Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-14
HUMOROUS SIDE OF CURLING
More Wit Bound Up with it Than
Any Other Pastime.
Bad sHoT By PARsON REBuKEp
Playful Sarcasm and Democravy
Charms OF the scots Rosrin'
Game-The Cat that WOuId
Have Made n Thaw.

NEW YORK. Feb. lS-1t IL a fact long
since admitted that more dry humor hovers
rcund the game Of curling than any known
outdoor sport. u Is a sort Of sarcastic
r%sillery typical OF the Scottish temperament
and shattered with streaks OF mirthful
repartee. TO absorb the spirit of the fun
which the men from the land o. cakes find
in their favorite game It is necessary to be
on the ice near where a match is in prog
ress. Then the drift OF the humor
can be understood, for 1t is humor and
poetry blended in one continuous flow Of
what might be termed Scottish metaphor.
A feature which offers an opportunity for
sharp though harmless retort is th6 democ-
racy OF the sport. for men In many differ
ent walks OF life meet In perfect equality
on the fee. 1t il a common sight to see
clergymen, lawyers, doctors, ~tailors, shoe
makers and professional men moving to-
gether, while at home on their native heath
the laird and the 'laddie' quite frequently
oppose each other.
Like most established sports curling has
a vocabulary peculiar to itself, and Il is in
the application Of this vocabulary that the
dryness OF the wit comes to the surface.
Every man who follows the sport has one
great ambition, and that Is TO be classed as
a keen curler. with full knowledge Of all
the scientific points OF play. Failure to
execute the critical shot is what brings out
the sarcasm from the skip or director
Of the team. A striking instance Of this
o~sourred this winter in the annual match
between the north and south Of Scotland
on Van Cortlandt lake.
A beft-Handed Compliment.
The skip Of one rink stood in his accus-
toned position behind the house and to
one of his men he shouted that he wanted
a guard to a stone which rested plumb on
the tee. The player listened to the direc-
tions with evident attention, but somehow
instead Of a smooth delivery OF the stone
he swung il hard. 1t went roarin' along
the ice. giving the tee shot a bang, and
both went flying to limbo and out of the
count. thus spelling the chances Of a win.
For several seconds the skip stood as
II dumbfounded. and with a grin on his
face he kept his eye on the laundering
member of his rink, but as he moved
away to give the opposing skip his turn,
he closed one eye and, looking quizzicalIy
at his man. said, "Ah, Jock, ye're a great
mon Who said We could ma curl?" Per-
haps a player of some other nationality
might have expressed himself in lam
guage a little stronger, but the Scotch
"brither" is anything but blasphemous.
Often, too, when a player is seen to
make a very bad shot the skip would
only remark: "Thankee, Sandy, We
meant weeI, mon, the way while at the
moment the sarcasm was as plain as
the rattle of the stones on the ice. "Gie
me and wee bit cuff o. the cheek and a
skip to. a player. meaning that he was
to hit the played stone softly and send
it a little further toward the tee. "A
draw, tee high weight and no more"
another skip was heard to exclaim, and
as the stone trintied along at the proper
pace the remaining players of the rink
followed IL up, shouting. Let her run,
don't talk to II, not a word, not a title"
story of the Cat.
Regarding the final round for the Cor
don medal this year, a story is told OF a
player on the winning rink which illus
trates the enthusiasm of the Scotchmsn
for their sport. On account Of the soft
weather the final round had to be post
poned no less than half a dozen times.
The subject of the tale belongs to the
Terrace City club, n he was praying
every day for a good hard frost. and one
day his supplication must nave had
weight with the weather clerk, for the
merNury dropped suddenly and it began
to freeze hard. Everything looked good
for the tussls with Jersey City on the
morrow. That night the man sat by the
fire Of his little house on the Kings
Bridge road, contented with himself and
all the world and thinking of his best
shots for the next day when the cat
came along and, squatting in front OF
the stove. began rubbing her paws over
her head. The curler jumped as IL
stung and catching pussy by the tail
ran to the door with her and sent her
flying over the fence on the opposite side
of the road, as he Missed after her, Nov,
will ye some and max thaw?" there be-
ing a strong superstition among the Gale