The Snyder signal. (Snyder, Tex.) 1887-????, 1920-10-29
is ANCIENT CAME
Football One of Oldest Sports
Known 10 Man.
As Played To-day Il ls Said 10 &c
Mild and Tame Exercise Com
pared With the Strenuous
Original Form.

Football is considered a strenuous
game. bul the style OF play IN this
generation is a mild and tame exercise
as compared 10 the original forms OF
the sport, according to a bulletin from
the Nauonal Geographic society.
The history Of the autumn classic
Is described by j. X. Hildebrand In
II communication TO the society, which
follows:
Running throwing, hitting and
kicking are the Fundamental muscu-
lar operations OF Americas charac-
terlstlc sports, baseball, football, ten
MS and golf The peoples Of antiquity
manifested all those instincts in cruder
form.
'Luzon hillmcn, the Polyneslans
and the Eskimo and Sumatra Islanders
had games played by kicking ball.
Greeks PLAYED Il, and the Roman
game, hsrpsstum, derived it's name
from the Greek i seize which Is evil
dence that carrying the ball was prac-
tIced by them. With shoes Of hide, the
medieval Italians played a game which
seems the direct ancestor OF the Anglo
=; Ion college sport. Gaelic scholars
point to q football game In Ireland be-
fore the time OF Christ, and until COM
parstively receut times Shrove Tues
day was as dislinctively an occasion
for football as Is our Thanksgiving to-
day.
I'm old England football was even
rorgher than most sports OF those
hardy times. James I thought II was
'meeter for lsmelug than making able
theusers thereof" Henry VIII and
Elizabeth ruled against II. Edward
II frowned upon It for It's interior
ence with srchsry and also because
OF the commotion IL caused. In
those times Il was played In the city
streets. writer OF the sixteenth
century called IL devillsh pastme
and charged 1t with melting envy
and sometimes Drawing, murther and
homicide.
Nevertheless. by the time OF
Charles II football had become fairly
established at Cambridge. II was
ever held in high esteem in Ireland
There, when all other sports were
prohibited for archery's sake, 'onely
the great footballe' was exempt
Women Joined with the men In play
lug II or Shrove Tuesdays. So many
wheI eabouts " the hall An e1pedl-
ent which not So long ago aroused
furore In the American sporting
world was adopted by player who
shook out the shayiugs with which
the balls ~ those days We're stuffed
and carried II under his shirt to The
goal.
abandoned as n general pastime
because OF rs roughueSS, II was re-
tanned In colleges until, within the
past half century. Il Sprang into re-
ucwcd popularity in greatly modified
FORM.
The British carried football into
Jerusalem. when they recovered the
TNflFA tIIhs AlI"n.'''..Nl w. nave ''N~'''
IL Ia hrH,heu tribes.
"Tfr reason why II has become o.
lanomaidru Of civilization and is So
popular anon. college men ~ Amer
ru was summarized by Howard )
EH,>. writing about 'he syrian Protest.
amt college go Beirut, OF which hc
vrS president. in 1000 article for Tie
Nuiiuul Geographic Magazine.
"'Nou will md tne son ~ a prime"
playing football under the capluin"
~ ii peasant or ,he son of n cook.
We believe In football there and we
have II or IS different football teams
IN college. The game develops The
ability to receive a hard blow
without showing the white feather or
drawing Il dagger. This means that
uhrn the men get out Of college they
viii stand upon their feet as men,"
Farming by Machinery In Australia.
-. H.. A,,.. N 10 1tau