The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-06-17
THE "eYMKHANa.n

A Medley of Outdoor Canes INDUCED in
by English, Officers In India.
a "gymllhana Well, what is it2
The word in itself is a compound Hin
dostanee term, rieaning tho thomc OF
games, and with many another Indian
phrase has been Incorporated into the
sporting vocabulary of tho sport loving
Anglo-SaXon race To put it tersely,
it is medley of games To enlivcn
the monotony of garrison lifo in the
many stations in India the officers
from time to time get up stceplcchases
and athletic sports for the men, After
the conquest OF the Puniaub men
learnt new games that we're imme-
diatcly dubbed good" Tent pegging.
lemon cutting, and Inst but not least,
polo, were Mt once adopted by tho
English. All these sports were incor-
porated into the programme and added
new zest
An animal race always forms part of
u "gymkhana." Here each competitor
brings to tue starting post some quad
rupcd or bipcd. Pigs, dogs, fowls, cats,
rats, rabbits, the gentle tortoise, all are
eligible, and If some strange animal or
bird can be procured the fun is all the
merrier. Each animal or bird must be
held by string, but it is not advisable
for tho harmony of the race TO place
the dog next in line to the cat, or the
latter III juxtaposition TO the rat. The
writer when in Africa, saw Il race in
which n secretary bird was entered with
every chance of winning. Next it was
n rat The bird espied the rodent q few
moments before the start, and with ono
thunp of its foot killed it. The next
second the rat had been swallowed.
Tho secretary bird was ruled out of the
race.
An obstacle race is indispensable.
This is race for men, and it must be
left to the ingenuity of the stewards to
devise the obstacles. y race the writer
remembers began with some fairly stiff
hurdles beyond these an entangle-
mcnt, easily made with stout stakes and
wire run in every direction around
them. Beyond that was wide water
trench and then u tarpaulin, riveted III
the ground, under which the compcti-
tors had to crawl. Next table, with
q good old dry bun for each, which had
to be eaten, and then a large bottle of
elfervcscing ginger beer. Flour bar
rels, with both ends knocked out and
suspended from u scafTold, improved
the appearance of the men when they
dived through them, and last climb
over palisades, built close together,
was about as much rs most men cared
to go through in an obstacle race.
\ blindfold wheclbarrow race is
amusing, especially when the pusher
makes straight for one of the adjoining
bitches. For the horsemen, a pretty
and excellent competition is tent peg
ging" An ordinary tent peg is firmly
fixed in the ground Each competitor,
at full gallop, with his lance tries to
strike the peg and carry it off on the
tip of the lance These lances are al
ways made of bamboo and tipped with
steel. The rider carries the lance in his
right hand, with the elbow OF the arm
bent well outward. If the peg is square
Is struck, the lucky rider brings ithome
on the point OF his lance. As a rulc,
however, he comes to the finish with
only q few scraps of mother earth.
Another capital race is a riding tan
dem race Each man rides one pony
while he drives the leader, and every
ono must carry Il tandem whip. y cigar
race causes u good deal of fun. The
competitors start on bareback stecds,
and, on reaching one limit, jump off,
saddle their ponies, light q cigar and
make the best time TO the winning post.
The cigarmust be alight when the Judge
is reached.
Local industries may be used in aid
ing the programme y race for soldiers
in full marching order adds 10 the In
terest of the sports, and the small boys
of the village will gladly join in a potato
race In this II certain number of po-
tatoes are placed in Il line, and each
youths task is to run and pick them
up, one by one, and return them TO
basket. New York Tribune