The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-08

years.. 1t was brought into the United
States from Canada some years ago. The
game was formerly played with rough stones
or bouiders of granite. having holes bored
through them for the thumbs OF the pay
ers. The rough boulder gave way eventu-
polished. and supplied with q convenient
handle. The curling stones of the present
are circular in form and made of granite.
Tney weigh from thirty to ffty pounds, and
are thirty to thirty-six inches in citcumfer-
ence, and one-cighth OF the eirth in height.
hone, and when finished by the cutter and
POLISHED q pair of them cost from &15 to
SIS.
The one important factor necessary to
play the game is q sheet Of smooth ice, not
less than fifty yards long and ten yards
wide. The regulation rink is not more than
forty-six yards in length and not less than
forty-two yards. At each end of the rink a
"tee'' or goal is marked out, to which point
the stones are hurled along the ice. A cir
Gle of seven feet radius is drawn around
the 'tee," and all stones must come within
the circle to count a distance. One-sixth
the length of the rink is marked from the
tees" and called the "hog line" Stones
not passing this line are removed from the
rink as distractions.
The game is played with four curriers' on
each side, under the leadership Of "skips,"
or captains. each player having two curling
stones. The object of the curler is to throw
or as near to it as possible. Each man
throws alternately, and when the stones
are well placed in the middle of the game
the other players will throw SO as to come
near them and act as guards. The orpos
ing side endeavors to displace them and
by sending a stone with great force to clear
the obstacle. and trusting that it will alight
near the"tee"Or, more often, displaying great
science and by dexterous twists Of the
wrists, cause the stone to go In an obliqpe
direction and hit the stone nearest the gosl
and is where the science of the game is dis
played. When all the stones have been
thrown, the 'skips" beside which team has
come nearest the 'tee,' and they receive
the score. The game is continued by play
ing toward the other end of the rink, until
twenty-one ends have been played. which
constitutes a game, the highest score win
ming.
The two great banes of the curriers' are
the warm sun and the south wind. Open
mir Kinks become an easy prey to these
winter sport destroyers, and this was one
of the reasons that induced the curriers' to
build covered Kinks. The Hoboken rink is
owned by a stock company called the This
tie Curling association. The shareholders
are all curriers' living in New York and vi
cinity. A member was sent to Canada last
summer to visit the big Kinks there and get
designs for it. The rink is the largest in
the United States, and is only equalled in
owned BY the Granite Club of Toronto.
The building is situated in an isolated but
still convenient spot, Twelfth and Grand
streets, Hoboken. 1t is 1917 feet long and
100 feet wide, and space is provided for six
links to curl on. 1t is built especially for
r-tyn n~6 aIu. AIo~o 80 - iz,.
b sixty big windows in it. The window
panes are ground glass, giving light and at
the same time keeping out the rays of the
sun. On cold nights all the windows will
be thrown open, and as the winds will have
free swing throughout, the ice will always
comes from the south the windows will be
kept closed and the ice protected.
The method of making the ice is wrongly
supposed by many to be the flooding of the
foor. But this fs not SO, the apparatus
used being a fine sprinkler n a reel of
garden hose stretching the entire length of
the building. A man goes over the floor
and vets it completely all around. Almost
Immediately q thin sheet of ice is formed,
and the sprlnklinR process is kept up until
a sheet Of ice Of the desired thickness is
made. There ia q dressing room in one
corner Of the building, and raised plat
n nsf%s t ns sse n snds fos , spsstst9 w;ii he eP bas't
Aoo"A HOoo OSAoAn ~ DAAAs
10 contain the general paraphernalia used
in the game. The rink will be lighted
t~hroughout with arc electric lights. Three
days in the week will be open TO skaters and
the other three days to curriers'.
The officers Of the new association are:
President, James Thaw; vice-president,
Charles Mckenzie; secretary, Job Watt;
treasurer, Murdoch M. Campbell.
The rink at Yonkers il somewhat smaller
than the one at Hoboken. but there will
probably be curling and skating in it for a
longer season than its rival. 1t is built on
a hill at Pa.khill. a suburb of Yonkers. 1t
is owned by the Yonkers Curling associa-
t.on, comprised of the Yonkers Curling
club. New York Curling club, American
and st. Andrews Curling ciub It was
opened on Monday last and the curriers' had
n merry time. Matches were played at this
rink before the opening. however. The
building is 160xG0 feet and is built of Geor-
gia pine. it is semi-octagonal in shape
and also contains numerous windows.
There is room for three inks and IN en-
closed balcony for lady spectators. As at
Hoboken. there will be skating for one-half
the week and curling the rest. The associa-
ton has also secured a plot of ground of
the same dimensions as the building. and
in summer the members will hold quoting
and bowling tournaments.