Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1898-05-18
SKATING IN HOLLAND.
Rivers Present q Quaint and Pictur,
esque Sight Ia Winter.

eeque olRHt IN winter,
In Holland a winter seldom passs.
without good skating. which, being no,
only a pastime with the Dutch, but
serious and ordinary mode OF travel
the ice on the canals and 'grachtsn /,
kept In good condition, and 1t Is com.
mon to see a small army Of sweeping
peasants putting the Ice in order for
the day. There Is skating club In ey.
ery town in Holland, and all these
clubs belong to the Dutch Skating As.
sociation. The largest clubs are prob.
ably the Amsterdam and Rotterdam
Ice clubs, and in the season many ex.
cursions are made by these associations
to the neighboring towns-for exam.
pie. from Amsterdam TO Leyden via
yogelenzang and HARLEM; from Am.
sterdam to Monnlkendam, Edam,
Hoorn, Enkhuyzen, Alkmaar, and even
across the Zuyder Zee, when it will
bear, to Marker, and even urk.
The way the whole country Is moat
ed with canals, with huge windmills
overlooking the ice like leviathan I'M.
plements of ordnance, Is calculated 10
appeal to the lover of the picturesque
Then there are the graceful light
sleighs, propelled by skillful skaters
and containing red-cheeked, bright.
eyed peasant girls in immense lace caps
and dangling temple ornaments, flying
over the ice at great speed. On the
Mas. few miles east Of Rotterdam,
lies a famous skating resort known as
Slikkeryeer, and brought into notoriety
In recent years by the international
skating contests which are held there,
Anyone fond of that eXhilarating form
of exercise can hardly find more in.
teresting experience than is TO be had
during a winter trip to Holland.
In the season the boat leaves the
Rhine station pier for sail up the
Mas. The steamer plows her way
through the floating ice and at length
leaves you at high pier on huge
dixie, which separates the river from
the low-lying country. short walk
brings you to large Enclosed expanse
of Ice, obtained by artificially flooding
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 exhila
| rating art. Fashion Is beginning to
drive out the picturesque costumes Of
| the peasants, who are becoming asham
ed of their distinctive dress. So year
by year there is TO be seen less and less
Of the lovely, quaint and sometimes
bizarre headdress and the 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 huge curves
over the toe, are effectual checks upon
all figure skating involving sudden or
short turns. An attempt to do the out
side edge backward would involve dis.
aster. The Dutchman can go quicker
over long stretches upon his skates than
the Englishman, because of his extra
long runners. II 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 to tho
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 alter.
nately, In curves Of twenty-five to thir-
ty feet, at an Incredible speed, There
Is much shouting and boisterousness
and some of the 9byplay Is not In the
best taste, but on the whole the scene
Is most interesting and entirely unique,