The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-02-18

picked squads of Indians and whites.
Inc red men invariably won. But
after stlicter 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. 1t 10 not unusual Tor ma
tive to learn the stroke at six years
Of age and to keep In practice until
ne is sixty. me winter at homes"
given out-of-doors at Government
House in Ottawa. with huge bontires
to provide light and heat for those
in attendance, are most enjoyable
affairs. On account of skating being
so popular In Canada, Ii follows that
there Is demand for skates OF ap-
proved style and quality The expert
will have only those made or
the finest tempered steel. All those
who engage In sports. such as hockey
end racing, and most of those. who
skate for pleasure. use runners that
are attached to a special pair OF
strong boots that lace tightly about
the ankle for support.
In the scrimmages which occur dur
Ing the skating games 1t frequently
happens that skates are broken, and
as a preeaution against accidents OF
this kind those who take part usually
have finely sharpened duplicate pairs
in their drasstng-soensv--T There Is one
point concerning skating which should
be noted. II does not follow that an
athlete who Is an exceptionally fast
runner will be an equally swift
skater--in fact, the rule seems to be
rather the contrary. Skating Is an
art in itself the knack of which some
possess naturally and which others
cannot attain with any amount OF
practice.
Another popular form of amuse-
ment In Canada during the winter
season Is the toboggan slide. the pa
rent of the exciting aquatic diversion
known as the ''chute-the-chutes."
The best slides natural hills,
with short. steep drop at the be-
ginning to give momentum, followed
by a long gradual descent leading to
a level plain below. There Is a slide
in Montreal following this description
which is mile in length, and the
entire course has been made In nfty-
nine seconds Unlike the chute-the-
chutes, there Is no mechanical arr
rangement for transportation up the
incline. and Ii takes fully half an
hour TO retrace the ground that may
be covered In less than minute on
the way down. When there Is a.
large GTON0 on the CpuESG kbtcS va
four trips are all that a party can
make in an evening.
1t Is needless 10 say that this wild
fight down the slippery surface or
the incline Is intensely exciting. After
a start is made there is no turning
back and the girls have no time to
think of their back hair or anything
else except to hold on for dear life.
or course, when such terrific speed
is attained. spill might result dis
astrously. but such accidents as oc-
cur infrequentiy are due entirely 10
carelessness A sled may be capsized
II the weight is not properly dis
tributed, and rear-end collision ma4 :
occur II a heavily loaded sled lis START
! ed after a lighter one without allow
ing ample time TO elapse. The steer
ing Is done by sticking one foot out,
behind like rudder The big sleds
are very carefully managed. in order
to provide good service and prevent
unpleasant occurrences corps OF
| caretakers are In charge, and season
tickets are sold to only as many al
can be conveniently accommodated.
| Snow-shoeing is another standard
winter pastime of the Canadians and
Ii frequently is resGrted To for pur-
poses of utility as well as pleasure. 1t
Is not so difficult to learn as skating.
The novice can start right off, pro-
Vided MS shoes are properly strapped
on. The trick of successful snow
shooting is not so much In the stride
as in being correctly ''hitched up"
| The act Is not one of sliding as in
skating; Ii is merely walking on the
! framework bottoms, which are wide
enough to prevent sinking into the
snow. One cannot go forward as rap
idly on snow-shoes as he can walk
over hard ground In ordinary foot
wear. but ne can pass rapidly over
| deep, soft snow in which he would
| them. /