The Outing Club
The Outing Club
THEaverage young Canadian is more devoted to outdoor sports in all kinds of weather than his American neighbor. Even those among the Canucks whose hair is silver-sabled, as well as they whose locks are sable-silvered—to quote a phrase from that delightful old boy, the Autocrat, of Boston, as true a sportsman as ever breathed or wrote—are more devoted to almost all kinds of vigorous exercise, driving, perhaps, excepted, than those who live in the dominions of Uncle Sam. Not only do cricket, baseball, tennis and curling find thousands of enthusiastic players in Canada, but shinty, golf, and bowls have their adherents. The game last mentioned has of late taken an extraordinary hold in Ontario. Its great recommendation is that it is found to give just the degree of exercise in the open air to make it especially agreeable to those of middle age or to those
“Whose age is as a lusty youth,Frosty, but kindly.”
“Whose age is as a lusty youth,Frosty, but kindly.”
“Whose age is as a lusty youth,Frosty, but kindly.”
“Whose age is as a lusty youth,
Frosty, but kindly.”
Lawn bowls resembles curling somewhat. In fact it consists in trying to do on level grass what it is the object of curlers to accomplish on smooth ice,i. e., to get one side’s bowls near a central object and to cut out those of the other side. Another point of resemblance is that the “in-turn” or “out-turn” of the curling-stone is initiated by the “fore-hand” or “back-hand” bias of thelignum-vitæbowl. There is, however, no sweeping at bowls, so that the assistance, real or imaginary, toward the progress of a stone that a roaring and perspiring curler derives from his efforts with the broom, is denied to the bowler.
In former days the game was played, in Canada, at least, with balls much biased, so as to draw as much as six to ten feet in a run of sixty. The best players in Scotland, however, have discarded these extremely weighted bowls. The Pioneer rink of Toronto was the first to import bowls of the best Glasgow make, notwithstanding that a very fair article is made in Canada. Since Scotland has been mentioned, it may be as well to say just here that a correspondent, Mr. Samuel Gunn, of Glasgow, a fine bowler, and an undeniable Scotchman, inveighs, in a recent letter, against those who term bowls an English game, and declares that Scotland is its great exemplar to-day. This probably may be the case; but even Mr. Gunn will admit that the cyclopedias call it “a British game,” and they are not particular to say anything about North Britain either. He should also remember that in the fine picture illustrative of the game in the time of Elizabeth, it is Sir Francis Drake and a group of Englishmen whose game upon an English green was sought to be interrupted by a messenger bringing tidings that the Spanish Armada was in sight.
Be it Scotch or English, it is a good game.
THESt. LouisGlobe-Democratwrites in the following way of the performance of Schifferstein, the Californian sprinter:
“At the meeting of the Missouri Athletic Club, at St. Louis, September 9, the feature of the day was the performance of Schifferstein, the Californian, in the 100-yard race. He won away off in the world’s record time of 9 4-5s. The amateur record is 10s., and the Californian lowered this. The professional record of 9 4-5s. is held by H. M. Johnson, who was one of the timers. The performance will go on record, and Schifferstein will receive a handsome medal for lowering the record. There can be no doubt of the performance, as he beat Joe Murphy, who is a 101⁄4. man, three yards. In the second heat Schifferstein, O. J. Fath and Geo. M. Fuchs, of the M. A. A. C., and Eli Thornish, of Chicago, competed. Schifferstein raced away from his field in the first fifty yards, and won easily by four yards of Thornish, second. Time, 13 1-5s. The Californian has the easiest of styles. He much resembles Sherrill, the champion, in his style of movement, and does not seem to exert himself a bit when in motion. He will win the national championship. In the final heat a good start was effected, but Schifferstein opened up a big gap on his field in the first fifty yards as before. Murphy then held him even, but could not gain an inch, and the Californian won by three yards in the record time of 9 4-5s.”
ASthe days shorten, and the hours available for outdoor exercise grow fewer, more wheelmen are anxious to use the daylight they have at their own disposal for a reinvigorating run. No city is better provided with an exercise ground for cyclers than is New York with her beautiful park; but, nevertheless, there is a hitch. As things stand at present, one has, in order to reach the park, to take a car from the business parts of the city, and undergo all the tedium of the trip; then, hastily donning cycling clothes, take a hasty spin, a hurried bath, and resuming the garments of every-day life, run the risk of cold or pneumonia by taking a car down-town while still warm from the vigorous exercise.
The Board of Aldermen were apparently filled with good intentions, and went so far as to lay down in Madison Avenue, from Twenty-third to Thirty-second Street, a pavement which seems calculated to fill every wheelman’s heart with joy. This pavement is not the ordinary asphalt used for streets, but has an admixture of sand, which prevents extreme slipperiness. So far so good; but there remains the long stretch from Thirty-second to Fifty-ninth Street, over which no wheelmandare attempt to ride, and so many a man who pines for the refreshing run of an hour or so on his wheel is deterred by the thoughts of those trips on the cars and the other attendant discomforts. Surely the Board of Aldermen will take pity on such a good (and influential) class of citizens, and shortly remedy this real and considerable grievance.
ATthe present time, when the inevitable effect of the actions of so-called “trout-hogs,” dynamitards, and pot-hunters is evoking so much attention, the report that on August 30 Lord Walsingham killed in one day to his own gun, 1,058 head of grouse, on his small moor at Blubberhouse, Yorkshire, has attracted no slight attention. The feat, if such it can be called, was undertaken with a view to eclipsing the former record made by Lord Walsingham in 1872 of 842 head, on which performance no great reliance has ever been placed. The new and gigantic record is, however, undoubtedly authentic. The bag was made between 5.15A.M. and 7.30P.M. and twenty “drives” were made, which occupied seven hours and a half. During the last half hour (i. e., from 7 to 7.30) fourteen birds were killed, during the walk home, and by deducting these it is found that 1,044 were killed in 449 minutes, or nearly 21⁄3birds per minute. Once three birds were killed at one shot, and three times two birds at one shot. Lord Walsingham was the only person to fire, and used four guns, and employed two loaders. In this particular case, so far was the ground from being completely “shot out” that the reports say that two guns could readily get from 150 to 200 brace per day for two or three days during the next week over the same ground.
THENew YorkSunrecently published a letter from Alex. Moss, of Madoc, Miss. Mr. Moss writes: “A day or two ago I killed a deer, a buck, the largest ever seen in this country; gross weight, 347 pounds. The horns three inches from the head were 13⁄4in. in diameter. There were six points on one horn and seven on the other—thirteen points. Around the neck of the deer was a bell attached to a wire rope. On the inside of the bell was plainly engraved: ‘J. S. Dunn, Lansing, Mich. June (or Jan.), 1881.’ The wire rope had been spliced in sailor fashion, and was no doubt done before it was put on the deer, and allowances made for the neck growing. There was but a small portion of the material of which the rope was made left, save the wire. It was very tight around the deer’s neck, and the hair was white where the rope touched. The bell had no clapper, and was made of brass and copper.”
A WRITERin theBicycling Worldcalls attention to a well-known injurious habit of wheelmen, as follows:
“The pernicious habit of imbibing large quantities of water at every stopping-place, so common among inexperienced wheelmen, not only aggravates the thirst, but, by promoting excessive perspiration, exhausts the rider. It is the perspiration that evaporates as fast as it appears, and not that which runs off the skin, that diminished the heat of the body. If the rider resists this desire to drink, the water for perspiration is taken from the fat—which is the dead weight—and he is benefited by the decrease in his avoirdupois.”
While the fault and result are very much as outlined above, the writer has failed to point out any remedy. A certain amount of liquid to assuage thirst must be taken by riders, and at the same time nourishment and mild stimulation are often essential. A harmless and satisfactory combination of all these may be secured by adding to a glass of milk a tablespoonful of Jamaica rum, and nothing but beneficial results will be secured, even if used in excess of moderation.
THEquery has more than once been put to OUTING: “Where can one obtain good shooting within Too miles of New York?” In reply, we wish to give the following advice to men who, while keen on sport, have not the time to seek it far afield.
In the first place, good shooting, with a variety of game (one correspondent mentions rabbit, quail, grouse, partridge, etc.), cannot be obtained within too miles of the city.
The rabbit, or American hare (Lepus sylvaticus) can be found everywhere outside and sometimes inside city limits. He seems to be a “pariah and an outcast” among sportsmen, although rabbit shooting with a couple of good dogs on a brisk, frosty morning, is a sport by no means to be despised. Rabbits are protected by the game laws during the close season. Quail (Ortex Virginianus, or, according to many ornithologists,Perdix V.), are in many places still further protected by farmers upon whose lands they breed, most of the stubble fields being posted to keep off intruders. The right of shooting in such cases is reserved for themselves, or for city friends visiting them in the fall, although we have known of cases where the farms were posted so that the farmer’s boys might eke out a few pitiful pennies by snaring the birds for market. Good rabbit and fair quail shooting may be had early in the season on the line of the Southern Railroad of New Jersey, particularly in the neighborhood of Tom’s River. Also on Long Island, from South Oyster Bay eastward.
Ruffed grouse (Tetrao umbellus), improperly called “partridge” in the Eastern and some of the Middle States, and as improperly termed “pheasant” in the South, may still be found in fair numbers among the wooded slopes and swales of Sullivan County, N. Y., and Pike County, Penn. But the class of sportsmen whom we are specially addressing should try that migratory bird, the woodcock, finest of all our birds of the fall flight, the English snipe, most luscious of all for the table, and the shore birds, orLimicolæ, a large class comprehending the curlews, marlins, plovers, tattlers and sandpipers. It is unnecessary to say that, except with shore birds, good dogs are essential to success.
LAWNTENNIShas, within late years, taken so prominent a place in the list of our outdoor amateur sports that it behooves those who feel an interest in its future progress to guard well against the introduction of the semi-professional element. This influence has done much to injure and retard the growth of many outdoor amusements. It threw back amateur rowing for years, and at one time brought the open regattas into such ill-favor that it was feared that rowing would fall back into the position it was in before the establishment of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen. Even after the establishment of that organization, it required the closest attention on the part of the executive committee of the association, with so active a man as Henry W.Garfield to keep it clear from the snags that beset it. It would be well for the lovers of lawn tennis to take this matter seriously in hand and take a lesson from the course laid down by the amateur oarsmen to keep the pastime clear from professional amateur players of this delightful outdoor amusement.
MR. J. H. BLOCK, of Moscow, who has been instrumental in obtaining the introduction of cycles into the Russian army, thus explains how he was able to bring the measure about:
“I was very kindly received,” says Mr. Block, “by the Commander-in-Chief here, and he took the greatest interest in all I had to say about cycling. An official test has been made here between a cyclist and a grenadier on horseback. A despatch of great importance had to be taken to a small town thirty-five miles outside of Moscow, and an answer to be received from there. One of our best and most ardent bicyclists, Colonel Firsoff, who is fifty years of age, undertook to start off with the grenadier at the same time, and try to receive the answer, and come back in less time than the horseman would. This he achieved in the best possible manner. He came back four hours sooner than did the grenadier, and it created quite a sensation. Since that time we have had very long and continuous conversations about this matter, and after two months, the official introduction has taken place.”
A NARROWEscape from drowning, and, at the same time, an admirable instance of the value of coolness and presence of mind in the face of danger is thus recorded by the Hamilton, Canada,Spectator. It gives an account of the rescue of Mr. Bunbury, of Hamilton, and his daughter. After showing how a passing vessel noticed the capsized sloop, theSpectatorgoes on to say:
“Captain Irving was notified and got his glass set upon the object. He informed the passengers who had called his attention to it that it was a yacht on her side with two persons clinging to it. The steamer was headed for the yacht, and in a short time was alongside it. Then it was found that Miss Bunbury’s yacht had upset. The two passengers were picked up, and the young lady was rigged out in dry clothes and made comfortable. She did not appear to be the least bit concerned about the upset. ‘We were just three-quarters of an hour in the water,’ she said, looking at her watch, as she was lifted on deck.
“Mr. Bunbury had seen the squall coming, and was going to take in some of the canvas when the squall struck the boat. ‘Let go everything,’ he cried to his daughter, ‘and jump into the mainsail.’ The young lady obeyed with a promptness that perhaps saved her life. In a moment the boat was on her side, with the sail flat on the water, and the young lady on the sail. She picked herself up and stood on the centreboard, hanging on to the deck with both hands. The yacht was low in the water, and to raise it Mr. Bunbury dived into it and threw out the ballast. The young lady stood in the water up to her waist, while Mr. Bunbury was up to his neck, and when the boat lurched—a small sea having come up in the meantime—his head would go right under water.
“The young lady was made quite a heroine of by the passengers of theMacassa. She certainly deserves great credit for her pluck and presence of mind. Thomas Costen, one of theMacassa’sdeck hands jumped into the water and assisted in getting the young lady and Mr. Bunbury on board. The yacht was afterward towed in by a steam launch.”
THEREis a pond on the hay ranch at Golconda, which is fed by the waters from the hot springs. This pond has an area of two or three acres, and the temperature of the water is about 85°, and in some places, where the hot water bubbles up from the bottom, the temperature is almost up to a boiling point. Recently the discovery has been made that this warm lake is literally alive with carp, some of which are more than a foot long. All efforts to catch them with a hook and line have failed, as they will not touch the most tempting bait. A few of them have been shot, and, contrary to the general supposition, the flesh was hard and palatable. How the fish got into the lake is a mystery unsolved. Within too feet of it are springs which are boiling hot, and the ranchers in the vicinity use the water to scald hogs in the butchering season.
THENew YorkHeraldrecently gave some advice to a correspondent who inquired as to the best method of getting some carp-fishing, which is so practical that it will bear repetition. It says: “At Little Falls, N. Y., you can obtain boats, although carp may be caught also from the shore. Carp may be taken in large numbers anywhere within ten miles above Little Falls. There is no law protecting carp, and they may be taken whenever and wherever anybody can find them. Use No. 3 or 4 hook, and fish on the bottom. Let the fish get a good hold before striking, as carp take the hook like suckers. They are often caught on worms used in fishing for other fish. If nothing but carp are wanted, a better bait is made of dough, mixed with cotton to keep it on the hook, or boiled peas.”
A NUMBERof times during the past rowing season we noticed that unsatisfactory results were reached at the conclusion of a regatta, which anything like thoughtful management might have avoided. In two or three instances which might be called to mind, contestants were summoned to the starting-line at so late an hour that the shades of evening had fallen on the water. To start a boat race under such conditions is not only absurd and ridiculous, but fraught with danger to the men engaged in it, not to say anything of the numberless disputes likely to arise regarding the final result. In the first place, the referee cannot discharge the duties of his office properly if he is unable to see what is going on between the contestants, or how can a judge at the finish determine who crosses the line first when it is absolutely impossible to see distinctly three boats’ lengths ahead of him? In the Bowery Bay, a place that may become popular for racing with rowing men, and in the waters about the Staten Island Athletic Club’s boat-house, occurrences similar to those above referred to had practical illustrations within the past few weeks. In other sections of the country the practice of delay in starting boat races at an hour later than announced has become a positive nuisance. We propose to watch all sins of this kind in the future, and place the blame of such mismanagement where it belongs.