Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-12-20
YOUTHS COLUNN.

Feat at Catchjng.- 81 should ike
to see boy beat nae at catching OF
man either, as for that were the BOAST
full words heard uttered by twelve
wear old lad. as he tossed alOft two
halls at once. and caught them as they
desceuded. one with each hand. Inat
was certainly very well done but let
me tell the boys who read the 81.
Nicholas of some Catching" that nave
seen in far-off lands-catchlnR with tne
mouth instead of the hands,-and tney
shall Judge whether my bOastful young
friend of the two balls would De lkeiy
to carry off the palm amid all compe'i-
tors.
The first time / witnessed these feats
of agility was at the palace OF the hine
of Siam, where / had been dining: his
favorite band of gymnasts were 10 AZ,
tendance that day. and he chailengem
us to see their exploits. and then teli
him whether our countrymep could do
ANYTHING more wonderful in the way
of Climbing and catching. So he seated
our little party on an elevated plat
form, where we could see readily the
movements of the actors, and the hrst
thing that met our view was swing
ing stage attached to two slender poles
that were planted perpendlcuiarly IN
the ground. About twelve PAGES OH
was another pole, to which was su-
spended by a funny hook a silk net
purse filled with gold. The purse was
| full forty feet above the ground, while
the stage swung about five feet lower,
and was kept swaying to and from the
pole that held the purse, by the action
of lOnng rope pulled by men standing
on the ground. On the stage stood
four men, and as it veered toward the
money purse, he who stood nearest
was allowed one trial of his skill at
catching the purse with his mouth. III
he succeeded, the money (about sixty
| in gold) was to be his reward, and he
might descend, as he had mounted, by
rope ladder; when the next one
wOuld take his turn, till all who wished
to do SO had made the attempt, new
purse being supplied each time one was
carried OF by the teeth of victor.
l thought it fearful risk and almost
held my breath in dismay; but every
body around me was laughing and the
gymnasts themselves did not seem to
think of danger. As easily and natu-
rally as you catch ball tossed toward
you by your companion, the hrst man
opened his mouth just at the right IN
slant, touched the purse with his lower
lip to dislOgue it from the peg, and
caught the string between his teeth,
Just as his time was up, by the veering
away of the stage. Several others fol-
lowed, with the same success, each
loudly cheered, and appearing triumph
antly happy. Then for one poor fel-
low, who failed to catch the coveted
prize. came the usual penalty of being
Missed and hoOted at by the crowd; but
worst of all, he had to let 90 the stage,
grasp the pole to which the purse was
attached, and, with hands and legs en-
twined. slide down as best he could to
the ground. thought, of course, he
would fall but he let himself down as
readily as a monkey or squirrel could
have done, and appeared too crestfallen
at the disgrace he had incurred to care
about the loss of the money, or even
the danger of a descent by that bare
pole. OF course there were only few
seconds of time for him TO seize the
pole as the stage swung away, and had
he halted or hesitated at all, he must
inevitably have been dashed 10 pieces.
st. Nicholas.