Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-21

IEZA al sports on this continent. and
| IN KSksNl as soon as Jack Frost makes
| IA VkSSl his appearance the people of
| la. VA the Dominion prepare to
lk580ES2l make merry. The great
number of healthful, invig
Grating outdoor pastimes and sports
makes it a gala season for ALL jan
uary and February are the months
| when the sports are probably at their
| best, especially in Montreal, as the ice
carnival is held there during that
| time. To the majority of Americans,
who know little or nothing of the joys
resulting from months of snow, the
thought of tobogganing, sli-running,
skating and ice yachting suggests Sc
we're weather. The truth of the matter
is that the Canadian climate is far su-
| perior to its reputation. The bracing
effect of northern air is shown in the
rosy cheeks of the women and the
active, robust types of men that are
encountered on every hand.
Hockey is the great winter game in
Canada, and the Dominion players are
the finest in the world. 1t is played
upon the ice, and all participants in
| Guiding the referee, wear skates. The
contests occur both In rinks and out
of doors. There are seven men to the
team, and all carry stout hickory clubs
with curved ends, something like the
old-fashioned shiny sticks Of Ireland.
AT either end of the ice field, which
must be at least fifty yards in length.
there is a goal consisting of a net
strung on a framework A round. fiat
piece of solid rubber, called puck,
is put in motion, and the contesting
sides struggle to land this lively missile
In the oppositions goal. hockey
match is pronounced by all authorities
- h &c inn a1aan
played in any country. 1t is exceed
ingly fast, and, from the spectator S
point of view, uncommonly rough. 1t
appears so on account of the high rate
of speed which the players attain.
They come together in their scrim-
images with momentum that shakes
the onlooker's teeth. No one without
plenty of grit has any business in
hockey match, because there are al
ways stars and sparks a-plenty while
the game is yet young.
Although the puck may be lifted from
one end of the field to the other ''on
the fly" it Is generally advanced on
the ice by short, swift passes from
player to player all maneuvering and
shifting with lightning-like rapidity
for position and advantage. While
clever stick handling is, of course,
requisite, the main essential of an eX-
pert hockey player is good skating, and
these matches afford marvellous eX-
hibitions of the art. The astonishing
feature of the game, in the eyes of the
novice, is the force of the collisions be-
tween the players and the manner in
which all seem to invite danger from
this cause. A much higher rate of
speed is attained by the contestants
than is possible in any game played
on foot, yet they come together with
no seeming regard for the conse-
uuences. 1t is quite remarkable that
serious accidents are so few in num-
ber. A hockey match is played in
two thirty-minute halves, with an in
termission of ten minutes. 1t is char
acteristic that almost all experts at
this game are small of stature.
Lacrosse is not a winter game, yet it
always must be mentioned in the same
breath with hockey, because the prin-
ciples of the two are similar and both
are native to Canada. Lacrosse is
the national sport of the Dominion.
More people can be mustered for
championship exhibition of this favor
ite game than possibly could be got
ten together on any other occasion.
Whether 1t is because there is stick
to handle or that it requires grit, it
Is COnCeueQ LtldL lacrosse Is an IIlSH-
mans game. The Shamrocks of Mon
treal have been the worlds champions
most of the time during the past fif-
teen years, and the list of players dur
ing that period shows more Murphys
than any other name.
Lacrosse was originally an Indian
game. 1t was played in the open coun-
try with an unlimited number of play
ers upon each side. In the big games,
which were played on certain occa-
sions, the entire tribe would be pitted'
against aonother Later when con-
tests were inaugurated between picked
squads of Indians and whites, the red
men invariably won. But after strict
er rules had been imposed the hardy
braves gradually lost their prowess,
until now there is no Indian team
that can hold its own against the
white players.
Skating is the universal pastime of
Canada. It is not unusual for ma
tive to learn the stroke at years of
age and to keep in practice until he
is so. The winter at homes given
out of doors at Government House in
ottawa, with huge bonfires to provide
light and heat for those in attendance,
- ,.,oe+ M pjoya hIe a fairs ON account