St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-12

eXhilarating Of all outdoor winter
| sports, is for the time being a great
leveler of social distinctions, the best
| player being the best man on the ice,
whether he be peer or peasant, and this
is we'll portrayed by an extract from an
old curling song, written by Rev. DR..
Duncan, nearly 100 years ago, one of
the finest ever composed on this subject:
The music of the year is hushed
In bonnie glen and shaw man.
And winter spreads Ger nature dead
A winding-sheet O. shaw, man.
Ger burn and loch the warlock frost
| A crystal brig has laid, man,
The wild geese screaming wi surprise
The ice,bound wave haze fled, man.
For on the waters face are met,
WI mony merry joke man.
The tenant and his jolly laird
The pastor and his flock, man.
A match which has been the theme
| of song and story among some of the
| old chroniclers Of the game was played
on Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, in 1889,
between the duke Of Hamilton and J.
Mcdowell, of Castle Semple, afterward
lord provost of Glasgow. The prize
was valuable one, the duke coming
out ahead, as dukes sometimes will.
| both In ancient and modern times,
when handsome prizes are at stake
>. Ca1rnle, of Largs, Ayrshire, one
armed man, and one of the most en-
thuslastic curriers' that Scotland ever
produced, graphic and descriptive
writer on curling, the first to invent
artificial curling ponds Gin 1929. the
rather Of organized curling, the first
president of the Royal Caledonia Curl
ing club, when that now worldwide
ASSOCIATION was organized in 1885. at q
meeting held at Edinburgh, was man
whose name will long be fondly remem-
oered IN curling circles on both sides
of the Atlantic
| The formation of Observation-Disclosures
curling club made new era in curling
code Of bylaws was formulated
and published in the clubs annual
new clubs were organized all over the
country, branches were formed in the
colonies wherever the climate was ia
vorable, and general move was made
all along the line of progressive curling.
The late duke of Athole and the late
earl of Eglinton were both keen curl
| ers, and met at one of the early north
VS.. south of Scotland matches on Lin
ithgow loch, in 1S47, each leading his
clausmen, Ghe AthoIe men in kiltsl. on
the Ice In true chief style. Eglinton
| was too much of an adept at the game
for Athole, and the north suffered a
disastrous defeat in that foray. but the
match is kept up every year vet.
weather permitting. Sometimes nearIv,
G,VVo hlCii &c SiuS prayed at BlackfOr0 or,
Lockwinnoch
The Oldest curling club on the CONT.
nent is that of Montreal, organized in
1877 and still a thrifty and thriving,
institution, as any club may find out
that will pay visit there, and see the
Montrealers handling their handsome
iron blocks. These are used in the
province of Quebec instead of granite
blocks, but wonderfully fine play is
made with them by those accustomed
to their use. The first club organized
in the United States was, strange to
say, at Pontiac, Mich, about fiftv-five
years ago, where some enthusia site
Scotchmen had settled, and PLAYED the
game with wooden blocks for awhile.
until better material could be had
Wooden blocks are still used bv the
Mapleton Curling club, in Minnesota
and they Just have as much amuse-
ment in the game as if they handled
the finest polished Ailsa craigs.
The st. Andrews Curling club. of
| New York, has a misty recollection of
having been organized in 1916, by Rob
ert Gordon now banker in London)
and others, but there is a Rim Van
Wrinkle hiatus in it's records for sew
| eral years. The Caledonian Curling
club was organized in this CITY in 1853
by the late Archibald Glieve and other
keen curriers'. 1t has an unbroken rec
ord of meetings and matches. and has
a strong claim to the premiership of
city curling clubs.