The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1899-06-09
KITES IN PORTO RICO.
Flying Them IL a EavOrite Pasfim0
Of Men, Women and
Children.

Of Men, Women and
Children.
On the long slopes of brilliant green
grass that stretch away. from the walls
of Cristobal Colon and dwindle down
into the city of San Juan, great crowd
of curious and noisy men, women and
children stand every morning, gesticu-
lating half madly at one another,
talking very fast and occasionally
breaking up into little groups, more
excited than the rest. Above their
heads there is always flotilla Of big
kites, ducking, diving, floating upward,
and performing queer tricks as they
f1irt and play with the ocean wind bill
lowing inward from the southern sea.
One great red paper monster darted
swiftly upward above the others on
one occasion. Then a shout went up
from the crowd. 1t seemed to be hav-
ing race with blue one sailing dan
gerously near. A hundred trembling
arms with outstretched fingers were
raised frantically in the air, shaking
five and ten peso notes, offering bets
on the red. The champions of the blue
made verbal pools, and so the betting
went on, amid tremendous excitement,
more noticeable than a public demon
stration in honor of the governor gen.
eral.
Suddenly the flyer of the blue, dirty
little Catanian, unwound several yards
of string that guided his airship. Its
tail was long, striped like the hide of
zebra, and loaded with strips of card
board all along it's graceful length.
Little American flags floated from the
edges of the kite and the end Of the
tail, for this Porto Rican was dip
lomat. like his brothers. And when
he unwound the guiding lever, at once
the blue shot up, huddled close beside
the red for a moment, and then at once,
with an incomprehensible movement.
it darted across the face of its antag-
Onist and in a moment the latter was
floating downward uncontrollably to-
ward the ground. The sharp, curved
knife with which the blue was bur-
dened had severed the string of the
red and the latter had lost and tho
victorious kite flew upward like newly
liberated bird.
The knife is necessary and legiti-
mate burden of every kite that enters
the betting ring, and this seems to en-
nance the uncertainty of the sport, and
it requires magnificent display of skill
to avoid the blades or to attack an an
tagonist. The skill which men and even
boys display in this respect is some
times almost astounding.
In country where cockfghtlng is
national sport, and where bullfighting
would be in vogue if the American au-
thorities would permit, where gam
bling is the chief pastime of both men
and women, it is somewhat surprising
that so mild practice as kitehying
should hold the attention with the
power that it does. The element of
chance, however, and the right to I'M
limited and unrestricted betting, has
carried it swiftly into popular favor,
and so it remains to-day.
In Porto Rico Laurie, now moved to
Havana, was for years the potentate
of kites. He used to sit in the sun there
under the soft blue sky, way up on
hill near old Cristobal Colon, and he
had his colored paper spread about him,
with little heaps of long, slender sticks
carved from the big redwood tree. His
paste pot stood beside him, as he whit
tied with long, keen blade like ma
chete.
From the hands of the old Cuban
there has come many a prizewinner.
One was five feet in height and three
feet in width, and it was covered over
with the flag of Cuba, and it bore itself
haughtily in the wind. Its flyer tossed
it up from one of the fiat roofs of the
Cerro, and it drew a chattering crowd
bigger than a Gomez parade, and it felt .
its Importance, for it tugged hatefully
at the string and struggled with emo
tional jerks to be free. 1t was SO sym.
bolic of the spirit of Havana that the
mob went wild with cheering, and lit
tie Cuban police officer, in the brand
new regulation blue uniform, with sill.
yer decorations, tried to assert his au.
thority.-N. Y. Sun.
The Gar Takes to Tricycienx.
The car has from his boyhood been
keen cyclist, and the czarina, when
her health permitted, has occasionally
shown her skill as wheelwoman. But
lately his majesty appears to have given.