The New York herald., 1876-11-30
Outdoor Sports.

Americans in the younger days Of their
country's growth had so much work to do in
winning first subsistence and then prosper
ity that the kind Of outdoor exercise which
we call sport was not SO necessary to the
development of robust manhood rs it is
nowadays. change and not a good one
came about Congregating around indus
trial and commercial centres, mailing them
selves down to desks and counters, Ameri-
leans began to pass their youth in close toll,
relieved by spasms of nervous excitement
or enervating pleasure, and grew into lank,
sallow, dyspeptic, prematurely-aged men.
The typical American was seen smoking,
chewing, whiting or making q stump
speech, but not amusing himself in o manly
direction had the element of business in
grained on it-namely, running to fires. As
fireman and a man of business he burned
the candle of life at both ends Then came
the war. $t wrought an immense change.
During the past ten years great progress
has been made in every department of out
door sports. Base ball became a passion;
cricket came in; football added its uproar-
ions fun; boating rowed itself into favor;
yachting took hold Of those who could afford
it and gave young men of money the bronze
Of health in exchange for their pink
and white or green and yellow; the old
American sport of rifle shooting banged
itself into championship, with oil the mod
ern Wimbledon Improvements polo from
the old Orient galloped to find enthusiasts
in the young Occident; coaching cracked
it's elegant whip and won to its side a num-
Der Of virtuosos fit to hold the ribbons
behind a four-in-hand with the best that
ever "tooled" a drng-and this ''tooling"
of four-in-hand is no more to bo sue
cessfully attained at first trial than
man is likely to play one Of
Paganinis pieces the first time he takes
up fiddle There is no better amateur
whip in England than Mr.. Kane, and no
professional could have been more punctual
in the performance of the task that he i'm
posed upon himself. His season, which ends
on Friday, has been more successful than
that of any of the English amateur coaches,
and the rush for seats during the last days
of the run to Pelham shows that our citizens
appreciate Mr.. Kane's efforts, not as an odd
novelty, but regular addition to our health
giving opportunities When our Coaching
Club meets next May not less than twelve
and possibly fifteen well appointed drags will
appear on the first parade. Then, as far as ap-
plicable, the majority Of these sports, with
many others, such as running, walk
ing, jumping and gymnastic feats.
have been made their own by our
colleges, SO that the youth of this
generation will come to vigorous
manhood ready to take their part in keeping
the round Of outdoor amusements rolling
side by side with the sterner round of the
great battle of life The latest English
sport which it is sought to introduce here is
fox hunting, but there are great many OBJ
stacles in the way. The first and greatest is
the climate. While in England and Ireland
the scariet-coated gentry can ride to hounds
six months of the year, it is barely possible
to ride across country in this latitude for
more than two months. There are other
difficulties which the sportsmen who meet
at Hackensack to-day will encounter