The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1901-06-07
NEW SPORT is FOUND.
ENTIRELY NOVEL, AND COMES
FROM TASMANIA.
Az and Saw Contests Create as Much
Furore There as Football and Base
ball DO in America or the Olympic
Games in Greece.

Tasmania may justly claim the credit
of having given the world d new sport.
In that far-off land, among the men of
Drawn and might, whose swinging
axes have felled the towering forests
and converted their trackless depths
into Hourlshng farmlands, has arisen
a contest fit for kings, Il form Of ath-
letlc exercise calculated to bring the
thrill Of delight to all who have an
honest admiration for good red blood
and the display Of mighty muscle sys-
tematically trained to do useful work.
The new sport may be designated as
"axmanship," and although 1t is of but
recent origin 1t has already taken the
premiership over all other sports. What
the bull-hghter Is to Spain and Mex
leo, the crlcketer to England, the
swordsman to France, the hockey
player to Canada, and the football and
baseball here to the United States the
champion axman has become to the
brawn-loving Australians.
The championship contest or carnival
is held yearly in Ulverstine, Tasmania,
some time during the first two months
Of the year, under the auspices of an
organization specially formed for the
purpose, bearing the title Of the "Uni-
ted Australian Axmen's Association"
The entries to the yearly competition
are not confined to Tasmania, but come
also from Victoria, New South Wales
and New Zealand. Each district has
It's champion, and among the adher-
ents of these various stars there is the
most heated controversy as to the re-
spectye merits Of each. For months
before the great contest these brawny
axmen spend all their spare time prac-
ticing, until they develop a speed and
strength that Is little short Of marvel
GUS. This years carnival is conceded
to have been the most successful since
the yearly meeting was inaugurated.
In the championship chopplng con
tests there were six trials and the final.
Eight men participated in each Of the
trials, and the winners fought out the
finals. As this contest is designed
primarily to test mans skill In fell
ing a tree, the log, great piece Of
tough wood, six feet four inches in
girth, is placed firmly in the ground, as
though 1t were a growing tree.
Five minutes before the beginning of
the heat the referees whistle sum
mons the contestants into the inclosure
They are all splendid specimens Of
physical prowess-thick set, deep
chested, iron muscled and brOnzed
from exposure. Each carries his favor
ite ak, the fullest latitude being al
lowed in the matter of selection. 1t is
significant fact that several Of the
saws and axes used this year were the
product Of American firms. When all
is ready the pistol shot sounds and the
contest Is on.
Scarcely less exciting is the saving
contest. The log used is the same size
as that employed In the chopping con-
test, but the time made is much more
rapid. for the great saw cuts through
the wood much more quickly than the
ak can go.
This year for the first time the ak
mems and sawyers' championships were
won by the same man-ThOmas Pettitt.
of Sprint, Tasmania. Not only did he
win both events but he also broke the
record for each.