The New York herald., 1879-01-02
BASEBALL ON THE ICE.

A LIVELY GAME AT FAIR HAVEN, N 1.-THE
SNOW STORM ON THE SHREWSBURY RIVER.
The ice ball epidemic reached Fair Haven, j.,
about week ago and eliminated yesterday in grand
match on the ice for the purpose of choosing nine
to represent the town. The match took place the
Shrewsbury River. and more convenient spot
broader field of ice could not well be found i'll that
neighborhood. At this point the Shrewsbury River
is about mile and quarter wide and frozen from
shore to shore The ice had been cleared of for
about half mile in every direction. and the surface,
while somewhat soft in places was, the whole,
admirable.
The game was to have begun at one O'Clock, and at
that hour fully three hundred persons gathered
about the hotel grounds and on the ice Large flags
marked the limits Of the space preserved for the
players and the field itself laid out in red paint.
The weather. which had been threatening through
out the forenoon, developed snowstorm about noon,
and the managers of the match determined to delay
it somewhat in the hope Of clearing. About
two o'clock sides mustered and the game be-
gan. BY this time there fully ve hundred per-
sons congregated on the shore and ice. Among this
large party of spectators which seemed to have been
gathered from all about the neighborng country and
villages, there were an unusually large number Of
ladies' many of them on skates
The scene at the beginning Of the game from the
hotel piazza was an exceedingly picturesque and
novel one Up and down the river as far as the eve
could reach white unbroken field of ice. while
The opposite side the line was only broken by
succession of snow covered hills which
in position, and of skaters dotted the white
surface Of the river in every direction, the ladies' in
bright costumes, gliding gracefully to and fro.
NOVEL SCENE
The game had hardly been under way fifteen
minutes before driving snow storm came in from the
north While it annoyed it did not seriously incon-
venience the players and the spectators seemed to
enjoy the storm quite as we'll as they did the game
The latter was certainly funny one. 1t was the first
of the the Shrewsbury River, and the want
of practice evident. Those OF the players who
had had experience former years had evidently for
gotten much of what they had learned, while the
others "muffed'' and sat down quite often as
might have been expected. The catcher wore
be. pie plates, and had q peculiar habit
of losing his equilibrium after letting the ball
him. The short stop. too, had peculiar way of
stopping ball. About two-thirds of the time the
attempt made with his nose. while he fourished
ladies and the most intense satisfaction of the host
Of small boys, who cheered him Justify. The ball
was red, and could be more distinctly than q
white one. Notwithstanding this. however, dense
was the fall of snow and slippery the fingers and
skates OF the players that it frequently lost for
The two mines were unnamed. although there was
faint recollection that away back in the past one
of them had been called Centennial" One OFF,
cered by Mr.. H. Van Tine and the other by Mr. L.
WILDER. Van Tines nine went to the bat first and
Mr. wiber's took the field. The catcher of the latter
Mr. H. f. Smith, the wearer of the extraordinary
headgear already referred to- Whether he wore it to
prevent his nose from coming into contact with the
ice a necessary adjunct to the performance of
his duty catcher did not transpre but it is GER
tain that it useful in the former capacity
than in the latter. Mr.. Doughty, pitcher Of Wbers
nine. tossing his first ball evidently determined to
create something OF sensation After the ball had
left his fingers he performed of the most extraor
dnary contortions that probably was ever witnessed
in Fairhaven.
| Under the circumstances. 1t was utterly impos-
| sible to play good match game. The snow fell
thicky that at times it was impossible to see the
felders from the home base. The batting and run
ming were for the most part very good, but the
fielding was simply awful. There is little doubt,
however, that in the two mines may be found mate
rial for good club 1t is intended to form
organization and play matches with the prominent
| ice mines of the country.