The Saint Paul globe., 1898-05-04
WINTER SPORT IN HOLLAND.
Skating Is Feature of the Cold
Weather Past1mes of the Dutch
Fashionable Scenes on the Canals.

SA~HstAhS 10 reature OF the Cold
Weather Pastimes of the Dutch
Fashionable Scenes on the Canals.
From the Chicago Tribune.
In Holland winter seldom passes
without good skating, which being not
only a pastime with the Dutch, but a
serious and ordinary mode of travel.
the Ice on the canals and "grachts" Is
kept In good condition, and it is COM
mon to see small army of sweeping
peasants putting the ice in order for
the day. says Harper's Weekly.
There Is a skating club in every town
in Holland, and all these clubs belong
to the Dutch Skating association. The
largest clubs are probably the Amster-
dam and Rotterdam Ice clubs. and in
the season many excursions are made
by these associations to the neighbor-
ing toWnS-for example, from Aanster-
dam to Leyden. via Vogelensang and
Haarlem; from Amsterdam to Monni-
kendam, Edam, Hoorn, Enkhuzen, Ak
maar, and even across the Zuyder Zee,
when 1t will bear, to Marken and even
Ork,
The way the whole country Is moated
with canals, with huge wind mills ov
eriooking the ice like leviathan imple-
ments OF ordnance, is calculated to ap-
peal to the lover of the picturesque.
Then there are the graceful light
Skaters
and containing red-cheeked, bright-ey-
ed peasant girls in immense lace caps
and dangling temple ornaments, flying
over the Ice at a great speed. On the
Mas, few miles east of Rotterdam.
lies famous skating resort known as
Silkkerevee, and brought into notoriety
IN recent years by the international
skating contests which are held there.
Any one fond Of that exhilarating form
OF exercise can hardly find more in
terest1ng experience than is to be had
during a winter trip to Holland.
IN the season the boat leaves the
Rh1nes station pier for sail up the
Mas. The steamer plows her way
through the floating ice, and at length
dixie which separates the river from
the low lying country. A short walk
brings you to a large inclosed expanse
of ice, obtained by artificially flooding
a large area. Here huge, horseshoe
course, is marked out for the racers.
AND on either side Of this stretches the
free portion, for the onlookers and
those who wish to practice the exhil-
arating art. Fashion is beginning to
drive out the picturesque costumes Of
the peasants, who are becoming
ashamed of their distinctive dress. So
year by year there is to be seen less
and less of these lovely, quaint and
queer coats and breeches Of the men
and boys.
There is little fancy skating to be
seen, The great length of the runners
of the Dutch skates and the way in
which they turn back in the huge
curves over the toe are effectual checks
upon all figure skating involving sud
den or short turns. An attempt to do
the outside edge backward would in
vite disaster. The Dutchman can go
quicker over long stretches upon his
skates than the Englishman, because
Of his extra long runners 1t is a
charming sight to see the long string
of skaters sailing along with a swing
that reminds one of the flight and dip
of the swallows Sometimes, too, they
use sort of sail, with which, by clever
handling, they can make headway
close up in the wind The most usual
figure seen Is what is styled the Dutch
roll, in which long lines Of skaters
throw themselves off upon the right
and left foot alternately, in curves of
twenty five or thirty feet, at an incred-
ible speed. There is much shouting and
bcisterousness, and some of the by
play is not in the best taste but, on
the whole, the scene is most interesting
and entirely unique.