 help you immensely if he will lift up on your 
 hands, and at the same time gently force you over 
 in the proper direction. It will seem impossible
 
 276 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 at first ; but the knack will come all in a flash, and 
 you will realize that it is the twist of your shoulders 
 and the swing of the unemployed leg- that is doing 
 the work. It is very necessary to get these for- 
 
 es) 
 
 S(2) 
 
 ROLL ., 
 
 121 
 
 FIG. 3. FIG. 4. 
 
 The Forward Mercury. The Backward Mercury. 
 
 ward and back cross-rolls as perfect as possible 
 before attempting the "Mercury" proper. Unless 
 you can do them, the pace quickly gets too fast 
 and dangerous, and the figure is spoiled. 
 
 There is only one thing more before we begin 
 to put our material together, and that is the little
 
 HAND-IN-HAND SKATING. 277 
 
 turn on the same foot, which is technically called 
 a "3." This particular turn is very easy, and is 
 the natural one that everybody uses. Make the end 
 or tail short, and practise on each foot forward 
 and back. 
 
 As soon as M can be sure of his forward 
 cross-roll, and N of the corresponding backward 
 movement, we can try the whole figure. We will 
 suppose that M has learned the " Forward," and 
 N the " Backward." If anything, the " Backward" 
 is the lady's step, as her partner should do the 
 steering. Join hands (not crossed) and stand 
 facinq- each other. Endeavor to take the strokes 
 
 d> 
 
 together in exactly the same time. You will find 
 it of advantage to count one, two, three, as in 
 learning the waltz. For instance, in the " Back- 
 ward," begin on the right outside forward, and 
 turn a " 3 " (count one], drop on the left outside 
 back (/wo), cross the right foot behind, and con- 
 tinue on the right cross-roll backward (three]. If, 
 now, you are looking over your left shoulder, as 
 you should on a right outside back, you will be 
 ready for the left outside forward, ending with a 
 " 3 " (one), the drop on to the right outside back 
 (two], and the cross-roll backward on the left
 
 278 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 foot (three]. The counting- is the same for M, 
 who does the " Forward ; " but he (or she) should 
 be particular to see that his cross-roll forward (in 
 which he makes the " 3 ") is done in exactly the 
 same time that N is doing the cross-roll back. 
 The steering can be brought to as high a degree 
 of perfection as in a ballroom. A variation of this 
 figure, called the " Flying Mercury," is sometimes 
 skated, the difference being that the skaters do not 
 make the little turn or "3," but jump from one 
 edge to another. It is very much more difficult, 
 and should not be attempted without long practice 
 on the regular figure. After you have become 
 proficient in skating the "Mercury" with a partner, 
 you can do the two movements by yourself. The 
 " Forward " is particularly effective when done 
 alone. 
 
 There are many other hand-in-hand figures, 
 such as " Double Mohawks," " Q Scuds," and 
 " Rocking Turns," which look well, done hand in 
 hand. If you once learn the " Mercury," and get 
 a little insight into the fascinating mystery of 
 figure-skating, you will be anxious to look them 
 up in the books, or seek the assistance of some 
 friendly expert.
 
 HAND-IN-HAND SKATING. 279 
 
 If you have a file or the bound volume of Harper s 
 Young People for 1892, look up the article on 
 figure-skating, under date of March 8. It con- 
 tains some valuable hints on skate-fastenings and 
 foot-gear. Above all, don't use straps, or you will 
 never be able to skate with confidence and free- 
 dom. It is not strength, but suppleness of ankle, 
 that is required; and any ankle that is strong 
 enough to walk on without turning is strong 
 enough to skate with. Straps cramp the muscles 
 and stop the circulation. Use heel-plates and a 
 key-fastening at the sole, unless you can set aside 
 a pair of shoes for skating only ; in this case the 
 foot-stock should be permanently attached to the 
 boot by ordinary screws.
 
 KNOTS, HITCHES, AND SPLICES. 
 
 BY CHARLES R. TALBOT. 
 
 ON land or on water every boy should know 
 how to knot a rope, splice two pieces of 
 rope together, or make the sort of hitch which will 
 best serve his purpose. 
 
 The first thing to be sure of is the right way to 
 fasten together two pieces of string or rope. That 
 is a thing that some of us have to do twenty times 
 a day; and it is quite probable that twenty times a 
 day we do it wrong. Suppose that you wish to 
 lengthen your fish-line, or add another ball to a 
 kite-string : how will you do it ? Shall you lay 
 the two ends side by side, and then twist them to 
 gether into a knot, just as your sister would make 
 one in the end of her thread ? 
 
 If you do, you may fairly expect that your fish 
 will get away with the main part of your line, or 
 that presently your kite will go skurrying off far 
 
 280
 
 KNOTS, HITCHES, AM) Sl'l.ICES. 
 
 28l 
 
 out of your sight. Such a knot is at least as likely 
 to slip as to hold, and, if tied in a rope, is liable 
 sooner or later to cut the rope, because the strain 
 is at right angles. What is really wanted is a 
 Square-knot (Fig. 3, a). 
 
 Take the two ends, and tie them together exactly 
 as you would tie a " hard-knot" in your shoe-string. 
 
 A Square or Reef-Knot. A Granny. 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 Fig. 4. A Becket-Hitch. 
 
 Only you must be careful and not tie a Granny 
 (Fig. 3, b}. One may slip ; the other won't. 
 
 Fig. 4 is a Becket-hitch, the proper knot for 
 joining a large and a smaller rope. It will be 
 useful, for example, when the keleg-line of your 
 boat is too short, and the only line at hand to 
 bend on to it is a stout piece of hemp twine. 
 
 A loop at the end of a rope that is, a loop 
 that will not draw up is another knot that has
 
 282 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 frequently to be made. And yet few people 
 know how to make it. What is wanted in such 
 a case is a Bowline. 
 
 Make a bight near the end of your rope, as in 
 the first cut of Fig. 5. Seize this with the left 
 hand at a, and then with the right hand pass the 
 end b up through the bight, around behind the 
 main part of the rope at c, and down in front of 
 
 D 
 Fig. 5. The Bowline, 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
 Fig. 7. 
 
 it through the bight again as in d. Draw this 
 tight and you have the much-talked-of Bowline. 
 It is a very simple matter, as you see. 
 
 While speaking still of the ends of ropes, let us 
 stop and learn to " fasten them off" properly to 
 prevent their untwisting or fraying out. The 
 painter or main-sheet of your boat may need such 
 treatment. The simplest method is to "serve" or 
 wind the end with small twine. A Single-wall 
 (Fig. 6), or a Double-wall (Fig. 7), is better. But
 
 KNOTS, HITCHES, AND SPLICES. 
 
 283 
 
 better still is the Boatswain's-whipping, formed by 
 making an inverted single-wall and then splicing the 
 ends back over the rope itself (Fig. 8 and Fig. 9). 
 
 Fig. 8. Fig. 9. 
 
 The most elegant of all such, however, is the 
 Stopper-knot, seen in the four figures below. 
 Place the end a as in Fig. 10, holding it with 
 
 The Four Steps of The Stopper-Knot. 
 
 < c 
 
 Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 12. Fig. 13. 
 
 the thumb at d; pass b around under it, c around 
 under b and through the bight of a, and pull tight; 
 this forms a Single-wall (Fig. u). Now lay a over
 
 284 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 d, b over e, c over b and through the bight of a, and 
 draw tight (Fig. 12). 
 
 Next pass b down around /and up through the 
 bight g, and do the same with a and c, forming 
 
 Fig- 13- 
 
 Finally pass each strand by the side of the strands 
 
 in the crown down through the walling to form the 
 " double-crown," and cut close the ends a, b (and c), 
 and you have produced the Stopper-knot. 
 
 Fig. 15. 
 A Sheepshank before it is drawn Tight. Fig. 16. The True-Lover's Knot. 
 
 A Sheepshank (Fig. 15) is a knot by which a 
 rope may be made shorter, or (as a young yacht- 
 woman of my acquaintance recently expressed it) 
 "a tuck taken in it." If the tide has come in and 
 you wish to shorten the mooring-line of your boat, 
 the Sheepshank will gather up the slack for you and 
 hold it firmly. 
 
 When one wants to make an artificial handle for
 
 KNOTS, HITCHES, AND SPLICES. 
 
 285 
 
 an old jug or some other vessel, the True- Lover's 
 knot is used, as seen in Fig. 16. 
 
 Tie two loose knots, a, b, as in the first cut of 
 
 Fig. 17. 
 
 Fig. 1 7 ; pass the bight a through the opening f, 
 the bight b through g, pull the loops equal, and, 
 to complete the knot as in second cut of Fig. 17, 
 join the ends c, d, by a long splice at e. 
 
 Fig. 18. Fig. 19. Fig. 20. 
 
 The Jar-sling, seen in Fig. 20, serves a similar 
 purpose. In a long piece of cord, make a large 
 loop as in Fig. 18, and hold the bight against the
 
 286 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 standing parts, a, a ; pass the thumb and forefinger 
 of the other hand down through c, lay hold of b 
 where the crook of the imaginary wire is seen, and 
 draw it through c down a little below a, a, as in 
 Fig. 19, d, and hold it there. Now pass the thumb 
 and forefinger down through the opening e (in the 
 way the wire goes), lay hold of g, and draw it up 
 through e, forming the complete knot as in Fig. 20. 
 
 Fig. 21. 
 
 Fig, 22. 
 The Turh's-head Knot. 
 
 Fig. 23. 
 
 One more knot, the Turk's-head (Fig. 23), 
 remains to be described before we pass to the 
 briefer subject of hitches. Take a long piece of 
 fishing-cord, place the end a against the forefinger, 
 wind the cord around the two fingers and hold it 
 with the thumb, as in Fig. 21. 
 
 Now with the other hand lay the part b over the 
 part c, and while in that position pass the end a 
 down between them, over the first crossing, under
 
 KNOTS, HITCHES, AND SPLICES. 
 
 289 
 
 left strand, up between, over second crossing, under 
 right strand, up between ; take the hitch off your 
 fingers, and it will be as in Fig. 22. 
 
 Next pass the loose end through the opening 
 d, laying it against the cord a ; then, with it, follow 
 that strand (a] over and under, over and under, 
 until you have a complete plait of three cords. 
 Pass the knot over a stick to make it taut, and 
 cut the ends close. 
 
 Fig. 24. 
 Two Ways of Fastening a Weight to a Line. 
 
 Fig. 25, 
 
 To Tie a Short line, to 
 which a Hook is At- 
 tached, to a Longer or 
 Ground Line, 
 
 The Turk's-head knot, like the two preceding it, 
 will tax your precision, deftness, and patience, and 
 is an ornamental rather than a useful knot. 
 
 The knots in Figs. 24, 25, and 26 explain them- 
 selves ; they are often useful to picknickers and 
 campers-out. 
 
 Hitches are no less knots than any of the fore- 
 going; but they are knots used to fasten the end of
 
 2 go 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 a rope to any object in such manner as to be easily 
 cast off when no longer needed. They are few in 
 number, and all very simple and easily described. 
 
 A Blackwall hitch is merely a loop thrown about 
 t 
 
 a hook, as in Fig. 27, in such a way that the main 
 part of the rope, c, being pulled downward, the part 
 a jams the part b against the hook so firmly that 
 while the strain is kept up the knot cannot possibly 
 
 Fig. 26. Fig. 27. 
 
 To Fasten a Line Blackwall Hitch, 
 to a Fish-Hook. 
 
 Fig. 29. 
 
 Fig. 30. 
 The Clove Hitch. 
 
 slip. Sailors use this hitch very frequently ; but it 
 can be used on land as well as at sea. 
 
 Of all hitches, however, the one which any man 
 or boy can least afford not to know is the Clove 
 hitch. Make two bights or loops, as in Fig. 29; 
 hold them between the thumbs and forefingers at 
 a, b; slide the left loop over the right loop ; then 
 slip the double loop thus formed over the table-leg,
 
 KNOTS, HITCHES, AND SPLICES. 
 
 29! 
 
 or anything that will represent a post, and draw 
 tight by the end (Fig. 30). Practise this until your 
 fingers can do it swiftly and of themselves, just as 
 your tongue can say the alphabet ; for a Clove hitch, 
 when it is used, needs to be made quickly and hand- 
 somely. I once saw a young cadet from Annapolis, 
 who had been out on a sailing-party with some 
 ladies, and had jumped ashore with a rope, hesitate 
 
 Fig. 31. 
 Floating Spar. 
 
 A Kolling Hitch. A Cat's-Paio. 
 
 Fig. 32. 
 
 at least half a minute before he could think how to 
 make the proper knot, while a number of old sea- 
 captains sitting by were watching him and laughing 
 among themselves. A Clove hitch may be used, 
 too, when, while out fishing, you extemporize an 
 anchor by tying a rope to a stone. And in Fig. 3 1 
 you see again how this knot, e (with a half-hitch,/", 
 in front of it) , is used to tow a floating spar, or drag 
 a piece of timber across the field.
 
 2 Q2 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Two other hitches, a Rolling hitch and a Cat's- 
 paw, are shown in Fig. 32. 
 
 Splicing is a process by which ropes are joined 
 together so as to leave no knot. I appreciated its 
 importance one morning when I saw an intelli- 
 gent man of fifty work for an hour to splice a ham- 
 mock rope. Where it is not specially important 
 that the joining be a very nice and smooth one, 
 the "short" splice is used. It is made by passing 
 the strands of one piece in and out between those 
 of the other. The short splice always leaves the 
 spliced part thicker and clumsier than the rest of 
 the rope. If it is desirable that the joining be a 
 very neat one, so as to admit of the rope's running 
 readily through the sheave-hole of a block, the 
 " long " splice is necessary. This is made by un- 
 winding each end about two inches, placing the 
 strands as in the short splice, then unwinding one 
 strand farther back, and winding the corresponding 
 strand of the other piece in its place ; proceeding in 
 the same way with the other strands, and then fast- 
 ening the ends in such a way that it is almost im- 
 possible to detect the splice. We have not space 
 to describe here the exact mode of procedure ; but 
 there is scarcely a town or village anywhere but has
 
 KNOTS, HITCHES, AND SPLICES. 
 
 293 
 
 its " old sailor," and there is no old sailor anywhere 
 but will be glad to come and give you a lesson 
 in splicing. 
 
 A splice that you can very easily learn for your- 
 selves, however, is the Eye-splice. First make 
 yourself a marling-spike, if you have not the gen- 
 uine article, by whittling down to a point a piece 
 
 Fig. 34. 
 
 of hard wood. I have found that the half of a 
 clothes-pin, so treated, answered the purpose ex- 
 ceedingly well. Then take a piece of good three- 
 strand rope, unwind the strands, and place them as 
 you see, a, b, c, in Fig. 33. Open the strand d, and 
 pass a through it, as in Fig. 34; then open e, and 
 pass b over d and under e, as in Fig. 35. Turn the 
 eye over, Fig. 36, open f and pass c through it, as 
 in Fig. 37, and pull the strands tight. Now pass a
 
 294 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 over the strand next it, under the next one, and so 
 on with the others. Proceed in the same way until 
 the splice is about an inch long. Then stretch the 
 eye (holding by the rope), to tighten everything, 
 and cut the ends close. If you will make a neat 
 
 Fig. 35. 
 
 Fig. 36. 
 
 Fig. 37. 
 
 Eye-splice all by yourself, and take it to the old 
 sailor aforementioned, he will be sure to think it 
 worth while to teach you all he knows ; and he will 
 be likely to tell you many things about knots, 
 hitches, and splices which are of necessity omitted 
 here.
 
 SUMMER SPORTS. 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 SUMMER at last. Bright summer, glad summer, 
 delightful summer, jolly summer, as different 
 poets have called it. The sun lies warm on the 
 open uplands, the breeze blows soft across the 
 grassy valleys, the shady spots upon the edges of 
 the rustling wood look cool and inviting; and so, 
 out of the sun and into the shadow let us pass, 
 accepting the invitation of still another famous 
 poet 
 
 " Under the greenwood tree, 
 
 Who loves to lie with me 
 
 And tune his merry note 
 
 Unto the sweet bird's throat, 
 Come hither, come hither, come " 
 
 Hut what ! cry all our would-be athletes in chorus ; 
 loll under the trees like cows and other cattle for 
 sheer laziness and cud-chewing ? No, sir, not we. 
 Summer means fun, and not loafing. It means the 
 
 295
 
 296 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 open air and the blue sky ; it means the freedom 
 of street and park and meadow and seashore, and 
 all the big playground that Mrs. Nature has laid 
 out for the young people who seek her. So, sir, 
 under no trees and into no shadows do we go 
 while there are enough of us stirring to get up 
 some jolly, good game, or take sides in some 
 particularly favorite fun. 
 
 I suppose there never was a nation, race, or peo- 
 ple since first the earth was made, that did not 
 have girls and boys who not only loved play, but 
 did play, and with a will. The Eskimos of the 
 frozen North, the Tupinambras of the Brazilian 
 pampas, the gamins of the Paris streets, the boys 
 and girls of London and Boston and New York, 
 have in their nature one kindred tie, the love of 
 sport. 
 
 But if there is any boy or girl who thinks that 
 he or she has ever conceived, planned, or played 
 a new game, let such consider well before claiming 
 the right of invention. 
 
 There is nothing new under the sun, said the 
 wise man ; and especially is there nothing new in 
 young folks' games. Archaeologists find well-be- 
 loved dolls in Egyptian pyramids and on pre-
 
 
 
 A Challenge.
 
 SUMMER SPORTS. 299 
 
 historic tombs ; the name of a popular ball-club 
 was found scrawled upon the outer walls of Pom- 
 peiian houses; and one of the most exciting base- 
 ball matches on record was the one, stubbornly 
 fought, between the rival nines of Montezuma, 
 King of Mexico, and Nezahualpilli, 'tzin of Tezcuco. 
 The boys of ancient Greece and Rome played at 
 whip-top and quoits, and base-ball and pitch-penny, 
 and blind-man's-buff and hide-and-seek, and jack- 
 stones and follow my leader, just as do the boys of 
 to-day ; the girls were experts at see-saw, and 
 swinging and dancing, and grace-hoops and dice- 
 throwing and ball-play, and, in Sparta, even at 
 running, wrestling, and leaping. Tobogganing is 
 as old as ice and snow ; and when you play at 
 cherry-pits you are only doing what Nero and 
 Commodus and young Themistocles did ages ago 
 in Rome and Athens. 
 
 So, whatever the age or clime, the boys and girls 
 of the world have always lived more for play than 
 anything else; and however harsh or hard their sur- 
 roundings, however stern or strict their fathers and 
 mothers, they always found and made the most of 
 the time for play, and, more than any other season, 
 the time for summer sports.
 
 3<DO THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 These sports to-day are fast reducing themselves 
 into as many sciences, over-weighted with rules and 
 restrictions, that often take the real play element 
 from them, and make them as unyielding and sedate 
 as a problem in algebra. 
 
 Now, while rules and restrictions are undoubtedly 
 necessary, there is such a thing as going too far; 
 and I am inclined to believe that the boys and girls 
 prefer to follow the cast-iron rules only to the verge 
 of " cast-ironness," and make their sport, if less 
 absolute, at least more jolly. There is no fun in 
 making our sport a matter of life and death. 
 
 I know grown people who, in these clays of prize- 
 giving in all manner of games, centre their whole 
 desires, not on the fun of the game, but on the 
 prizes offered. They really seem as disappointed 
 if they do not carry off a trophy as if they had 
 met with some serious loss. Let us take our fun 
 with jollity or not at all. Interest is one thing, and 
 irritability is quite another. 
 
 So, whatever the game you are playing, re- 
 member that the best of all rules is : Keep your 
 temper. Life has plenty of shifting clouds with- 
 out the necessity of quarrels over games ; disputes 
 and bickerings have far too often broken up a
 
 'Tobogganing is as Old as Ice and Snow,"
 
 SUMMER SPORTS. 303 
 
 merry company, and spoiled the beauty of a sum- 
 mer play-day. 
 
 Now, while I fully realize that no new games 
 are likely to supplant foot-ball, base-ball, or tennis 
 in the favor of Young America, I do fee] sure that 
 there is left plenty of room for some such games 
 as may be played by any number of young people, 
 boys or girls, and without the necessity of 
 having carefully prepared grounds. Croquet for- 
 merly filled this want ; and golf, called by one en- 
 thusiast " a sort of glorified croquet," is at present 
 attracting a good deal of attention. But croquet 
 has fallen more or less into disfavor, and golf can 
 be played only in the open country. For this 
 reason I am going to say just a word about one 
 or two games which may be played almost any- 
 where by any number of people. 
 
 And in the first of these the good old English 
 game of bowls the croquet balls which have been 
 unused for several years may be made to do service. 
 
 The "bowls" used in the scientific game are 
 peculiarly constructed, but for unprofessional sport 
 the croquet balls will serve the purpose. The 
 rules here given are for this unprofessional game, 
 and are those pronounced by a very recent ati-
 
 SUMMER SPORTS. 305 
 
 thority on this attractive sport. Retain the sides 
 chosen for your last game of croquet, and let the cap- 
 tains choose for " first." The ground is marked off 
 by a line at one end, and -a small quoit is placed 
 in the centre of a ring at the other. The game 
 is commenced by the first player of the side win- 
 ning the toss ; he endeavors to roll his ball as 
 near as possible to the quoit, or tee as it is called. 
 The first player on the other side then strives to 
 roll his ball either closer to the tee than is that of 
 his adversary, or, if that is not possible, to drive 
 his opponent's ball away. If he fails to do either, 
 then the second player of the leading side rolls his 
 ball so as to guard the first player's ball from at- 
 tack ; and so the game proceeds until all the balls 
 have been rolled to the tee, when the side whose 
 ball or balls are nearest to the tee scores an ace for 
 each ball counting. Only the side to whom be- 
 longs the ball nearest the tee can count ; so, if the 
 second nearest ball is an opponent's, the winning 
 side can only count one. The winner of the game 
 is the side which first scores twenty-one. Should 
 a ball settle in the centre of the tee quoit, then 
 the count is four, unless the ball be knocked off 
 the quoit, either by an opponent's ball, or by a ball
 
 306 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 of the side which rolled it on the tee. These are 
 the rules for a bowling court or field with one end. 
 If two ends are laid out, two tees or quoits are set 
 one at either end, and the contestants roll from each 
 end alternately. 
 
 One of the most fascinating in the whole list of 
 summer sports is canoeing. There is, indeed, no 
 reason why a boy who can swim should not paddle 
 his own canoe without assistance or watching. 
 Mr. John Habberton tells a story of offering a 
 watch and chain to one of his boys if he could 
 prove himself able to upset a canoe while sitting 
 in the bottom. Mr. Habberton declares that he 
 saved both the watch and the boy ; for the canoe 
 could not be tipped over. 
 
 Canoe-racing has perhaps injured quite as much 
 as it has benefited the sport of canoe-cruising. 
 The racers have devised improvements in model 
 and in rig, of which the canoeists who do not race 
 have taken advantage ; but they have contrived by 
 their recklessness in carrying too much sail, and by 
 the upsets which naturally follow, to foster a public 
 impression that the canoe is a cranky craft. This, 
 as may be learned from Mr. Habberton's experience, 
 is not the case.
 
 SI MMKK SPORTS. 
 
 307 
 
 The regulation canoe is decked over, except 
 where the small well-hole appears in the centre. 
 Waves of ordinary size, therefore, cannot break 
 over the coverings. 
 
 The limited crew of a canoe should always sit 
 
 The Canoeist's Landing. 
 
 upon the bottom of the craft. The canoe, if thus 
 handled, will be found remarkably free from rolling, 
 and, being furnished with air-tight compartments, 
 nearly as safe as an ordinary row-boat. 
 
 It is difficult to fill or swamp a well-built and 
 properly managed canoe, and it is impossible to 
 sink her when full. She will outride any form of
 
 308 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 row-boat, and will live through a storm in which a 
 small steam-launch will go down. 
 
 The cost of a canoeist's outfit varies all the way 
 from ten to four hundred dollars; but just as much 
 fun and exercise can be had with a home-made affair 
 or a cheap canoe as with the most elegant boat in 
 the market, rich in polished mahogany and Spanish 
 cedar, and glittering with silver-plating. 
 
 Girls, as well as boys, make expert canoeists ; and 
 the sport is healthful, safe, and altogether delightful. 
 
 As a capital game of strength and skill, played at 
 many a jolly picnic and on many a shady stretch of 
 lawn or level ground, the game of Quoits has for 
 generations proved a source of interest, enjoyment, 
 and friendly rivalry. 
 
 Quoits is but a modern adaptation of the old 
 Grecian game of Throwing the Discus. 
 
 There is, however, this difference: the discus was 
 a much heavier ring than is the modern quoit ; and 
 the object of the old Greek game was to determine 
 which discobolus had the stronger arm, and could 
 throw his discus farthest. In Quoits the object is 
 to place the quoit nearest a certain fixed point. 
 
 The iron rings are thrown at the pin, or " hob," 
 placed from forty to sixty feet away. The object is
 
 The Quoit Thrower. 
 (Cofy> of tJu Marble of the Discobolus of the Vatican.)
 
 SUMMER SPORTS. 3 I I 
 
 to ring the hob, a task rarely accomplished, or 
 to get as near to the hob as possible. 
 
 Players may throw alternately, or sides may be 
 chosen. Each player throws all his quoits ; and 
 when all have been cast an investigation is made. 
 If A (supposing him to have thrown three quoits) 
 has placed his tlircL- nearer the hob than has B, he 
 counts three toward the total score. If one of his 
 is nearest the hob, and B owns the next nearest, 
 then A can count but one, no matter how closely 
 to the hob his other quoits may lie. The same rule 
 holds good in playing sides. 
 
 When the count has been determined, the players 
 stand at the hob first played at, and throw their 
 quoits at a hob driven in at the starting-point. 
 This alternate playing is continued until the full 
 score has been made by one side or player. The 
 total score is twenty-one. If a quoit rings the 
 hob. that is, completely encircles it, the success- 
 ful pitcher counts ten. 
 
 The "science" in Quoits consists in careful 
 throwing. Hold the tlat side of the quoit down 
 ward, with the forefinger resting in the notch and 
 the thumb on the upper side. Give the quoit a 
 spinning motion with the forefinger, so that it will
 
 312 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 fall with its edge downward, cutting its way into the 
 ground, with its flat side toward the thrower. The 
 quoit may be best aimed by sighting the hob 
 through the hole in the centre. Don't throw the 
 quoit so that it will "wobble," and not stick in the 
 ground, or so that its flat- side is up. This last is 
 sometimes counted as a dead quoit, and has no 
 claim in the score. 
 
 The throwers may grow tired before the game 
 is over; but it is a "healthy tired" if the distances 
 are not too great, and the sport is one fitted 
 to strengthen the muscles and train the eyes of 
 strong-limbed boys and girls. 
 
 An exciting, though sometimes a rather rough 
 game for the boys to play is "Ball in the Hole," or 
 "Nine Holes" as it is sometimes called. The sim- 
 ple description taken from the "American Boys' 
 Book of Sports " fully describes a game that is as 
 popular among the street-boys of New York as 
 among the boys who have plenty of space and 
 elbow-room in the open and breezy country. 
 
 "Dig near a wall," says the " Boys' Book," "nine 
 holes of about six inches in diameter and three 
 deep. Let each player have one of these, accord- 
 ing to his number, which must be determined by
 
 SUMMER SPORTS. 313 
 
 lot. At about six yards from the holes draw a line ; 
 and from this, as a field ing-place, one player pitches 
 the ball into one of the holes. 
 
 ' The boy to whom this hole, is assigned imme- 
 diately runs to it, while all the players run off in 
 different directions. 
 
 " The player snatches the ball from the hole, and 
 throws it at one of the runners. If he hits him, the 
 boy thus struck becomes the pitcher, and the one 
 that struck him counts one. Should he not hit him, 
 the player who throws the ball loses a point, and 
 l)o\vls. 
 
 " Tint player who misses his aim at throwing the 
 ball at his partners a second time, becomes a 
 4 tenner.' If he loses the third hit, he is a ' fif- 
 teener ; ' if the fourth, he stands out and can play 
 no more." 
 
 \Yhen all the players are thus out, the last player 
 remaining in wins the game ; and he can compel 
 each of the losers to stand against the wall and be 
 "peppered" by the successful player with the ball 
 used in the gam<-. This " peppering" should, hou 
 ever, be done mildly, if at all ; for a victor should 
 always remember to be moderate in his hour of 
 victory.
 
 314 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Moderation is good in all things in summer 
 sports as well as in winter work. But competition 
 is also healthy ; and if there be thus a genuine, 
 whole-souled attempt, on the part of all the boys 
 who admire physical strength and prowess, to 
 allow only the good and ennobling influences in 
 their play to work upon their characters, then I 
 am sure that they will be "backed up" and en- 
 couraged by their elders in all the enthusiasm they 
 show in that direction. 
 
 Athletics, in one form or another, are nearly as 
 old as history itself ; and the present attempt, 
 under the encouragement of several college pro- 
 fessors, to revive the Olympic games in Greece, 
 indicates that students of history realize there is 
 something more to be gained by such a gathering 
 than the mere settling of a disputed champion- 
 ship. It rests, however, with the youth who en- 
 gage actively in the contests to show what they 
 are capable of doing in the strengthening of both 
 body and character.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 "Athlete," the word, 11. 
 
 Athletics, the lessons of, 13; phys- 
 ical benefits of, 14; evils of, 
 16. 
 
 Ball in the Hole, 312. 
 
 Base -Ball: too professional, 33; 
 planning for season's work, 34; 
 training-time, 34; muscle devel- 
 oping, 34; practice work, 35; 
 base sliding, 36; coaching, 37; 
 selecting the pitchers, 37; the 
 ca g e > 37; batting, 37; Easter 
 trip, 38; table diet, 39; base 
 running, 40; batters' running, 
 40; fearlessness, 40; infieldrr>, 
 41; playing ahead, 41; coach- 
 ing, 41. 
 
 Bicycles: need of good roads, 96; 
 sidewalk riding, 97; politnu-ss 
 pays, 98; "scorching," 99; 
 costumes for girls, 100; cloth- 
 ing, 108; the machine, 104; 
 the cheapest of luxuries, 105. 
 
 Boating (see ('>;;< '/'ruining). 
 
 Bowls, 303. 
 
 Boynton, Captain, 224. 
 
 Bliss <>f Yale (foot-ball), 25. 
 
 Butler, Dennis F. (swimmer), 194. 
 
 Cane Rush: not brutal, 226; the 
 ground, 228; the cane, 228; 
 a hand, 228; signals, 228; the 
 Gladiatoroe, 228; the Robustze, 
 228; the Avelli, 228; the Saltu- 
 rx, 229; the Palaestrae, 229; 
 costume, 230; the rush, 231; 
 the scrimmage, 232 ; the decis- 
 ion, 235; the prize, 236. 
 
 Canoeing, 306. 
 
 Copeland, A. F., hurdler, 243, 248. 
 
 Crew Training: selection of men, 56; 
 age of men, 57; training, 57; 
 exercise, 58; gymnasium work, 
 59; avoid overdoing, 60; food 
 while training, 60; sleep, 63; 
 regularity, 64; time of prepara- 
 tion, 65; the stroke, 66, 68; 
 shell-rowing, 66; the full rt-adi, 
 67, 69; the catch, 70; the 
 shoot, 70; rowing, 71; the 
 rowing machine, 72; lifting, 
 holding, and backing, 73; the 
 stroke oarsmen, 73; weight of 
 crew, 73; trimming, 73; ob- 
 jects of training, 73.
 
 3 i6 
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Cricket : first game of, in America, 76 ; 
 the field, 76; the pitch, 76; 
 stumps, 77; bails, 78; bowler's 
 crease, 78; the bat, 78; ar- 
 rangement of game, 79; the 
 bowler, 79; the batsman, 80; 
 placing the field, 8l ; bowling 
 and pitching, 81. 
 
 Croquet, 303. 
 
 Crosby of Harvard (foot-ball), 25. 
 
 Dana, R. H., 186. 
 Discus, the, 308. 
 
 England and Australia Cricket Match, 
 82. 
 
 Foot-ball: how to develop a team, 
 21; blocking and kicking, 22; 
 team play, 23; blocking and 
 getting through, 24; tackling, 
 25; the tackle bag, 26; pass- 
 ing, 26; a back's duties, 26; 
 warding off, 29; self coaching, 
 29; practice games, 30; team 
 spirit, 30; "stars" no good, 
 30; responsibility of each man, 
 31; detail work, 31; signalling, 
 32; a champion eleven, 32. 
 
 Germantown Cricket Club, 82. 
 
 Golf:' popularity of, 88; exercise in, 
 89; an all-the-year game, 89; 
 space a requisite, 90; a full 
 course, 90; the putting green, 
 90; the teeing ground, 91 ; 
 the ball, 91; the game, 91; 
 "honor," 92; a round, 92; 
 singles, 92; a foursome, 93; a 
 moderate golf equipment, 93. 
 
 Gymnastics: benefits of, 146; fresh 
 air the chief tonic, 146; an out- 
 of-door "gym," 147; the 
 Charlesbank, 147; class drill, 
 148; the giant stride, 150; the 
 neck developer, 151; the medi- 
 cine ball, 151; the spring board, 
 152; the buck, 152; the tilting 
 ladder, 152; the Jacob's ladder, 
 154; the " razzle dazzle," 154; 
 a home gymnasium, 156; tra- 
 peze bar, 157; rings, 158; hori- 
 zontal bar, 158; jumping stand- 
 ards, 162; vaulting-horse, 162. 
 
 Ilabberton, John, on canoeing, 306. 
 
 Hare and Hounds: the hares, 122; 
 the hounds, 122; the master, 
 122; the scent, 122; the route, 
 122; prizes, 123; an ideal 
 course, 123; the break; 125; 
 endurance, 127. 
 
 Harvard Batting Team of '91, 37. 
 
 Havcrford College, cricket at, 87. 
 
 Iland-in-Hand Skating (see Sku/- 
 ing). 
 
 Hawks, Lord (cricket), 82. 
 
 Hitches (see Knots,, Hitches, and 
 Splices'). 
 
 Hurdling: requirements for, 116; 
 the spring, 117; distances, 117; 
 the hurdles, 118; strides, 118; 
 description of, 238; elements 
 of a good hurdler, 241 ; striking 
 the hurdles, 244; handicap 
 races, 246, 249; " mug-hunt- 
 ers," 247; the "scratch" man, 
 248, 250; the "scratch " races, 
 250; the intercollegiate con- 
 tests, 250.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 317 
 
 Interscholastic tournaments, value 
 of, 48. 
 
 Ionian, A. A., the hurdler, 244. 
 
 Jump, the Running Broad: the 
 jumping path, 252; the jumping 
 foot, 252; number of strides, 
 253; the marks, 253; the take- 
 off, 254: a foul, 254; the jump, 
 255; landing, 256; caution and 
 advice to jumpers, 257; train- 
 ing. 258. 
 
 Knots, Hitches, and Splices, 280; 
 a square knot, 281; becket 
 knot, 281; bowline, 252; single 
 wall and double wall, 282; 
 boatswain's whipping, 283; 
 stopper knot, 283; sheepshank, 
 284; true-lover's knot, 285; 
 jar sling, 285; Turk's head, 
 286; hitches, 289; Blackwall 
 hitch, 290; clove hitch, 290; 
 rolling hitch and rat's paw, 292; 
 splicing, 292; the eye splice, 
 293- 
 
 I.:iLe of Harvard (foot-ball), 29. 
 
 Lawn Tennis: not so easy as it 
 looks, 43; value of tournaments, 
 48; choice of rackets, 50; balls, 
 51; a good stroke, 51; length 
 of court, 52; fast service, 52; 
 the volley, 52; hitting and 
 " smashing," 55; odds, 55. 
 
 I.ongwood Cricket Club, 87. 
 
 Manheim Cricket Grounds, 85. 
 Mapes, of Columbia (hurdling), 238. 
 Moderation in sport, 314. 
 "Mug-hunters" (see Hurdling). 
 
 Newell of Harvard (foot-ball), 24. 
 Nine 1 loles (see Ball in the Hcle}. 
 
 Olympic Games, revival of, 314. 
 Over-training, 17. 
 
 r<nicratinm (see Cane Rush}. 
 Paper Chase (see Hare and Hounds'). 
 Pedestrian Exercise (see Walking). 
 Philadelphia, the home of American 
 
 Cricket, 81. 
 Prize-giving in "sports," 300. 
 
 Quoits: the pin, 308; the hob, 308; 
 science in, 31 1. 
 
 Roberts, Mr., Y. M. C. A. Gymna- 
 
 sium ( P.oston), 151. 
 Running: long legs not needed, 
 
 107; heart must be strong, 108; 
 
 dashes, 109; training, 109; 
 
 sprinting, III; positions, in; 
 
 styles of starting, 112; the 
 
 scratch, 112; style of running, 
 
 1 1 6. (See Jump and Hurd- 
 
 ling.} 
 Running Broad Jump, Tin 
 
 St. Paul's School, cricket at, 87. 
 . F. R. (tennis), 45. 
 
 Skating: first lessons in, 259: plain 
 forward movement, 259; the 
 rolls, 260; cutting the Derby (or 
 left over right), 263; cutting 
 the crab, 264; figure of time 
 and of eight, 264; the rosette, 
 265; scissors, 265; grapevine 
 twist, 265; Virginia fence, 265; 
 on to Richmond, 265; hand-in- 
 hand skating, 267; hpckey
 
 THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS. 
 
 Skating, continued. 
 
 skating, 268; speed skating, 
 268; figure skating, 268; hand- 
 in-hand figures, 269; the Mer- 
 cury (forward and backward), 
 270, 277; backward cross-roll, 
 270, 275; the Dutch roll, 272; 
 the flying Mercury, 278; double 
 Mohawks, Q scuds, and rocking 
 turns, 278; skate-fastenings and 
 foot-gear, 279. 
 
 Sliding machine for base-ball, 36. 
 
 Splices (see Knots, Hitches, and 
 Splices'}. 
 
 Stagg of Yale (base-ball), 36. 
 
 Summer Sports, 295 ; antiquity of, 
 296; rules and restrictions in, 
 300. 
 
 Surrey and Nottinghamshire Cricket 
 Match, 82. 
 
 Swimming: confidence essential, 
 190; secret of a good stroke, 
 191; dog-fashion, 192; the 
 breast stroke, 192; side stroke, 
 '93> right-hand, left-hand, and 
 overhand stroke, 193; back per- 
 formances, 194; diving, 195; 
 under-water swimming, 196; 
 treading water, 199; other feats, 
 
 200; precautions, 201 ; a tub 
 race, 203; a water circus, 206; 
 water polo, 213; water shoes, 
 223. 
 
 Tennis (see Lawn Tennis}. 
 Trafford of Harvard (foot-ball), 29. 
 Tub Race, A (see Swimming}. 
 
 University of Pennsylvania, cricket 
 at, 87. 
 
 Walking: value of, 128; time of a 
 walking trip, 129; arranging 
 route, 130; outfit, 131; cloth- 
 ing* *33; s i ze f p ar ty, 137; 
 
 eating, 138; out-of-door sleep- 
 ing, 140; routes suggested, 143; 
 have an object, 145. 
 
 Water Circus, A (see Swimming}. 
 
 Water Polo (see Swimming}. 
 
 Water Shoes (see Swimming}. 
 
 Winter of Yale (foot-ball), 25. 
 
 Yachting: the compass, 166; tak- 
 ing a bearing, 173; keeping the 
 course, 174; management, 175; 
 fair-weather sailing, 176; in an 
 emergency, 176; sea-terms, 179- 
 186; starboard and port, 187- 
 189.
 
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