Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-10-22

"hf. IuhcH' Ecits noW hito iieipeu
iiulid tho Great Suspension Brl,lgc-A
Japanese kite FiGht--An Oid-Man Kito
"A Kite Secret Well Kept.
OF course. you have heard about
Benjamin Franklin and his wonderful
bow.kite-how he raised it just at the
beginning Of q thunderstorm, and how
by means Of it he conducted electricity
trom the clouds, 10 accomplish this
wonderful experiment. point OF wire
was attached to tho kite, which was
made of silk, and tho cnd of the captive
cord was tied TO koy. The electricity
passed down the hempcn cord and be-
game stored in the kcy; and that when
the first suspension bridge that con-
meets the two shores of the Niagara
river was built, the question arose how
the first wire should be carried across,
as no boat could live in such turbulent
waters. At last the suggestion was
made by Mr.. Eilet. thon the first en-
gincer in our country. that an attempt
should be made to convey the wires
by means of Kites, The experiment
was tried. The kite carried a line
across. and to this line rope was at
tached. To the rope wire was
fastened. and thus was conveyed the
first wire that ever held bridge across
the Niagara river. Mr.. Ellets bridge
in the end proved unsuccessful, and y
more satisfactory structure was biiilt
later by Mr.. Roebling, the famous en-
ginecr, whose name has been immor-
talized by the wonderful bridge that
now spans the East river and connects
the two great cities Of New York and
Brooklyn.
The boys Of not so many years ago
were limited in their choice to few
simple forms of kites, but nowadays
the fashions or styles of kites vary
more or less every year, and there may
he found in the large toy shops. an
endless variety of forms more pr less
grotesqpe, simple or ingenious, There
arc Japanese, Chinese, Iolding and col
lapsing kites, Tho cheap factory kites
Of the prevailing American form (thp
,'threc-sticker') can be purchased for
one cent apiece, but in n great major
ity OF eases they do not hold together
for any length of time. 1t is much bet
ter TO make your own. Nv
In her Interesting work on Japan,
Miss Bird writes about kitc-ilying
"Thls afternoon has been hne and
windy, and the boys have been flying
kites, made Of tough paper on BAN
| boo frame, all of u rectangular shape
some Of them five feet square, and
nearly all decorated with huge faces o
historical heroes. Some of them hav,
u humming arrangement made o
whalcbono. There was a very inter
csting contest between two great kites
and it brought out the whole popula
tion. The string Of each kite. TO
thirty feet or more below the frame
j was covered with pounded glass, mad
3 To adhere very closely by mean
of tenacious glue, and for two hour
the kite-lighters tried 10 get thci
kites into n proper position fo
saving the aaversary's string in two
AT last one WAS sue essful and the scy
cred Kite became his property, upo
which victor apdyanquished exchange
throe low bows. Tho boys also fiey
their Kites white walking on stills =
most dexterous performance, IN whic
few were able to take part. sl
/ heard once OF q boywho had yer
good cousin, who made him kite this
( was the wonder and delight Of tn
neighborhood. 1t was about four feS
high, and was covered with muslin am
painted with funny representation (
an old mans head and body, down I
his thighs and out to his shoulder
: Then at the bottom of this kite thci
were legs attached, and on the shou
ders he put arms, and then the omn
D bus called ut the door and | said goot
bye.
These legs and arms were made
\ bunting tubes, open at the place whel
} the hoops on which they were mad
joined the kite, so that the wind file
them out and made them look plum
and round as if they were alive. Bun
] ing, you know,l is the loosely-woye
> material that flags are made Of, and
very light and open. His legs wei
red and his arms were blue, and
was the funniest looking sort Of a fe
low away up in the air, kicking al
sprawliag Ike . baby before Il CT