The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-02-02
SKATING is OVER
WARNER WEATHER ENDS ENJOY.
MEN, ON THE ZOE.
sport Practically Ceased on Saturday Night
Smooth as it Was During the Day Previ-
ous-Sunday Morning Fonnd a Channel
Along the Main Current, Where the Ice
had Been Six or Seven Inches Thick the
Day Before

The skating IS over to all practical in
tents and purposes. Over on the West
Side there Is still some ice in the ditch.
at the junction of the Wichita and West
ern and Missouri Pacific tracks. But
| there were only few places left last
nigat which were any good at all
Saturday night the ice was filed with
the merry young people up to midnight.
The ice was lit up from the Douglas ave
nue. 10 the Maple street bridge by large
number of torches which lighted up the
ice quite brilliantly. The small boy was
10 be thanked for this, and tlso for his
| purloining proclivities during the cam
| paign, for the torches were the same ones
| which were seen during the campaign
and which disappeared quite mysterious
| ly al that time. Used in that manner.
they undoubtedly were being used TO a
much better advantage than 10 be repos-
| ing peacefully ii some cellar rusuag
away during the intervening three years
and a ha.f. The light was quite ample
and helped matters out wonderfully,
| thanks to the boys.
Sunday morning early the channel OF
the river, which had been making itself
apparent in few small places on Satur-
| day, began TO wear away the ice along its
entire length, and by Sunday afternoon
| channel thirty 10 forty feet wide had
! been opened where ice five 10 seven
inches thick had held up hundreds Of peo-
| pie the day before.
Sunday afternoon large crowds went to
the river with the intention OF skIins,
| but whether it would have been desecra-
| ton Of the day or not, Dame Nature
had effectually removed nearly all temp
tation-and ice. The devil, however, had
inveigied into his service an amateur ice
factory. or something Of Ike nature, Tor
down below the Maple street bridge there
still remained couple of acres OF ice in
tact, which was crowded by devotees OF
the art Of manipulating the small run
ners. When the prospective skaters
reached the Douglas avenue bridge they
would stop and some would swear
string as long as streak OF lightning,
others would only growl under their
breath, while still others would propose
that inasmuch as they could not skate,
they should 60 swimming. The one spot
of ice still remaining south of the Maple
street bridge received as many skaters as
it could hold. but those who went upon II
had to do so from the west side.
In conjunction with the warmer wealth
er the river also fell during the early part
OF Sunday. This caused the ice to break
loose from the banks and also to break
up into smaller cakes which soon fioated
away or melted.
The period of skating viii not soon be
forgotten by the young people and also
a number of the older ones, some OF
whom had not had skates on for from
ten 10 twenty years. But among them
all the art was soon picked up again.
Among all the crowd who appeared upon
the ice the adopts in the art were not
plentiful. Mr.. Will Trotter of the West
Side. Fred Baldwin and one or two other
young men whose names could not be
learned were considered the best in fancy
skating as Wei as plain. Messrs. Fred
Johnson. w. McGill Stuernagel of the Y.
NJ c. A, Edward Bump of the High
school, Bruce Priddy and few others
were quite proficient in travelling over the
ice either alone or with a lady. Among
the ladies, Miss Clarice DuFour, Miss
Maude Rentz, Miss Morrison, Miss Nina
Nessley and a few others whose names
were not learned were considered the
best skaters among the ladies. One or
two of these came from colder climate
and have had many more advantages II
acquiring the art than those who have
lived here for some time. II is but Sc
dom that the citizens of this part of the
country enjoy the privilege of skating,
and while the fun lasted they entered
into it with full vigor and obtained all
the pleasure which could be obtained
from il.