The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-06
WINTER IN HOLLAND.
Skating a Feature of Cold weather
Life of the Dutch.

From Harpers Weekly.
In Holland a winter seldom passes With
out good skating, which being not only a
pastime with the Dutch, but a serious and
ordinary mode Of travel, the ice on the cs-
nails and "grachts" is kept in good condi-
ton, and it is common TO see a small army
of sweeping peasants putting the ice In
order for the day.
There is skating club in every town in
Holland, and all these clubs belong to the
Dutch Skating Association. The largest
clubs are probaly the Amsterdam and Rot
terdam Ice Clubs, and in the season many
excursions are made by these associations
to the neighboring towns--for example,
from Amsterdam to Leyden, via Voglen-
sang and Haarlem; from Amsterdam to
Monnikendam, Edam, Hoorn, Enkhuzen,
Alkmaar and even across the zuyder Zee,
when it will bear to Marker and even Orll.
The way the whole country Is moated
with canals, with huge windmills, over
looking the ice like leviathan implements
of ordnance, is calculated to appeal to the
lover of the picturesque. Then there are
the graceful light sleighs, propelled 10y
skillful skaters and containing red-cheek-
eel, bright-eyed peasant girls in immense
lace caps and dangling temple ornaments,
the Mas, few miles east of Rotterdam.
lies a famous skating resort known as
SHkkerevee, and brought into notoriety in
recent years by the International skating
contests which are held there. Any enc
fond of that exhilarating form of exercise
can hardly find a more interesting expert
ence than is to be had during a winter
trip to Holland
In the season the boat leaves the Rhines
Station pier for sail up the Mas. The
steamer ploughs her way through the
floating ice, and at length leaves you at a
high pier on huge dixie which separates
the river from the low lying country. A
short walk brings you to a large inclosed
expanse of ice, obtained by artihcially
flooding large area. Here a large horse
shoe course is marked out for the racers.
And on either side OF this stretches the free
portion, for the onlookerss and those who
wish to practice the exhIlaratlng art Fash
ion is beginning to drive out the pictur-
esque 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
sometimes bizarre headdresses 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
Outcn skates ana the way IN Which they
turn back in the huge curves over the toe
are effectual checks upon all figure skat-
ing involving sudden or short turns. An
attempt to do the outside edge backward
would invite disaster. The Dutchman can
go quicker over long stretches upon his
skates than the Englishman, because of
his extra long runners. It is a charming
sight to see the long string of skaters sail
ing along with a swing that reminds one
of the fight and dip of the swallows.
Sometimes, too, they use a sort of sail,
with which, by clever handling, they can
make Roadway 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
boisterousness, and some of the byplay is
not in the best taste, but on the whole, the
scene is most interesting and entirely
unique