The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1897-02-14

"N"NNHN
wind, and had his trousers tightly /
Rugged Just below the knees BY a
frightened. laughing maiden. has not /
yet filled to the brlm his cup OF Joy. /
For what wild. clustering Boreas IL 10 /
a baimy, gentle zephyrus. ice-boating /
"a 10 water-boatlng. To stand upon
the wlndward side Of pitching. plung- I
ing. Interchangeable ice-boat. as
she luiis up 10 within forty-nye points
OF the line ~ wind. the runners lift
Ing thrcaioningly from the ice at every
gust. will thrill the blood Of the most
hiase devotee OF pleasure In this broad
land. To any man worthy Of the
name. the mingled "Ohsr' and "Ahs~
and merry screams from the lips Of a
bevy Of romplsh damscla. IA az sweet
music as were ever the lyric strains OF
Orpheus 10 the Argonauts Their
bright eyes and blood-red. wind-kiaaed
cheeks would be an object lesson 10
any bachelor on the sunny side Of hfty; /
and n any such should chance 10 read /
these lines, suffer me TO prescribe a
large dose Of lce-boating every other
day, for one week. II. al the end OF
that time, under this treatment. he is
not a benedict. either In esse or In
posse. unhesiltatlngiy pronounce him
hopeiesaly lncurable.
when all IL ready for the start. the
boats head IL thrown into the wind. 20
that none Of her sails win draw; the
stays are examined 10 see that they
are hard and fast. for should one Of
these give way under a speed Of forty
or ffly miles an hour. the result might
be disastrous The 80 and mainsail
are hauled up. the halyards secured.
and the boat pushed a little way from
the shore In order 10 catch the full
force OF the wind. Then the girls are
tucked away In the box: the boat slow
~ swings around until her sails al;
she FORCES ahead. and the crew jump
on. before they are fairly seated. the
dark Ice IA flying under them AZ a
speed 10 turn ones head. The boat
elldes along almost without a tremor.
except when she strikes an occasional
rough spot The gliding motion Il 20
deceptive that one does not realize the
speed attained. A little hummock viii
give her a shake; the novice looks 10
eec what was struck. but looks In vain,
for Il n already far behind, and the
stanch little craft II again moving
smoothly along She gives out scarce
~ a sound except a low. singing noise
like the humming Of a giant top, and
the cutting into the Ice Of the sharp
toes. from the heels Of which rise min.
iature fountains OF white rime.
Now you approach the other side o.
the lake. and hear the steerman'i
warning cry AZ be prepares to "pu
about" II you happen TO have enough
live ballast aboard-say half a dozeI
robust girls-thls operation IL not AZ
tended with much excitement. Tor thei
Notwithstanding the too gen
orally accepted belief that they havl
none-is sufhcient to steady the boat
unless their presence has unsieadlel
the steorsman. But where no such de
llghiful ballast IL aboard. or the crcV
f. shorl-handed. Il Ia quite anothc
thing. The helmsman throws IN
crafts head into the teeth OF the wind
the 80 and malnsail slap and bang q
n angercd At the interruption, an
hungry TO get AZ the wind. Now IN
crew dash across 20 man the runner
boards on the opposite side. where the
hang on BY the stays. The boon
swings over. the steersman ducks hi
head TO dodge Il, the boat slowly fall
on into the wind. the sails cease thel
u7T0ar as they an. she forgcs ahead
and IN a few seconds Il dashing owe
the smooth. clear course at railroa
speed. nearly Or quite a mile a minut
n the wind be a half-gale. But wo
unto that Indifferent or hela,ed sailo
caught before the mast by tho thrash
ing 80. ere the boat falls into tn
wind: for Il viii hang 10 aim like IN
old man Of the sea. wrap itself aroun
him. haul him this way and that. and
he be not az agile as a monkey, sen
him sprawling overheard. where
can rub he bruises until the boa
makes another tack and picks him ~
Under way again. you shoot past N
skaters with their little trlanEula
sails. something after the manner TIA
an oxproas-train goes by fence post,
The skaters halloo az you. but befor
you can answer they are half out q
hearing. On you speed. soolhod D.
the s0ff hummlng OF the runners a
they rapidly vlbraio upon the hard sur
face. and absorbed IN watching the lc
sweep by you IN long. straight llnol
while below. from the Iron heel OF IN
runner-shoo. the little fountain OF froi
ever rises and falls. Now the lookou
cries IN warning tones. "set-llnesl
They dot the Ice In every direction
Answering instantly 10 the swing q
the tiiler. the aging boat veers sudden
~ 10 the right. and then to the lcfi
imparting 10 you q motion that yo'
Imagine might also be enjoyed fror
the tall-ond OF a sly-rockct
Out Of the labyrinth Of sct-linea. tn
sleorsman breathes more easily. AM
an ls going rs smoothly as the frs
week Of matrimony. when suddenly
without the least warning. the boa
JAWS fearfuliy. jerking around AZ RICH
angles TO her course. and you are for
lunaio n you are slill aboard. But be-
fore you have time 70 collect your
thoughts. she yawa again-baek into
her course this time and withal she
acts a. 4 possessed Of a devil, and yor
arc enc OF fhe elect n You are not over
h1nrd The sleorEman. lnlled into 81
cuI'ly ~ his escape from The set-linca
has overlooked 4 crack. allowed thl
taai Ia Aprl1ach ). 81 loe aca.c r.