The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-03-22
. : Z
s. SOME TALES OF EXERCISE.
. . . . . 4
(Now York Press.

II would seem that tho Romans. who
conquered cighty-siN nations. rccog-
niZcd the secret of success i'm things
military when they called their armies
eXerCitus. bodies of drilled or exercised
men.
During the middle ages it was tho
custom of princes. and even of wealthy
hnrghers. to keep runner who fol-
lowed their carriages afoot while the
horses were going at full gallop. Fast
nuncr were in great demand. and if
parents wanted to qualify their chill
dren for a. position of that sort they
began to train them from tho earliest
childhood. making them undergo a
singular operation, namely. the re-
moval of the spleen. which was sup
posed to have an influence upon the
vigor of the lungs.
From the town of Puebla in Mexico
a sandy road leads across the hills to
the valley of .Amazoc. Early in the
morning that road is crowded With
Indian peddlers and hucksters. who
carry heavy baskets on their backs.
They frequently cone from IA distance
of ten or twelve miles, but made the
whole trip at a sharp trot and with
out a single stop. Their children r o
or bags. and thus learn their trade so
gradually that they hardly feel the
l1ardshipS of it.
1t seems curious that a small. short
legged dog can as a general thing out
run the tallest man. This has not al
ways been the case. An ostrich proves
h a w legs Fan go as fast as four.
Want of exercise in ma probably ac-
counts for the whole difference.
Lifting weights has always been a
favorite exercise for the lungs. There
1S n story nf a G.rnni.r Copoc1 xl,n
athlete Milo of Crotona. who day after
day carried a calf around the arena
and gained In strength as the calf
gained in weight until finally he could
carry a steer. We may we'll doubt
whether the steer was quite FULL
grown. There is. however. a case of
record, APPARENTLY we'll authenticated.
to the effect that m Winship Of Bos-
ton practiced with dumb bells and
bagfnls of pig iron until he was able
to lift Uhough only for a moment) the
weight of the heaviest steer in Texas.
In countries where they still RELY on
the strength of their limbs. as In Tur.
key. Hungary and Afghanistan. there
are plenty of men earning their bread
by common labor who could astonish
the so-called athletes of the rest of the
world. a Turkish porter will shoul-
der a box which the driven of an
- ~ "o5oi "oulu I1tSle
tate to tackle without assistance. In
one of the Afghan wars the native
warriors carried cannon to a battery
on the top Of a hill from where the
English soldiers were unable to carry
them down again.
The foot soldiers Of the Turkish
anizaries had to drill in full armor,
run. wrestle and even swim without
removing their iron equipments. Such
IA value did their drill masters set
upon the influence of early training
that they would never accept a re-.
cruit Of more than 12 years of age.
These cadets We're exercised for years,
like the sons of the old %Spartans, be.
fore they were assigned to actual duty.
and the result was that the Janizaries
repeatedly defeated the armies of
western Europe.
The ancient Greeks managed to
train not only their troops hut the
whole nation by offering liberal prizes
for proficiency in all kinds of bodily
exercise, UGH as running, leaping.
lifting, spear throwing and wrestling.
At a distance of sixty yards their
spearmen could hit a target with un-
failing certainty.