The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-01-08

JANUARY s, 1898.
never get time for 1t any more. When
/ was 16 years old devoted much time
to the art. ] defeated the champion of
Norway in a long distance contest. /
used to be quite fond of figure skat-
ing, and so was my wife, she is one of
the finest skaters in Norway
AS A SKATER.
"Nansen maintains that the Nor
wegian skates are the best in the world
for both figure skating and long dis
tancc. | didn't see how they were
adapted to- figure skating.
"The kind l used he said had
scarcely any curve on the blade. They
were fiat as they rested on the ground,
but very wide in the centre. tapering
toward the point and heel. When you
get that blade on the ice and get over
on the side you have a curve; the
skate gives the curve when you lean
over. and some very remarkable fig
ures can be cut with them
'Nanaen and his brother were born
and lived at Frozen, their fathers coun-
try place. in the outskirts of Christi
ania. There was a little hill there
where they made their first attempt at
ski running. Snowshoeing in those
days was almost entirely confined to
the peasants. The two brothers took 1t
up as a sport and began to get pro-
ficient and tried going down hills. They
found they could use them for going
down as well for making excursions
through the mountains. They discoN-
cred, at the suggestion of an expert
from the rural districts that they could
Jump on them. The peasants general
~ had never Jumped with them nor
made such progress. The boys induced
other fellows to take ii up. In that
way it became a sport in Chris tiania,
and the Nansens did all they could to
make 1t popular Now the snowshoe
meeting in February is the great ski
meeting of the world
"There is very steen mountainsde
at Holemkollen. with a sheer descent
of about AZ degrees. Half way down
there is a wall built UP, and the snow
curves out to the edge of the wall.
| The snowshoers (ski-lobneD come
down the hill at full speed. and when
they strike this curve they shoot thirty
| feet in the air. The long jump record
is 140 feet When they again regain
| they continue in nearly the same direc-
! ticn down the hillside. Both feet come
down about fiat. and the knees are
| bent in order to land easily. | believe
Manson formed the first club of snow
shoers in Norway, and he was very
prominent in this club. The celebra-
| ton on Feb. 1C is q popular fete. The
King always attends.
sNOWsHOES.
| Not only are the snowshoes Won
| derful for jumping, but the skilled
| riders go through the woods, among
the trees, winding paths, and even over
| the rocks. You would think they were
| going to dash out their brains as they
| go down a wild slope. In jumping
| down you imagine you are going to
| sink a foot in snow, but the long ski
hold the weight, and you glide on. The
| beginner can seldom tell how he will
| land. He may land with his feet in
| the air, head first in the snow. These
skiers become very expert. They can
| climb fences with the ski on. The ski
should be the length of the height of a
| man with his hands extended to full
| length, and are generally made of ash
or pine. Nansen says he has walked
on thin ice on his ski where dogs broke
| through the surface.
"Nansen is building a new house, near
the one where he now lives, in the
suburb of Christiania. 1t is a part of
the large estate which belonged to his
grandfather. 1t is on hill near the
! ford, and the place is only twenty
minutes from Christiania. He lives
very simply. His dwelling is a long
house of the special Norwegian type,
made of small logs carefully Joined
together These houses are not finished
up inside with lining for two years
after building, in order to allow the
logs to settle permanently. 1t is sur
rounded by a palisade of rough pine,
| There are always two or three dogs
| barking around.
"Nansen's pecuniary returns from his
books and lectures are said to be large,
yet he is a most sabstemious man and
his way of living is simple in the ex-
treme. He is hard worker and keeps
at it almost night and day, He is not
of a melancholy disposition and tells
humorous stories on occasion. The
other day he told me the following:
my friend, Mr.. Dick he said, has
a shooting box in the highlands in
Norway. one time when he was going
away he left it in charge of a Nor
wegian peasant. A quantity of wood
alcohol which had partly been used
for the lamps during the summer was
left in the lodge. "Be careful" he
said, land use this only for fuel. Don't
drink il; it will kill you"
"In looking over the stores wher
he returned he found it was all gone.
"'"Have you used all these spirits?'
he asked. Didn't l tell you it was
poison and would kill you?"
"'"I know you did" said the peas.
ant.
How did you come to drink il
alp"
lowell, there were some tough
horse dealers came up here and stayed
around, and / treated them to some
of this methylated spirit I found II
did not kill them, so l thought If II