River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1891-12-24
HE GAME oE PEGGY.
An Improvement OF .he Old Game of Peg
in the Hole"

An Improvement OF he Old Game of Peg
i'm the Hole
The long list of fall and winter pas
times which are INDUCED in by tho
younger people contains one which al
though not as universally popular as
many other sports, in many sections in
fast gaining favor as an interesting
outdoor game. and that is peggy"
There are but very few men of to-
day who can not well remember the
countless number of broom, hoe and
rake handles aud wheel spokes that
Were sacrificed in the earlier days for
the purpose Of INDUCING in this all-ab-
sorbing game.
The game Of to-day differs in but few
respects from that of the middle-aged
mans barefooted aud knickerbocker
day.
The paraphernalia of the game years
ago consisted Of round piece of hard
wood about five inches in length and
an inch in diameter. sharpened to a
blunt point at both ends. known as the
peggy" and round stick of about
two feet in length and of the same
diameter as the peggy.
?
ing" the peggy in a groove in the
ground, made by pounding The peggy
into the yielding soil with the stick.
The contestant lucky enough to OBJ
tain first ''liclls" strikes the upturned
point of the peggy with the stick, caue
ing il to fly into the air.
lie then endeavored to strike the fly
ing piece of wood in motion: whenever
it happened to drop the same operation
was repeated until the player had three
ticks" In the last two, however. he
was not allowed to cock" the peggy,
but must raise it from the ground
wherever OF in whatever position it
might bel.
The distance was then mentally cal
culated or measured carefully in strides.
and the opponent was given certain
number of leaps to cover the distance
in.
Should he fail to do it in the required
number, so many points THAT is, one
for each leap were credited to the
player.
Should the leaper, however, I'LL the
contract and cover the distance in the
required number of jumps or leaps,
then the player had gained nothing by
his ''licks" or inning. His opponent
would then take his turn with the stick.
and so on until either contestant had
secured a certain number of points
varying from a hundred to thousand,
the first one TO reach the specified num-
Der being the winner.
In the game of to-day the peggy
= e L .,Fl
wood and shaped much like a cone. 1t
is not longer than two and one-half
inches, and is nearly as wide in diam
eter.
The stick used is round, but flattened
at the striking end, and much resem-
bles the head end of an AK handle. Tho
flip or start is made from a fiat rock or
piece of marble; the same rules and re-
quirements govern as in oiden times,
with the exception of measuring the
distance instead of leaping.
The distance covered by each player
is recorded. and the one securing the
specified number first, generally one
thousand feet. is declared the winner.
There is considerable science brought
into play in the game, especially in
raising the peggy. The ends are so
blunt that a greenhorn might pound
until he was tired without raising the
peggy an inch off the plate.
Then, again, player quite often in
striking down fails TO even hit the
peggy Each such failure counts as
lick" and many times one contestant
takes an inning and does not even stir
the little iolSer.-Boston Globe.