The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-07-15

a. new an expression Of popular Inn
/ patience to have some one start some
thing" a. some people may think
Neither II playing ball for q living .
strictly modern fnvention. In fact,
thousands Of years ago. way down In
Yucatan. impatient crowds sat around
In bail parks. yelled themselves hoarse.
beat one another In the back. and
threw their feather headkear into the
arena IN the enthusiasm of the mo-
ment. just as We are doing today. Also
there doubtless were Ty Cobbs. whose
skill in batting and fielding was
such that they could afford to- hold up
the management occasionally for few
more hundred jaguar skins a year by
threats to quit professional ball and go
to farming.
baseball. But the point il that It was
a ball game, that there were regular
ball parks-or courts-and that there
were professionals who played the game
for what there was ''in it, to them
Mayhap the medium OF exchange took
the form of jaguar, skins. pounds Of
cocoa. fancy feathers. or what not. but
1t was money all the same. and they
could buy with it at the club. or In the
market place as the case might be.
They had their peculiar systems Of
Slang" too. at least in some parts OF
the Americas. which. translated into
English means about az much to us an
ours would to them; all of which is
brought out by Mr.. Franklin Adams in
his story Indigenous Games in Latin
America in the July number Of the
Monthly Bulletin of the Pan-American
Union, Washington. D. C.. That the
ball game is an ancient institution in
the Americas may be gathered from
the following:
The ball game il indigenous to the
Americas. Perhaps the first simian in-
ihabitants found true sport in catching
the cocoanuts tossed from the tall palms
certain it is that several thousand
years ago the ball game had reached
high state OF development in the 70
cities scattered throughout Yucatan.
On clearing away the matted forests
enveloping these marvellous ruins. ball
courts were disclosed near the most
sacred temples, and. from the elaborate
and photographs orna-
menting the walls. much was learned
of the complicated character Of the
sport. Centuries after the passing OF
these ancient Mayans. came the first
Spanish explorers, who found that a
younger race in contiguous territory,
the Aztecs, had revived the old pastime
into a national game with stone.
God Of Sport beaming on every court.
''The popularity Of these early
<De& kJ4a he: ~Iaav, Tn v11ou
was not thrown with the hand. but
struck by the hip, around which the
player wore a protecting pad Of 1eath-
err At each end Of the court was a
great stone disk with hole in the
center, and through this orifice the
ball was driven before a point was
scored. Very naturally lively ball
was used, since rubber. trees doVni-
mated the forests.
:. "Olds ehronielersr'1 st the 6kfll I
and endurance Of the players. for a
game was seldom won under four
hours Of constant play. Sush ex-
hausting contests with q dozen par |
Elephants in almost constant action, |
SIGNALS. Thus. from the Aztec word
olli. signifying ball. came the the
word mollonqui, 'one who plays ball
for a living
Another form of ball game Is
played by the Indian tribes Of the
river region in the wilds of
Brazil. carefully leveled field lies
in front Of the malokas, or large COM
munal houses, and daily, at 5 o'clock.
the men returning from the days
fishing or hunting. indulge in the
sport-not complicated game like
that of the early Mexicans, but one
calling for a high degree OF skill, as
two balls are used by the players, who
drive them with the hands toward
their opponents. Yellow tail feathers
Of the Yapoo bird are affixed to the
rubber balls for accuracy.
1.-THE Araucanian Indians Of south
srn Chile play an ancient game with
wooden balls driven by wooden clubs.
In a clearing. 200 by IS yards, in
closed by cut branches OF trees, these
Indians play chueca, which greatly
resembles la crosse or field hockey.
The game is played from childhood
and. the players acquire great skill
and the matches draw large crowds.
The game calls for great endurance,
md while generally played in two or
three hour periods, several days have
been known to pass before q decision
was reached. During the play it is
not unusual to hear a player cry. Am
I not a real ak tree?' or Is he not a
ions leg?' after a brilliant stroke.
such is Araucanian slang"
THE NEW HEALTH.
The new health, as a social ideal. |,
signifies that in our day, because of