The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-27
GREAT DAY FOR SKATING.
Crowds at Como and Elsewhere
That Good Ice Is Found.

That Good Ice Is Found.
Lake Como, with it's large area of ex-
cellent ice and the additional attraction
Of fancy skating by Miss Fanny David
son and John Davidson, yesterday at
tracted a crowd of pleasure seekers
numbering fully 1000 A four-minute
car service furnished by the street rail-
way company served to comfortably
transport the crowd. AS the afternoon
progressed the numbers on the ice in
creased until the unusually large tract
Of skating surface, nearly five acres,
was black with an undulating mass Of
humanity. Young and old alike took
part in the sport and weakened
youngsters with their first pair of
skates tumbled about on the ice. The
young man with his best girl was there,
too, and every one seemed to thorough
ly enjoy the vigorous exercise and
healhful amusement. The ice was in
good condition, save for several treach-
erous cracks, incident to the freezing of
so large a surface, and for each there
was ample opport unity for the particu-
lar kind of skatiT 6 most enjoyed. Here
and there knots Of spectators gathered
about graceful Whirling figures going
through some difficult fancy maneuver,
while on the edges of the cleared space,
the "speeders," with long, high-built
skates made splintered ice fly in their
efforts at distancing the crowd of am
bilious imitators who followed in their
wake. Games were played on other
parts of the ice, and, four, six and eight
abreast, little companies Of friends
spun over the smooth surface with a
keen enjoyment of the rare sport. Be
side the skaters there were many about
the lake merely as spectators. To these
the picture Of animation and vigor
blended with the skill and grace of the
skaters was genuine pleasure.
At $50 the exhibition of Miss David
son and her brother gathered the crowd
about an enclosed space Of 1O0x1o0 feet
of the best ice. and for an hour the ex-
perts executed the most difficult figures.
singly and together, with a skill and
grace that highly pleased the specta-
tors. Miss Davidson is a particularly
clever artist on the ice and skates with
a freedom and ease rarely exhibited by
a woman, and it is a safe assertion that
she is unequaled in the Northwest on
the steel blade except by her sister,
Miss Mabel Davidson, whose health at
present prevents her appearance on the
ice. Johnny Davidson is best known as
a fast skater, but has developed into a
fancy skater of sufficient ability to ably
assist his sister in some difficult double
figures. Both were in excellent form
yesterday and gave decidedly clever
exhibition. There was also large
crowd at the lake last evening, when
Miss Davidson gave another exhibition
of fancy skating.
The street railway company has ar
ranged for special entertainment for
the skaters at Como during this week
by engaging Miss Davidson and John
Davidson to give exhibitions every aft
erncon and evening, including next
Sunday A special car service will be
operated the entire week and an effort
made to keep the Ice in the best posi-
BILE condition.
Besides the crowds at Como every
rink in the city was we'll patronzed.
The Broadway rink was crush both
afternoon and evening, while the in
closure on the river below the Robert
street bridge also attracted many. Some
of the more adventurous Of those on
the river started toward Fort Smelling,
but the snow covering the ice rather i'm
peded the skating, and most of the long
distance flyers returned after reaching
the high bridge. Numerous small ponds
on the outskirts Of the city furnished
splendid skating facilities for the small
boy and everywhere this genus was
notably in evidence and enjoying the
winter sport.