The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-25

eA'ANa
che styled IAN Aeolian harp" In that
city 1t is also the practice to attach harms
and whistles to the legs and wings of MIG
cons, the result being a weird, meIan-
choly, and even touching series of bowls
in the air which much puzzle the new ar
rival. 1t is quite true that old men as
well as young boys may be seen flying
kites at the proper season (autumnl in
China and the Chinese are undoubtedly
far ahead of all other nations in this mat
ter Some of the kites are enormous as
Dragons, tigers, cranes and gigantic bats,
all of most Hfelike chara cter. Some are
lit up or carry lamps. Kite-nghting CON
sists n SO manoeuvring that the strong
or one Kite Is sharply dropped or hitched
up so as to cut the other as nearly as pos
sble at right angles Kites thirty or for
ty feet in lentgh and breadth are occa-
sionally seen, and these, of course. re-
quire powerful anchor" human or
other.
Whipping-toes are common all over the
north. The ch'eme or teetotum. is used
chiefly for gambling purposes by itinerant
sweet sellers etc. The Italian game of
more, or fnger-guessing, is invariably
played all over China after festive dinners
and the loser has on each occasion to toss
off another cup of wine.
The Chinese do not show up very well
as they have are either of a military ma
ture or are derived from the Tartars
Mentions is made about 200 years ago OF
the tug ofwar," exactly as played by
ourselves, except that instead of all pull
ing the main rope the adversarles each OF
them chung to a smaller cord attached to
| the chief cable The "Red-cap Mahome-
tans" Of Pekin Ga banner or military col
ony brought from Turkestan over a CEN
fury ago. have an annual gathering in
the West Chang-an street where pole
climbing song-singing and miscellaneous
athletic sports are the order Of the day
NO Chlnaman has any idea of boxing and
any Englishman can at once floor a Ce.
lestial by single we-delivered blow in
| the chest. 1t is of no use to give China
man zone in the mug" for his head is
as hard as iron. As with all orientals
a Chinese has a singularly weak spleen.
| and it is dangerous to hit him In thar
region. Chinese military athletic have
| been amusingly caricatured or RATHER cor
| rectly described, by the witty Able Hue
| me Chinese seem to think that il 1ays
| best by fierce yells, rolngs OF the eyes
| Kissing, splitting and brandishng of arms
to Brighten the enemy from coming on az
all, rather than to beat him methodcally
back when he is actually there They
| also seem to forget that force must be
| economical If a man is to have any stay
in him, and that every caper. every gnash-
ing of the teeth. every howl, means so
much strength dssipated With bare fists
| half dozen bluejackets would knock
| spots" out Of a hundred of the best Chi
nese braves" but il must not be forgot
ten lin case they ever try ~ that the
Chinese, like the Frenchmen know how,
TO KICK too: and besides they are apt to
hit under the belt, gouge out the eyes,
and generally fight as foul as possible
The chief military exercises, largely in
~ he hpr
cry, foot archery practice with the hall
berd lifting the stone and raising a sort
of exaggerated dumbbell, consisting OF
two small stone wheels upon a 9ong
wooden axle. Horse archery consists Of
galloping along "A straight sunken course
for 800 yards and shooting at four targets
as the horse passes them. The bow Is Off
cially placed at twelve forces of 10 1-3
English pounds each-i. e., a total force of
100 pounds is required to tighten IL into
condition for shooting the arrow. But this
Is only al the grand examination before
the emperor; at the earlier examinations
the horse bow Is only three. and the foot
bow Of five forces" or powers. The hal
berd weighs from TO 10 pounds and Is
twiried over the head and shoulders with
great address and activity. The stone
weighs 200 TO 300 pounds, and has two
ears" or sunken hand holes IN the side
whereby to lift H.; the operator has to
raise 1t up to his knee. The "dumbbell"
Is raised very much as ours IT, but the
chief exercise consists In holding the arm
upright and allowing the instrument 10
pivot rapidly round as the hand grasps It
in this position. Spear-thrusting requires
little explanation; Chinese spears are Of
ten twenty or thirty feet long, and usu-
ally carry a triangular flag a the upper
end
Wrestling Is not unknown among the
pure Chinese, but the Mongols are its
chief patrons. those who come to Picking
annually on official missions are bound
by law 10 perform before the emperor
The japanese carry wrestling to the pitch
OF fine art. nevertheless. Archdeacon
Gray, OF Canton, about twenty-five years
ago, took or his coat TO one of their profess
SIGNALS and soon made him bite the dust;
the gallant and venerable archdeacon in
ques ion had picked up a notion or two
in Cumberland. The Chinese have
word for boxing but there h no more
fancy art In II than there is In the street
scrimmagcs OF Liverpool rubbing-stone
women Cinnamon fan like chan before
the British fist.
As marksmen with the gun. the North
ern China men are not by any means to
be sneezed at. Tiger hunters on the from
tiers Of Manchuria. with "A few native
ours and an old rusty gun. seem quite
able 20 bag "A hrst-class Bengal animal
Duck and goose shooting IL rather anus
ing A swlvel-gun is fixed 10 the bow
of a boat. and the craft is then stoored
In the direction Of the birds; when the
right direction is secured. one man lets
nv at flock. and certainly manages to
hit "A good many Of his birds In this way
SIN, the Chinaman enyies the faculty
with which the European brings his single
game down on the wing. as "a rule he likes
pot-ahots on the ground. There ls no
such thing as pOaching in China: any
man can 60 on any other mans ground
and shoot what he likes az all times. The
imperial battle-ground IL no exception
when once you are la Il. Most game IL
secured bv trapping. and In tho winter
time YOU can get bustnrdR. Dheasanta
deer. boar. etc. almost for nothing