The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-02-09
SKATING rs DUTCH.
Holland the birthplace Of This Popular
Winter pastime.

Since the old Dutch city is now revelling
in skating on the Park lake. the canal and
river. il is appropriate to call attention TO
the fact that the sport j. essentially n Dutch
past!me, since Holland Is conceded to no
the home and birthplace Of the sport II was
undoubtedly first practiscd there. and in
the far north IN Scandinavia and Germany.
though not in Russia To any great extent. on
account Of the heavy SHOWS In n country
OF lakes and canals the necessity of walking
and running on the ice must have been felt
from the earliest days. and. indeed. they
show in Holland bone skates which wero
found in one OF the mounds on which n Fries
land village was built Tire skates we're fast
cned TO the fec, by straps. passed through
holes made IN the bones
Danish historian mentions the sport
ia 1884 The bone skates were also the
kind FIRST used Ia England. fitz-tephen, III
his account. Of thc hnIuSeIneni. nl We Eouhs
people on the ice in London during the latter
part Of the twelfth century, notes that II
was usual for them 10 f~asten. tn" leg bones
of animals under the soles OF their feet by
tying them around their ankles, and then TAX
ing \ pole, shod with iron, into, their hanus
they pushed themselves ,nfwatd by sirlkIns
against the ice, aud. moved with great ran
div I'm Chambers Book OF Days there j.
q rude cut illustrating this mode OF locomo-
ton on a sled \ child i. using III. jaw bones
of n horse or a COW ~ n sledge. and propelling
himself with pointed slaves. " - copied
from a Dutch engraving r.pre~eh,ing o!nrin
ON me 90. III INV A''l ~ " - - 49,
1894. for IN Holland their use was universal
In Fripsland Che peasants 20 Ia, market on
skates, 9llten hrarinT heasy i" do,s f Gn l I3iSl
land many clubs of male aud female -kater-
They, made no at'emEn, a. tat'Y SHa,jms;
on the skates OF a rustic Prison skating queen
vas nm honor eagerly sought ", the young
tftaf blade skates. q, wooden skstes shod
with iron, were invented, they acre intro
dnced into England from tho Low Countries.
urohnblv lust after the restoration ot Charles
II so ihe use Of skates a. We know them
il only n little more than two centuries
old They were called scrick-shoes from IN"
Mr. Perys. to whose inccssant activity
end houndless curiosity, We owe 50 many
accounts ~ the time. did not fail TO chronicle
In his diary the first appearance o! skaters
in London on Dec !, i6e! A,eN daEs ,atcr.
and foiloWed him into the p1rkc. wnere,
though the ice was broken and dangerous.
vet he would 80 slide upon his ~cates. which
I did not like. bat he slides very vel i've
ivn bears out the statement hy making men
ton OF the new amusement IN hrs diary.
npa@r ds1c xvSennder,nI deS,eritr ofthe slider
on the now cnual INST James, Phrk, performed
before their Mlicstlcs by divers, Gentlemen
and others with Schut., after the manner
nf the UoIlanders. with what - iftness they
upssr, how suddenly they ston IN, tull car
e,e upon tie zee, wen, hothmc ~ N",trh,.
Thnmes being frozen, and great flakes OF ice
incompassing our bo1te
Enf SklfliE wiz fNlhFulAN ~
yarv djmOult to learn. and II WAS long before
IL bocHme widely prevalent Nalt = cen
tury later We mud swift writing IN ht' Journal
10 Stella Gar ~. l7ill: The canal and Rosa
mond's pond fun 81 the rahblc sliding and
with skates, " you know what those are -,
The Dutch formerly had troops trained
10 on skates In Norway they
had several organizations OF rlheInen on
skate They did efficient service in the
seventeenth aud eighteenth c"nturies. and
lore called skate-runnrrs or Skiohn"re
For sailing on skates on the Ice the Sved-
iSh sail j. The best and simplest u Is made
of white duck. between seven and ten feet IN
height, about zen feet wide at tho base, tap
aring to y narrow top Light bamboo, or
some nther light. strong wood. il used for
the spars or these there are usually three,
two long ones. TO which the sides " the soil
are attached. and a strong msinstay, crossing
about the middle from side 20 side. The
expert skater. with a ,ail t9 his back, ear
The Ice vachtsman IN u modified form indeed,
he cnn himself Ia smaller space
and can mnke complicated evolutions in
loss time than 'hc best Of the ynchtsmen
II takes n llttIe time 90 become used 10 the
saiis one feels like a bird, and - one. glides
swiftly along, seeming to have lost all hold
on tho ice. one mieht no drifting through
the air. Driving straight before the wind
an expert can soil thirty miles an hour.