The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1916-01-22

4 Game That Has Been Played
For Twenty Centuries.
LONG KNOWN AS "DRAuGHTs.v
Plato and Homer Mentioned the Game
In Their Writings, and Many Relics
Of u Haxs Been unssrthsd From the
Tonbs 81 Ancient Egypt.

m fncr Wrttn2s, &no MANY Heifcs
Of Il Hans Been unssrthsd From the
Ternbs o. Ancient EGYPT.
In the messengers room Of q big In.
dustrial plant two boys lowered mcdI-
tatiyely over checkerboard OF red and
black squares and moved their "men"
from square to square with much pre-
meditation. An old man Glanced that
way and, Mred By the contest stopped
and looked on. Taking the liberties or
the rights that his years warranted. he
suggested move and was soon alb
sorbed M the game. Another man
came by and stopped. and soon there
was group around the silent and In
tent contestants. The lure OF check
ers wds upon them.
This game IN slightly modified forms
has exercised its fascination upon the
human rnee for centuries that cannot
be counted. Checkers Is new name
for nm ancient game. To English
speaking people IL was long known as
airaughts," aad IN all the languages
OF civilized men IL has a name. There
are variations In the way OF playing
II, but IT IS the familiar checkers OF our
time just the same.
SO many things come TO light out OF
The ancient tombs or Egypt that It
strikes The modern man as reinarka-
bic how many articles they buried
with mon In those dim, long gone ages.
bat out Of tombs at least twenty cen
NtprIes old explorers, excayators and
komb breakers have brought forth
eces OF checkerboards and the disks
ich FOR some reason are called
p" And as such things have been
In tombs that We're sealed TWEEN,
enturies ago II ~ iorsible that
time In Very much older toml,s
rers may find relics ofscheckers.
the British museum one Of The
Is In the Egyptian collection II
70 and men OF the ancient game
came out OF ono Of those ancient
Some OF the Oldest or the mu-l
orntions OF ancient Egypt de-
Myers engaged at draughts. or
or the ancient Egyptians may
Rlled the game.
& references may be found 10
Plato mentioned II and
$3.50 q II was the invention OF an
49, p<1n khom be called Hermes iris
nek14tue Va. v,>~~a s-d boyv plato 0of
me Information arc not anar r..
very easy 10 say that such ana such
4 man invented such and such game,
but close Investigation usually proves
that he hit on some adaptation or vafi.
at'cn OF very much older game.
Tracing the genesis or game OF
skill or chance usually leads the In
vestigator too far back IN the mists or
the pest TO be sure that he has found
the correct answer.
This game Is also mentioned by
Homer and he records the obserya
lion that 1t was played during the ne
Rod with which flc Odyssey deals.
There Is little doubt that the Greeks
played the game and thnt al a LATER
period tlic Romans played variant
Of u, whichthey called "latruncuII."
u WIS early piayol through north
ern Europe aud wAsk played there az
suchn rcno.c pcrioa that II was said
10 have been one ~ the few things
which were not introduced IN that re-
glon by the Romans.
1T was one ~ the most popular games
NJ Europe during the sixteenth cen.
fury. In the Library OF Congress- nre
several old books treating OF the game.
Samuel johnson once wrote preface
10 book on the game OF draughts
which one William Payne had com.
posed NJ the expense OF much time and
effort.
students OF checkers aud very old
players OF the game recall the names
OF Anderson, an EnglIshman. ana wyl.
De. Ftbe herd laddie.r who were "a.
NOUS checker players about half a.
century ago. Wyllle Travelled all over
the world playing contests with local
checker experts and enthusiasts. Mar,
tens. an English player. and two Amer.
icsns. Yates and Barker. succeeded 10
she fame Of Anderson and wyllie.--
Washington Star