Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-07-30

Western Youth.
One might wander about the national
museum for half a year without taking
notice of a collection of extraordinary
Chinese kites, which are suspended
overhead in the middle of the west
wing. Nevertheless, they are we'll
worth looking at, exhibiting as they do
a versatile ingenuity of device in flying
apparatus undreamed of by Europeans
or Americans.
The small boy of the United States,
born an inventor because he is a Yam
kee. thinks he is performing feat if he
succeeds in causing to soar simple
pentagon of sticks and paper, of most
primitive shape, with a tail of rags.
Such a contrivance, in comparison with
the scientific kites of China and Japan,
is the merest crudity unworthy of
civilization that vaunts itself superior
to a hoary and effete east.
Can the youth of this continent afford
to confess a mechanical inferiority to
Chinese and japanese of equal age? As
suredly not. And yet it must be admit
ted that the adolescent intelligence of
those races would regard the kites one
sees in this country with an utter and
superior contempt
The Caucasian kite bears the same
relation to the Chinese flyer as is borne
by the flint Ratchet to the modern ak.
It represents the acknowledgment of
primary principle improved upon by
thought In the collectionSspoken of
are kites in the shape Of frogs, lizards,
cranes, owls, gigantic flies and enor
nous locusts.
Speaking of lOcuStS, one is reminded
of certain novel, translated from the
English into French, in one chapter of
which there was mention of the hero's
tying his horse to a locust tree in front
of the heroine's door when about to
make her visit
Unfortunately, the translator thought
that the word locust" referred to the
| insect of that name, and explained the
| matter in an off-hand foot note, which
said that in the United States locusts
frequently grew to such gigantic size
that they were stuffed and utilized at
| the curbstOne for fastening horses to.
However, that has nothing to do with
kites.
| Among those described at the mu-
scum are human figures Of all sorts, as
| well as many queer animals of paper
and sticks, beside the ones already men
| toned; but by far the most extraor-
binary of all is kite thirty feet or
more long, in the shape of a snake-like
| dragon. No one but a Chinaman or a
Japanese would suppose that such a
thing could be flown. and yet it is known
that they float them with astonishing
effectiveness.
| Such a kite does not in the least re-
semble any plaything of the sort known
in this part of the world. It is COM
posed of a number of pasteboard disks,
each foot in diameter, fastened to-
gether with spaces between by cord
running the length of the dragon, with
a ferocious-looking paper head
The string held by the manipulation
! Of this extraordinary toy is attached at
three or more points in its length, so
| that it may be controlled in the air.
While af1oat the long tail has an undu-
| lating and serpentine motion, thus pro-
ducing very realistic effect.
Kite flying has been reduced to a
| science in China, where many thou
sands of people will gather upon hill
| on holiday for the purpose of enjoy
| ing the sport. Many of the kites are
cut loose and let go, because it is i'm
| agined that they float away with mis-
fortunes that are threatening.
The Japanese are not less superior to
Europeans in the art Of top spinning
than in that Of flying kites. Their
skill in this latter sport is at once the
envy and despair of civilized western
| youth. Washington Star.