The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1899-05-25
WINTER SPORTS.
Grafton Of Miss Anna link, OF
the Senior Glass.
SpOrts That Are Best Suited for This
Season Of the Year-An Interest,"
ing Paper.

NOJ uutll VIC udV0 luNC6uBoeVN ShO
sports and pastimes prevalent in a coun
try are we able to form Just estimation
of the character OF it's people, and espec-
tally is this true of the present time,
for never since the days Of ancient
Greece have athletics and outdoor sports
been so universal nor engrossed 80 large
percentage of the time and interest OF
the people. We also find the winter
sports more sure indication of charac.
ter than the less rigorous sports Of sum.
mer, for they require much more energy
and endurance.
Without doubt the American people
rank first in all sports and games of skill
and as result they are keen and alert.
strong and robust and all the world over
the word Yankee is synonymous with
energy and pluck.
Football may be said to open the sea-
son of winter sports in America; thie is
very ancient game, probably intro
duced into Great Britain by the Romans.
The first mention we find of it is in
history OF London written about 1875.
An old writer, Alex Barclay, in one OF
his poem, says:
'The sturdie plowman lusty. strong and bold
Overcometh the winter by driving the foote
ball,
Forgetting labor and many grievous fall"
From this it seems that the game must
have been as absorbing then as now.
In all countries riding to hounds is
popular eport; fox hunting, the national
sport of England, is quite popular in
America, while stag hunting is given the
preference in France. All portions OF
the United Statee do not admit of fox
hunting as much of the ground Is too
rough for cross country riding; but at
the, ,Radnor Club in Philadelphia, the
G.nesee Valley Club in New York, and
in some ofthe Southern States, fox hunt
ing is the sport par excellence, the sea
son opening on the tenth Of October and
closing on the tenth of April, just in
time for the crops to be put in. Where
wild foxes can not be had, q drag hunt
is sometimes held but to the true sports
man this is q poor substitute for the
real sport.
Caribou hunting was and is yet to
certain extent the most exciting winter
sport in the valley of the st. Lawrence,
while stag hunting is a very popular
sport in the Rocky Mountains.
Shinney, or hockey, as it is usually
called, is sport which is rapidly com.
ing into favor and is almost as popular
for intercollegiate games as football. 1t
is played on the ice with small rubber
disks and sticks like a golf club; the
players are divided into opposing parties,
the object of each side being to drive the
ball by means of the shinney clubs into
that part of the field marked off as the
opponents goal.
The game which stands next to golf in
the heart of the Scotchmsn is curling;
this is also played on the ice with round
stones resembling convex cheese with
handle in the upper side. Contending
parties slide the smooth stones over the
ice from one mark to another, called the
tee. The chief interest rests in putting
the stones in favorable positions and
driving rival stones out Of favorable po-
sitions.
1t is in Canada that the winter sports
of America reach their highest develop.
ment, for there King Winter holds full
sway. The conditions are especially
adapted for outdoor sports; the snow
when it comes, comes to stay and the
rivers and lakes are frozen over during
most of the three months winter. Ev-
cry year carnival is held in Montreal,
but unlike most carnivals this is held in
the winter. On Monday evening of car.
nival week all Montreal goes to Domin.
ion Square to see the illumination OF the
Ice Palace. This palace. which is built
every year, is built in the form of q
square with towers at each corner and q
larger tower one hundred foot high in
the center. When seen in sunlight or
moonlight the palace is dazzlingly
beautiful and at night when variously
colored lights, green, crimson, purple and
gold, illuminate the transparent struct-
ure it seems more beautiful than Alad-
din's palace of our dreams. The idea of
the ice palace is probably first borrowed
from the Russians as in Russia they are
built every year and great balls held in
them.
The snow shoe clubs of which there ID
large number in Montreal take an &C
tive part in the proceedings of the car.
nival. The snow in Canada il not soft
like that which the boys in the United
States use for snow forts and battles,
but is dry and hard and forms smooth
crust, which, though difficult for walk
inc In inst thA thing necessary for snoz