St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-08
IN WINTERS REIGN.
The Glacial Period Made q
Time Of Greatest
Sport.
How Gay Minneapolis Passes
the Frigid Months Of
Winter.
The Sport Scheme Of the Park
Commission at Lake
Calhoun.
SnoWshoes and Toboggans--
Racing, Skating and Curl
ing Sports.

1t is only within the past few years
that the American people have paid any
especial or serious attention to winter
outdoor paStimeS. Notwithstanding
their close proximity to the hardy Cana
dianS-a people world-famous as cele-
brated spOrtSmen, in the truly accepted
meaning of that word, it has always
seemed sufficient to the Yankee nation,
in the winter, to attend to business with
the same zeal and energy as character
ICES them at any other season of the
year, and to manage to keep themselves
warm by all the novel artificial means
their wonderful ingenuity could devise
or invent Within the past decade,
however, wonderful change has come
over the spirit of this wintry dream, and
the deity presiding over snow and ice,
has to-day no more enthusiastic follow
erS or more faithful vOtarieS than the
people of the ice bound lands of the
northern states of America. The erst-
while lonesome SoundS-mOaning and
grOaning, of the blowing storm across
the open plains, the sharp, Shrill break
ing of frozen boughs in the great bare,
snOw-drifted fOreStS-and the sharper
crack of the ice-clOthed foe or stream,
to-day are drowned in the sound of
thousands of voices-merry youthful
meteOr-like down dizzy toboggan slides
tearing along at fancy speed,
behind swift PAGERS to meet
the roaring gale, and emerge. from out
the maze of wind and storm, roster and
happier than ever before. While thou
sands of others find the same healthful
flush, the same manly vigOr, in cOying
with the giddy skate or getting strong
and braWny with curling" on the rink.
1t might be hard to trace back this won
derful change of nation from inertia;
to love for that which is manly and
healthy, because the transition has been
so sudden and SO thorough. 1t may have
come from that very noticeable feature
in current American life, of taking
more recreation than ever known be-
fore-both in summer and winter. 1t
may arise from the vast travel in
dulged in by the wealthy class
es of the period, and their
bringing back with them the sporting
fashions of easier-going, older nations,
than this land of busy, toiling. ener-
getic bees. 1t may be this-or it may
be that--no matter whence the source,
suffice it to accept the situation because
it is among us, and because it is good
and great and beneficial to all con-
cerned. Being SO far it may truthfully
be added about the only sensible thing
Americans have copied from their En-
glish cousins, tO-wit: this inherent love
of sport that burns bright in the breast
of all John Bulls. Locally the interest
taken in outdoor pastimes has been
very marked and is on the increase all
the time. Mayor Ames. with his pro-
verbal love for fun and joviality, has
been first and foremost in lending his
influence and power to furthering all
legitimate means for affording oppor
tunities and facilities to give the merry
games substantial footing in our midst,
with the splendid results that are al