Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-07-05

determination to the utmost from the very start,
as we'll as your power of observation And it will
call for the exercise of more discretion than any
other sport in world that is full of sports. No
body can teach you but yourself, and you can
teach yourself only by degrees
There is only one school for the beginner who
would really become of the elect-the small
boat You must become waterman before you
tackle anything else. who sail
canoe and sail her properly, in any sort of wind
or weather, is past master of his art, and can
be safely trusted with any sort of craft anywhere.
Remember that But begin with a small open
boat-the smaller the better-and spend at least
a season poking about in harbors and rivers, or
any kind of inland water. sailing her when you
can, and rowing when you must.
Never take anybody with you, and never call
on any one to help you. If you take an amateur
with you he will probaly get frightened and fus-
ter you; and if you take hired man he will try
to teach you, and will surely teach you wrong,
besides doing things for you that you ought to
do yourself. At the end of season Of that sort
of thing you will have found out for yourself
whole crowd of things that will be of inestimable
service to you later on when you have passed
through your novitiate; your hands will be hard
and horny; your muscles will feel firm and COM
Portable underneath your coat; and your health
will amaze you nearly much as your appetite.
Almost the first thing you will discover Will De
that your principal requirement as slngle-nanoer
is nerve-a nerve that is alive, but panlcprooI-
If you have that, combined with real love OF al
venture and the spirit of independence; and II
you start with the determination to do everything
for yourself and do it properly after finding out
for yourself which is the proper way; II you en-
ioy real hard work in the open air for your own
amusement you are in fair way to become
single-hander even before you start But however
good your nerve may be, 1t will need that pre-
liminary smallboat training before you can trust
yourself safely the open sea-
Once you are sure of yourself and have mas
tered the first principles of almost the most dill
6cult art in the whole world, that OF small boat
sailing the whole world of adventure will be
at your feet the Seven Seas and all the navigable
rivers are yours to explore and you can put out
IN the only remaining trail where nothing is stale
and monotonous and where every wave and hol-
low every creek and inlet, though old the
everlasting ages, is to each sea-borne adventurer
unexplored, alluring and absolutely new Moth
inc ever happens twice In the same way at sea.
or ever looks quite the same twice running.
There are no beaten tracks to follow, for the sea
ohliterates them It is all new always-yours to
now up and explore to your hearts content.
But steady! That is what is ahead of you.
Won are no single-hander yeti And if you leave
your small boat in the harbor and go sailing
some one else's yacht. or buy yacht Of your
own that is too big for you to handle by your
self. YOU will never be one. The worst thing you
can do is to get into the grip OF the hired man.
The next worst thing is to make one of yachting
marty In either case you will learn to believe
that IT takes three or four to reef mainsail
and at least two men to get up anchor; that var
nished decks are things to be desired; that you
should run for shelter when it comes on to blow
a gale OF wind and other heresies of that sort
stick to your own opinions that you have be-
gun to form already the result Of your first
seasons experience, stick to your original inten-
ton of becoming single handler and above all
things, stick for the present to your small boat
PUT out to sea. Practice on the sea what you
have already learned to do in the harbor and on