THE OUTDOOR
HANDY BOOK
For
Oround
? (
Field
and
Forest
THE OUTDOOR
HANDY BOOK
BY
D.CJBeard
i<
New York
Charles
SeribnerS
Sons.
~ 1914
COPYRIGHT, 1896, 1900, BV
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SOWS
SPECIAL NOTICE
The publishers hereby give warning that the
unauthorized printing of any portion of the text
of this book, and the reproduction of any of the
illustrations or diagrams, are expressly forbidden.
PREFATORY NOTE TO THE NEW EDITION
IN the belief that a new title will neither mislead the
reader nor impair the popularity gained by the earlier
editions, it is thought best to issue this latest edition of
"The American Boy's Book of Sport" under the title
of "The Outdoor Handy Book.
This seems to fit the volume better than any other
arrangement for the place it is designed to occupy
between " The American Boy's Handy Book " and " The
Jack of All Trades."
FLUSHING, June 10, 1900.
333425
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
ALTHOUGH the present book is addressed to the same
class of readers, it is neither a substitute for nor a supple-
ment to " The American Boy's Handy Book," from which
it will be found to differ in scope and character. " The
American Boy's Book of Sport" is not intended as an
encyclopasdia of games. The purpose of the book is to
deal only with subjects whose novelty or practical charac-
ter meets the especial need of the up-to-date American boy
who demands explicit and intelligent explanations of what
is of use to him.
The many years spent as a member of the Board of
Education in Flushing, Long Island, and as a teacher of art
in New York, have impressed upon the author the impor-
tance of early training for children in the use of their hands.
It is with the purpose of stimulating this sort of schooling
that the author appeals to parents and boys to encourage
the home production of kites, boats, and sleds, etc. ; for
the ingenuity and self-reliance thus developed are valuable
qualities in a boy or man.
Moreover, a lack of the proper sort of play unfits a boy
for the battle of life, and there is scarcely room to doubt
Preface vii
that the most successful men of to-day in business, states-
manship, art, and science are those willing to undergo and
capable of enduring the most severe and continued appli-
cation ; and as this power is dependent upon a robust phy-
sique and a strong, well-balanced mind, there is no doubt
that well-directed boyish sport is the best school for the at-
tainment of such results.
While this work represents many curb-stone interviews
with boys, and years of observation and study of the sub-
jects that have never lost for the writer the interest they
held for him in his boyhood, it also includes the results of
many carefully conducted personal interviews with experts
in the various sports described, and investigations of ob-
scure legends, written and unwritten, connected with games
whose origin is older than history itself.
Golf and foot-ball are at the present time engrossing so
much of the attention of our American boys that their
claims have been found too important to be disregarded,
while in the necessary exclusion of material in making a
volume of suitable and convenient size, base-ball, tennis,
and cricket, possessing an extended literature of their own,
have not been described.
In many cases subjects heretofore thought worthy of
little or no attention on the part of authors who write for
boys, are here treated of at length. It would not be diffi-
cult, for instance, to fill a library with good books on
fishing ; yet in the numerous boys' books consulted there
appeared to be nothing modern, American, and practical,
viii Preface
or that answered the numerous inquiries the author has
received from his juvenile friends on the subject of still
fishing ; and this led him to believe that a popular demand
for enlightenment on this matter necessitated a chapter
on bait.
The novel and interesting developments in kite-making
and kite-flying that have taken place in the last few years
merit, and have obtained, extended description.
The great popularity of " The American Boy's Handy
Book," and the favor with which its successive editions
have been received, encourage its author to hope that
" The American Boy's Book of Sport " will be welcomed
by all the readers of the first book and will make many new
friends.
FLUSHING, LONG ISLAND, N. Y. t
October 15, 1896.
CONTENTS
SPRING.
CHAPTER I.
PACK
MARBLES '. 3
Marble Time History of the Game Sakya-Muni and Humphrey Potter
How Marbles are Made Marble Names, Marble Terms, and Ex-
pressions Games from Bull Ring to Long Ring.
CHAPTER II.
"FAT" AND OTHER FAMOUS GAMES OF MARBLES 19
The Uncertainties of " Fat," Sometimes Called "Yank " or " Yankey "
Stand-up Marbles Follerings Knucks, the Long Ring, and Patter-
sonThe Scientific Bull Ring Duck in a Hole,
CHAPTER III.
TOP TIME 37
Whip Tops Home-made Tops Peg Tops Plug in the Ring Chip
Stone Racing Tops.
CHAPTER IV.
LATEST THINGS IN KITES 46
For Practical Uses Steering Kites Life Savers Men Lifters and Other
Novel Forms Kites as Motive Power The Malay Variety.
Contents
CHAPTER v.
PACE
MALAY AND OTHER TAILLESS KITES 67
Some Famous Experiments How the Malays and Other Oriental
Kites are MadeKites in Tandem Cannibal and Chinese Butterfly
Kite*.
CHAPTER VI.
AERIAL FISH AND DRAGONS 90
Paper Dragons or Fish for Kite-strings A Live Man Kite.
CHAPTER VII.
HOOPS AND WHEELS 95
The Old and the New Fangled Hoops How to Trundle a Wheel-
Sport with Tin-Can Covers.
CHAPTER VIII.
How TO MAKE THE SUCKER 99
Leather Suckers and Live Suckers Turtle-Fishing with Suckers.
CHAPTER IX.
UP IN THE AIR ON STILTS 102
How to Make all Kinds Stilt-Walking Shepherds Hand or Arm-Stilts
are Best for Beginners Queer Stilts Used in Various Countries.
CHAPTER X.
BAIT, LIVE AND DEAD 115
Salt-Water Worms that Live on Land Angle-Worms, Hellgramites,
Minnows, Crawfish, Grasshoppers, Crickets, Frogs, and " Lampers "
How to Catch and How to Keep Them.
CHAPTER XI.
COMMON-SENSE PRECAUTIONS IN FISHING 145
Why and How Fish are Easily Frightened The Lessons of Nature and
f Experience.
Lontents xi
SUMMER.
CHAPTER XII.
AQUATIC SPORTS 151
Rowing Clothes How to Make a Bathing-suit How to Avoid Sun-
burn Points about Canoeing.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE LAND-LUBBER'S CHAPTER 156
Common Nautical Terms and Expressions Defined How to Sail a Boat
Boat Rigs.
CHAPTER XIV.
RIGS or ALL KINDS FOR SMALL BOATS 176
How to Distinguish between a Ship, Bark, Brig, and Schooner Merits
and Defects of Cat-Boats Advantages of the Sloop Rigs for
Canoes Buckeyes and Sharpies.
CHAPTER XV.
A " ROUGH AND READY " BOAT 187
Just What an Ingenious Boy Must Do to Build It Detailed In-
structions as to How to Make the Boat and How to Rig It.
CHAPTER XVI.
A RAPT THAT WILL SAIL. if
And a Home-Made Catamaran The Raft is Just the Thing for Camp
Life Pleasurable Occupation for a Camping Party Where Wood is
Plentiful You Will Need Axes and Hatchets and a Few Other
Civilized Implements.
xii Contents
CHAPTER XVII.
PACK
SINGLE SHELLS AND UMBRELLA CANOES 213
How Old Shells can be Turned into Boys' Boats The Cause of
Upsets Landing from and Embarking in a Shell What an Umbrella
Canoe is and How It is Made.
CHAPTER XVIII.
HINTS FOR COLLECTORS 222
How to Capture and Preserve Moths and Butterflies A New Cabinet.
CHAPTER XIX.
HONEY-BEE MESSENGERS 234
How to Send a Cipher Message by the Bee Line The Key Bee
Stings and How to Avoid Them.
CHAPTER XX.
A "Zoo." 239
For the Housetop or the Backyard How to Build a Coop for Animals
on the Roof or in the Yard The Way to Provide Homes for
Various Kinds of Pets.
CHAPTER XXI.
CHOOSING UP AND "!T. M 245
"Which Hand is It in?" "Pick'er Up, Wipe'er Off, and Stone-
Holder "" Last One Over" Short Straw Handy, Dandy, Riderly
Ro " Whole Fist or Four Fingers " " Odd or Even ? " " Wet or
Dry?"
CHAPTER XXII.
COUNTING OUT RHYMES 252
How the Game is Played Various Rhymes An American Version
of an Ancient Rhyme Causes of Variations Rhymes of Different
Nationalities.
Contents xiii
CHAPTER XXIII.
IN THE WATER 264
How to Swim A Wooden "Swimming Master" Suspension Bridge
Chump's Raft, and Tub Races.
CHAPTER XXIV.
GAMES OF TAG... 279
Origin of this Sport King's X Last Tag Iron Tag Cross Tag
Old Bloody Tom Black Man Prisoner's Base and Other Variations.
CHAPTER XXV.
I SPY 304
With Instructions also How to Play Hunkety and Kick the Wicket.
CHAPTER XXVI.
LEAP-FROG 310
Teaching the Game to the Esquimaux Foot-an'- Half With First Back
and a Leader A Game Requiring Skill Spanish Fly The Danger
of Quarrelling Dick's Hat-band.
CHAPTER XXVII.
VARIOUS SPORTS FOR HOT DAYS 320
"Jack's Alive ! "Spirit Tortoise and Dead Turtles Jack and the
Candles Bowlder On, or Duck on a Rock Nine and Ten Pins-
Skittles, Ancient and Modern.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
TIP-CAT . . . i 332
How the Cat is Made English-Cat Country-Cat American-Cat
A Game Requiring Skill and Quickness.
xiv Contents
CHAPTER XXIX.
FAGS
GAMES OP BALL 336
How Town-Ball is Played One or Two Old-Cat House-Ball Hand
Up Bailie Callie Crackabout Over the Barn Stool-Ball Corner-
BallBlack Baby Hat-Ball.
CHAPTER XXX.
MUMBLY PEG, HOP-SCOTCH, AND JACK STONES 350
The Motions of Stick-Knife Universality of the Game of Hop-Scotch
As Played in Different Countries Different Games with Jack Stones.
CHAPTER XXXI.
PRACTICAL HINTS FOR BICYCLISTS 365
Regarding Baggage and how to Carry It A Photographer's Outfit on a
Wheel A Collector's Box How to Deal with Punctures An Ex-
temporized Handle Bar A Rope Tire A Cleaning Rack, and a
Bicycle Stand.
AUTUMN.
CHAPTER XXXII.
POINTS ON CAMPING OUT 377
How to Make a Fire in the Woods on a Rainy Day To Get a Light
Without Matches The Diamond Hitch, and a Home-made Cinch.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE BOYS' BABY BALLISTA... 39*
How to Build this Warlike Engine, and the Fun that can be had With
It Blow-guns and Their Use Blow-gun Parachutes The LarUt,
How to Make and Throw It
Contents xv
CHAPTER XXXIV.
"TALLY-HO H AND OTHER CRIES 47
The Origin of "Hello" and " Tally-ho" Indian War-whoops and
College Yells Boys' Cries.
CHAPTER XXXV.
INDIAN GAMES ADAPTED FOR BOYS. 419
Squaw, Saddle-bags, or Sky Shinny The Way the Game is Played
An Exhilarating Sport Mandan Ring A Fine Game for Autumn
or Winter.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
ON THE FOOT-BALL FIELD 428
The Antiquity of the Game The General Principles of the Game as It
is Played by the College Teams at Present.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
GOLF, HOCKEY, AND SHINNY 443
How to Lay Out Golf Links and Play the Game Explanation of the
Terms Used in the Game How Hockey and Shinny are Played.
WINTER.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
TURTLE HUNTING 45 5
Methods of Capturing "Snappers" and Terrapin Described The Im-
plements Necessary and Where to Search.
xvi Contents
CHAPTER XXXIX.
PACK
ON THE ICE 460
Plain and Fancy Skating Begin to Learn Young Cutting a Circle
The Spread Eagle The Bull Frog- The Grapevine Garland The
Danger of *' Follow the Leader."
CHAPTER XL.
STUNNING MUSK-RATS AND FISH 470
Sport for Boys on Skates when the Ice is Thin and Clear How Cat-
fish and " Suckers" arc Stunned and Captured.
CHAPTER XLI.
SNOW-BALL BATTLE AND SNOW TAG 475
The Rules of Snow-ball Battle How Rome and Carthage is Played in
Cuba The Ingenious Game of Snow Tag.
CHAPTER XLII.
THE " GET-THERE H AND DOUBLE-RUNNERS 47S
Instructions as to How to Build these Famous Sleds A Safety Double-
Runner.
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The Outdoor Handy Book
CHAPTER I
MARBLES
Marble Time History of the Game Sakya-Muni and Humphrey Pot-
terHow Marbles are Made Marble Names, Marble Terms, and
Expressions Games from Bull Ring to Long Ring.
Marble Time.
IN the early spring time, while the white frost still jew-
elled the grass in the mornings and the ground was alter-
nately frozen at night and thawed by the morning sun, mar-
ble time used to begin, and on Long Island the custom of
playing marbles as soon as old winter has taken off his
coat of snow is still in vogue.
How my knuckles used to smart where the cold wind
had chapped them and " knuckling down " had ground the
mud into the raw places. But, pshaw ! What did I care for
raw knuckles, as with a pocketful of assorted varieties ol
marbles I watched eagerly for a playmate, and as soon as
one appeared, shouted, " First for keeps ! "
In those days I thought that gambling consisted only
in playing games for money.
Four hundred years before the first incidents occurred
that are written of in the New Testament, old Sakya-Muni
Spring
was dead and buried, but, like John Brown, his spirit keeps
marching on.
Sakya-Muni was a great man, but I doubt if any of my
young readers would like him. Mr. Muni founded a great
religion, but he was narrow-minded. Boys in those days
were just like the boys of this day they were fond of fun,
fond of games, and they made little windmills, and they
enjoyed seeing the wheels buzz in the breeze.
Old Sakya-Muni thought this sinful and silly. He for-
got that he was ever a boy himself, so he forbade windmills
as "detrimental to progress in virtue." Sakya-Muni, or
Gautama Buddha, was an ancient Puritan ; he was down on
chess or checkers, hop-scotch he abhorred, jack-straws to
him were the invention of the evil one, ball was a game of
perdition, drawing pictures, blowing horns, racing, archery,
and marbles, were equally bad and forbidden sins.
There are many estimable, narrow-minded, half-devel-
oped people of to-day who think just as Buddha did so
long ago, but fortunately for the young people no one now
takes them seriously.
Sakya-Muni had no intention or desire to be of assistance
to the author of this book. No doubt if the old pagan
were alive he would forbid its publication, but nevertheless
he is introduced to the reader because his denunciations
of these games prove that the youngsters of his day
found entertainment in the same games that occupy the
leisure of the school-boys at the close of the nineteenth
century.
Not many years ago there was a boy named Humphrey
Potter, who, sad to relate, in spite of Mr. Muni's harangue
against games, would rather play marbles than work ; but
he was a poor boy, and he would rather work than see
his parents deprived of the comforts that his little earnings
Marbles
could procure. Humphrey was only a boy ; he did not
know anything. Not one of the great men who had in-
vented the awkward, puffing old steam-engines that were
used in those days would have condescended to consult
Hump In regard to his invention.
The poor little chap had to sit all day on a stick of wood
for a stool, and, with one hand on the steam-cock and the
other on the water-cock, alternately turn on steam and
water. When he turned on the steam this vapor rushed
into the cylinder and forced a heavy piston up ; when he
turned on the water, that fluid rushed in, cooled off or con-
densed the steam and down came the piston. So that with-
out a boy at the steam and water cocks this great invention
of full-grown men would not work.
But Hump had a better head than these men, and the
lad wanted to play marbles. So down went his hand into
that junk-shop which every boy has, but which he calls his
pocket, and out came a piece of string most likely it was
a top-string and Hump harnessed up the piston to the
valves.
It was as simple as falling off a log. The piston opened
and shut the valves itself, and Humphrey played marbles
and drew his pay at the same time.
Simple as falling off a log, but like many things it was
too simple for a man to think of, and yet simple as it was
Humphrey Potter's invention lifted the steam-engine from
the plane of a clumsy machine chiefly used for pumping
purposes to the higher field where its uses are so manifold
as scarcely to be numbered, and Humphrey was only a boy
and an inveterate marble-player at that.
Boys, when you hear the thunder of the railroad train,
the hum of the factory wheels, or the whistle of the big
steam-boats, rattle the marbles in your pockets, and say,
6 Spring
11 Well, if it were not for one of us, where would all your
wonderful inventions be, you great, big, bald-headed,
bearded boys that build your 'cities without leaving us
room for a Bull Ring?"
Terms Used in the Game.
Before going any farther, I might as well give the mean-
ings of the principal terms used in marbles the phrases
which mean so much to boys and so little to those who are
unfamiliar with them.
The Taw or Shooter, is the marble used for shooting.
The Taw Line or Tie Line, or Scratch, as it is often
called, is the line drawn for a starting-point in games like
the Long Ring.
Ducks are the marbles to be shot at.
Dubs* means that you take all the marbles knocked out
of the ring by one shot.
Fen Dubsf means that you must put back all but one
marble.
Lofting" means shooting through the air. When you loft
you knuckle down and your taw goes through the air and
does not strike the ground until it hits the duck aimed at,
or a spot near it.
Knuckling down means what the name implies, resting
the knuckles on the ground during the act of shooting.
Hunching means shoving your hand over the mark as
you shoot. Hunching is unfair, and if a good shot is made
and the player making it is caught in the act of hunching
he should be made to shoot over again and shoot fair.
Histing is holding the hand some distance above the
ground. Histing is not allowable in the Bull Ring or in
Meg-on-a-String.
* An abbreviation of doubles. t An abbreviation of defend doubles.
Marbles
Roundsters means taking a new position on one side or
the other of some obstruction. This is not fair in Bull
Ring.
Sidings means to move your taw from one side to the
other in a straight line when about to shoot, and is not
allowable in Bull Ring.
Burying is the term applied to the act of placing your
taw in a good spot and then forcing it into the ground with
the heel of your shoe. Burying is sometimes allowed in all
games of marbles, but only by unskilled players ; with the
others " Fen buryings " is the unwritten rule of the game.
Laying in is similar to burying, with the exception that
your taw is left on top of the ground. This is also a " baby"
game and not often resorted to. " Laying in " also means
placing the marbles in the ring.
Clearances means removing stones, sticks, or other ob-
jects between your taw and the ducks.
Sneaking is the act of shooting for a position.
Babying is shooting with little force, so as not to knock
the ducks far or to cause your taw to fly far. Babying is
not of much use in large rings, but is often resorted to in
small rings and in such games as Follerings. There is no
rule that can make you stop babying, so the other players
always try ridicule. This never succeeds to any extent,
though it eases the minds of the unsuccessful players when
another boy is " skinning " the ring by babying.
Playing for Keeps is a game in which all the ducks won
are kept. Playing for Fair is an Eastern term with the same
meaning, and for Fun means of course that all the marbles
are returned to their original owners when the game is
over.
8
Spring
The Right Spirit.
It is not necessary to gamble with marbles, as many sup-
pose, and in fact there is little doubt that the game was first
played " for keeps " centuries ago when pebbles were used
for marbles and the pebbles won were only valued as tro-
phies or counters. In reality a marble won is a point won
in the game, and it is not necessary to keep the marbles after
the game is over, any more than it is necessary to keep the
balls and bats of the defeated base-ball players or the balls and
rackets of the defeated lawn-tennis players or the foot-ball
of the defeated foot-ball players. What the American boy
plays for is to win the game, not the implements of the sport.
It is only the occasional " tough " who manages to get
into the game who has the real instincts of the gambler, and
he is the boy who always cries " grinder," and " snatches
up " or " swipes " the marbles of smaller or more timid lads.
Such a boy should be avoided just as respectable men avoid
the gambler and black-leg.
Knuckle Dabsters.
Every boy who plays marbles should possess a knuckle
dabster ; these can be made from bits of soft woollen cloth,
FIG. i. A Quilted " Knuckle Dabster.'
FIG. 2. Mole Skin " Knuckle Dabster."
felt, or the skin of small animals. Mole skins make the soft-
est and prettiest of knuckle dabsters, but any piece of fur
will answer. Some boys wear them fastened to the hand,
Marbles
9
but the most expert players seem to prefer to throw them
down at the spot from which they are about to shoot and
then knuckle down on the soft fur or woollen cloth.
A knuckle dabster prevents one's knuckles from becom-
ing sore and raw, and adds greatly to the comfort of the
player.
Your sister, mother, aunt, or grandmother can in a few
moments stitch two pieces of
thick, soft cloth together for you
when marble time arrives, and if
they will add to this favor by
making you
FIG. 3. Mar-
ble Bag.
A Marble Bag
FIG. 4. Same
with Strings
Drawn.
with strings to draw the mouth
together, you are ready for the
season. The marble bag should
be small enough to slip into your
pocket, where it will prevent the
loss of many marbles that might
work their way through that hole that is always to be
found in a boy's pocket after he has worn his clothes for
a short time.
I remember how I used to plan leather and buckskin
pockets that would not wear out, and I made up my mind
'that when I was old enough to make money and buy my
own clothes the tailor should be instructed to put in leather
pockets.
Alas! when I reached that age it took so much cash to
buy the clothes that there was never enough in the pockets
to wear them out.
io Spring
Whom to Play Marbles With.
If Little Lord Fauntleroy had been born in a Western
town his life would not have been worth living. He was a
gentle little " sissy " aristocrat, who would never have been
tolerated by the " Huck " Finns and Tom Sawyers inhabit-
ing the valleys of the Mississippi and its tributaries.
Imagine, if you can, such a little chap wearing the
clothes with which Mr. Birch, in his beautiful illustrations,
so appropriately dressed him ; imagine him down on one
knee, with his girlish hand chapped with the wind and the
cracks filled with grime, knuckling down and lofting on the
ducks in the middle of a bull ring, or with doubled fists
standing over his marbles, defending his property against
some young highwayman from the rolling mill on the river
bank!
As the New York boys would say, " He wouldn't be in
it." No, the house is the place for him. This is a rough
world, and it requires experiences outside of a gentle, lov-
ing mother's care or the sweet lady-like tuition of a gov-
erness to fit a lad for the battle of life.
What we want for a playmate is a fair and square fellow,
who will stand by a friend through thick and thin, and,
without being quarrelsome, defend his rights and never
" weaken." It is unnecessary to say that such a lad's love
of justice will always prevent him from imposing upon
smaller boys and his manliness will cause him to treat his
companion and the girls with courtesy. You need not
watch him in any game, for he will not cheat. Among my
old schoolmates I have known many such fellows, and, to a
man, they are all good fellows now ; good citizens, good
fathers, and they still enjoy watching the boys play the
games in which they used to excel themselves.
Marbles 1 1
How Marbles Were First Made.
With the aid of frost and sun nature splits the rocks,
dropping the fragments into the water, and the ever mov-
ing water rolls the fragments over each other and against
other stones until they become smooth pebbles, many of
which are almost as round as the marbles sold in stores.
Away back before history was written the children used
these natural marbles to play with, but there is nothing to
tell us whether they used a "long ring" or a " bull ring,"
or what rules governed the game.
When the Tammany Halls of Rome and the citizens in
general became wicked and corrupt it made nature very ill,
and she broke out in volcanoes. While the terrible fires
from the bowels of the earth were spouting and scattering
their ashes and lava over towns and cities, Pompeii was
buried with all its streets and houses and with some of its
people and dogs. Among the many curious things found
in the ruins by the antiquarians who have unearthed the old
cities were what? Marbles left by the boys in their flight
from the doomed city, and, I think, if the truth were
known, some of the little rascals delayed their departure
long enough to secure and carry away with them their
" megs," as the New York boys would call the ancient mar-
bles.
Marbles in America.
One hundred and twenty-eight years after Columbus
discovered America, and when many of the ancestors of
this generation of boys could call themselves Americans,
the Dutchmen imported marbles to England, and it is very
probable the old Knickerbockers introduced them here, but
it matters little who had the honor of introducing them to
1 2 Spring
America. They came to stay, and now, from California to
Maine, and from the Calumet and Hecla mines at Red
Jacket, Mich., to New Orleans, the boys all play marbles.
Made Abroad Nowadays.
Where do they all come from ? Some of you win them,
some of you trade postage-stamps for them, but some per-
son bought them, probably, at the little store around the
corner.
When I attended the Eighth Street District School in
Cincinnati we used to replenish our stock from " Ma-
laney's." I do not recollect the real name of the proprie-
tor of the little store, but that is the name it went by among
the boys. There we bought our butterscotch and bull's-
eye candy ; our match-sticks for kites, our elastic bands for
slings, our tops and top-strings.
Local Names of Marbles.
But Malaney must have secured his supply from some-
where, because I know he did not make them himself, and
he always had a quantity on hand of " potteries," " plas-
ters," "chinas," "crystals," "agates," "alleys," and "com-
mies."
Atlantic coast boys do not use these names, but they use
the same marbles. We had a tradition that the potteries
were made at a pottery near the Brighton Hotel in the
suburbs of Cincinnati. What truth, if any, there is in this
tradition I am unable to state. In New York I seldom seb
this rich brown mottled marble, whose glossy surface is
marked by three rough dots.
The "crockery" never had the splashes of white that
distinguished the " burned agate " of New York, nor the
green of the " moss agate " of the same place. Both of the
Marbles 13
latter were unknown to the Western boys twenty-five years
ago.
At the beginning- of this century marbles were some-
times called "bowls," and all came from Nuremberg, down
the Rhine to Rotterdam, and thence to all other parts of
Europe.
How Marbles are Made.
They are now manufactured in immense quantities in
Saxony for exportation to the United States, India, and
China. The common marble is manufactured of hard stone
quarried near Coburg, Saxony, and the process is prac-
tically the same as that used by nature in grinding out the
little round pebbles originally used by the children of long
ago.
Nature, though constantly busy, is slow. We do not
want to wait a thousand or maybe a million years for her to
get our marbles ready. Our fingers might be too old to
shoot with them, so we adopt nature's principles, but make
more haste. In place of frost man uses a hammer to break
the stone into fragments.
The hammer breaks the hard stone into small squares,
or, more properly, cubical shaped blocks. These are placed
on a large millstone one hundred or two hundred at a time.
The millstone has several grooves cut in it in the form of
rings, one ring inside another, or, as your Geometry would
put it, in the form of concentric circles. Over this a block
of oak of the same size as the lower stone rests on the small
square fragments and is kept turning while water flows
upon the bottom stone.
Power is supplied by a water-wheel, and when the
machinery is set in motion the little cubes are compelled,
by the pressure and motion of the upper piece, to roll over
and over in their circular tracks, and round and round and
14 Spring
round they travel like circus horses in a ring. In fifteen
minutes' time the mill does what nature takes years to
accomplish, and the little blocks of stone are turned into
small stone balls. These are the unfinished marbles and
need smoothing.
One such mill can turn out two thousand marbles a
week, and if there are four or five sets of millstones running,
eight thousand or ten thousand a week can be manufactured.
In another part of the establishment the water-wheel turns
a number of wooden barrel-shaped receptacles, something
like the copper ones used for making candy in this country.
Inside the wooden casks are hard stone cylinders. These
revolving cylinders smooth the marbles, which are com-
pelled by the motion of the machinery to keep up a con-
stant rubbing against each other and against the stone
cylinder. When they are smooth enough the dust made
by the last process is emptied from the casks and fine
emery powder substituted. This gives finish and polish to
.the marble.
Common Marbles.
The small, gray marbles are what the Western boys
call " commies " or " combos." They are often painted
bright colors, but the paint soon wears off and they look
like little dried clay balls. They are not much valued,
and five " commies " usually represent the value of one
" plaster."
The Century Dictionary gives an " alley " as one of
the definitions of a marble. On what ground it bases
this information I am unable to state. " Agate," " meg,"
"duck" or "real" would be just as good a definition.
" Meg " or " duck " would be better, inasmuch as, in dif-
ferent sections of the country, both of these terms are
Marbles 15
used to define marbles of any description; while "alley"
in almost all parts of the country means a particular kind
of marble.
The Alley.
In some parts of Ohio and Kentucky the marble desig-
nated by the latter name is a small, hard sphere with a
yellowish - white ground, streaked with wavy lines of
bluish green. These are not the same as the " Croton
alley "or ''Jasper" of New York. The latter, I believe,
are made of glazed and unglazed china marbled with blue,
and are generally larger marbles than the so-called alleys of
the West.
The China and Plaster.
In Cincinnati and the adjoining cities of Covington
and Newport, Ky., a china is what its name implies china.
This term, when I was a boy, was used only to designate
a glazed china ; the unglazed ones we called plasters, from
their resemblance to that substance.
Both of the latter marbles are decorated with lines of
various colors, sometimes crossing each other, forming
plaids, and again arranged in circles and called bull's eyes.
They are made in wooden molds and are dried, baked, and
painted like any other chinaware.
The Bumbo and Peawec.
" Bumbo," " bumboozer " or " bowler " are names applied
to very large marbles of any description. A " peawee " is
the name used for any very small marble.
Crystals
is a general name applied in many parts of the country to all
glass marbles, including " opals," " glimmers," " bloods,"
" rubies," etc. They are all very beautiful, but their beauty
1 6 Spring
is only skin deep, and when used much they become dull
and full of nicks. Some of these glass marbles are called
" agates " in the East, and hence the genuine agate is
called a " real," to distinguish it from the counterfeit glass
one. Glass marbles are made by melting the glass and
pressing the hot substance in polished metal molds, the
halves of which fit so neatly that no trace of a seam or
line is visible on the glass to mark where the parts of the
mold join.
The " Lucky Taw."
Our lucky taw, or the marble we used when a skilful
shot was required, was carefully selected for its weight and
symmetry, and was generally an agate or real. Agates are
beautiful gems of agate or carnelian, varying in color from
a smoky gray to a blood red, or variegated with mottlings
or stripes of different colors. Agates are made into mar-
bles at Oberstein. The workmen are very skilful. The
stone is first broken into fragments of the proper size, and
then, by means of a hammer, clipped into rude balls ; these
balls are then worn down on the face of a
large grindstone, and are managed with
great dexterity by the workmen, who in
a few minutes bring them into perfect
spheres, after which they are polished by
hand on lapidary wheels.
Cunny Thumb or Scrumpy Knuckled.
If Little Lord Fauntleroy played mar-
bles, any boy could tell you how he would
FlG 'Thumb C " nny S ^oot. He would hold his hand verti-
cally, place his taw or shooter against his
thumb-nail and his first finger. He would shoot " cunny
thumb style," or " scrumpy knuckled." The thumb would
Marbles
flip out weakly (Fig. 5), and the marble would roll on its
way.
Tom Sawyer would lay the back of his fist on the
ground or on his mole-skin " knuckle dabster," hold his taw
between the first and second joints
of the second finger and the first
joint of the thumb, the three small-
er fingers closed and the first finger
partially open (Fig. 6). From this
animated ballista the marble would
shoot through the air for four or five feet, alighting on one
of the ducks in the middle of the ring, sending it flying
outside, while the taw would spin in the spot vacated by
the duck. Tom or Huck Finn would display as much
skill with his taw as an expert billiard player would with
the ivory balls.
FIG. 6. As Tom Would Shoot.
FIG. 7. Western Reserve and New York. FlG. 8. Another and Better Style.
A Southern Way.
Down in Dixie I have frequently seen grown men, white
and black, playing marbles, and one or two of the expert
players held their taw on their second finger, holding the
second finger back with their thumb; then suddenly re-
moving the thumb and straightening out the finger, they
sent the marble, like a bullet, straight to the mark. This
manner of shooting must require much practice, and I
doubt if it is more accurate than the one just described as
Tom's method. Some boys, skilful in the game, squeeze
1 8 Spring
the marble they shoot with between the thumb and the
forefinger, wetting it with their mouth to make it slip
quickly.
The Arabian Way of Shooting.
The dark-faced little Arabs have a curious manner of
shooting. They place their taw in the hollow between the
middle and the forefinger of the left hand, the hand being
flat on the ground with the fingers closed. The forefinger
of the right hand is then pressed firmly on the end joint ol
the middle finger, which pushes the middle finger suddenly
aside, and the forefinger slips out with sufficient force to
propel the shooter very accurately.
There are innumerable games of marbles in vogue in
different sections of the country. I have watched the boys
play in every State east of the Mississippi River, and be-
tween the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Northern Lakes,
and will describe the most popular games.
CHAPTER II
"FAT" AND OTHER FAMOUS GAMES OF MAR-
BLES.
The Uncertainties of " Fat," Sometimes Called " Yank " or " Yankey "
Stand-up Marbles Follerings Knucks, the Long Ring, and Pat-
tersonThe Scientific Bull Ring Duck in a Hole,
Fat.
MAKE a ring that will measure a foot and a half or two
feet across the centre. Then draw a straight line through
the centre from top to bottom, and another straight line
from right to left at right angles to the first through the
centre of the ring, thus dividing it into quarters (Fig. 9).
Each player lays in a duck, that is, puts a marble in the
ring. Where only two play, place one duck on the right
and the other on the left hand side of the ring. If four
boys play, place a marble at the end of each cross line, and
if more boys are in the game put the marbles around the
ring, one for each player.
Beginning the Game.
About ten feet away from the ring scratch a taw or tie
line to shoot from. Here the first player places his knuckle
dabster, knuckles down and shoots at the marbles. If he is
a good marksman and knocks a marble out of the ring he
shoots again from the spot where his taw or shooter rests
20
Spring
and so continues to shoot until he makes a miss, pocketing
all the ducks he knocks out. When he has failed to hit and
knock out a marble, his turn
is over and he must allow
his shooter to lie where V
rolled.
Number Two's Play.
Number two now takes his
turn. Knuckling down at the
taw line, he shoots as number
one did, or if number one's
taw is within range, he shoots
at that, and if he is fortunate
or skilful enough to hit num-
ber one's taw, then number
one must hand over to num-
ber two all the ducks he (num-
ber one) has knocked out of
the ring. If number two's
luck still continues and he is
able to hit number one's taw
again, then number one is
considered " killed," that is,
he must put his taw in his
pocket and quit playing until
another game is started.
When number two misses,
number three knuckles down
FIG. 9. Fat Ring. at the taw line and shoots at
the ducks in the ring, or at his
opponent's taw, if that marble is within range.
TAW LINE.
"Fat" and Other Famous Games 21
" Killing."
When only two boys are playing if one " kills " the other,
of course the killer wins the game, and more ducks are laid
in and a new game started. The first man killed is the last
to shoot in the next game, and the second man killed is next
to the last to shoot, etc. In some sections of the country
when three boys are playing the third boy is required al-
ways to shoot his taw across the ring, whether he shoots at
the other taws or at the ducks.
The Uncertainties of "Yank."
It will not take a beginner in this game long to learn
that his safety lies in keeping his own taw as far as possible
away from his neighbors', and when he shoots in their direc-
tion he will shoot hard. One player may secure all the
ducks but one and then miss, and the next player by strik-
ing the first's taw compel him to turn over to him all the
ducks he has knocked out.
It does not require much wit to see that there is more to
be gained by shooting at your neighbor's taw if the neigh-
bor has been lucky than there is shooting at the one lone
duck in the ring.
It sometimes takes good players a half, three quarters, or
a full hour to finish one game. Often two or three unlucky
players will combine against a lucky one and peg away at
the lucky one's taw until he is compelled to give up the
ducks he has knocked out. Another way to play this game
is to make the player whose taw is hit replace in the ring all
the marbles he has previously succeeded in knocking out.
Stand-up Marbles.
There is no skill required in this game, and the only ex-
cuse for its existence is that the rapid growth of our big
cities has had the effect of so covering the boys' play-grounds
22 Spring
with buildings and other obstructions that the boys are
compelled to adopt such games as they can play under the
existing conditions. So " Stand-up Megs " has become
popular in many places.
Make a two-foot ring about six inches from a convenient
house or fence. Use a " bum boozer " for a taw and stand
at the taw line about six feet from the ring. Hold up your
taw and take aim with your right eye, and shoot by hunch-
ing at the marbles in the ring. If you miss, pick up your
big taw and let the next boy shoot. If any one knocks one
or more ducks out, he continues to shoot until he fails.
Each boy takes his turn until all the ducks are knocked out
of the ring. Another way to play the game is to make a
hole in the ground and place a duck for each player in the
hole, then standing at the taw mark the players with their
" bowlers " or " bumboozers " shoot as already described.
If a player's taw or shooter fails to knock out any megs and
remains in the hole, then he must put in as many ducks
as " are up " before he is allowed to remove his taw.
" Follerings," or Followings,
is a travelling game, generally played by the boys on
their way to school, or often, I am afraid, when they are
sent on errands by their mothers. Although this game is
a travelling game it is unnecessary to say that it does not
lend haste to the traveller. In fact, it must be acknowl-
edged that more speed can be made by a boy on an errand
if he omits to play the game on his way.
The rules of "Follering" are simple. " First " shoots
his marble in the direction he wants to travel, and " Second"
shoots his marble at the " First's " taw. Thus they shoot
each in turn until one boy is lucky enough to hit his oppo-
nent's taw. That means a duck for the fortunate one, or
" Fat " and Other Famous Games 23
else a point in the game and another shot at his opponent's
marble. He continues to shoot until he misses, and so the
game goes on.
" Everything,'* and " Fen everything ! " are the cries in
this game. If one player before he shoots cries " Every-
thing " before his opponent can cry " Fen everything,"
then the shooter may " hist," that is, as already explained,
hold his marble up and shoot, or he may remove a brick,
can, old shoe, or whatever object accident may place be-
tween him and his opponent's marble, or he may take
" roundsters," going one side or the other of any object that
may be in the way. But he cannot go any nearer the
other boy's marble than his first position. If, however,
the other player cries " Fen everything ! " first, then
the shooter must knuckle down and make the best of it.
The Art of Babying.
If one player hits his opponent's taw and knocks it into
a gully, a hole, or the gutter and his own taw does not fly
far away, he shouts " Everything ! " if possible before the
other player can say " Fen," and then he commences a series
of soft, easy shots, each of which counts just the same as a
long, difficult one. With care a good shot can baby away
until his opponent shouts himself hoarse with cries of " Fen
babying ! Fen everything ! Fen histing ! Fen roundsters !
Knuckle down." To all these cries the player pays no at-
tention, but continues to shoot until he carelessly makes
a miss. Then the other player has his revenge and babies
away, to the great discomfort of his opponent.
Follerings starts where the two lads meet and lasts
until the school-house or some other objective point is
reached. It can be played almost anywhere, and is quite
exciting enough to meet the approval of most boys.
Spring
Knucks.
This is a game of give and take. One boy, called
"knucks," places a small marble between his knuckles and
rests his hand on the ground. The other player knuckles
down at the taw line four or five feet away and shoots at
the marble between the fingers of his playmate. It is cus-
tomary to knuckle down and loft, or shoot through the air,
and not bowl along the ground. The taw marble or
shooter used is of medium size. Every time the marble in
" knucks' " hand is hit it counts one ; every time " knucks' "
FIG. la A Game of Knucks.
knuckles are hit it gives "knucks" a shot at the first
shooter.
Suppose that it is agreed that each player should have
three shots, and there are two in the game. Number one
shoots three times, hits the marble once, and the knuckles
twice. Then number one wins one count, and number two,
who has been " knucks," takes his three shots, and two
shots to pay for the two raps he had on his knuckles.
That makes five shots he has at number one.
Unless number two is an expert he is going to hit
number one's knuckles a number of times in his five shots,
but number one grins and bears it, as he knows that the
rules of the game will give him satisfaction. There is no
" Fat " and Other Famous Games
end to this game, and it only stops when both boys agree
that their knuckles demand a rest.
If one boy is a good player and the other a poor one
the good player wins the most points, but the bad player
makes the other's knuckles suffer for their skill.
The Long Ring.
About eight feet beyond the taw line,
make a ring composed of two parts of a
circle crossing each other at the ends (Fig.
n), a fish-shaped ring with its head toward
taw line. Draw a straight line through
the centre of the long ring to lay the mar-
bles on. If only two boys are playing and
each lays in a duck, one marble should be
at each end of the ring. If more than two
play, or if more than one duck apiece is
laid in, then they should be placed along
the line in the centre of the ring.
When number one shoots, if there are
only two marbles he generally " sneaks,"
that is, he bowls, as some call it, or shoots
his marble with just sufficient force to
cause his taw to roll slowly along and come
to a rest as near as possible one of the
marbles in the ring.
In doing this number one runs the risk
of being killed by number two, whose turn
it now is to shoot, and if there are only
two in the game, and number two kills FlG - " The Lon s
number one, this gives the game to. num-
ber two, but if there are more in the game it puts number
one out, and number two has another shot at the ducks in
26 Spring
the ring, and continues to shoot until he misses. Then
number three shoots, or if number one is not dead, and only
two are playing, number one shoots from the spot where
his taw lies.
Any player can sneak whenever he thinks he dare r;sk
it. Of course a sneak is a shot and he must run the chance
of being killed ; but if he is killed he can, when his turn
comes around, lay in as many ducks as he did at first, and
then placing another duck near the taw line, knuckle down
and shoot, hitting the near duck on one side so as to cause
his taw or shooter to fly down toward the ring. It often
happens that in this way he can make up for what points he
lost by being killed. If he makes a miss he leaves his taw
where it rests, and the next player takes his turn.
Patterson.
This game is played like " Fat," previously described,
and often goes by that name, but in place of the round ring
used in real Fat the Patterson boys use the taw line and the
oblong or fish-shaped ring of the Long Ring game. The
principal difference between Long Ring and Patterson is
that you must hit your opponent's taw twice to kill him, and
he cannot come to life again by laying in when his turn
comes and shooting at a duck near the taw line. The first
time you hit his taw you win all the points he may have
made, the second time you strike his taw you put him out
of the game and there is one less to fight against ; hence
there is not much sneaking in Patterson.
Gambling Games.
" Sports " among boys may frequently be seen trying to
entice other boys to pay a stated number of marbles a shot
at a notched and numbered shingle. The " sport " holds the
"Fat" and Other Famotis Games 27
shingle with his hand and rests the edge with the notches in
it on the ground, while the player shoots from taw at the
notch with the biggest number. He seldom goes through,
but if he succeeds, the " sport " pays him back as many
marbles as are designated by the number over the notch his
marble went through. This is a great game for cheating ;
a slight movement of the shingle from one side to the other
will make the best shot miss, and, like all gambling games,
create ill feeling, and frequently the game is only decided
by the fists of the players.
The Bull Ring.
One of the really scientific games is the old-fashioned Bull
Ring, which is from four to ten feet in diameter. The
ducks are placed a few inches apart on a cross scratched in
the middle of the ring. The number of ducks varies ac-
cording to how many " a whack," or how many " up " or to
" lay in " may be agreed upon. If four or five boys are in
the game, " one up " makes a nice pot of ducks to shoot at.
If but two boys are playing they sometimes lay in three,
four, or even more ducks apiece, according to their wealth.
The boy who cries " First " soonest is accorded the first
shot, and the others in their order. In case of dispute they
" lag " for turn. Each player knuckles down and shoots for
the opposite side of the ring, and their turns come in the
order of their success ; the nearest first and the most dis-
tant last.
Of course the object of the game is to knock out all the
ducks if possible. Sometimes the first player, by a combi-
nation of luck and skill, will " skin the ring " before the
others have had a shot. The first player knuckles down
and lofts at the ducks in the middle of the ring. If he
strikes one properly, his taw should stand or spin in place of
28
Spring
the fleeing duck. The duck must reach or pass the line that
makes the ring to be out and pocketed by the player, who
now shoots from the place where his taw stands.
Sometimes his shooter will fly out of the ring, but if the
duck is knocked out he continues to shoot, again knuckling
down on the ring. In case he misses one shot, number
two takes his turn. Whenever a slip is made or a hit fails
to knock the duck from the ring and the shooter comes to
FIG. 12. A Game in a Bull Ring.
rest inside the bull ring, it must remain where it is until the
player's turn comes again or until the shooter is knocked
out by one of the other players. If the shooter or taw in
the ring is knocked out by another player's taw, the owner
of the latter is out of the game, or killed, and there is one
less to fight against. The player who knocks the taw out
not only has another shot, but is entitled to pick one of the
ducks from the ring as a reward for his luck. He continues
to shoot until he misses.
In case two or more ducks are knocked out at one shot,
if the player succeeds in crying " Dubs ! " before the others
" Fat " and Other Famous Games 29
cry " Fen dubs ! " he is entitled to all he knocks out, other-
wise he must replace all but one marble, but continue to
shoot until he fails to knock out a duck. If a player is
caught " hunching," that is, shoving his fist beyond the ring
while shooting, and makes a lucky hit, he must replace the
marble and shoot over again. " Histings " and the use of
" bowlers" are debarred in the bull ring.
Sneaking or Dribbling.
Sneaking is allowed ; that is, shooting the taw slowly,
so that it will stop in or near the centre. This counts as a
turn, and the marble is allowed to rest there until the sneak-
er's turn comes round again, in which case, if he has not
been killed by some other player, he shoots from the spot
occupied by his taw.
If a dead man's turn comes around and there are enough
ducks in the ring to warrant the risk, the dead man may
re-enter by laying in the middle twice as many ducks as the
game required at first and placing still another duck near
the edge of the ring to carom on. He shoots at the carom
duck with the hopes of knocking it out and flying in the
centre, where, if he is " any good " he will " skin the ring."
Often the dead man is unsuccessful and the game goes on.
Duck-in-a-Hole.
This game is played with three shallow holes in a line at
right angles with a taw line which should be about ten feet
distant from the first hole. The holes are three feet apart.
The object of each player is to shoot his marble so that it
will go in and remain in the first hole. If successful in this
he is allowed to place his thumb on the edge of the first
hole, and using his hand as a pair of dividers, by a twist of
30 Spring
the wrist he describes, that is, traces with the ends of his fin-
gers, a curved line on the ground.
This is called taking a span, and the player then knuckles
down on the span line and shoots for the second hole. Tak-
ing another span he shoots for the third, and if successful
he now takes a span back toward the middle hole and shoots
for that. If he again succeeds he takes a span and shoots
for the first hole, and if he fails not in this he is a " duck "
and can take two spans from the spot where his marble
lies every time he shoots. When he has gone forward and
backward twice he is allowed three spans, and when he has
gone backward and forward three times he is a " King
Duck " and can take four spans.
If the first player misses the first hole, player number
two shoots. If number two's marble rolls in the first hole
and stays there he looks around for the first player's taw,
and when he discovers it, if he feels certain he can hit it,
he takes a span, knuckles down and cracks away at number
one's taw. If he hits it he places his own marble in the sec-
ond hole and proceeds to try for the next until he misses.
Then the next player tries his luck.
When number one's turn comes around again he shoots
for the first hole, knuckling down on the spot to which
number two knocked his (number one's) taw.
King Duck.
Each player strives to be King Duck first. Each time
one player hits another player's taw the lucky player
counts one point, and the one hit loses a point.
When one player is King Duck it is hard on the others,
because as soon as they miss a hole he is on them. For his
four spans from the nearest hole will almost always bring
him within short shooting distance of any marble that has
"Fat" and Other Famous Games 31
missed a hole, and when he hits that marble he generally
manages to hit it hard enough to send it flying.
By the time three boys have won the title of King Duck
the game is over. At the advent of the second King Duck
the first monarch divides with him and gives him one of
the end holes to command, and he keeps the other two.
When the third man is King the first King assigns him the
remaining end hole and retains command of the middle
hole, but by this time the boys are ready to stop for a rest
Each time a player hits a marble it counts one point, and
the game may be for ten points or ten thousand points.
Meg-in-a-Hole
differs from the preceding game of Duck-in-a-Hole, first,
in the fact that there is no taw line. The first player
shoots from one end hole at the middle hole. After he suc-
ceeds in shooting into the middle hole he is entitled to a
span, but he has no more than a span until he is King,
having gone backward and forward three times.
The King can take one foot (his own foot for a measure)
and a span from the first hole, two feet and a span from the
second hole, and three feet and a span from the third hole
before shooting at any other player's marble that has made
a miss.
This gives the King great power, and it is hard to
escape him. It often happens that the King knocks the
other marbles fifteen or more feet away from their holes,
and it is no easy matter for the unfortunate player to ap-
proach the holes again.
If a second player wins the title of King, the first King
assigns him the first hole to guard, because there is less
shooting for it, for the players only go in it three times,
while they go six times in the middle hole. The third hole
32 Spring
is next best to the middle, or, as I heard one boy put it,
njxt worse to the first hole." If a player misses it and a
1 ing is loafing around, the player does not stand much
chance of getting near it again. When all have become
Kings the game is over.
Meg-on-a-String.
This is a game of skill, and at this day finds little favor.
The boys seem to prefer the less skilful and ruder games,
such as Stand-up marbles, a game I notice the lads playing
under the lamp-posts after dark ; and so primitive has the
sport become in the great cities, that in place of the beautiful
agate for a taw these boys use stones, which they hold up to
one eye, then pitch at a group of shamefaced marbles hud-
dled together in a hole in the ground.
But Meg-on-a-String requires a higher sort of skill to
play, and the successful player must be a good shot at fair
knuckling-down shooting.
In a crack in a friendly fence a small stick is so thrust
that its free end is about three feet outside the fence line.
From near the end of the stick threads are hung about
three inches apart, and on the ends of the threads are
small lumps of shoemaker's wax. By pressing the wax
against a small alley, commie, crystal, china, plaster, or
agate, the marbles will adhere and swing from the ends of
the threads. The latter should be so adjusted that the
marbles clear the ground by an inch or two.
There is no ring in this game, but a taw line is scratched
about four feet from the meg stick, and a marble for each
player hangs from the stick. It is all knuckling down and
lofting in this game, and the swinging marbles are kept in
motion, it being against the rules for any boy to shoot at
a stationary duck. He is only allowed to wait until the
" Fat " and Other Famous Games 33
marbles cease to strike against each other, then he most
shoot.
When the first player misses, the second player shoots.' -,
If the first player's taw is within reach he may shoot at
that, and if he hits it then the owner of the unlucky taw
is dead and out of the game, and the boy who killed him
has another shot at the swinging marbles, or if there are
only two players, he wins the game.
What Counts.
To make a successful hit it is deemed necessary to
knock the swinging duck off the string, otherwise the
shot does not count. When a player's taw is too near the
fence he can cry " Sidings," and move to one side far
enough to enable him to shoot with comfort. But if the
other boys cry " Fen Sidings " before he cries " Sidings,"
then the player must make the best of his ill luck and
shoot. It is allowable to sneak, that is, to shoot with so
little force that your taw will only roll to the spot near the
swinging marbles and rest there, but a sneaker always
runs the risk of being killed and put out of the game by
the next in turn.
" Dubs " and " Fen dubs," " Sidings " and " Fen sidings "
are all the cries in this game, because the rules of the
game are " Fen histings," " Fen clearances," " Fen, fen every-
thing," except sidings and dubs, and it is even fen to these
if a player shouts the word in time.
The reader can readily see that no bad shot at marbles
need try this game with any hope of success, but to the
real sportsmen among the boys the game will be popular.
Old players try to get a position flanking the swinging
ducks, as this position has a double advantage. First, if
the player misses the first marble, he is liable to hit one of
3
34 Spring
the others, and second, as it is necessary to loft and shoot
hard in order to knock a marble off the string, if he misses
his taw he strikes against the fence and bounds back to
practically the same position he shot from, in place of
hurtling off ten or twelve feet, or away or back over the
taw line.
For over two thousand years boys have been playing
marbles, and have developed some really scientific games,
which much older people might play without loss of
dignity. But since the game is confined practically to the
youngsters, it behooves them to see to it that the noble and
ancient games of marbles are not degraded into shingle
gambling boards and pitch rock.
Injun, Block, or Square Ring.
After reading over the preceding description of mar-
ble games to a young Brooklyn friend of mine, he exclaimed,
" Well ! You have left out Block. We play Block in Brook-
lyn."
Now it is . ot the intention of the author to slight Brook-
lyn in this book, and a game that they can play there must
be adapted to any large city. Block is played with a square
ring, if we may be allowed to call a square a ring, and the
ring is quartered as it is in Fat, a game to which Block is
akin. As in Fat, the marbles are laid in on the intersections
of the cross lines, but the taw line is about thirty feet away.
This game is sometimes called Injun, a corruption of Ind-
ian, probably because the game is a game of extermina-
tion. For, in order to win, you must kill all the other
players. Hence, you can see that " First " plays at a disad-
vantage, there being no one for him to kill ; if he knocks
out a duck he must replace it. If a taw stops inside the
ring, that is a fatal shot, for he has killed himself and is out
" Fat " and Other Famous Games 35
of the game. So when the
first player shoots he does not
knuckle down, but toes the taw
line and tosses his taw for a
good position near the ring.
For good and sufficient
reasons the second player has
no desire to get near the first,
so he throws his marble with
sufficient force to send it
through the ring out of reach
of First, hoping that his taw
may be fortunate enough to
knock out a duck on its way.
Because if number two knocks
out a duck, he can, before re-
placing the duck, go back to
taw and holding the duck in
his left hand shoot his taw
with his right so that it will
strike on the top or side of the
duck and fly off near First's
taw, which he may then hit
and kill.
If number two misses the
duck, number three pitches his
marble off to one side, and
thus the game goes on, each
boy doing his best to guard
his own taw and to hit and kill
his neighbor's taw, knocking
TAW LINE.
FIG. 13. The Block or Square Ring.
out ducks when the opportunity comes for the sake of
the privilege of going back to taw and making a flying
Spring
shot from the duck to the neighborhood of his playmate's
marble.
At the end of the game the same number of ducks of
course remain in the ring
that were placed there. If
any player misses the duck
that he is trying to make
a fly shot on he loses his
turn, and has the mortifi-
cation of seeing his taw
roll dangerously near an
opponent, where he must
allow it to remain and run
the chance of being killed.
When all but one are killed
the survivor is " Big In-
jun " and has won the
game. A similar game is
played in other places with
the moon ring (Fig. 14).
There are numerous
other games played in the
cities which are the out-
growth of the cramped
spaces the boys have for
FIG. 14. The Moon Ring.
play-grounds, but as they
differ in different cities and also in different parts of the
same city and are only modifications of the games given
here, they will be omitted.
TAW LINE.
FIG. 15. Top Time in the City. A Game of Plug in the Ring on the Housetop.
CHAPTER III
TOP TIME
Whip Tops Home-made Tops Peg Tops Plug in the Ring Chip
Stone Racing Tops.
THERE is no doubt about it boys are the most con-
servative people in the world. Nations have been born,
grown great, and died, leaving only mouldering ruins to tell
of their former grandeur, but when those nations were
young, boys were whipping tops, and to-day boys are be-
laboring their tops with a lash of soiled rags with as much
vigor and enthusiasm as if the latter were newly discovered
toys.
In fact the boys are more enthusiastic than they would
be over a new toy. No game or toy is considered re-
spectable unless its ancestry is lost in the murky atmos-
38 Spring
phere that covers the pre-historic past. Ever since I can
remember each season has brought forth some novelty in
tops, but the whip-top and the peg-top still hold their own
and the novelties are lost and forgotten.
In the house, an American boy will occasionally conde-
scend to spin a musical top or a whistling or humming top
to amuse his little sister, but he never thinks of taking
such toys on the play-ground or in the street to spin before
his comrades and school-fellows.
With all these facts before me I dare not propose a
new style of top or suggest a new game, because both
would go to the land of useless toys, a land grown-up
men spend time and labor to supply with toys which boys
will not use and games which boys will not play. I say a
land for lack of a better name. No one knows what
becomes of all the wonderful inventions for boys that boys
do not want unless they go to a place where very bad
boys go who are compelled to play these new-fangled
games and spin these wonderful tops as a punishment for
sins committed in this glorious world, where good boys
have the old reliable peg-top and its even more ancient
brother, the whip-top.
Home-made Tops.
As for home-made tops, those made of a spool are the
favorites, and are usually made to spin by a twist of the
finger and thumb. To make one it is only necessary to
whittle a stick to a diameter a trifle greater than the hole
in the spool, and hammer it in so that a part of the stick
will protrude at both ends. Then whittle off one of the
flanges of the spool, and bring the stick at that end to a
point for a peg. Cut off all but about an inch of the stick
from the other end, and your spool top is finished.
Top Time
39
A boy that I had in my studio made a top with an old
tin blacking-box and some lead pipe, which he melted and
poured into the mould. When it was cool he had a flat
leaden disk. But first he took a wooden spool, and cut off
one flange and whittled the end to a blunt point. Next he
cut a hole in the blacking-box, so that the spool could be
forced in, and made to stick there.
FIGS. 16, 17 and 18.
FIGS. 19 and 20.
FIGS, si and 22.
CONSTRUCTION OF HOMK-MADB TOPS.
FIGS. 16, 17, 18, 19, and 22 show construction of slack-rope dancing top ; x and y,
Figs. 20 and 21, show parts of top with double peg. FIG. 22 is a top with a solid
peg for spinning on the table.
I asked him what sort of top he was making, and he
replied, " A slack-rope dancer."
This proved to be the case, for he made a peg for
the top with a notch in one end, and he spun the top for
me on a string for a slack rope. Figs. 16, 17, 18, and 19
show the construction of this ingenious toy.
Afterward he made another somewhat similar top with
a movable stick and fixed peg, spun it, removed the stick,
and inserted pieces of bent wire, which, when the latter
4o Spring
were whirled around, looked like glass goblets, vases, and
various other objects.
The materials are cheap, and the labor light, in making
this top. Try it !
Plug in the Ring.
The " plugger " is the top you spin, the " bait " is the
top or tops you try to strike with your " plugger."
A top is "asleep " when it stands perfectly erect and ap-
parently motionless while spinning. A " gigler " is a top
that goes dancing and hopping about. " A dead top " is
one that has ceased to spin ; all bait tops are necessarily
dead tops.
Boys use as much care in selecting their pegger or
plugger as they do in choosing their taw or shooter in
marbles. Some prefer a rather long spindle top, others a
short, heavy boxwood plugger. All tops should have screw
pegs, for these are rarely driven up through the top so as
to split them. Besides, the screw top is not so apt to drop
out as the common ringed peg.
Get a Good String.
As a rule, I think, the string sold for top string in New
York is too light. A cord half as thick again gives better
results.
Select for a string a rather heavy cotton cord, about a
yard long. At one end fasten a wooden button mould, or,
better still, an old bone button. About an inch and a half
from the other end tie a hard knot in the string and allow
the end to fray out below the knot (see Figure 23). Wet
the end of the string and plaster it diagonally up the side
of the top. Then wind tightly until the string covers the
bottom nearly to the top of the top, leaving enough string
Top Time
to wrap around the hand. Slip the string between the first
and second fingers, so that the button fits on the outside of
the hand ; then wind the slack around the hand until the
top fits tightly, with the big
end grasped by the first fin-
ger bending over it. The
peg should rest on the
outside of the thumb be-
tween the first and second
joints.
To spin the top, raise
your hand above and back
of your head (see second
boy, Fig. 15) ; bring it down
forcibly and throw the top
six or eight feet in front of
you (see third boy, Fig. 15).
Don't jerk back. If you
have made a proper throw
the top will spin " for all it
FIG. 23. Winding a Top.
is worth."
Now for the game : Mark out a bull ring about six feet
in diameter and in the centre mark a smaller ring about a
foot in diameter. Put as many tops in the centre as there
are players, and toss up for first shot or decide your turns
in any manner you may agree upon. Many boys play with-
out turns, each spinning his top as soon as he can wind it.
The first player winds up his plugger with care and
grasps it firmly in his hand, then with his left toe on the out-
side ring he tries to hit the tops in the centre. If he misses
and fails to spin, or if he strikes outside of the centre circle,
he must put another top in the middle and await his next
turn. If he strikes the tops with the big end of his plugger
42 Spring
it counts a miss, and all he knocks out must be replaced ;
but if the peg of his plugger strikes a top and sends it out
of the little centre ring he pockets the bait top and spins
or plugs again.
If his plugger strikes in the small ring and spins there,
and by knocking against the tops knocks them out, it is
called a hit he wins the tops knocked out and has another
turn. A good player will sometimes spin his plugger in
the small ring and fail to knock out any tops. In this case
the player must allow his top to stop spinning before he
touches it, and if, when it tires out, or " dies," as the boys
call it, it fails to roll out of the ring, he must place another
top in the centre.
A Great Honor.
Good players will often split one of the tops in the middle
ring by the force and accuracy with which their plugger's
peg strikes the " bait.'* This is considered a great honor,
but, of course, it ruins the bait top.
You cannot play Plug in the Ring until you learn to
hold and throw a top as described above. The baby man-
ner of spinning by jerking back the string is never ac-
curate and has not enough force to split a pea. Neither
must you hold your top like a girl, with the greater part
under the forefinger and the peg sticking into the ball of
the thumb.
I have frequently seen this game played " for keeps,"
but the bait was composed of toothless, battered wrecks of
tops that had no other value than as trophies of victory.
The proper game is to use the bait you win as marks or
scores, and after the game is finished return them to their
proper owners. The object of the game is not to win tops,
but to derive pleasure from a test of skill.
Top Time 43
Chip Stone.
In the gravel-pit or somewhere along the river, creek,
lake, or sea-shore may be found disk-shaped stones called
" skippers " or " sailors," because the boys can make them
sail through the air or skip over the surface of the water.
These stones are used for counters in the game of Chip
Stone. The pure white or semi-transparent skippers, about
the size of an old-fashioned copper cent, are the kind se-
lected.
A bull ring about five feet in diameter is made on the
ground, or two taw lines about five feet apart are drawn on
the sidewalk, and each boy, as in marbles, " lays in " a
counter. If the game is on the sidewalk the skippers are
placed in a row between the two taw lines. If in a bull
ring the stones are placed in a small circle in the centre of
the ring.
In turn each player spins his top and plugs at the
skippers in the ring or between the taw lines ; if his top
fails to spin he "lays in " another skipper.
If his top " dies," that is, stops spinning inside the ring,
he " lays in " another stone. But if his top spins as it
should he takes it up on a little wooden shovel and drops
it so that the peg hits the edge of a counter; he con-
tinues to scoop up and drop the top so long as it will
spin, or until it has knocked a counter over the taw line
or outside the ring, in which case, as in marbles, he has
another turn.
Chip Stone is really a game of marbles in which sailors
or skippers are used for ducks and tops are used for taws.
Of course each boy takes great pride in his collection of
trophies, each of which he considers as a medal won by
his *upn<?r skill as a top spinner. No clumsy, awkward
44 Spring
top spinner can hope to have many sailors in his pocket
unless he hunts them in the gravel-pit in place of com-
peting for them at the bull ring or between the taw lines.
Fig. 24 shows the wooden shovel or spoon which each
player should make for himself with his own pocket-knife.
Sweet smelling red cedar is the choice wood, but almost
any other kind will answer.
Whip-Tops Eel-skin Whips the Best.
As a rule boys use old rags for their whips. These soon
become very much soiled and look untidy, but the real
FIG. 24. The Wooden Chip Stone Shovel.
sportsman, be he man or boy, takes great pride in his
guns, fish-rods, skates, golf-sticks, or top-whips ; and such
boys prefer for a top-whip an eel-skin fastened to a short
wooden handle.
Country boys catch their own eels, city boys get the
skins at the fish market.
A whip-top can be made of any sort of wood, and in place
of a peg a brass hollow-headed furniture-tack is driven
into the point where the peg of an ordinary top is located.
Top Time 45
To Spin the Top.
Put your whip under your left arm and take the top in
your right hand, and grasping it with your thumb and
second finger give it a smart twirl. If this is skilfully
done the top will spin long enough for you to grasp the
handle of your eel-skin whip and give it a lash, striking
outward and drawing the whip toward you at the end
of the stroke.
Fighting Tops.
At the word " Go ! " two boys spin their tops and then
thrash the poor things until they bump together. The top
that knocks its opponent out of the bull ring in which they
are spun is the King Top. It is considered a foul for one
boy to strike his opponent's top with his whip or in any way
interfere with it except by guiding his own top in the path
of the other. A top that stops spinning is beaten, not with
the whip, but by the other top that keeps alive.
Racing Tops.
Two taw lines are drawn on the hard ground or side-
walk, and at the word " Go ! " all the boys in the game spin
their tops and belabor them with might and main, endeav-
oring at the same time to compel them to travel over the
space between the taw lines before their opponents can
cover the distance. It requires no little skill to drive a
successful race.
Whipping tops, like most of the favorite games of boys,
is a very old sport. The little boys in Old Testament times
played the game just as you are playing it now. West of
the Allegheny Mountains the whip-top is not as often seen
as in the neighborhood of New York City.
FIG. 25. Kite Time.
Though marble time can't always last,
Though time for spinning tops is past,
The winds of March blow kite time here,
And April fools' day, too, draws near.
CHAPTER IV
LATEST THINGS IN KITES
For Practical Uses Steering Kites Life Savers Men Lifters and
Other Novel Forms Kites as Motive Power The Malay Variety.
KITE time begins with March, or used to when the writer
was a boy, in Cincinnati. Even the blustering March wind
must be weaker in the Ohio River Valley than here on the
coast. If some one had imported an ordinary New York
kite into Ohio and shown it to the boys there they would
have told him to go and get a shingle and it would fly
better, but now the author must modify his judgment and
admit that the heavy sticks and apparently careless pasting
Latest Things in Kites
47
on the Atlantic-coast kites are necessary to give them
strength to brave the gales from off the ocean. In place of
the twine used in New York we flew our kites with cotton
thread, and it was only an extra large kite that required
white cotton string. The dainty tissue-paper covered kite,
with its framework of delicate match sticks that is used in
the interior of our country, would be wrecked by the first
blast of the boisterous March wind on the coast.
Grave professors and men of dry scientific minds often
take to boys' sports in a heavy, ponderous fashion, and try
to demonstrate some pet theory of their own by means of
the boys' playthings. Old Ben Franklin did not think it
beneath his dignity to fly a kite. Had Benjamin consulted
the modern Ameri-
can boy he would
have been told not
to use the European
bow kite, but to take
the coffin-shaped or
American hexagon-
al kite for his experi-
ment, or one of the
tailless kites that
have lately become
so popular with
grown-up scientific
kite flyers.
Kites for Practical
Uses.
The engineers
who constructed the
first bridge across
FIG. 26. The Inevitable Bow Kite. Sticks are Rep-
resented by Thick Lines. Strings are Represented
by Thin Lines. Where the Paper is Folded and
Pasted the Edges are Represented by Dotted
Lines.
48
Spring
Niagara River did not refuse to accept as a means of com-
munication between the shores a line placed there by a kite.
Sixty years ago an Englishman by the name of Ward sug-
gested the use of a kite as a means of establishing commu-
nication between vessels wrecked upon the off-lying rocks
of a lee shore and the mainland. Being an Englishman, he
selected, of course, the inevitable bow kite (Fig. 26), with
its tail festooned with bunches of paper in the manner
made respectable by ages of use.
I give his method because it may be of use to boys in
accomplishing some other object, such as stretching a home-
made telephone line across the intervening space between
two big apartment houses,
or across a river or lake in
the country, or for a thou-
sand other purposes dear to
a boy.
The Pulley and Weight
Kite.
Mr. Ward's method of
using a kite as a means of
suspending and conveying
a line ashore is as follows :
At a short distance be-
low the kite's bellyband,
attach to the kite-string a
loop and suspend from the
loop a pulley light enough
in weight not to impede the
flight of the Weight and
Pulley Kite. Over this pulley pass a second string and fas-
ten the weight to the end, the other end of the string being
FIG. 27. The Pulley and Weight Kite.
Latest Things in Kites 49
aboard the ship. When the kite has sailed through the
storm until it floats over the land, no more line is given out,
and the kite becomes a stationary point, from which the
weight attached to the end of the line is allowed to drop,
and thus form a communication between the ship and the
shore. In an experiment made by the inventor, the kite
was found to fly best with the weight hung at least ten
yards below the kite. (See Fig. 27.)
In 1893 the New York underwriters took to flying im-
mense star kites covered with oil-cloth. These kites had
two bellybands and two strings to guide or steer the kites
by, and tails of jute, with a life buoys attached.
The two-stringed star kite is an invention of Professor
J. Woodbridge Davis of New York. (See Fig. 29.)
Steering Kites.
Seven years ago the professor began to experiment in
flying kites, and being displeased with the stationary posi-
tion ordinarily assumed by them, and not satisfied with the
wig-waggle of the short-tailed or the darting of the light-
tailed variety, which imparts so much excitement to the
young novice, he added two bellybands and two strings, by
means of which after a little practice he was able to steer
his kite around the sky and make it perform all manner of
queer and absurd antics, to the great delight of the small
boys.
It is said that the professor became so proficient with
his kite that he could make it cut out letters in the sky,
dance and dive, and do other marvellous things. He also
found that he could make it go off the wind many degrees.
In speaking of what he could now make the kite do, he
said it would not sail upon the wind as the Vigilant and
Valkyrie did, but it could make some very remarkable tacks.
50 Spring
Driving a Kite Attached to a Wagon.
A couple of his pupils last summer took a carriage ride
on the shore of Long Island, in the vicinity of Arverne,
and the nag they drove was a star-shaped kite, seven feet
in diameter.
These two young men conceived the idea of propelling
a wagon by means of one of these kites. They arranged
a four-wheeled vehicle with a platform, placing a seat in the
FIG. 28. Wagon Attached to Kite. FIG. 29. The Double Belly-Banded Kite.
rear, in front of which is a long box wherein to place one's
feet, so that the weight can be as low as possible. The
arrangement allows one plenty of room to manipulate
the cord of each windlass by means of a crank and a brake.
The other passenger sits on a little more elevated seat near
the front, where he can work a sort of brake, the shaft of
which is connected with a simple device for steering the
front wheels. The wheels are all the same size, three feet
four inches, and are strongly made. The tray is four feet
eight inches.
Latest Things in Kites 51
A favorable breeze sent up the kite, and soon the wagon
was following the new motor along the beach. By being
able to steer the kite to right or left they were enabled to
follow the line of the shore.
If any of the readers of this book are ambitious to make
an experiment, they had better try a small hand wagon
with a much smaller kite for motive power (Fig. 28).
Kites will pull a wagon, as has been demonstrated many
times, and if the kite can be steered then the greatest diffi-
culty is overcome.
Why not Use a Sled?
Attached to a sled in winter time such a kite would
afford royal sport, and something entirely new. There
are many places where a sled could be used on the smooth
snow or ice that would be impracticable for any kind of a
wagon.
Keeled Buoys Towed by Kites near New York City.
Boys! Keep your eyes on Bayonne, New Jersey.
There appears to be a nest of inveterate kite-fliers there.
First we hear of one thing and then of another in the
kite line, and each time some man from Bayonne is mixed
up in it, or at least he is at one end of the line.
Lately Mr. Eddy has been experimenting with Professor
J. Woodbridge Davis's keeled kite buoy. The buoy here
referred to is a float, not a boy, as the old song has it :
" Meaning a buoy for the ship what sails,
And not a boy of the juvenile males."
The kites used in the experiment were from the
"stables" of Mr. Eddy. The five-foot tailless kite that
Commodore Vermilye and Mr. Eddy first sent up on this
52 Spring
occasion had a perforated centre, which allowed some of
the wind to escape through the hole or holes in the kite, and
made it less liable to pull hard suddenly, when struck by
a squall or wind puff. In other words, the perforation
answered for, and was the kite's safety-valve.
The First Experiment.
The buoy was sent out from the Port Richmond side,
while the kites went up from the Bergen Point side, for
the reason that the wind was southerly, southwesterly, and
westerly, often carrying the kites inland, beyond the
Bergen Point shore.
The keel buoy was put in a rowboat and rowed to Port
Richmond. A six-foot kite was flying, attached to about
four hundred feet of cord which was fastened to the buoy
in the boat rowed by John A. Weaver, with Mr. Eddy
holding the kite cord.
The buoy was dropped overboard and cut loose at
4.20 P.M., the wind having shifted to westerly, and al-
though the kite pulled eastward, the buoy moved north-
ward, the adjustment being such that the buoy tacked
under the side pull like a yacht. Its speed was very
unequal, owing to the irregular pull of the kite, but the
buoy reached the marsh above the Port Johnson coal docks
at 4.29, making the distance of a mile in nine minutes. Mr.
Weaver rowed for the Port Richmond side at 4.35, Mr.
Eddy holding the string, the kite maintaining its position
as long as the boat moved westward against the wind.
But when Port Richmond was reached the westerly wind
died out and dropped the kite into the water at 4.45 P.M.
The kite was recovered, but the experiment was
abandoned because a fog settled over the water, the wind
completely reversing and suddenly setting in from the
Latest Things in Kites 53
east. Much was learned of the management of kites on
the water in calms. There are indications that the buoy
can tack against the wind when the kite pull is adjusted at
different angles.
Of what interest is all this to the boys? Of great
interest ; on account of the weather the most satisfactory
results were not obtained, but enough was learned to sug-
gest the possibilities of a new sport to the boys, that of
using
Kites for Sails for Small Boats.
Probably ever since kites were invented boys have
attempted to use them for motive power, to make their
boats go with no other sail than the one soaring in the
sky, and no mast but the slender line leading from the boat
to the kite.
In almost every attempt the boys have been partially
successful, but as the boats could only go before the wind
and follow the kites, the direction of their course had to
depend entirely upon the whims of the weather clerk, and
kite-sailing never became a sport. But the late experiments
with towing-floats and the invention of the double belly-
band has opened new possibilities for the future of kite-fliers.
The advantage of the star kite for sailing purposes is
first in its strength which the three sticks give it. Since
all these sticks cross in the centre it makes a kite of prac-
tically six sticks, and the sticks on each side supply a good
strong support for the two belly-bands.
For sailing purposes build your kite about three and
one-half feet in diameter, cover it with good Manilla paper,
and treat your paper with a coating of hot paraffme to
make it water-proof. Use a paint brush and put the paraf-
fine on as if you were painting the paper. Mr. Woglom's
54 Spring
storm kites are of paper covered with paraffine, and he has
flown them when it rained so hard that he was wet to the
skin, but the kites did not suffer. When kite-sailing there
is always the chance of your sail-kite falling into the water,
and if your sail is not water-proof your fun is over for at
least that day.
Kites for Swimming.
As the writer grows older he becomes more and more
modest in his claims for originality. For it has often
happened that his brightest and most treasured original
ideas are found upon investigation to be claimed also by
some one who lived long ago.
A kite for swimming is one of those ideas, and the
writer really thought it a brand new one. But, alas ! he has
discovered that that rare old American, Ben Franklin, has
a prior claim which, since Ben lived first, the author can-
not dispute. But Ben only floated on his back and allowed
the kite to tow him, and you can at least improve upon Mr.
Franklin's idea by using a plank for a float, which will
allow you to see where you are going, and a double belly-
banded kite that you can guide in the direction you wish
to go. All who have tried this sport pronounce it delight-
ful, and it will be preferred by many to kite-sailing. Of
course the kite-swimmer must be careful not to hitch his
kite to his float, or if he does to guard both float and kite,
for his steed will run away upon the first opportunity and
never stop running until the wind fails or some obstruction
is met.
There are only a few days in which all these kite sports
can be enjoyed in some of the inland parts of the country,
but in other sections there is seldom a day the year 'round
that there is not wind enough and to spare.
Latest Things in Kites
55
The Belly-bands.
The way to make a star kite is fully described in the
"American Boy's Handy Book," and it is not our intention
to duplicate anything there described. But the two belly-
band steering apparatus is something new and prop-
erly belongs here. The
star kite has three sticks
of equal length, which
cross each other in the
centre ; they are strung so
that when the ends of the
sticks are equal distances
apart they form a six-
pointed star, thus, and the
belly-bands may be fast-
ened at equal distances
from the centre, one each
side, to the sticks in this
manner shown by Fig. 30.
The tail -band, of course,
is simply a loop fastened
to the sticks at the bot-
tom so that it will hang
below the kite. It is taken for granted that the reader
knows that the belly-band of all kites is on the paper side
of the kite and not on the same side as the sticks. In the
latter case the wind would tear the covering off the kite at
once.
"Kite Broken Loose!"
That was the cry that used to send a thrill through every
youngster and start them all on a hot race after the fugitive
FIG. 30. The Star Kite.
56 Spring
kite. Twenty or thirty years ago the runaway kite always
became the property of the one who first captured it.
Such was the unquestioned though unwritten law among
the boys, and it appears from the items that occasionally
appear in the papers that to this day there is a strong ten-
dency on the part of the boys, and even men, to adhere
strictly to this old law.
One of Mr. Eddy's tandem teams of kites broke away
and the kite-string slid over the neck of a man working on
a coal-barge. The coal-heaver, upon putting up his hands
to investigate the cause of the tickling of his neck, to his
great astonishment found himself holding a team of fun-
ny tailless kites, which were bobbing around in the sky.
When Mr. Eddy demanded his runaways he had consider-
able difficulty in persuading the man to give up the prize.
A Team of Eight Kites Loose.
In July, 1894, the same gentleman lost a team of eight
kites which he was flying at Bayonne. One kite caught in
a tree and the rest broke away and sailed over the Kill von
Kull. Then the bottom kite struck the ground, and again
the upper ones broke away, leaving their unfortunate com-
rade. The six remaining kites went scudding over Staten
Island until the dangling string caught on a telegraph
wire and brought the six runaways up standing. Mr. Eddy
had to journey by train and boat before he could cover the
distance travelled by the fugitives and effect their capture.
A Runaway's Experience.
The writer once saw a kite pull the stick the twine was
fastened to from the hands of a boy who was perched
upon the roof of a tenement-house. The building was near
the East River on the New York side, a good wind was
Latest Things in Kites 57
blowing and the kite lifted the stick over the intervening
house-tops until it dangled over the water. Here the lack
of resistance caused the kite to settle, and down came the
stick into the water. The water offered sufficient resist-
ance to the stick to send the runaway kite up again, and
the stick was towed diagonally across the river until it
reached the Brooklyn side, where the string became en-
tangled in the rigging of a ship that was being loaded with
sugar. When last seen the runaway tenement-house kite
was bravely flying from the ship.
Kite at Boothbay Tows a Plank.
While spending summer at Ocean Point, near Boothbay,
Me., the author sent up an ordinary Japanese hawk kite
and attached the string to a nail in a piece of plank which
was placed in the ocean. The plank presented resistance
enough to keep the kite aloft, and it sailed away past
Squirrel Island, Pumpkin Rock, and out to sea.
Two days afterward when the mackerel fleet came into
port, the writer learned that the crew of one of the smacks
had been surprised to find a kite floating from a line en-
tangled in the rigging of the main-mast. Where it came
from was a mystery, until the skipper and the writer
chanced to meet while the latter was making a drawing of
the mackerel fishers.
Some one in New Jersey once sent a kite out to sea at-
tached to a float, and it was picked up on the coast of Vir-
ginia.
Notes to Neptune.
Boys who live near the lake-side or sea-shore, or those
who visit these places for tneir vacation, can send messages
out to sea whenever the wind is " off shore," that is, blow-
ing from the shore toward the sea.
58 Spring
Address the note to Mr. Neptune, Atlantic Ocean or
Pacific Ocean or Lake Erie, according to the location of
the sender. The contents can be worded to suit the taste
of the writer, but it should end up with a request that the
finder communicate with the sender and tell him when,
where, and under what conditions the note was found ;
and do not forget to give your address as carefully as you
do when writing to some one for an autograph.
Seal the note and enclose it in some water-proof ma-
terial or a tightly corked bottle. Lash the package or
bottle securely to a short plank and drive a nail securely in
one end of the plank.
After sending up your kite attach the string to the nail
and let the plank go out to sea. If no accident happens
to your kite it is almost certain to attract some one's at-
tention, and as a rule any one receiving such a message at
sea will enter into the spirit of the thing and send a reply
on the first opportunity. In this manner you can learn
how far the kite travelled with its tow.
Messengers up the Kite String.
It used to be a favorite amusement with the boys to
send messengers up their kite strings after they had suc-
ceeded in raising their good kite to a respectable height.
These messengers are simply round pieces of colored paper
with slits cut in them to holes in their centres. The slits
are for the purpose of sliding the string through to the hole.
The latter is just large enough to allow the paper to slip
over the string with as little friction as possible. (See Figs.
31 and 32.)
The wind takes these papers up the string and hence
they are called messengers to the kite.
Latest Things in Kites
59
High Fliers.
In 1884 Mr. E. Douglass Archibald, of the Royal Me-
teorological Society, sent up two diamond-shaped kites,
one seven feet and the other four feet in diameter, both at-
tached to one string. These kites, like Ben Franklin's,
FIG. 31. Square Mes-
senger.
FIG. 32. Round Mes-
senger.
SENDING UP MESSENGERS.
were covered with silk ; they carried scientific instruments
2,200 feet into the air. " Pshaw," said some Americans,
" how is this for high ? " and they sent a tandem team of
kites 6,000 feet up in the air; over a mile high !
That is kite flying ! Why, if any one of the boys had
been able to do such a thing when the author was a lad
60 Spring
flying kites on the banks of the Ohio River, that boy would
have achieved fame enough to satisfy even the vaulting
ambition of a young Ben Franklin. The writer's experi-
ments had no scientific ends in view ; his mission was to in-
troduce new shapes of kites and prove by experiment that
they would fly. He felt more pride in holding by main
strength the heavy hempen twine to which a six-foot, strad-
dle-legged-man kite was attached, than ever was experi-
enced by any of those learned professors with their tandems
of tailless kites loaded with scientific instruments.
But all boys will be interested in Lawrence Hargrave's
kites. This great Australian inventor of flying machines
wanted some sort of an apparatus from which to send off
his flying machine, and so he invented
The Queerest Kite Ever Made.
In appearance there is nothing to suggest a kite ; but
then this is not surprising in a country where moles have
the bills and feet of ducks and are credited with laying
eggs, where poll-parrots kill sheep, and where savages have
war clubs which when thrown at an enemy not only
knock the enemy over but immediately return to their
owners' hands. If the inhabitants of such a country fly
kites we expect something unheard of in the kite line, and
Lawrence Hargrave's kites do not disappoint us.
Imagine two boxes with their sides removed and con-
nected by rods and you have the form of the Hargrave kite.
Mr. Hargrave calls these boxes " cells," but you must not
mind that any more than you do when Mr. Eddy, Mr.
Woglom and Professor Clayton call their kites " aero-
planes." They mean all right by it. After you grow up to
man's estate and dignity, you too will be hunting up out-of-
the-way terms for common things. But now, while you are
Latest Things in Kites 61
boys, be charitable to the poor men and let them keep their
dignity with big words, while you use simpler ones which
answer the purpose better.
Mr. J. B. Millet Tests its Qualities.
Mr. Millet spent three summers experimenting with
the Malay or Eddy kite and then constructed a Hargrave
kite, and seems to be well satisfied with the action of this
double dry-goods box, for that is what it most resembles.
Mr. Millet, in comparing the Hargrave with the Hol-
land, Malay, or Eddy in the Aeronautical Annual, No. 2,
1896, says that "the Hargrave was the steadier, the less
likely to break or lose its shape in the air, and lifted much
more per square foot of lifting surface." He further says
that it is a kite that can be anchored in the wind and left
there without fear of disaster. It will fly steadily and not
require constant mending or balancing.
It is evident at a glance that the Hargrave kite must
possess " rigidity " of frame. It is also evident that this
is a most difficult quality to be secured without adding
weight to the structure. Hence this kite is generally con-
sidered as unfit for light winds.
How to Make a Hargrave Kite.
Take eight slender, stiff pieces of bamboo, what the in-
land boys know as fishin' pole or cane. These sticks must
be as evenly balanced as possible and exactly the same
length, eighteen inches and three-quarters long. Next cut
six sticks each eleven inches long and as nearly alike as
possible. These are for the middle uprights and end
stretchers. Find the middle of each of your first eight
sticks and lash them together in pairs at their middle (Fig.
33 A). Use waxed shoe-thread to bind the middle points
62 Spring
together, and make the spread between a and c just eleven
inches. Notch the ends of the sticks.
You now have four pairs of cross sticks neatly fastened
together, and you must take one of your eleven-inch up-
rights and bind it to the ends of two pairs of cross sticks.
(Fig. 34 B.) Take the other eleven-inch upright and fasten
the other two pairs of cross sticks in the same manner.
Next cut two " booms," " spines," or connecting-rods,
also of stiff bamboo, and let them each be thirty inches long,
and like the two uprights, as nearly alike as it is possible
for you to select them. Now, with your waxed thread, or
shoe thread, bind the two booms over the ends of the
eleven-inch stretchers or uprights (Fig. 35 C). The boom
must fit like the top of a letter T over the stretchers, and
be perfectly square, that is, at right angles with the stretcher,
b, d, Fig. 34 B. Each end of the booms must protrude
beyond the uprights five and one-half inches, that is, the
end b, k, the end d, /, the end m, b, and the end a, n, must
each be five and one-half inches long, which leaves nineteen
inches between b, b and d, d (Fig. 35 C). Bind the other four
stretchers to the ends of the sticks a, c, etc., as shown in
Fig. 36 D. Now string the frame, so that all the sticks
(with the exception of the diagonal or cross sticks, Fig. 33
A) shall be, as the boys say, perfectly square with each
other, or, more correctly speaking, at right angles. Take
an old paint-brush and a pot of hot glue, and paint all the
joints with glue.
The frame is now finished, and it only needs a cover.
The frame should now measure thirty inches in the longest
dimension of the box or cell, eleven inches in the height of
the cell, and eleven inches in the breadth of the cell, that is,
1 1 by 1 1 by 30 inches for each box or cell, and thirty inches
for the length of the two booms, and eight inches between
Latest Things in Kites
FIG. 33.
FIG. 34.
FIG. 37
FIG. 36.
FIGS. 33-37. The Funny Hargrave Kite.
64 Spring
the cells. Cover the kite with light, strong cloth that will
not stretch. Fit the cloth over the frame neatly, and sew
it on so as to form two boxes covered at the top, bottom,
and ends. But the two broad sides of each are left open
for the wind to whistle through. Hem all the raw edges
of the cloth. On the bottom boom, at or near the inside
edge of the cloth cover, lash with waxed thread a small
brass ring for a belly-band (Fig. 37).
Double and Triple Kite.
All of the diamond-shaped, tailless kites may be made
double or triple, and will fly as well as, if not better than,
the single kites.
How to Make Compound Kites.
Use a backbone or spine stick twice the size you intend
your kites to be. Then on the same spine stick make two
kites, one above the other, or make the backbone three
times as long, and make a triple kite. The courtesy of the
editor of the Aeronautical Annual places before the reader
this
EXPLANATION OF TRIPLE MALAY KITE.
" Spruce frame. Backbone FL is curved as shown in the upper figure.
MN, OP, etc., are spruce uprights \ inch x f inch and 12 to 20 inches in
length, according to position. MO, etc., NP, etc., and also the diagonal lines,
are taut steel wires. Backbone is 18 feet long, i inch thick, i inch wide in
the centre, tapering to -J inch wide at the ends. From L to A measured on
the stick i feet 6 inches. From A to K, 9 inches. From K to B, 3 feet 9
inches. From B to C, from D to E, 18 inches each. GH, QR, and ST are
bows each 5 feet long before bending. They are \ inch x J inch. When
bows are bent the bow-strings in their centres are about 5 inches from the
wood. The surfaces BGAH, DQCR, and FSET are equal.
" The curves of the backbone and the three cross-bows have their convex
sides toward the wind. This kite is covered with very strong Manila paper.
Weight of the whole kite, 6 pounds. Textile fabric made impervious to
air and moisture would make a better covering. SR, TQ, QH, RG, SQGL,
JLatest Things in Kites
TRHL, are taut steel- wire stays. The kite is bridled as follows : Find a
point on the backbone between D and E 4 inches from D, here attach two
cords, each 2 or 3 feet long, drop them so that one will be on one side and
the other on the opposite side of the wire NP, unite the ends of the two cords,
and rig a chafing-gear on the wire NP, so that the cords may not be cut.
" Attach a long single cord to the cords just united. Pull taut and
measure off 16 feet 3 inches from the point of attachment between D and
E. Call this point on the cord W. Let the cord fall in a bight and secure
FIG. 38. The Professional's Compound Kite.
W to the backbone at A. Now take four or five galvanized iron-rings and
fasten them by marline to the cord, the first one about 7 feet 4 inches from A,
the next about 7 feet 7 inches, and so on at intervals of 3 inches. At the end
of the line from the reel place a small snap- hook. When this is snapped
into the ring 7 feet 10 inches from A, the remainder of the bridle measur-
ing 8 feet 5 inches, the kite will be bridled as when last flown. Still, no two
kites are alike, and it may be that better results will be obtained from a new
kite if the snap-hook is fastened to one of the other rings. Be particular
to preserve the symmetry in framing and covering, or your labor will be
wasted. "
Kite String.
Inland, where the wind is light, good, strong, linen thread
answers all purposes for small kites, but when the kites are
larger or the wind is stronger the best string is a close-
twisted linen line. At the famous Blue Hill " kite stables"
5
66 Spring
a string called blocking-cord is the favorite line with the
kite-fliers. Blocking-cord is used in blocking hats. Cable-
laid twines are also good for kite string. Knots are safer
than splices in a kite string. Don't tie a granny knot or
you will lose your kite. Look in your " American Boy's
Handy Book," and in the chapter on knots, bends, and
hitches you will see how to tie knots that will not slip.
CHAPTER V
MALAY AND OTHER TAILLESS KITES
Some Famous Experiments How the Malays and Other Oriental
Kites Are Made Kites in TandemCannibal and Chinese Butter-
fly Kites.
Malay Kites.
IN a New York newspaper in October, 1894, there ap-
peared an article describing Professor Clayton's experi-
ment, and showing how he sent up a series of kites, all at-
tached by short lines to one kite string. The kites were
tailless, bowed, diamond-shaped ; kites which the writer
called "Malay kites." The only Malay kites that the au-
thor of this book ever saw were at the World's Fair at
Chicago, and in the collection of Mr. Chase, the artist.
These kites differed from the Holland kites and the Eddy
kites in the fact that they possessed two cross sticks, one
straight one and one a bow over the ,straight stick. The
Malay kite is said to fly without a tail, like most of its
Oriental brothers.
In the last edition of the " American Boy's Handy Book "
the diamond-bowed tailless kite is described, and there
called a Holland kite by the gentleman who sent in the de-
scription to the author in 1883, l n g before it burst into
popularity under the name of the Malay kite.
Part of the Celebration.
During the Columbian parade in New York City these
kites were used to help celebrate. As on all occasions of the
68 Spring
kind where large bodies parade, there " came a long wait,
the tedium being only occasionally relieved by the frantic
efforts of the policemen to drive 'the crowd back by leaning
against the foremost and pushing desperately, but generally
unavailingly. Then there came another break in the mo-
notony. Gilbert T. Woglom, the well-known experimenter
with aeroplanes actually tailless kites sent up six gau-
dily colored fliers from the Judson Memorial Tower, south
of the arch. When they were so high that they were al-
most invisible a large American flag was attached to the
kite line and raised far into the air, until it was over a thou-
sand feet above the earth. There it fluttered grandly, out-
lined sharply against the unclouded beauty of the Venetian
sky that glorified the city's holiday, until the celebration
was ended."
This was an interesting sight, but not new, as Captain
Jack Walker, of the Nereus Club, used to do the same
thing during the Fourth of July Regattas of the club on
Flushing Bay. The captain's kite-line was attached to the
top of the flag-pole on the club-house. An illustrated ac-
count of this experiment appeared in the St. Nicholas Maga-
zine several years ago.
How to Make the Tailless Kite.*
The vital difference between this and the old-fashioned
diamond kite consists in using instead of the cross stick, a
bow, as may be seen in the accompanying diagram. The
sketch also shows how the belly-band is attached and its
proportions, the latter being taken from a kite made in
* " Mr. Eddy had one convex kite in his collection at Blue Hill last summer,
which he called the Beard Kite. Mr. Beard has given to kite-fliers (in " The
American Boy's Handy Book ") the earliest working drawings of a tailless kite
which the Editor has yet found." Aeronautical Annual^ 1896.
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 69
Rochester, which flew very satisfactorily. The centre stick
or spine is four feet long, the cross stick, of ash, or hickory,
is three feet long.
Mr. Woglom began his experiments with this sort of
a kite in 1894, and he now keeps a regular "stable" of
Holland Kite. Side View, Showing Belly-Band.
FIG. 38a.
kites of all sizes. But he does not call them kites, he calls
them aeroplanes, and he has sent his aeroplanes 5,590 feet
into the skythat is, the top kite was three hundred and
ten feet more than a mile above the earth.
The Woglom Kite How it is Made.
Take two sticks of equal length. At a point on the
upright or spine stick, one -fifth of the length from the
top of the spine, place the centre of the cross or bow stick
Spring
and fasten it there. Bend the bow so that the curve is
as perfect as possible, and fasten it with a string. Then
string the kite as you would an ordinary diamond kite.
Mr. Woglom uses piano wire for the bow, and silver-plated
copper wire for guys running around the kite from end
to end of the sticks. Few boys, however, have access to
such material, and string will answer their purpose.
Mr. Eddy's Kite.
Mr. William A. Eddy, of Bayonne, is also a celebrated
kite enthusiast. He uses his kites for ascertaining how
hot, cold, or damp it is up among the clouds. There is a
FIG. 39. The Eddy Kite.
FiG. 40. The Malay Kite.
vacant lot near his house where he flies his kites, or, to use
a new term in vogue among these grown-up kite-fliers, he
" dismisses a gang of kites " from the vacant lot.
Mr. Eddy is the proud owner of a " stable " of five
hundred kites. He began his kite-flying with the good old
American hexagonal or coffin -shaped kite, but in using
more than one kite on a string there was always a chance
of the tail becoming entangled in the line. At the Colum-
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 71
bia Exposition he saw the Malay kite and that settled the
tails. He now uses no kites with tails.
How It is Made.
The following are his directions for building a kite
as given in one of the New York papers :
"The longitudinal stick shown in the cut (Fig. 39), at the line B D
should be of spruce about three-eighths by one-half inch. For ordinary pur-
poses sixty inches is a convenient length, but it can be varied to any extent
so long as the other dimensions are kept in proportion. The cross piece
A C should be a similar stick of equal length. When in position it
is bent about four per cent, of its length. It should cross B D at E,
so that B E shall be 1 8 per cent, of B D. The frame A B C D
should be of light spruce, the same size as the cross-pieces, and great
care should be used to have A B just equal to B C, and A D equal to
C D. When the frame is finished cover loosely with manila paper, allowing
some concavity on the face of the kite on each side below the cross stick, so
that it will act as a sail. Bind the edges with thin wire, which stretches less
than string. Then go out and fly your kite. It will not be necessary to wait
for the wind, for this kite will fly in a very slow breeze. If the kite is a large
one, an important part is the string. It should have a breaking strength of
from thirty to seventy-five pounds, in accordance with the strength of the
winds it is used in. In any case not more than one-third of the breaking
strain should be used, two-thirds being left as a reserve for emergencies.
For very high flying silk cord is the best, as it possesses the greatest strength
for its weight."
Seven Kites in Tandem.
Mr. Eddy sent up seven kites tandem that reached a
height of 3,700 feet. This sort of kite-flying is not a boy's
sport, at least not a small boy's sport, as the pull is often
so great that no small boy could hold the kite, and some-
times it is dangerous, as another kite-flier, Mr. A. A. Mer-
rill, discovered when the line of a large kite caught him
around the waist. Fortunately, there was help near by, or
the accident might have proved serious.
Spring
Among the things that will interest boys is the fact that
Mr. Eddy has sent a camera up attached to his kite string,
and by means of a line to pull, in place of touching the but-
ton, he has taken photographs of the landscape from a kite's
point of view. These were reproduced in a New York
newspaper. To use the scientists' term let us now " dis-
miss "these aeroplanes and turn our attention for awhile
to some novelties in the kite line, which will be less scien-
tific but just as interesting to the boys, and in the descrip-
tion of which we shall not have to use quotation marks,
as the kites are our own invention.
How to Make Wing and Wing.
This is an entirely new form, designed especially for the
boy readers of this book as a novelty for kite-time. The
framework is indicated by heavy lines and the strings by
light lines, and in Wing and Wing the sketches show the
gradual evolution from a bow and a straight pine stick to
a schooner under full sail going
wing and wing, topsail set, wind
astern.
Take an elastic stick three and
one-half feet long and bend it in
the form of a bow, so that the
bow string will measure two and
one-half feet from A to B in the
diagram. For a mast take a straight
pine stick (C D) seven feet long,
allow three inches to extend be-
yond the bow to form a keel at C. Fasten the mast to the
exact middle of the bow and again to the exact middle of
the bow string, as shown in the diagram. Next cut two
boom sticks, each five feet long, and be careful that the#
FIG. 41. Sticks of the Ship-Kite.
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 73
FIG. 42.
are exactly the same length ; fasten the ends of the boom
stick at E and F, a trifle below A and B, the ends of the bow.
Allow them to cross the mast and each other at a point on
the mast one and one-half feet above the keel end of the
mast stick, as G F and E H cross in the diagram. The
sprit sticks, L I and J K, in the dia-
gram should be also exactly the
same length ; i.e., six feet each, and
should cross the mainmast at a
point about four feet three inches
above the keel end of the mast. At
a point on the mast four feet nine
inches above C, the keel end of
the mast stick, put the yard O P
for the square topsail. Five feet
ten inches from C place the second cross stick, M N;
square your yards, as the sailor would say that is, see that
they are neither tipping up nor down, but at right angles
with your mast, D C.
The framework is now done and you must fix the
" ropes," made of string, as shown in the diagram (Fig. 42).
Your kite is then ready to cover. Feet and inches have been
used in this description only for convenience ; of course it
is not necessary nor desirable, as a rule, to make a kite
seven feet high, and very few boys, or even men, would be
able to hold such a monster ; but remember that when feet
are used it is only to give the proportions : inches or half
feet would answer just as well. For instance, the main
mast pine stick, C D, would then be seven half feet long,
that is, three and a half feet. This will make a kite of very
good size that a boy can manage. In other words, use the
proportions given in the description, and not, necessarily.
the same unit of measure.
74
Spring
To Cover and Paint it.
Select white paper for the sails and dark paper for the
hull. Spread your paper on the floor and lay the frame
upon it, holding it firmly with paper-weights or books to
keep it in place. Then, with a good, sharp pair of shears,
cut carefully around the frame, leaving a margin of paper
to fold over. At each angle cut a slit in the margin to the
angle in the frame, and upon curves cut similar slits every
few inches. This will prevent wrinkles and make a neat
job.
With good flour-paste cover the margin, section by sec-
tion, turning each section over the frame and pressing it
down with a towel or rag to make
it adhere. Continue this until the
whole frame is covered as in the
diagram marked " Wing and Wing "
(Fig. 43). When it is dry, with a
small paint-brush paint the reef
points on the sails with ink or black
paint. Paint a white cutwater up
the middle of the hull, and tie cross
strings on the stays, rope-ladder
fashion, where they show above and
below the mast.
All that is necessary now is to put a little flag or pen-
nant on the topmast and your ship is ready to sail its course
through the fleecy billows of cloud ocean.
Tail and Belly Bands.
Attach a loop of string to the hull from either side of
the keel and it will form the tail-band. Attach the belly-
band to the two -sprit sticks and allow it, like the sticks, to
FIG. 43. Wing and Wing, the
Ship-Kite.
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 75
cross in the middle of the kite. Tie your kite-string to the
belly-band and adjust it to the proper point by sliding up
or down as the trial flights of the kite may dictate.
Only the other day the author met a lady with a boy
walking down the street. The boy carried affectionately in
his arms a man kite larger than himself. The man kite was
made upon the plan published in the " American Boy's
Handy Book." This is mentioned only to show that boys
can still build their own kites, for several points about this
particular kite indicated that the lad who carried it had
made it himself. If his father made it for him the work-
manship was not above criticism, but for a boy's work it
was first rate and it undoubtedly will fly.
To Make a " Dancing Bear."
The " Dancing Bear " is another original kite design es-
pecially for this book. It is made like a man kite, but with
shorter arms and legs, and the addition of two extra sticks
in the head for ears. The heavy black lines in Fig. 44 show
the pine sticks that make the skeleton ; the strings are the
lighter lines. The construction is not difficult, and I think
the reader can, if he lays the diagram in front of him, trust
to his eye for the proportions. If not, he may call the spine
or middle stick six feet or else six inches long, then the two
leg sticks will also be six feet or six inches each, the arm
stick four and one-half, and with these figures he may guess
at the size of the head, feet, and hands.
The only real difficulty will be in painting the kite.
Cover it with brown paper, and with this book open before
you, with black paint or a bottle of ink and a brush paint on
the claws, the black triangles of shadow under the arms and
above the legs, a black collar around the neck, leaving a
notch for the lower jaw, and a black mouth having two teeth
7 6
Spring
showing, the outline of the nose, two nostrils, two wrinkles,
two round dots for eyes and two black triangles for the in-
side of the ears, and if it doesn't look like a bear it will
look like some sort of a beast.
As far as the likeness to a bear is concerned, after you
have done your best in the artistic line, let it go ; it will
FIGS. 44, 45. The Dancing Bear.
be a better-looking bear than some of the drawings that
pass for this beast in current magazines and natural his-
tories.
Try a "Tandem/'
that is, send up one kite first until it has reached a point as
high as you may desire. Then send up another kite far
enough so that its tail will not interfere with the first kite
string. Make the second kite-string fast to the line of the
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 77
first kite and let out more string. Mr. Clayton, late of Blue
Hill Observatory, gives the following as
The Best Tandem Arrangement.
" In the summer of 1890, while experimenting with
hexagon tail kites at Bergen Point, I found that the best
tandem system was not to fasten one kite to the back of an-
other, but to give each kite its individual string and allow
it to branch upward from a main line. This method was
so successful that on May 9, 1891, at Bergen Point, with a
ten or twelve mile wind from the west and with five hexa-
gon tail kites to lift the main line, the top kite became a
very distant speck, estimated at 4,000 feet high by those
looking on, although no triangulation of the altitude was
made. I have since become convinced that the probable
altitude was 6,000 feet, but as it was not measured, I have
not so far included it in my records of altitude.
Tailless Kites the Best.
" The hexagon tail kites carry up a wonderfully steep
string, but they call for long individual lines to each kite
to prevent the kite-tail from becoming entangled with the
line below. But the Malay tailless kites excel them. I have
Malay tailless kites that fly with a steeper string than a
hexagon, and require no hauling down if the wind increases
from eight to thirty-five miles an hour conditions which
will bring to the ground a tail kite.
" Since the Malay kite has only two light sticks, and can
be built of very light paper as well as cloth, it is at home
in mild winds of from four to eight miles an hour. The
cloth-covered kites are much heavier and are for use in
stronger winds."
Now if the reader has proved himself a good kite-flief
78 Spring
he should have a fine " stable " of kites of his own manufact-
ure, and since from the authorities quoted it is evident that
kites with tails can be made to fly tandem he can produce a
great sensation by taking an example of all the different
forms of kites and by sending up the largest one first. At-
FIG. 46. All the Novelties in the Air.
tach the string ol another to the first kite string and let it
go. Let him pay out more line and hitch on another kite,
and so on until he has a whole navy or zoological garden
floating over the heads of the astonished spectators, and
though he may discover no new law in science, he will have
a "heap " of fun. (Fig. 46.)
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 79
A Strange Country and the Home of a Strange Kite.
In a land where street-car drivers on duty wear wreaths
of flowers on their hats or around their necks ; where cen-
tipedes have lost their venom, where savages no longer
murder, but divide their time between decorating each
other with flowers and working to heap up wealth for the
white strangers who have seized their land ; in a land where
the eruption of a volcano is hailed with joy because, like
the centipede, it has lost its sting and does its little eruption
act apparently with the sole object of furnishing entertain,
ment for the people ; in such a curious land we have a
right to expect novelties in the kite line, and are not sur-
prised when we find
Cannibal Kites
that not only do not eat each other but are perfectly harm-
less and gentle in their deportment. If you happen to be
at Honolulu and are taking a day off to see old Kilaue dur-
ing an eruption, you will probably take the Kinau, the reg-
ular Hilo boat, and with a jolly party all bedecked with flow-
ers sail over that wonderful sea under that wonderful sky
southward. You will pass the extreme southwest point
of Molokai, and skirt the emerald shores of Lanai and the
rocky Kahoolawe, and then, turning in a northeasterly
direction, enter the channel that separates Hawaii from
Maui.
This is far enough for our purpose at present, for it is
at Maui that the cannibal kites flourish. A number of Gil-
bert Islanders emigrated from their own island home to
Maui and brought their kites, or the art of making them,
with them. The whites call the Gilbert Islanders cannibals
because of the supposed habits of these people's ancestors,
8o
Spring
and hence their beautiful bird-like toys have the terrible
name of cannibal kites.
In form this kite is what might be termed a wide bow-
kite. It is about five times as wide as it is high, and not at
_ all like the stiff old-
fashioned English
bow -kite. The bow
has the curve of the
spread wings of a
bird, and like them
ends at both ends in
points, very much on
the same plan as the
wings of Lilicnthal's
wonderful flying ma-
chine (Fig. 47).
But while the Gil-
bert Islanders, now
in the Sandwich Isl-
ands, have evolved
the wings of a flying
machine, it has ap-
parently never oc-
curred to them to
use their invention
for any other pur-
pose than a beautiful
toy. On a thirteen-foot kite the bow stick is half an inch
thick, and the lateral cross stick is of the same thickness, but
the bottom sticks are only a quarter of an inch in thickness.
The longer sticks of this kite are made, like a split bamboo
fishing rod, of a number of pieces or strips of wood neatlv
spliced together. In place of paste the Gilbert Islanders
FIG. 47. The Live-Man Kite.
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 81
use thread, and tie the sticks to the paper covering so
neatly that it has the appearance of being glued on. The
kite is a delicate affair, and is only used in fair weather,
but much stronger wings can be made to suit the winds of
the Atlantic coast, while the boys of the Ohio and Missis-
sippi valleys can build their kites as delicately as the original
cannibals did theirs.
How to Make a Cannibal Kite.
A piece of spruce wood well seasoned and absolutely
free from knots is what you want for your kite frame.
FIG. 48. The ^V | 6fc* <
Measuring Stick.
FIG. 49. The
Spine. .T io- rt wnwf
FIG. 50. The
Ribs.
v: T>
STICKS FOR CANNIBAL KITE.
You can make the kite as large as you choose, but in this
description we will suppose that the frame is to be only
about four feet from tip to tip of the wings.
First select a good strong piece of wood of any kind, a
little over four feet long, for a stretcher or measuring stick,
and mark off on it, from the centre both ways, forty-nine
inches divided thus : Five and one-half inches, six and one-
half inches, six and one-half inches again, then six inches.
(See Fig. 48.) Now make seven kite sticks, one for the
spine or middle stick, ten and one-half inches long (Fig. 49) ;
two more, each nine inches long ; two, each seven inches
long, and two short ones four and one-half inches in length
(Fig. 50). Make all these sticks a trifle longer than the
length given, to allow for slight errors in bending the bows
5
82
Spring
and for protruding ends. Next select the best piece of wood
you have for the bow, and trim it so that it will bend easily
and evenly into the required form. Make the bow five
feet long. At the exact middle of the bow, lash the longest
upright stick or spine (Fig. 51). Use strong waxed thread
FIG. 51. Cannibal Kite Sticks in Position.
and tie in square knots. (See Fig. 122, Chapter XIII.)
Seven and one-half inches from the top of the spine make
a mark, and at the mark bind the spine to the stretcher
(Fig. SO-
Now bend the bow until the two ends cross the
stretcher at the two extreme points marked on it, fasten
the bow in this position and bind the ends of the other
sticks to the bow in their proper order, as marked out
FlG. 52. Cannibal Kite. Bow Bent
on the measure stick, five and one-half inches from the
end marks for the two short sticks. The next ribs are
each six and one-half inches from the short ones, and the
longest ribs six and one-half inches from the last, and six
inches from the middle stick or spine (Fig. 52). Make an-
other bow of good spruce wood a trifle shorter than the
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 83
first, and lash the middle of this last bow to the middle
stick or spine at a point six and one-half inches below the
first bow. At a point six and one-quarter inches below the
first bow make the lower bow fast to the two longest ribs.
At a point five and one-half inches below the top bow make
the lower one fast to the next pair of ribs. (See Fig. 53.)
FIG. 53. Cannibal Kite. Reverse bow bent and fastened in place.
Use the greatest of care during this process, and see
that you keep the ribs and spine at exact right angles with
the temporary stretcher or measure-stick. At a distance
of three and a quarter inches below the top bow, bind the
bottom bow to the two shorter ribs. Then bring the ends
up slightly to a point on the top bow about three inches be-
yond the juncture of the short rib and the bow, lash it
FIG. 54. Cannibal Kite. First bottom bow in place.
securely in place and then cut off the protruding ends.
Make two more bow sticks, each about half the thickness
and half the length of the first one described, and with your
strong waxed thread bind the two ends crossed on the bot-
tom end of the spine stick. Then firmly bind the ends of
the first pair of ribs in place, and bind the bottom bows to
8 4
Spring
the remaining ribs at points nine, seven, and four and one-
half inches respectively below the top bow, and to the top
bow at the point four and one-half inches below where the
FIG. 55. Cannibal Kite. Frame Completed.
latter crossed the temporary stretcher. Cut off the prrv
trading ends, and the temporary stretcher may now be
removed, and your frame will have the form of Fig. 55.
Kite Covering.
Of course it is admitted that silk is the ideal covering
for a kite, but silk costs money, and that is an article usually
absent from the museum concealed in a boy's pocket. But
for big kites common silesia, such as is used in dress linings,
is an excellent substitute. We will suppose, however, this
to be a paper kite.
How to Cover the Cannibal.
Spread your paper smoothly on the floor. Lay your
frame on the paper and hold it in place by some paper-
weights, books, or other handy weights. With a sharp
pair of shears cut the paper into the form of the frame,
leaving just sufficient margin to turn over and paste.
About every six inches make a cut from the outer
edge to the frame. When this is done, you can begin past-
ing, using good flour paste and pasting one section at a
time, pressing each down with a towel until it adheres
firmly.
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 85
The Belly Band.
Attach each end of a piece of string, about six inches
long, to the bow each side of the spine. Fasten another
string to this, and connect it with the spine where the mid-
dle bow crosses. This string should be between eight and
nine inches long. Attach the kite string to the bellyband
at a point about three inches from the top loop (Fig. 56).
FIG. 56. The Great Cannibal Kite.
These are approximate figures for a kite of the dimen.
sions described, but each kite varies so that the flier must
by experiment find the proper manner of adjusting the
string of the belly-band.
Mr. W. C. Bixby after some difficulty procured one of
these kites from some natives and gave a short description
of it in Harpers Young People of April 15, 1884. His kite
had a spread of thirteen feet and a height of thirty-four and
one-half inches.
86 Spring
For a fair-weather kite for tandem teams the " cannibal "
should excel the short, dumpy Eddy or the Holland kite.
Possibly it will never be a favorite in the East, where strong
winds blow, but it should fly beautifully in the central parts
of this country.
A Chinese Butterfly Kite.
The Aeronautical Annual, published in Boston by W. B.
Clarke, is really a kite-flier's magazine and it is edited by an
enthusiastic kite-flier, Mr. James Means. When this gen-
tleman was attending the Centennial Exhibition at Philadel-
phia, he saw in the Chinese exhibit a tailless butterfly kite
which he has since flown with great success. The form of
this butterfly kite so nearly approaches that of the Wing
and Wing that there is scarcely room for doubt that with
longer booms the latter kite will also fly without a tail,
which will add immeasurably to its popularity.
Mr. Means has had great success with double kites, that
is, two or three kites one above the other with one spine,
boom, or middle stick to answer for all. Mr. C. H. Lanson,
of Portland, Me., uses two Malay kites with only one back-
bone.
It would be well for all boys who enter into this sport
to make experiments in this line. Ther^ can be scarcely
a doubt that a double Cannibal kite would be a grand
flier.
Messrs. William H. Pickering, Albert A. Merrill, and
James Means, the Executive Committee of the Boston
Aeronautical Society, offer five prizes for kite-fliers to
compete for. Here is a chance for some bright American
boy, some youthful Ben Franklin, to distinguish himself.
The writer is unable to state what the prizes are, but the
real value of such a prize lies in the glory of winning it,
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 87
and there is no good reaso^why a boy should not win any
or all of them.
The McAdie-Hammon California Barrel Kite.
From the latest reports from the Pacific it would appear
that our Far West does not intend to be left behind in kite
building and they are now flying a paper barrel with a bow-
sprit in place of a belly-band, the description of which I
must quote from the San Francisco Chronicle.
" For some months past W. H. Hammon and A. G. Mc-
Adie, of the United States Weather Bureau, have been ex-
perimenting with a great variety of sizes and shapes in
kites, in the hope of finding one that will safely carry an
aluminum thermograph to a height of 1,000 feet, so that the
instrument may record, and, when returned to earth, inform
them of the condition of the atmosphere far above the
house tops. From some such observations they would be
able to foretell many of the pranks of the weather, but their
service in this line would be of most value to shipping, as
the fact that a fog was coming in could be ascertained so
long before its arrival as to give ample time for warning
every ship in the bay of the danger which threatened mov-
ing vessels.
" On Tuesday Hammon and McAdie tried a queerly
shaped apparatus, which rose into the air with such a re-
markable willingness as to highly elate its inventors. In
appearance the new kite bears a close resemblance to a
paper barrel, with bowsprit projecting from one end.
Its form is cylindrical. It is about four feet long and
two feet in diameter. It is made up of four very light
hoops, and braced together with thin strips of wood. The
twelve-inch space between the pair of hoops at either end
is covered with a collar of paper, and the string by which
88 Spring
the kite is held is attached to a stick which passes diago
nally through the inside of the cylinder from end to end,
projecting from that end nearest the operator. The ar-
rangement is something of a modification of the Australian
kite, invented by Professor Hargrave, but a wonderful im-
provement over his apparatus, as shown by Tuesday's test.
Hammon and McAdie worked on their new kite for some
weeks before giving it a trial, and as they have met with
many disappointments expected little else when they hoisted
their paper barrel. The trial took place in the ten-acre lot
just north of the German Hospital, and there were fifty or
sixty boys of the neighborhood on hand to guy the invent-
ors had their latest device proved a fizzle. McAdie held
the odd-looking object, and Hammon walked off with the
string tied to the bowsprit in his hand. He looked ahead
of him to see that there were no boys over which to stumble
and cried out :
"< All right, McAdie!'
" McAdie let go the kite, Hammon ran and the new.
fangled kite soared up into the air, not so gracefully, but
with less apparent effort than a sea-gull shows as it flits
across the waters of the bay. For a few minutes Hammon
had all he could do to let out string, but McAdie, who was
at leisure after the hoisting, gazed at the object of their labor
with a delighted smile and yelled, * Eureka!' while the
small boys cheered the artificial bird on its upward flight
" In the air the body of the kite maintains a horizontal
position, and the bowsprit attachment, of course, points
downward. Although at Tuesday's trial the new kite did
not rise to as high an altitude as have some of the Malay
or flat kites which the weather men have experimented
with, it carried the string which held it to an angle much
nearer a perpendicular than any of the others have. This
Malay and Other Tailless Kites 89
tendency of the new kite to stand more nearly over its
anchor, when in the air, leads to the belief that ultimately
it will be an easy matter to send the kite up 1,000 feet.
" McAdie recently informed the Chief of the Weather
Bureau at Washington, Willis Moore, that he would sur-
prise him some day by sending him in a report of the at.
mospherical conditions existing 1,000 feet above San Fran-
cisco. He and Hammon propose that the San Francisco
Bureau shall be the first to officially record such observa-
tions."
CHAPTER VI
AERIAL FISH AND DRAGONS
WHEN a gang of kites is sent up tandem, each kite helps
to lift the string and prevent it from sagging. Conse-
quently not only flags but all manner of queer things can be
attached to the main kite-string. Paper streamers of bright
colors and large pa-
per Japanese fish and
dragons weigh very
little, and will make
a display most won-
derful to behold.
The author attached
a Japanese fish
about five feet long
to the string of an
old-fashioned hexagonal kite, the latter was about three feet
high. With the aid of a good wind the kite kept that great
fish flapping up aloft all day.
Paper Dragon or Fish for Kite Strings.
With a pencil mark out a pattern on a piece of wrapping
paper, and after you have secured the shape you desire, cut
it out with the scissors. Take some red or yellow tissue
paper and cut it according to the brown-paper pattern. You
will see by the diagrams (Figs. 57 and 58) that the mouth
should be very large. This is because a hoop is pasted in
FlGS. 57, 58. Paper Dragon and Paper Fish.
Aerial Fish and Dragons
the mouth to admit the breeze which is to inflate the dragon
or fish. After cutting out two tissue-paper dragons, ac-
cording to your pattern (Figs. 59 and 60), paste the edges
together, except at the mouth (Fig. 61), which must be
left open. When the paste is perfectly dry take the scissors
and cut slits of about half an inch long all around the mouth
opening (Fig. 64). For the hoop use any light elastic
wood that you can bend into a circular form. Make a hoop
of this material the exact size of the mouth opening of the
FIG. 59. One-half of Paper
Skin.
FIG. 60. The Other Half
with Flaps for Pasting.
FIG. 61. Showing the Two
Halves Partly Pasted.
dragon or fish (Fig. 63), and then paste it in by folding
the parts divided by the slits over the hoop as in Fig. 65,
and allow it to dry. When it is dry attach strings to
the hoop from opposite sides and let the loops form a sort
of belly-band (Figs. 57, 58 and 65).
The fish will then be ready to be attached to the kite-
string, and when it is aloft it will swell out like a balloon
and look very comical in the air. (Fig. 46, Chap. IV.) If
a heavy black line is painted on each side of the head to
represent the mouth, and two big black circles to represent
the eyes, it will add greatly to the effect. (Figs. 57 and 58
show how to paint the dragon and fish.)
9 2
Spring
Pennants
Can be made by simply cutting a triangle from colored tis-
sue paper and pasting the edges together, as described with
the fish. A hoop must also be fastened in at the larger
Fio. 6. The Paper.
Fio. 63. The Hoop.
FIG. 64. Hoop in Place.
FIG, 65. Finished Pen-
nant.
'Hoop BASTED IN
AHP *W- BAND ATTACH* D
PENNANTS.
end and a belly-band arranged as described in the case of
the fish. (See Figs. 62, 63, 64 and 65.)
Comical Figures.
Not only reptiles and beasts, but men and women can be
made in the same manner and with little difficulty. Use
Aerial Fish and Dragons 93
pink paper for the hands and face of the men and women
and put the hoop in the top of their heads, as shown in the
accompanying diagrams of dragon and fish.
A good tandem team of five or six kites will support
quite a number of these queer devices and will reward
your trouble with no end of fun. You need not fear
that your work will be unappreciated, for when the passers-
by see fish, alligators, and men and women bobbing around
in the sky they not only will stop and look, but will linger
and look again and again ; and as the pay of all who appear
before the public is public applause you will be well paid.
A Live-Man Kite.
In the " American Boy's Handy Book," there is described
a man kite, but since then a real live-man kite has appeared
in the person of Mr. Otto Lilienthal of Berlin. His kite
consists of two wooden frames covered with cotton
twill, or in other words, two cloth-covered kites one above
the other. These kites are capable of being folded up
when not in use. Mr. Lilienthal jumps off of high places
and then by means of his kite sails a long distance. From
a hill a hundred feet high he can sail like a flying squirrel
about seven hundred feet. See illustration from a photo-
graph of a live-man kite in Chapter IV.
If Mr. Lilienthal would build himself a number of big
Cannibal kites and send up a tandem of them, he might
take his wings with him and go up with the kites five or six
hundred feet. From such a perch he could easily soar
nearly a mile! Or since his wings are really kites, he
might, if he is brave enough, and no one doubts his cour-
age, fasten a string to himself and go up like any other
kite as far as he could, and then cast loose the string and
sail down. But seriously, the wonderful advancement in
94 Spring
kites and flying machines is so rapid that there is reason to
believe that some such feat as suggested will actually be
performed before what has been written here can go
through the printer's hands and come out in the form of a
book. Do not try to forestall these experiments. Give the
gentlemen already in the field a chance first, and then the
author of this book will not feel that he is responsible to
parents for the broken heads or limbs of his boy readers.
CHAPTER VII
HOOPS AND WHEELS
The Old and the New Fangled Hoops How to Trundle a Wheel Sport
with Tin-Can Covers.
SEVERAL years ago an effort was made to make wire or
iron hoops popular. They were neatly made, and propelled
by an iron hook, which kept the hoop upright and pushed
it along in place of being propelled by a succession of
blows, as in the old-fashioned primitive barrel hoop. But
the very points that the manufacturers thought would rec-
ommend these toys to the small boys, eventually caused
their downfall and the substitution for them of a wooden
hoop, much neater than the clumsy barrel hoop, and bet-
ter adapted to the boy's ideas than the metal one.
Like the former, it is propelled by means of a short
stick, with which the boy belabors his toy. This has re-
tained its popularity for the last twenty-five years. Various
attempts have been made to improve on it by adding bells
and metal jinglers of odd shapes, producing what was ex-
pected to be pleasant and popular noises ; but no boy out
of kilts will sacrifice the dignity of his knickerbockers by
causing them to chase after such a baby rattle. So these
elaborate affairs are relegated to the little girls and kilted
boys, while the sturdy legs of the real small boy run tire-
lessly after the old wooden hoop.
Spring
A Reminiscence.
The greatest triumph of my hoop-time days was when
my parents bought some sugar hogsheads, which were cut
up for kindling - wood. I secured the largest of the
hoops, which stood some distance above my head, a;id from
one of the staves of the hogshead made myself a beautiful
club to hammer my giant with. Then I sallied forth, and
FIG. 66. Hoop-time.
when I bore down on a street full of my play-mates rolling
this giant hoop in front of me, all the metal store-hoops and
wooden barrel hoops ceased rolling, while the boys stood
respectfully aside to let me pass. It was a great triumph,
and was talked about long afterward as the lads gathered
on the sidewalk to play Jack and the Candles in the dusk
of a summer evening. There was one freckled-face boy
who tried to mar my triumph by securing a big cart wheel,
but he only caused a laugh, because he could not manage
his heavy-spoked and hubbed hoop, which insisted upon
Hoops and Wheels
97
going its own gait and taking its own direction, in spite of
the severest clubbing, to the great alarm of passing pedes-
trians. But small
Wheels
are very popular during hoop-time, and make an interest-
ing toy, requiring more skill to guide than the ordinary
hoop. To trundle a wheel the boy uses a long stick, one
end of which he places under
the hub, and with which he
both pushes and guides the
wheel in a very interesting
and skilful manner, as he runs
after it.
Tin-Can Cover.
Generally it is the top of a
big, old fashioned blacking-
box that is used for this pur-
pose. First, the boy finds the
centre of the box-lid, after a
manner known to himself, but
not recorded in any work on
geometry. Next, he places
the lid on a board, and, with an old rusty nail for a
puncher, and half of a brick or a cobble-stone for a
hammer, he drives the nail through the centre of the tin.
From the mysterious depths of his pocket he produces
about a yard of top-cord, and, putting one end of the string
in his mouth, he brings the ravelled end to a point, which
he threads through the hole in the box-cover. At the
other end he makes a big, round hard-knot, and pulls the
string through until the knot rests against the cover.
This accomplished, he starts to run, and, by the exercise
7
FIG. 67. Trundling a Wheel
Spring
of his art, he causes the tin to trundle on the side-walk
along side of him.
There are no very new things in hoops, and if any man
should attempt to bring his scientific experience and
knowledge to bear upon the
subject, and invent a new
toy in that line, he would
find it a difficult operation
when he attempted to per-
suade the conservative
small boy to adopt his in-
vention. What a boy uses,
it seems, must be what has
been tried for centuries by
FIG. 68. Racing with the Tin Wheel.
his predecessors and proved
faithful, and any change in form must be the gradual and
almost imperceptible growth of natural evolution, caused
by the change of surroundings or, as their parents would
say, environments.
CHAPTER VIII
HOW TO MAKE THE SUCKER
Leather Suckers and Live Suckers Turtle-Fishing with Suckers.
A PIECE of sole-leather, three or four inches square, is
the first thing necessary in order to make a sucker. A
sharp knife is the next thing, and a bright boy who can
use the knife without cutting his fingers is the third.
Let the boy trim the corners of the leather until the edges
are circular in form, or, as he would say, round. Lay the
leather on a flat surface, and pare or bevel off the edge
until it is thin enough to be called a paper edge.
Now the boy may bore a small hole through the centre
of the sucker, just large enough to force the end of a good
strong top-string through. Near the end of the top-string,
which has just been pushed through the leather, tie a good
hard-knot, and make it big enough to prevent the possi-
bility of its slipping back through the leather. It is now
only necessary to pull the string through the leather
until the knot fits against the under part of the sucker,
and to cut off the superfluous string beyond the knot.
How to Use the Sucker.
Soak the leather in water until it is very soft and
" flabby." Find a loose brick, place the sucker on top of
the brick, and, with one foot, press it as flat as possible.
Then slowly and carefully try to lift the sucker by the
100
Spring
FIG. 69.
FIG. 70.
FIG. 71.
FIG. 72.
FIGS. 69, 70, 71, 72. How to Make a Sucker.
string. Air is heavy, as
your school-books will
tell you, and it will
press so hard all around
the leather, that, if your
sucker is a good one,
you may lift the brick
before the sucker will
loosen its hold.
There is a fish in the
Atlantic Ocean that the
author has seen and
sketched from life,
which has an arrange-
ment on top of its head
made on the same prin-
ciple. Fishermen call
it the "shark -sucker,"
although its proper
name is the remora.
When the remora wants
to travel fast, and is
too lazy to do so by his
own exertions, he steals
up to some terrible old
shark and noiselessly
and gently flattens his
sucker on the shark's
belly or side, and there
he sticks fast. The
shark may be a terrible
man-eater or, worse
than that for the marine
How to Make the Sucker ior
world, a voracious fish-eater, but it matters little to the
remora, he is safer sticking to the shark's body than any-
where else, and does not need to even wag his tail, but goes
tearing through the water as fast as the shark can swim.
A Live Sucker for Turtles.
This remora has been used, according to some French
writers, to catch turtles. A line having been fastened to a
rubber ring around the remora's tail, the fish is allowed
to swim off, and when he sees a turtle he sticks fast to him,
and the fisherman pulls both in. So it may be that to the
remora belongs the honor of suggesting the boy's sucker.
CHAPTER IX
UP IN THE AIR ON STILTS
How to Make all Kinds Stilt-Walking Shepherds Hand or Arm-Stilts
are Best for Beginners Queer Stilts Used in Various Countries.
THE other day a magician appeared to me. Instead
of a peaked cap he wore a derby hat, and, in place of the
long black gown, his garb was the ordinary suit of a New
York man. There was nothing mysterious in his manner,
but, with a smiling face, he looked into my studio and said :
" The boys want a new book, and put in something on
stilts."
Tom's Wooden Legs.
I believe in magic. Let me try it on myself and see if I
can bring back a scene of my youth in Kentucky.
Ab-ra-ca-dab-ra Stilts !
Who is that pale-faced, curly haired boy straddling over
the blue-grass lawn on long, wooden legs ? Why, it's my
old playfellow, Tom ! Hello, Tom ! Where did you get
those stilts? But what a foolish question! I might know
what the answer would be : " Made 'em."
It took me all one Saturday to finish a pair of wooden
legs like Tom's. I begged a pair of Aunt Annie's clothes-
poles for the sticks, and sawed them off the proper length,
then, with my jack-knife, I shaped the handles and smoothed
them with a piece of sand-paper. Next I took a sound piece
of two-inch pine board, and marked with a piece of soft
Up in the Air on Stilts
103
brick the outline of one block.
With a hand-saw I soon cut
this out, and, placing it on the
remains of the two-inch plank,
outlined a duplicate block.
After this the blocks were
smoothed off with my knife.
Hand Stilts.
I then heated a small piece
of iron and bored holes for
the nails and screws, and fas-
tened the blocks on to the
sticks. We called these
" hand - stilts," because the
sticks are just long enough
above the block to reach the
hands of the walker. (See
Fig. 730
In those days there were
only a few of us who had money
in our pockets, but that is
about the only thing that was
not there bits of string, mar-
bles, tops, leather slings, with
old nails as " hummers " to
throw from them, jack-knives,
occasionally one with a whole
blade, " rubber" buttons for
finger-rings, in all stages of
manufacture, with sand-paper,
buckskin and pumice-stone
for polishing them, " lucky
FIG. 73. Tom's Wooden Legs.
104
Spring
stones " from the head of a fish, to make us certain winners
at marbles; two or three buck-eyes for ballast, fish-lines,
hooks and sinkers,
and an apple or two
for lunch between
meals. These were
some of the things
that were always in
our pockets.
In the twilight, af-
ter tea, Tom and I
sauntered out on our
hand - stilts to visit
some boys on the next
street. I am afraid
our visit was not alto-
gether prompted by
friendship ; we knew
that those boys did
not dare use straps
over their feet for
fear of a fall, and that
the sticks of their
stilts were awkward
and long, poking up
from behind their
shoulders, and for
reasons of timidity
the blocks were set low. So we wandered over to) show
off and let those " girl boys " (Fig. 75) just see what reck-
less, wild fellows we were.
FIG. 74.
FIG. 75.
Up in the Air on Stilts 105
A Short-Lived Triumph.
As we approached, the boys on the next street lined up
against a brick wall, and stood watching us swagger by,
but our triumph was short-lived, for, as we neared the
corner, we met Dick, another playmate, and he was not
walking on the side-walk, but striding over the uneveh
limestone-paved street, with his hands carelessly thrust
into his pockets, and his mouth puckered up, whistling,
" Way Down South in Dixie."
Was he on stilts ? Of course he was ; but he not only
had straps over his feet, but straps on his legs, and the
sticks only came to the knee, leaving the hands free. He
could not even see us until we hailed him with " Hello,
Dick ! "
Then he only stopped whistling long enough to say,
" Hello, fellows," and continued on his way.
We watched him disappear down the street and
nothing was said until he strode out of sight. Then Tom
remarked: "Ain't Dick stuck up? Poo! we can make
stilts like his ; that's nothing ! "
" I'll bet we can," I replied, to which Tom nodded his
head by way of assent, and, as a smile spread over his face,
said : " Well, I don't care ; we can lick salt off of those
fellows* heads, anyhow," referring to the " girl boys," and
to the fact that our stilt-blocks were enough higher than
theirs to render this feat possible.
The Japs Use Stilts.
No one knows when stilts were first introduced by
mankind, nor for what purpose they were invented. I
never heard of an American Indian walking on them, but
away off in Japan the little shaven-headed boys walk on
io6
Spring
bamboo stilts of quaint design (Fig. 77). The blocks are
mortised on to the sticks and bound in place by withes.
The blocks project
backward, instead
of sideways, and the
little Japs hold on
by their big toes
(Fig. 76), allowing
the stick to pass, like
a sandal -band, be-
tween their great
and their smaller
toes.
I would not rec-
ommend this style
for American boys,
as I hardly think the
wearing of heavy
shoes is a proper
preparation of the
foot for such uses.
Tattooed Stilt-
Walkers.
FIGS. 76 and 77. The Little Japs' Odd Stilts.
The first travel-
lers who visited the
Marquesas Islands
found them peopled with a magnificent race, of which every
member was an athlete ; an artistic race whose beautiful
clothes lasted until death put an end to the wearer, for their
costume was the skin with which the Creator covered
their bodies but which the islanders had beautifully deco-
rated with tattooing, from the crowns of their heads to the
Up in the Air on Stilts
107
tips of their toes. One of the chiefs, when measured, was
found to stand six feet eight inches in his bare feet.
They were great stilt-walkers, and went through per-
formances which would excite the envy of any modern
acrobat. They ran races, jumped and danced on their
FIG. 78. Stilt Walkers, Marquesas Islanders.
beautifully made and superbly decorated stilts, and thought
it great fun to trip each other up.
In place of straps the block of the Marquesas stilt
curves over so as to hold the foot. They used hand-stilts
like those of the Western boys (Fig. 78).
Anti-Gadabouts.
At the close of the sixteenth century it was the style
in Southern Europe for the women to wear, under their
dresses, stilts which, they claimed, gave them height and
io8
Spring
FIG. 79. -Sixteenth Century Anti-Gadabouts.
dignity of bearing- ;
but it is hinted that
their fathers and
husbands intro-
duced the style so
as to make it diffi-
cult for them to
walk, and cause
them to stay at
home, just as the
Chinese of to-day
keep up the style of
cramping and de-
forming their wom-
en's feet to prevent
them gadding about.
These anti- gad-
abouts of the six-
teenth century are
all too heavy and
clumsy for Ameri-
can boys, but a
modification of the
French shepherd's
stilts are the very
reverse, and might
be properly called
" gadabouts."
Shepherds on
Stilts.
The French shep-
herds, perched on
Up in the Air on Stilts
109
FIG. 80. Shepherds on Stilts.
their long wooden sticks, look like ungainly storks, but
they can spy a sheep when a man on the ground would be
unable to detect him, and they can wade a stream dry shod,
or, rather, with dry feet, for I believe they wear no shoes.
In fact, Dick's stilts, strapped on his sturdy legs (Figs. 74
and 81), are only a
modification of these
shepherd's wooden
legs, and, if we give
Dick the shepherd's
long cane or pole,
and shorten the dis-
tance to the ground,
we have a pair of
gadabouts, which,
though requiring
some skill to use,
will not be danger-
ous, and Will admit FIG. Si.-Dick's Leg Stilts with Straps.
no Spring
of the free use of the hands. Gadabouts are sometimes
used in Brooklyn, but I have never seen them in New York.
Best for the Boys.
The long-armed, strapless stilts of the "girl boys" are
first-rate for beginners. The hand-stilts are good all-round
walkers, and the gadabouts are the best for the sturdy
American boys, because they require skill in their manu-
facture and use.
They develop just those qualities of ingenuity and pluck
that have made us the nation we are. Remember that you
boys of to-day are the men of to-morrow, and it is to you
that we must leave this great country to success or to ruin,
according to the faculties you develop now while you are
yet boys.
Trick Stilt- Walking.
While I was a member of the gymnasium at Cincinnati,
the youngsters were intensely interested in a group of
professionals, who practised there during the winter
months. They were mostly circus men, quite gentlemanly
sort of men, not at all what people generally suppose circus
men to be.
One bald-headed man, of particularly dignified and
austere looks and manners, was in the summer time a
painted clown of the saw-dust ring. At a certain hour each
day, as regular as a clock, this bald-headed man appeared,
and strapped a pair of long stilts to his legs, while we
looked on with awe at the dreadful proceeding. Then he
began his practice. He did not walk, skip, hop or jump.
He had but one object in view, but one ambition, and that
was to do the inebriate act, although he was a man who
never used ardent spirits. So, for an hour or more each
day, he hung on to a rope suspended from the* ceiling, and
Up in the Air on Stilts in
swayed his body around, as we have all seen the clown do
at the circus, when he comes in arid pretends to become
intoxicated while walking on stilts, All winter the bald-
headed man practised this one act, and the Spring birds
had begun to appear before he dared, without keeping a
firm hold of the rope, to do " the drop," as he called the
peculiar limp stagger that he had practised all winter.
Since then, when I attend a circus, and the ridiculous
clown appears in the ring, and does his part in the clown's
peculiar off-hand manner, I forget to laugh, for I am lost in
wonder, thinking of the constant study, application, and
hard work that he must have gone through, in order that
we may think him a funny old fool. This incident is re-
lated to show what practice it takes to acquire skill in
difficult feats. Few boys are willing to devote so much
time and thought to learn anything, and certainly not to
learn one trick on stilts.
Skating on Stilts.
Alfred Moe skates on stilts, doing the inside and out-
side edges with ease and grace. He cuts a figure 8, and
all the various other figures well known to skaters. Moe
began his public career as a roller-skater, and claims to
have opened the first roller-skating rinks in this country
and in England. He evolved the idea of stilt-skating in
1868, and gave his first performance in St. Louis.
From my observation of the clown, I am satisfied that
the stilt-skater must have done some hard work practicing
before he dared appear in public. Such things are novel-
ties, but not suitable to the ordinary boy, who, if he be-
comes expert enough to run, jump, hop, and skip on his
wooden legs, has acquired all the skill that is necessary to
enjoy the fun of stilt-walking.
112
Spring
Ocuya, or Giant Dance.
If you will look on your map of Africa, just below the
equator and between longitude 11 and 12 east, you will
see where the mer-
ry black Aponos
dwell, a very honest,
irresponsible, light-
headed set of sav-
ages. For several
months each year
this tribe does noth-
ing but dance, sing,
and drink palm
wine. When the
wine season is over
they settle down to
ordinary pursuits,
and would find no
place in this book if
it were not for the
fact that one of their
weird dances is per-
formed on stilts.
This entertain-
ment is called the
Ocuya, or Giant
Dance. Ocuya is
made of wicker-
work, with a big
wooden head and
wooden arms. Mon-
FIG. 82. Ocuya, the Aponos' Dance, Africa. key skins furnish the
Up in the Air on Stilts
head-dress, and a
long skirt of grass-
cloth hides the stilt-
walker. It is un-
necessary to add
that the native must
be a skilful stilt-
walker to take the
part of Ocuya.
New Woman on
Stilts.
According to the
newspapers, walk-
ing on stilts is the
very latest fashion-
able amusement of
the " new woman "
in London. If there
is any truth in this
statement, it is safe
to say that it will
not be long before
you boys will be
called upon to make
stilts for your sis-
ters. There can be
little doubt that the
time is coming when
a book written for
boys will be the only
one girls will read,
or, rather, every
8
FIG. 83.
(From an old engraving made in X779-)
114 Spring
book will be written for young people, and will be ad-
dressed to both boys and girls. Just why girls should
not walk on stilts or engage in any similar sport no one
yet has given a satisfactory answer. Twenty-five years
ago the boys used to make stilts with very low blocks for
their sisters, and the girls seldom would use them, but
insisted upon using their brothers' high-blocked stilts.
Tomato-Can Stilts.
In the cities, where wood is scarce, it is quite pathetic to
see the boys tramping around on old tomato-cans for stilts.
The tomato-cans have strings tied to them in place of
poles, and these strings are held by the hands.
Lath-Stilts.
One bright boy, on Fourth Avenue, New York City, has
a pair of stilts made of old laths, from the ruins of some
dismantled house. Three laths nailed together form each
stilt pole, and the blocks are made of a graduated lot of
pieces of lath nailed together.
Now, if a small boy in the tenement-house district can
make himself a good, serviceable pair of stilts out of some
old laths, there can be no doubt that the boys who read
this book will be able to find material and tools to build
themselves beautiful gadabouts.
CHAPTER X
BAIT, LIVE AND DEAD
Salt-Water Worms that Live on Land Angle-Worms, Hellgramites,
Minnows, Crawfish, Grasshoppers, Crickets, Frogs, and "Lamp-
ers" How to Catch and How to Keep Them.
ALL modern naturalists will tell you how long, long
ago an adventurous marine worm, little by little, accus-
tomed himself to living out of water, until at length he
was able to sustain life on land, so long as there was
moisture enough to keep his body moist. His descendants
throve in their new home, and multiplied and spread all
over the face of the earth, and to-day they may be called
land animals, although they still breathe as a leech does,
and are still dependent upon water in the form of moisture
to support life. In a dry atmosphere and dry earth they
die.
All day long these busy worms eat their way through
the earth, and grow fat on the food on which they live.
With no eyes, they know light from darkness ; without
noses, they can smell out food buried in the earth ; without
ears, they hear the approach of an enemy, and every ring
and invisible bristle on their slimy bodies is keenly sensitive
to the slightest touch.
After a rain in June how the robins laugh to see the
angle-worms enjoying the wet grass of the lawns ! But,
if Mr. Robin expects to catch many, he must be prepared
for work, for at the sound of the bird's light foot-fall the
ii6 Spring
angle-worm quickly disappears in his hole. Often the
robin secures a piece of the retreating tail, but that is a
matter of little importance to the worm, for there are
plenty of tails where that came from, and he grows himself
another.
If you take an earth-worm in your hand and smooth
him with your fingers from his tail to his head, you will
distinctly feel the invisible bristles, four pair of which grow
at each ring of his body. Now, if you stroke the worm
from his head to his tail, no resistance will be felt ; he is as
slippery as an eel. The reason for this is that the bristles
point backward, and thus enable him to crawl. For they
keep his tail fixed while he is stretching his head forward,
and then he holds on with hooked bristles on the forward
end of his body while pulling his tail up. By repeating
this operation the worm manages to crawl on the surface
or below ground.
The Work which Angle-Worms Do.
Painstaking scientific men have made careful calcula-
tions, and claim that an acre of ordinary land suitable for
worms contains fifty-three thousand angle worms ! If bait
is ever scarce, it is because the worms in a long-continued
drought or during very cold weather burrow deeply into the
ground, sometimes to the distance of eight feet, which is
too long a distance to dig for bait.
It takes very little imagination on the part of the reader
to consider that fifty-three thousand worms, all busy tak-
ing earth from below and piling it above ground, can do a
great deal in a few thousand years.
To our common, despised earth-worm, Mr. Darwin says
we are indebted for the preservation of many noble statues
and works of art. For, when the priceless art treasures of
Bait, Live and Dead 117
an older civilization were left to decay amid the ruins of the
ancient cities, the earth-worms went silently to work to
bury them, which, in course of time, they accomplished,
thus protecting the statues and carvings from the ruinous
action of the elements, and from vandal human hands.
Without the assistance which angle-worms render, by
preparing the soil to receive the seeds, many plants would
become extinct. We reward the creature by impaling his
wriggling body on hooks, and by using him as bait for fish.
Digging for worms is always laborious work, and all fisher-
men should know
How to Collect Angle-Worms
at night, when they are above ground, and you need no
spade and laborious digging to catch them. If there has
been a warm shower, the conditions for a big harvest of
worms is perfect. Take a lantern and a pail or a box and
sally forth. If you step softly, and hold your lantern close
to the ground, you will see hundreds of worms in the
wet grasc, in the open foot-path and by the road-side
great fat fellows called night-crawlers, that will make any
hungry fish's mouth water.
Last summer I saw a mysterious light moving over my
front lawn, and when I investigated its origin, I discovered
a boy with a pail and a lantern, catching worms. When he
saw a worm, he would snatch it as quickly as any robin.
But that is not the best manner to capture them. When
you see a worm lying on the ground, you will discover, if
you look carefully, that it has one end of its slippery body
hidden in its burrow, but what you cannot see is that the
stiff bristles are firmly hooked in the soil in the hole. At a
moment's notice the worm can draw itself out of sight, by
simply contracting its muscles. If you will gently place
Ji8 Spring
your finger on the end of the earth-worm's body at the
burrow, you will frighten this end of his body, so to speak,
and cause it to let go its hold. But as soon as the worm, in
its endeavor to escape from the enemy at home, does this,
it is helpless, and you may pick it up and put it in your
pail, which will soon be filled with good bait.
Different Varieties.
There are many varieties of angle-worms known to the
fisherman. Whether they are varieties recognized by the
scientist or not, is of no importance here, but we all know that
some worms are strong, lusty, dark in color, and will live
some time on the hook ; while others are weak, flabby, light in
color, and soon die on the hook. Mr. J. Harrington Keene,
in Harper s Young People for July 23, 1889, describes
worms, which he calls the garden-worm, the brandling, a
manure-heap-worm, the cockspur, with golden spots on its
tail, the marsh-worm, to be found in boggy places, and the
flag-worm, found at the roots of the sweet flag.* Fish will
bite at all of these worms, but for large fish I have found
the night-crawlers and the marsh or mud-worm, the most
tempting. Since writing the last sentence I tried a big
night-crawler with success upon a sly old trout which has
resisted the tempting bait of anglers for years. After you
have collected your bait the next thing to know is
How to Keep Angle-Worms Healthy and Well.
Put them in any sort of clean tin box. Place the cover
of the box on a piece of soft plank, and with a hammer
* In Isaac Walton's " Complete Angler," he speaks of the garden- worm as the
"lob- worm," and then enumerates the other varieties as the red-worm of the
manure-heaps, and the brandling or yellow- worm, ringed with red, of manure-
heaps and tan-heaps. His description of these worms seems to correspond to th
varieties enumerated by Mr. J. Harrington Keene.
Bait, Live and Dead 119
and nail, make a number of holes in the cover to admit
air. Gather some fresh moss, and cover your angle-worms
with it. Put in plenty of moss, and no earth, except that
which naturally adheres to the moss. The moss should be
moist but not wet. Leave enough space between the top
of the moss and the cover to form an air-chamber.
In this box your bait not only will not die, but will grow
stronger and better day by day. When you wish a fresh
bait, pull out the wad of moss, and you will find the worms
hanging from the bottom like so many bits of string. Keep
the box in some damp, cool place, where it will be sheltered
from the rain and sun.
I have often heard that if you tap on the ground the
worms will come out of their holes. This is probably an
ancient legend without truth. Some old Long Islanders,
however, assert that the worms will think the noise to be
rain, and hasten above ground to prevent being washed
out and drowned.
How to Bring the Worms Out of their Holes.
A writer in La Nature makes the statement that the
earth-worms can be quickly forced to come above ground,
by pouring a solution of blue vitriol (cupric sulphate) on
the ground. Ten grammes of blue vitriol to a quart of
water is given as the proper mixture. Ordinary soap-suds
is good for the same purpose, and, if the water is pretty
warm, it acts all the quicker. There is little danger of
scalding the bait, for the water cools very rapidly when
dashed on the ground. I have frequently noticed the
earth-worms crawling around where the laundresses have
emptied their tubs. Cold, fresh water will doubtless have
the same effect, though possibly the worms will take more
time in making their appearance upon the surface.
I2O
Spring
In a publication of the Lakeside Library, called " Fish
and Fishing," the following directions are given for pre-
serving worms for bait :
" Procure some fresh mutton suet, cut it fine, and boil it
in a quart of water till dissolved ; then dip into this two or
three large pieces of coarse, new wrapper, large enough to
supply each variety of worms, which should not be mixed
together. When these are cold, put them into separate
FIGS. 84, 85, and 86. The Young and Adult Corydalus.
earthern jars, with some damp earth and the worms which
are to be kept, and tie over all a piece of open, coarse
muslin."
Hellgramftes, Bogerts, Hojack, Dobsons, or Clippers.
The first one of these frightful, black, squirming creat-
ures that I ever remember of seeing, inspired me with a
terror it has taken years to overcome. I was bathing in a
pool in the little muddy stream of Bank-lick, near Coving-
ton, Ky. I had advanced far enough in the art of swim-
ming only to be able, with safety, to swim across the pool.
Bait, Live and Dead 121
While I was about half way across on one of these trips,
a sudden pinch on my back announced the fact that I had
been attacked by some native of the stream.
I looked over my shoulder in alarm, and there I saw
what was to me then an unknown animal. It was about as
long as my finger, black as could be, and apparently with
as many legs as a centipede. It had fastened its pincers
in my back, and hung on until I reached the opposite
shore, where one of my companions picked it off, to my
great relief.
Since then I learned that this was only a good black bass
bait which had so terrified me, and that, although it can
pinch quite sharply, it is a harmless insect.
Another Adventure.
The next adventure I had with a hellgramite was at
Niagara Falls. It was when the old tower still stood upon
a rock on the brink of the cataract, but a large sign marked
warned all visitors off the bridge leading to the tower.
Boy-like, I traversed the bridge to the point where the
sign barred farther progress, and here I leaned upon
the barrier and watched the green water tumble over the
falls. And as I watched I saw a living thing on a rock
upon the very brink of Niagara. It was in the act of crawl-
ing out of its old skin. There was no doubt in my mind
that what I saw was an insect, but it was such an insect
as I had never before encountered. Gradually it shook out
its beautiful lace-like wings, and then I climbed over the
danger sign, threw myself flat on the rock, reached over the
edge, picked the insect from its giddy perch, transferred it
1 22 Spring
to my hat, put my hat on, and hastened to the hotel to
examine my prize.
It looked like a sort of comical dragon-fly, with very
long pincers, which opened and closed in a most threaten-
ing manner, but I knew the thing could do no harm,
because it was still soft, like a soft-shell crab. This was a
large male corydalus in its perfect form. It was a full-
grown hellgramite, and the first adult insect of its kind I
had ever seen.
Fishing for Hojacks with a Net.
From the foregoing it may be seen that this bait passes
part of its life in the water and part in the air and on land.
With the perfect insect we have little to do, but the ugly
black babies we need for perch and bass, and we must catch
them with a small dip-net made of mosquito-netting.
Wading up stream, and coming to a flat stone, place the
net on the down-stream side of the stone, and then lift up
the stone. The bait that are underneath will float into the
net. Some, however, may be glued to the stone by their
sticky tails, and these must be picked off and placed in your
pail or box. Along the edge of the stream in the wet
sand or gravel, under the stones, is also a lurking-place for
bogerts.
The Time when Bogerts are Best.
About the ist of June, when the young corydalus feels
that it is about to change into a lace-winged insect, it
scrambles out of the water and crawls rapidly about in
search of a suitable dressing-room, where it may change its
clothes. The under surface of an old board, stone, or log,
or even the undersides of the shingles of a house, not too
far from the water, are the places chosen. At this time the
Bait, Live arid Dead 123
insects are best suited to the purposes of the fishermen,
being exceedingly tough and hard to kill. One bait fre-
quently serves to catch several fish. At this stage the hell-
gramitcs are called crawlers.
Within a rude earthen cell the crawler remains in a sort
of mummy-like condition until about the ist of July, when
it bursts forth from its shell (pupa) a perfect-winged in*
sect. The female has short pincers and the male fero-
cious-looking long ones. Both sexes, however, are per-
fectly harmless.
How to Keep Dobsons or Clippers Alive.
Select a good wooden box, about two feet by a foot
at the base and six inches or a foot high. Bore holes in
the lid of the box to admit air. Cover the bottom of the
box with dry gravel, and dump in your dobsons, clippers,
bogerts, or hellgramites, as the larva or young corydalus
is variously called, according to the part of the country
you happen to be in. Keep the box in a dark, cool place.
I have kept hellgramites in a box of this description
for thirty days without losing a single insect, all of them
being apparently tougher and livelier at the end of a month
than they were when first placed in the box.
Mr. J. Harrington Keene, in Harper s Young People, says
that hellgramites can be kept alive in a can in which some
water has been placed and damp moss added, but I doubt
if the bait will live as long and be as strong and healthy
kept in this way as they are when kept dry.
White Grub-Worms.
These are the young or larvae of beetles, and may be
found by digging in rich soil or in old rotten logs and
stumps. They make good bait for trout, bass, perch, cat-
124
Spring
fish, and sunfish. Keep them in the Tianner described for
keeping the earth, angle, or garden worm.
Gentles, or Young Blue-Bottle Flies
are not pleasant creatures to look upon, or pleasant to
capture, or pleasant to handle But there is no accounting
for tastes. It is evident that fish do not look upon the
white carrion-eating baby-fly in the same light that we do,
FIG. 87. The White Grub.
for they are very fond of gentles ; and from quaint old
Walton down to the present time this little grub has been,
and still is, used for bait. The beautiful, dainty, red spotted
trout, in his cool spring-water stream, is passionately fond
of the larvae of the blue-bottle fly. If you are camping
out or living near your fishing-grounds, take any old offal
and put it in an old can, bucket, or other deep vessel in a
shady out-of-the-way place, where mink or other small
animals will not disturb it.
Wandering blue-bottle flies will soon discover the tempt-
ing display and deposit their eggs in it, and in a few
Bait, Live and Dead 125
days there will be plenty of bait. When they are full
grown carefully remove them by gently knocking the larvae
with a stick on a piece of birch bark or paper.
How to Keep the Trout Bait.
Place them in a box of sand or bran. Here they will
soon cleanse themselves and become of a milk-white hue,
losing all their disgusting features. Keep them in a
damp, cool place to stop them from maturing, or going into
the chrysalis state, preparatory to becoming blue-bottle
flies.
Katydids
are very difficult to obtain in quantity sufficient for use as
bait, on account of their habits of living in trees. Once,
when I was fishing among the Thousand Islands, in the
St. Lawrence River, 1 became weary of trolling for big
muskallonge that would not bite, and made the guide put
me ashore upon a little rocky island, covered with small
shrubbery and stunted trees. These I found to be full of
great, green, handsome katydids. I soon filled my hand-
kerchief with them, and in less than one hour's time caught
a good string of fish of assorted kinds, but principally fine
bass.
Among other things, I caught the largest fresh-water
eel I have ever seen; but as I was dressed in summer-
resort fishing clothes, and feared the effects of eel slime on
my trousers, I cut the eel loose, allowing him to depart in
peace with my hook in his mouth.
Black Crickets.
These are good bait for almost all kinds of game fish,
and are killing bait for bass and trout. Frequently, when
1 26 Spring
bass will not notice a live minnow, crawfish, hellgramite,
or frog, he will eagerly snap at a black cricket.
There is but one way to catch this bait, so far as I know,
and that is to seek it under the loose stones and chips,
where crickets delight to hide. I have had the best luck
in open, sunny spots, hilltops, and pathways. Mr. Keene,
in his interesting notes on bait in Harper s Young People,
advises his readers to look for crickets in a cool, damp
place ; but he evidently found them, as I have, under chips
FIG. 88. Crickets.
and stones. Mr. Keene caught one hundred and twenty-
lour trout in one stream with black crickets.
Handle your crickets with care, not for fear that they
might hurt you, but because they are easily injured, and
their usefulness is thus impaired. After you have col-
lected a sufficient quantity for your purpose, hasten to
place them in some roomy receptacle, the bottom of which
is plentifully supplied with damp gravel and small chips
for hiding-places. Otherwise they will eat each other.
Grasshoppers
are another good bait. Often a fish will take hold of
a grasshopper when nothing else will tempt him to bite,
Bait, Live and Dead
127
Every boy knows where and how to catch these long-
legged insects, but to keep them alive for any great length
of time is more difficult.
FIG. 89. The Grasshopper.
How to Make a Grasshopper Box.
Take an old cigar box, make a square hole about two by
three inches in the lid ; cover the hole with a piece of wire
netting. Make another hole just large enough to admit a
finger. Make a sliding door of a small paddle-shaped piece
of wood, fastened with a screw at one end in such a manner
as to allow the other end to slide over the hole (Fig. 90).
tfalf fill' the box with green
"Lampers."
This is the fisherman's
name for what is generally
known as the lamprey eel,
and what is generally
known as lamprey eel is no
eel at all. In spite of all
this, the " lampers " are
great bait for bass. Near Binghamton, last summer, with
a good lamprey for bait, I caught a bass weighing four
pounds, two ounces, and my friend, Mr. James Johnson,
FIG. 90. A, the sliding door ; B, the grass-
hopper hole ; C, the air window pro-
tected by wire netting.
1 28 Spring
caught several weighing over three pounds, while Mr.
Johnson's wife landed a six-pounder ! These fish were all
weighed, measured, and recorded
with their outlines in Mr. John-
son's book, kept for that purpose.
I say this because any one who has
fished for black bass knows that a
FiG. 9 i.-The"Lam P er." three-pound fish can send a thrill
down the spine of even old fisher.
men, and that the " four-pounders " are generally the fish
caught around the camp-fire, and not the real live fish of
the streams.
Habits of the Lamprey.
Last summer's experience compels me to speak of the
lamprey with the greatest respect. If the fish are pas-
sionately fond of the lamprey, the lamprey is also passion-
ately fond of fish, especially of shad, as may be seen from
the following interesting account, which appeared in the
New York Sun about the time I was making my first trial
with them for bait.
" The lamprey leaves the ocean in great numbers in March, proceeds
to the head of tide-water in the rivers, and there actually lies in wait among
the rocks for the shad that will soon be pushing their way up stream to
spawn. The lamprey follows the shad on this interesting journey, fastening
itself to the delicate fish by its mouth, which is simply an armed sucking
disc with extraordinary adhesive power. The lamprey is always found
fastened at the orifice from which the shad drops her eggs, and from which
it sucks the roe, at the same time rasping the tender flesh of the fish with
its sharp-toothed tongue, drawing blood from the shad to wash down the
raped roe into its maw. The shad having by June become of little profit to
the lamprey, the latter sets about attending to its own family affairs.
" The female lamprey builds her nest in a swift current, making an
excavation sometimes two feet deep. She frequently removes as much as a
Bait, Live and Dead 129
wheelbarrow load of stones in preparing her nest. She has such strength
that she caii haul up from the bottom stones weighing five pounds or more.
Gluing her mouth to a stone, she works backward, drawing the stone after
her. John G. Sawyer, of Sawmill Rift, once speared a lamprey in the
Delaware as she was in the act of hauling up a stone in this way, and so
firmly attached was she to the stone that it was lifted into the boat with her,
she being pulled out of the water by the tail.
" The male lamprey hovers about the spot while his mate is building the
nest, watching her tugging away at the stones, but never offering any aid.
AS soon as the big nest is ready the female lamprey deposits her eggs in it,
and swims away and dies. I can remember when the shores of the upper
Delaware were lined, during the month of June, with dead lampreys and
dead shad. As soon as hatched the young lampreys go ashore and bury
themselves in the sand, where they are found by eager fishermen, who seek
them for bait for other fish.
" Properly cooked, the lamprey is good. There isn't a bone nor a
suspicion of a bone in it. Place a lamprey in the sun and keep it there,
and it will melt like so much butter, the only evidence that it ever existed
being a grease-spot. A peculiarity of the lamprey's flesh is that, although
it will melt away in the sun, it becomes tough when put in the frying-pan
over a fire, and becomes tougher and tougher the longer it is fried. The
only way it can be cooked so as to be fit for the table is by stewing it"
How to Catch Lampreys.
This is downright hard work, and anyone who digs his
own lampreys earns all the fun he derives from their use
as bait. With a spade in hand he wades in the water above
his knees, and digs the soft sand and mud from the bottom,
quickly throwing the contents of the shovel on the bank,
where a companion looks it over for young lampreys. It
takes a strong man to lift one of the shovels full of water
and mud clear of the water. To buy lampreys is expen-
sive, for no man we could find would dig them for less
than four cents apiece, and some charged ten cents apiece
for them.
9
130 Spring
How to Keep Lampreys.
Put them in the ice-chest in a pail of aquatic grass and
ice, or, where it is possible, make a long, wooden box, and
cover the bottom with clean sand. Set the box where the
water from a spring can run through holes bored in the
sides near the top for that purpose. Other holes in the
opposite sides near the top allow the overflow water to run
off. Have a good cover for your box, and wire netting
over the air- and water-holes, or you will discover that
some land animals are almost as fond of your expensive
bait as the bass are.
This box is also an excellent contrivance for keeping
bull-heads and other minnows alive. The wire netting
over the holes keeps out the garter and other snakes that
need only a hint to avail themselves of the opportunity of
feeding on your bull-heads.
Lampreys are expensive to buy, to keep, and to handle.
When taken out of the box to use, put them in a pail with
grass and some big pieces of ice, and cover the whole up
well with something to protect it from the sun. When you
take a bait out you will find him so numb that it is not
difficult to bait him. After he is once overboard, the warm
water thaws him out so that he becomes exceedingly lively
and tempting to the fish.
Frogs
are highly esteemed as bait by many fishermen, and there
is no doubt that some fish are fond of them, and that most
fish will bite at them at times. Wall-eyed pike, or Jack
salmon, as these fish are called in Ohio, pickerel, bass, and
large perch are caught with half-grown and not infre-
quently with full-grown frogs.
Bait, Live and Dead
How to Bait a Live Frog.
Some fishermen put the hook through the frog's lips,
some through the web of one foot, some through the skin
of the leg at the thigh, and others through the skin of the
back. For my part, a live frog is a very unpleasant bait.
Its human-like form and its desperate struggles to free
itself by grasping the hook with its queer little hands, are
too suggestive of suffering.
To those who wish to use this bait, however, it will be a
comfort to know that it is claimed that the frog is really
FIG. 92. Frogs.
less sensitive to pain than many other baits. As a rule, you
should put a heavy sinker on your line when using a live
frog, and frequently lift him out of the water, so that he may
have a chance to breathe.
At times, under certain conditions, it is an excellent plan
to remove all sinkers and allow the frog to swim at will
until he is gobbled up by some big fish which has been
quietly resting under an old log or the lily-pads, watching
for some foolish creature to swim by his ambush.
How to Catch Frogs.
One way is to walk alongside of the stream or pond and
drive the frogs into the water. They will not go far, but
132 Spring
make great pretensions of doing so, and kick up the mud
so as to deceive and blind you as to their real hiding-place.
A few moments' waiting, however, will allow the mud to
settle, and then, near the shore, you will see a suspicious
lump of mud, and you need not doubt that the frog has
doubled on his track to mislead you. It may be that from
this lump of mud two bulging eyes appear. At any rate
quietly slip your hand in the water, and with a quick
motion grasp the lump, and you will have the frog.
Some boys acquire great skill in catching live animals.
When I was a small chap I watched with interest the
movements of a cat while in pursuit of birds, and dis-
covered that its plan of action was simply this: slow,
deliberate movement, with frequent and long pauses when-
ever the prey showed signs of alarm, no violent motion
until the game was within reach ; then a sudden stroke with
a curved paw and extended nails seldom failed to grapple
or hook the victim.
Long I pondered over this, and then began a series of
experiments, and could soon proudly boast of the capture
with bare hands of a gray squirrel, several pigeons, a cage
full of gold-finches, turtles and frogs by the gross not
little, half-grown frogs, but great yellow-throated, green-
backed, full-grown bull-frogs.
Once I crept up upon a big Virginia horned owl, and
could undoubtedly have caught him, but I was a little chap,
?nd when I looked at his great hooked talons my heart
failed me, and I simply pushed him off his perch and fled
as the astonished owl silently flew away. Since then I have
seen a Virginia horned owl sink his talons through a heavy
cowhide shoe.
In such parts of the country where the streams have
muddy margins and over-hanging banks, the boys walk along
Bait, Live and Dead 133
the bank, and when they see a frog squatting in the mud
below, throw a piece of wood at it and bury the frog in the
mud, where it is easily captured.
Red Flannel Frog-bait.
A full-grown frog will bite at almost any object that
moves near it, except a snake. In some experiments I
made with two frogs they both showed great alarm when
a little baby garter-snake was put in the same aquarium
with them. Yet one of these frogs afterward swallowed
his mate, and attempted the same feat with my young
alligator. Taking advantage of this desire of the frog to
put himself outside of everything that moves, the boys bait
their hooks with bits of red flannel, and dance the gaudy
cloth in front of the frog's nose until he grabs it, and the
hook grabs him.
Three Hooks
knitted together like a grapple, and fastened to a short line
on a long pole, will enable the boy to catch frogs a long
way from shore, among the lily-pads. The hook will not
alarm the frog in the least, and a sudden jerk of the line
when the hooks are under the frog will never fail to bring
him kicking through the air safely ashore. Any sort of
small live creature can be caught with these grapple hooks.
How to Keep Frogs.
Put them in a covered vessel of any kind that will hold
water, but do not make the common mistake of filling or
half filling the vessel with water, or you will drown all
your frogs. Put a lot of gravel, mud, moss, or sand in the
bottom of your frog-bucket, and add only enough water
to saturate thoroughly the material at the bottom of your
bucket. Use a perforated tin or wooden cover that will
134
Spring
admit plenty of air, or a cover made of wire netting, or an
old piece of mosquito netting, or any other cloth with open
meshes that will admit plenty of air.
In such a home the frogs will retain their health and
vigor for any length of time. I have kept them for over a
year alive and apparently happy. It is not necessary to feed
them more than once in three weeks, so you need have no
fear of starving them ; as it is, you will seldom want to keep
them longer than a week.
/Live Minnows.
This bait, on the whole, is more satisfactory than any
other live bait. It is more easily obtained than lampreys,
FIG. 93. Live Bait.
is not as disagreeable to handle as insects and worms, and
either suffers less, or at least appears to suffer less, than the
frogs. Possibly a hook may hurt a minnow as badly as it
does a frog, but the little fish has not the power of showing
his discomfort or suffering so graphically. Besides all this,
if you bait a minnow through the lips it can cause no more
pain than cutting your own finger-nail.
To me the minnow is the king of live bait. When, as a
child, I used to visit my grandmother in Northern Ohio, I
was delighted to find the little brooks full of small fish,
with bright red stripes on their sides. These are the
Bait, Live and Dead 135
famous " painted " minnow, and form excellent bait for the
big black bass of Lake Erie.
How to Catch Minnows.
Where the bait is in small streams, the best thing to use
is a rectangular net, with corks on the top edge and sinkers
on the bottom, the net attached to two poles, one at each
end. A home-made minnow net is described in the " Ameri-
can Boy's Handy Book." Take off your shoes and stock-
ings and wade in the brook, one boy at each pole ; slant the
tops of the hand-pole down stream, being careful to keep
the lower edge of the net on the bottom. Now move up
stream, carefully plodding your way along so as not to foul
your net on snags and stones in the bottom.
When you think you have gone far enough, bring one
end of the net quickly but carefully around to the shore
where the other end is. Slide the bottom of the net up
to the dry land and lift it all out of water. One haul
should be enough to fill your minnow-bucket.
How to make a minnow-bucket is also described in the
"American Boy's Handy Book;" but, since the introduc-
tion of cheap wire netting in the market, any boy who calls
himself an American should be able
To Construct a Serviceable Minnow-bucket
by taking an ordinary tin pail and making a wire-netting
cylinder that will fit loosely inside the tin pail, then cut a
circular piece of netting for the bottom, and fasten it
there with copper wire. A lid can be made of the same
material as the cylinder and hinged on with wire, so that it
may be opened and closed at will, or secured with a staple and
pin. The object of the open work inside the pail is to make
it easy to change the water without losing the bait ; or the
136 Spring
wire pail may be hung to the boat side in such a manner
that the water will flow through it and keep the bait alive.
How to Catch Minnows in Ponds, Lakes, or Deep
Streams.
Where the water is deep, minnows have the habit of
congregating in great schools, and may be best captured
with dip-nets, either by sinking them and waiting until the
bait gathers over them, or by sinking the nets and then
coaxing the bait over the traps by means of a handful of
bread or cracker crumbs. A favorite, but slow, method in
Pike County, Penn., is to fish for the minnows among the
lily-pads with a small hook and piece of thread attached to
a switch, and baited with a wee bit of an angle-worm, fish,
or fresh-water mussel.
How to Keep Minnows Alive.
Keep them in a box similar to the one described for
lamprey eels, or in a wooden box perforated with small
holes and sunk in shallow water, or in a box made of wire
netting and sunk in shallow water. Always be careful to
fasten the box securely, because mink and coons have a
disagreeable way of robbing minnow-boxes that are care-
lessly fastened and what they leave the water-snakes devour.
I have more than once lost more than a pailful of minnows
in one night in what appeared to be a most mysterious
manner, until the imprint of little hand-like feet in the
muddy banks near my box gave me a clew to the robber.
In transporting minnows by rail or wagon they will live in
a crowded bucket, because the agitation of the water keeps
it fresh, but as soon as a long stop is made they will all die,
unless the water is frequently changed.
Bait, Live and Dead
137
Crawfish
may be caught by a net in streams with muddy, grass-
grown bottom, or by digging in the banks, or by lifting
up the stones in shallow water. In lakes or ponds look for
crawfish in the bottom, sand, or mud at the mouths of in-
flowing brooks or springs. It is a fact not generally known
that there are no crawfish on Long Island.
How to Keep Crawfish Alive.
Keep them in boxes or pails with damp moss, gravel, or
aquatic plants. Put in only enough water to saturate the
plants. Do not flood them. Keep in a cool, damp place.
Miscellaneous Bait.
Butterflies, moths, caterpillars, bumble-bees, May-flies,
caddis-flies (Fig. 94, E), blue-bottle flies, and meal-worms, all
FIG. 94. The Caddis.
make good bait at times. The last-named are to be found
around old flour-mills, and with little trouble may be reared
at home in musty meal.
r Looking-glass Bait.
A fish is not a vain animal, but he is a very jealous
eature, and looks with suspicion upon all his kind. A
138
Spring
L
pet fish will not tolerate the introduction of a stranger in
the aquarium, and, like a dog or a chicken, if a fish sees
a companion secure a
piece of food, that is
the piece of food the
first fish wants.
So, I am inclined
to place some cre-
dence in the story of
the Petit Journal, to
the effect that a Mr.
William R. Lamb, of
East Greenwich, R. I.,
has taken advantage
of the jealous disposi-
tion of the fish. By
fastening a mirror to
his line below the
hook, he deceives the
fish that may come
smelling around his
bait. Immediately
upon approaching the
bait, the fish discov-
ers his reflection in
^^ ~^> " ^ the glass, and hastily
FIG. 95. The Envious Fish.
snaps at the hook, so
as to get it before his
rival can do so.
According to one
authority Mr. Lamb is an Englishman, but according to an-
other he is an old fisherman of Greenwich, R. I. It matters
little where the inventor hails from -, here is his contrivance :
Bait, Live and Dead 139
Take a small rod with a ring in the middle and one at
each end, and fasten a line to each ring. About six or
eight inches above the rod bring the lines together, and
tie them in such a manner that the two side lines are
exactly equal, and form what your geometry would call an
isosceles triangle, with the middle line running through the
centre.
If possible, procure a circular or oval mirror, about a
foot and a half in diameter, and fasten it by a ring in the
frame to the cross-rod. Attach your fish-line to the points
where the three lines meet, and fasten a short line with
hook attached to the ring at one end of the cross-rod in
such a manner that the bait will hang in front of the glass.
(Fig. 95-)
Mr. Lamb claims that this scheme has proved successful,
and there appears to be no reason why it should not. Still,
when the novelty is worn off, it seems probable that a fish
on the end of a clean line would feel better to the fisherman
than one attached to a line hampered with a great, flat
looking-glass.
Bottom Bait Bran and Bread.
The buffalo-fish of the Western rivers, the German carp,
lately introduced in many of our lakes and ponds, goldfish,
and many other small fish, are fond of bread or dough, but
these articles are difficult to manage, for the water washes
them off the hook.
I have seen fishermen on the Ohio River mix corn-meal
with cotton, or roll it into balls, and tie them up in bits of
mosquito netting, and bait their hook with these balls.
Another method is to soak some bread until it is thor-
oughly saturated, then squeeze the water out and knead it
with bran and meal until it becomes tough, like putty.
140 Spring
Dead Bait Meat.
Salt pork, cut in small chunks, bits of fresh meat, and
the refuse of fish already caught, form tempting bait for
eels, cat-fish, and other bottom fish.
How to Pick Up a Live Eel.
To pick up a live eel, grasp its throat between your
hooked first and second finger, the rest of your fist being
doubled up. (See Fig. 96.) If there is a dry, sandy, or dusty
spot near at hand, toss the eel into it, and again pick him
up. This time, on account of the dust or sand, you will find
it much less difficult to hold him.
9
How to Skin Him.
After picking him up, throw him down on the ground
with all your force. This will stun the animal, and you
may now take a sharp knife and make a circular cut below
the first or pectoral fins (Fig. 97). Then, with the finger-
nails, peel the skin back until you can get a good hold of it
with your hands, which you have previously covered with
dust.
Now take hold of the head with one hand, and strip the
skin back with the other hand as shown in the third position
(Fig. 98).
Eel-tail Bait.
When you have skinned the eel to a point about three
or four inches above the tail, cut the tail off with a sharp
knife, but leave it adhering to the skin. Turn back the
skin still further, and cut off the turned-over portion of the
skin about half way down. A sharp pair of scissors will be
best for this purpose.
Now take your fish-hook and run it through the flesh
Bait, Live and Dead
141
FIG. 96.
FIG. 97.
FIG. 98.
FIG. 99.
FIG. xoo.
FIG, xox.
tt.t_ JACK.-
THE L<*MT USED roRNifrrtT.SpEARlN<f.
FIGS. 96, 97, and 98. How to Hold and Skin an EeL FIG. 99. Eel Spear.
FIG. loo. Eel Pot. FIG. 101. Eel Jack for Spearing at Night.
Sketched on Long Island for the American Boy's Book of Sports.
142
Spring
FIG. io 2 .-The Eel-Tail Bait
of the eel until the point of the hook protrudes at a point
between one and two inches from the tip of the tail. The
sinker, a split buck-shot, should be fastened to the snell
just above the hook,
an d the skin must
now be turned back
above and cover the
sinker. Here it
must be tightly tied
with waxed silk
thread Or fine twine -
Now turn the skin
down again so that it comes about half-way between the
gathered end of the skin at the top and the point of the
hook at the bottom. With a needle and some strong, well-
waxed thread sew the edge of the skin to the body bait.
You understand, of course, that the point where you cut
the body of the eel off depends altogether upon the size of
the eel used.
The eel-tail bait is tough, and will last a long time.
It has a beautiful bluish color that pleases the fish, and in
trolling or casting the free end of the tail wiggles in so
tempting a manner that it makes a very killing bait.
How to Keep Eels for Bait.
Put them away in jars of coarse salt. In using salted
eels for bait it is best to soak them for an hour or so in
fresh water. This will make them plumper and improve
the color.
Skittering.
For skittering, a dead frog or dead minnow is just as
good as a live one, inasmuch as the constant twitching of
the pole or rod causes the bait to skitter over the surface of
Bait, Live and Dead 143
the water. The action is so violent that live bait never
survive more than one or two casts. Some large fish are
caught by skittering, and at certain times of the year no
other method seems to meet with much success. My first
awkward effort at skittering in Pike County, Pa., was re-
warded with a three and one half pound bass. When you
are fishing at such times it will be useful to know
How to Preserve Dead Frogs or Minnows,
so that you may keep a supply on hand. One way is to
put your dead minnows in salt, or in sugar, or in alcohol
and water, or in whiskey, gin, or rum. But sweet-oil will
keep them firm and fresh for perhaps the greatest length of
time. Put the frogs or minnows in a pail of oil and this
into a pot of boiling water, and keep it there until the oil
reaches the boiling point. Then immediately remove it.
Do not boil your bait, or you will make it soft, tender, and
unfit for use.
Other Bait.
Boys, as a rule, are all fond of fishing, and, furthermore,
are almost without exception bait fishermen, leaving the
use of artificial flies, spoon-hooks, and other like devices to
their fathers and older brothers.
The almost universal bait of the small boy is the earth-
worm, garden-worm, angle-worm, or fish-worm, as it is
variously called ; but there are other equally as good, if not
better, baits named in this chapter, so that the boys may
not be at a loss for lack of knowledge of what to use as bait.
As a rule, almost any small live creature will serve in an
emergency. Even live mice make good bait for large trout,
and I have known fish to swallow small birds that fell in
the water while fighting. Cheese is a good bait for chubs,
144
Spring
and boiled shrimp for perch and even salmon. Paste made
of bread or dough and mixed with mashed shrimp, or
sweetened with sugar or honey and colored red to attract
attention, Isaac Walton and some modern writers claim
is good for dace, carp, etc.
Fish-spawn is called a poacher's bait. Caddis-worms, to
be found in the bottom of ponds and brooks, are a killing bait.
Caddis-worms build themselves little log-cabins or houses
of stone, which they carry around, as a snail does its shell.
The} 7 may be picked off the underside of stones and plants,
and kept in a can with wet moss or aquatic plants (Fig. 94,
A, C, B and D).
Fish bite when they are so inclined, and no bait that I
have ever used is certain to tempt them. I have used live
hellgramites and minnows with no luck, while a boy beside
me caught a four-pound bass on an angle-worm. Experi-
ence, observation, and an assortment of bait are what fill
your fish-basket.
FIG. 103. Bottom Fishing (?).
CHAPTER XI
COMMON-SENSE PRECAUTIONS IN FISHING
Why and How Fish are Easily Frightened The Lessons of Nature
and of Experience.
IF you will sit perfectly quiet on the bank of a clear
stream or lake, it will not be long before the inhabitants
of the water will venture out of their hiding-places and
swim around in plain view of the observer. What does
this mean ? If you shoot a pistol over your head, and
make no quick motion with your arms or hands, even
then the creatures under the water will not flee. What
does this mean ?
Of course, my reader can answer for himself that all
this means that sound has not much, if any, effect upon the
fish, but that their eyes are quick to detect the slightest
suspicious movement overhead or on shore. If you are in
a boat and make a noise with your feet or anchor, the case
is different, because you jar the water and that frightens
the fish, but if you sit still, you may talk with no danger of
alarming the game.
Some may doubt this ; nevertheless, I have fired a pistol
over the water and killed a frog with the bullet without
alarming the other frogs or the fish in plain sight. But as
soon as I made a movement to gain possession of the dead
frog, not only all the other frogs plumped into the water
and all the turtles slipped off the logs where they had been
10
1 46 Spring
peacefully baking their backs in the sun, but every fish in
sight darted away to be out of reach of the dangerous two-
legged animal they saw approaching.
Nature as a Teacher.
The inference is that we must keep as motionless as
possible when fishing, and when compelled to move, do so
with great deliberation. If any one of my readers has ever
watched a black-crested night-heron or any kindred bird as
it fished in the shallow water, the motionless poise or the
slow, deliberate movement of the bird could not have
escaped notice. When you want to learn nature's secrets
go to nature to find them out. Watch how the hunters
with four legs and fishers with feathers act, and the nearer
you conform your methods to theirs the greater will be
your success.
It is understood, of course, that in fly-fishing, casting,
and skittering, motion is constant and unremitting, but
even then the better you are concealed, the better will
be your luck.
In the woods of Pike County, Pa., there is a bright,
noisy little brook that comes gabbling and gurgling down
the mountain-side, now diving under moss-covered roots,
and hiding a while, only to jump out and surprise you in an
unlooked-for spot. After rambling along in a happy-go-
lucky manner under the deep shade of tall pine-trees, it
suddenly leaves the woods and sweeps out in a broad, deep
pool into a pasture-field.
Out of Sight of the Pool.
Fishing down this stream a few summers ago, I came
suddenly upon the pasture, but in place of climbing the
Common-Sense Precautions in Fishing 147
fence, I cautiously poked my rod through the bushes until
my fly hung directly over the spot where I supposed the
pool to be. Then I gently allowed the fly to settle down,
and I only knew when it struck the water by the sudden
pull on the line.
Without once seeing' the pool, I landed fourteen fine
trout ; there were no very large ones. But I had enough
fish for breakfast and returned home.
Effect of Being Seen.
The next time I visited the brook I fished up the stream,
and when I struck the pasture I climbed the fence and cast
my fly from the bank ; but I had been seen, and not one
trout came near my hook.
In approaching this hole on my first trip I was shouting
and breaking my way through the underbrush with great
noise, purposely, in order to make my whereabouts known
to a companion, who was somewhere in the glen. The
last time I made no noise, but approached on tiptoe. The
first time I was unseen, and I think that I could, had I
wished, have taken every trout out of that pool. But when
they saw me on the second occasion, I had better gone on
my way and not wasted time by fishing for panic-stricken
trout. There is but one big trout in this brook and I hope
some day to land him ; he is in a round, deep hole in
an open, exposed place, devoid of shelter, besides which
the hole is a network of strong sunken sticks, a veritable
snare for a fisherman's line; and the only apparent way
to catch" him is with a strong line and a sudden jerk. Yet
this trout has not lived for years in his hole for nothing,
and it is probable if any one ever captures him, it will be
by meeting cunning with cunning, and not by brute force.
148 Spring
Trolling with a Spoon.
In trolling, the longer the line the better, for the very
palpable reason that the boat frightens the fish, but with a
long line the fish has time to recover from his fright before
the spoon comes glinting by him. Of course, a spoon
does not look like any sort of a live creature when it is
stationary, but a darting silver sheen is all that can be seen
in the water, and that does look like a very brilliant and
very lively young fish disporting himself with youthful
impudence under the very noses of his cannibalistic grand-
sires ; and it is no wonder they snap at it, if only to teach
the young rascal a lesson. But, alas ! they find that they
are the pupils in the severe school of experience, and
seldom do they live to relate their adventure to their
companions.
A Word about Fly-fishing.
Now, in regard to fly-fishing, fly-rods, reels, lines, hooks,
fly-hooks, and all the numerous accessories of the modern
fisherman, there are books and books written upon such
subjects, and there is not room here for a hundredth part
of what might be and has been well said upon these
topics; but bait -fishing and bottom- or still-fishing are
the choice methods for boys, and could not be well left
out of the spring sports.
Summer
CHAPTER XII
AQUATIC SPORTS
Rowing Clothes How to Make a Bathing-suit How to Avoid Sun*
burn Points about Canoeing.
FROM the parent's point of view, nowhere that a boy's
restless nature impels him to go is fraught with so much
peril as the water, and nowhere is a boy happier than when
he is on the water, unless it is when he is in it. Nowhere
can be found a better school for his young mind and body
than that furnished by boating. Hence it appears to be
the imperative duty for parents personally to see that
their children are taught to swim as soon as their little
limbs have strength enough to make the proper motions.
Boating Clothes.
In aquatic sports of all kinds, if you expect to have fun,
you must dress appropriately. You should have a suit
of old clothes that you can change for dry ones when
the sport is over. When boating, it is nonsense to pre-
tend you can keep dry under all the varying conditions
of wind and weather. If your purse is small, and you
want a good rowing-suit, it can be made of last winter's
woollen underclothes, and will answer for the double
purpose of rowing and bathing.
i5 2 Summer
How to Make a Bathing-suit.
First take an old woollen undershirt and cut the sleeves
off above the elbows. Then coax your mother, aunt, or
sister to sew it up in front like a sweater, and hem the
edges of the sleeves where they have just been cut off.
Next take a pair of woollen drawers and have them
sewed up in front, leaving an opening at the top about four
inches in length ; turn the top edge down all around to
cover a piece of tape, that should be long enough to tie in
front. Have this hem or flap sewed down to cover the
tape, and allow the two ends of the tape to protrude at
the opening in front. The tape should not be sewed to
the cloth, but should move freely, so that you can tighten
or loosen it at will. Cut the drawers off at the knees and
have the edges hemmed, and you will have a first-class
bathing- or rowing-suit.
If woollen clothes are not to be had, cotton will do, but
wool is coolest and warmest as the occasion may require.
When rowing wear old socks, woollen ones if you have
them, and old shoes cut down like slippers. The latter can
be kicked off at a moment's notice, and, if lost, they are of
no value, and may be easily replaced.
When on shore a long pair of woollen stockings to cover
your bare legs and a sweater to pull over your sleeveless
shirt are handy and comfortable, but while sailing, pad-
dling, or rowing in hot weather the rowing-suit is generally
all that comfort requires. Of course, if your skin is tender,
you are liable to be terribly sunburned on your arms, neck,
and legs, but
Sunburn
may be avoided by gradually accustoming your limbs
to the exposure. Dearly will you pay for your negligence
Aquatic Sports 153
if you go out for a day with bare arms or legs in the hot
sun before you have toughened yourself, and little will
you sleep that night.
I have seen young men going to business the day fol-
lowing a regatta with no collars on their red necks, and
no shirt over their soft undershirts, the skin being too
tender to bear the touch of the stiff, starched linen, and
I have known others who could not sleep a wink on
account of the feverish state of their bodies, caused by
the hot sun and a tender skin. Most boys have had some
experience from sunburn, acquired while bathing. If care
is taken to cover your arms and legs after about an hour's
exposure, you will find that in place of being blistered, your
skin will be first pink and then a faint brownish tint, which
each succeeding exposure will deepen until your limbs will
assume that dark, rich mahogany color of which athletes
are so proud. This makes your skin proof against fu-
ture attacks of the hottest rays of the sun.
Besides the pain and discomfort of a sudden and bad
sunburn on your arms, the effect is not desirable, as it is
very liable to cover your arms with freckles. I have often
seen men with beautifully bronzed arms and freckled
shoulders, caused by going out in their shells first with
short sleeves and then with shirts from which the sleeves
were entirely cut away, exposing the white, tender shoul-
ders to the fierce heat, to which it was unaccustomed.
It is a good plan to cover the exposed parts of your
body with sweet-oil, vaseline, mutton-tallow, beef-tallow,
or lard. This is good as a preventive while in the sun,
and excellent as an application after exposure. Any sort
of oil or grease that does not contain salt is good for your
skin.
154 Summer
Clothes for Canoeing.
In canoeing I have found it convenient to dress as I
would in a shell-boat, but I generally have had a sweater
and a pair of long trousers stowed away, ready to be pulled
on over my rowing clothes when I landed. Once, when
I neglected to put these extra clothes aboard, I was storm-
bound up Long Island Sound, and leaving my boat, I took
the train home, but I did not enjoy my trip, for the bare
legs and arms and knit cap attracted more attention than
is pleasant for a modest man.
Do not wear laced shoes in a canoe, for experience has
taught boating-men that about the most inconvenient articles
of clothing to wear in the water are laced shoes. While
swimming your feet are of absolutely no use if encased
in this style of foot-gear, and all the work must be done
with the arms. But if you have old slippers, they may
be kicked off, and then you are dressed practically in
a bathing-suit, and can swim with comfort and ease.
Possibly these precautions may suggest the idea that a
ducking is not at all an improbable accident, and it must be
confessed that the boy who thinks he can learn to handle
small boats without an occasional unlooked-for swim is
liable to discover his mistake before he has become master
of his craft.
Stick to Your Boat.
Always remember that a boy's wet head is a very small
object in the water, and liable to be passed by unnoticed,
but that a capsized boat can scarcely fail to attract attention
and ensure a speedy rescue from an awkward position.
As for the real danger of boating, it cannot be great where
care is used. Not one fatality has occurred on the water
Aquatic Sports 155
among all of my large circle of boating friends, and
personally I have never witnessed a fatal accident in all the
years I have spent rowing and sailing.
Life-preservers.
All canoes should have a good cork life-preserver in
them when the owner ventures far away from land. I
never but once ventured any distance without one, and that
is the only time I was ever in need of a life-preserver. The
ordinary cork jacket is best. It can be used for a seat,
and when spread on the bottom of your canoe, with an old
coat or some similar article thrown over it for a cushion, it
is not at all an uncomfortable seat. Most canoes have air-
tight compartments fore and aft that is, at both ends and
the boat itself is then a good life-preserver. Even without
the air-tight compartments, unless your boat is loaded with
ballast or freight, there is no danger of its sinking. A
canvas canoe, as a rule, has enough woodwork about it
to support your weight when the boat is full of water.
An upset canvas canoe supported me for an hour and a
half during a blow on Long Island Sound, and had not a
passing steamer rescued me, the canoe would evidently
have buoyed me up as long as I could have held onto the
htill.
CHAPTER XIII
THE LAND-LUBBER'S CHAPTER
Common Nautical Terms and Expressions Defined How to Sail a
Boat Boat Rigs.
THERE are a few common terms with which all who
venture on the water should be familiar, not only for
convenience, but for prudential reasons.
Accidents are liable to happen to boats of all descrip-
Port.
Stern.
Starboard.
FIG. 104. Top View of Small Boat
tions, and often the safety of property and life depend upon
the passengers' ability to understand what is said to them
by the officers or sailors in charge of the craft.
To those who are familiar with the water and shipping
it may seem absurd to define the bow and stern of a boat,
but there are boys who will read this book who cannot
tell the bow from the stern, so we will begin this chapter
with the statement that
The bow is the front end of the boat, and
The Land- Lubber's Chapter 157
The stern is the rear end of the boat
Fore'ard is toward the bow of the boat.
Aft is toward the stern of the boat. Both terms are
used by sailors as forward and backward are used by
landsmen.
The hull is the boat itself without masts, spars, or
rigging. A skiff and a birch bark canoe are hulls.
The keel is the piece of timber running along the
centre of the bottom of the hull, like the runner of a skate,
and used to give the boat a hold on the water, so that
she will not slide sideways.
When you are sitting in the stern of a boat, facing
the bow, the side next to your right hand is the right-
hand side of the boat, and the side next to your left hand is
the left-hand side of the boat ; but these terms are not
used by seamen ; they always say
Starboard for the right-hand side of the boat, and
Port for the left-hand side of the boat. Formerly the
left-hand side was called the larboard, but this occasioned
many serious mistakes on account of the similarity of the
sound of larboard and starboard when used in giving
orders.
Red and Green Lights.
After dark a red light is carried on the port side and
a green light on the starboard side of all vessels in motion.
If you can remember that port wine is red, and that the
port light is of the same color, you will always be able
to tell in which direction an approaching craft is pointing
by the relative location of the lights.
" When both lights you see ahead,
Port your helm and show your red !
Green to green and red to red,
Your're all right, and go ahead ! "
158
Summer
If you are a real land-lubber, the verse quoted will be
of little service, because you will not know how to port
your helm. In fact, you probably will not know where
FIG. 105. Helm Lever, or Stick for Tiller.
to look for the helm or what it looks like ; but only a few
of our readers are out-and-out land-lubbers, and most of
them know that the helm is in some way connected with
the steering apparatus.
The rudder is the movable piece of board at the stern
of the boat by means of which the craft is guided. The
rudder is moved by a lever, ropes, or a wheel.
The tiller is the lever for moving the rudder, or the
ropes used for the same purpose (Fig. 105).
The wheel is the wheel whose spokes end in handles on
the outer edge of the rim or felly, and it is used for moving
the rudder (Fig. 106).
The helm is that particular part of the steering appa-
ratus that you put your hands on when steering.
The deck is the roof of the hull.
The Land- Lubber 's Chapter
159
The centre-board is an adjustable keel that can be
raised or lowered at pleasure. It is an American invention.
The centre-board, as a rule, is only used on comparatively
small vessels. Mr. Joseph H. Tooker, in a note to the
New York Sun, November 24, 1895, says that the inventor
of the centre-board is Mr. Salem Wines, who kept a shop
on Water Street, near Market Slip, and, when alive was a
well-known New York boat-builder. His body now lies in
Greenwood Cemetery, and upon the headstone of his grave
is the inscription, " The Inventor of the Centre-Board."
For sailing, the boat or hull is rigged with masts and
spars for spreading the sails to catch the wind.
FIG. 106. Helm The Wheel.
The masts are the upright poles or sticks that hold the
sails.
The yards are the poles or sticks at right angles with
the masts that spread the sails.
160 Summer
The boom is the movable spar at the bottom of the sail.
The gaff is the pole or spar for spreading the top
or head of the sail (Fig. 107).
The sail is a big canvas kite, of which the boom, gaff,
and masts are the kite-sticks. You must not understand
by this that the sail goes soaring up in the
air, for the weight of the hull prevents that ;
but if you make fast a large kite to the mast
of a boat it would be a sail, and if you had
a line long and strong enough, and should
fasten any spread sail to it, there can be no
doubt that the sail would fly.
FIG. 107 A Sail "^he s P ars are tne m asts, bowsprit, yards,
and gaffs.
The bowsprit is the stick or sprit projecting from the
bow of the boat (Fig. 137, Sloop).
The foremast is the mast next to the bow the forward
mast (Fig. 135, Ship).
The mainmast is the second mast the mast next to
the foremast.
Mizzen-mast is the mast next to and back of the
mainmast (Fig. 135, Ship).
The rigging of a boat consists of the ropes or lines
attached to its masts and sails, but a boat's rig refers
to the number of masts as well as to the shape of its sails.
Stays are strong ropes supporting the masts, fore and aft.
Shrouds are strong ropes reaching from the mast-
heads to the sides of the vessel ; supports for the masts,
starboard and port.
Ratlines are the little ropes that form the steps or
foot ropes that run cross-wise between the shrouds.
The painter is the rope at the bow of a small boat,
used for the same purpose as is a hitching-strap on a horse.
The Land-Lubber's Chapter
161
The standing rigging consists of the stays and shrouds.
The running rigging, of all the ropes used in handling
yards and sails.
The sheets are the ropes or lines attached to the
corners of sails, by which they are governed (Fig. 108).
The main sheet is the rope that governs the mainsail.
The jib sheet is the rope that governs the jib sail.
The gaskets are the ropes used in lashing the sails
when furled.
The braces are the ropes used in swinging the yards
around.
The jib stay is the stay that runs from the foremast to
the bowsprit.
The bob stay is practically an extension of the jib stay
and the chief support of the
spars. It connects the bow
of the boat with the bow-
sprit and prevents the lat-
ter from bobbing up and
down.
Besides the port and
starboard sides of a boat
there are the windward and
leeward sides. Do not un-
derstand by this that the
boat has four sides like a
square. Windward may
be the port or the starboard
side, according to the di-
rection the wind blows ;
because
Windward means the side of the boat against which the
wind blows ; the side where the wind climbs aboard ; or it
ii
FIG. 108. Sail and Sheet.
1 62 Summer
may mean the direction from which the wind comes. The
opposite side is called
Leeward that is, the side of the boat opposite to that
against which the wind blows, where the wind tumbles
overboard, or the side opposite to windward. When you
are sailing you may be near a
Lee Shore. That is, the shore on your lee side against
which the wind blows, or a
Windward Shore. That is, the land on your windward
side from which the wind blows.
All seamen dread a lee shore, as it is a most dangerous
shore to approach, from the fact that the wind is doing its
best to blow you on the rocks or beach. But the windward
shore can be approached with safety, because the wind
will keep you off the rocks, and if it is blowing hard, the
land will break the force of the wind.
In a canoe or shell the boatman sits either directly on
the bottom, or, as in the shell, very close to it, and the
weight of his body serves to keep the boat steady, but lar-
ger crafts seldom rely upon live weights to steady them.
They use
Ballast. That is, weights of stone, lead, iron, or sand*
bags used to balance the boat and make her steady.
As has been said before in this chapter, the sail is a big
canvas kite made fast to the boat, and called a sail, but the
ordinary kite has its covering stretched permanently on
rigid sticks.
The sail, however, can be stretched to its full extent or
only partially, or it may be rolled up, exposing nothing
but the masts to the force of the wind. To accomplish all
this there are various ropes and attachments, all of which
are named.
The Land-Lubber's Chapter
It is quite important that the young sailor should
know the names of all the
Parts of a Sail.
Luff. That part of the sail adjoining the mast the front
of the sail (Fig. 109).
Leach. That part of the sail stretched between the
outer or after end of the
boom and the outer end of
the gaff the back part of
the sail (Fig. 109).
Head. That part of the
sail adjoining the gaff the
top of the sail.
Foot. That part of the
sail adjoining the boom
the bottom of the sail (Fig.
109).
Clews. A general name
for the four corners of the
w
sail.
FIG. 109. Parts of Sail.
Clew. The particular
corner at the foot of the sail where the leach and boom
meet (Fig. 109).
Tack. The corner of the sail where boom and mast
meet (Fig. 109).
Throat or Nock. The corner of the sail where gaff and
mast meet (Fig. 109).
Peak. Corner of the sail where the leach and gaff
meet (Fig. 109).
How to Steer a Boat.
When you wish your boat to turn to the right push
your helm to the left. This will push the rudder to the
164
Summer
right, and turn the boat in that direction. When you wish
your boat to turn to the left push your helm to the right.
In other words, starboard your helm and you will turn to
the port (Fig. no). Port your helm and you will turn to
the starboard (Fig. in).
From a reference to the diagram you may see that
when you port your helm you move the tiller to the
port side of the boat, and when you starboard your helm
FIG. no. Starboard Helm.
FIG. in. Port Helm.
you move your tiller to the starboard side of the boat
(Fig. no), but to ease your helm you move your helm
toward the centre of the boat that is, amidships.
How to Sail a Boat.
If you fasten the bottom of a kite to the ground, you will
find that the wind will do its best to blow the kite over,
and if the kite is fastened to the mast of a toy boat, the
wind will try to blow the boat over.
In sailing a boat the effort of the wind apparently has
The Land- Lubber's Chapter 165
but one object, and that is the upsetting of the boat. The
latter being well balanced, is constantly endeavoring to
sit upright on its keel, and you, as a sailor, are aiding the
boat in the struggle, at the same time subverting the
purpose of the wind to suit your own ideas. It is an
exciting game, in which man usually comes out ahead, but
the wind gains enough victories to keep its courage up.
Every boat has peculiarities of its own, and good traits
as well as bad ones, which give the craft a personal char-
acter, that lends much to your interest, and even affects
your sensibilities to the extent of causing you to have the
same affection for a good, trustworthy craft that you have
for an intelligent and kind dog or horse.
A properly balanced sailboat, with main sheet trimmed
flat and free helm, should be as sensitive as a weather-
cock and act like one that is, she ought to swing around
until her bow pointed right into the "eye of the wind,"
the direction from which the wind blows. Such a craft it is
not difficult to sail, but it frequently happens that the boat
that is given to you to sail is not properly balanced, and
shows a constant tendency to " come up in the wind "- - face
the wind when you are doing your best to keep her sails
full and keep her on her course. This may be caused by
too much sail aft. The boat is then said to carry a weather
helm.
Weather Helm. When a boat shows a constant ten-
dency to come up in the wind.
Lee Helm. When a boat shows a constant tendency to
fall off the wind that is, when the wind blows her bow to
the leeward. This is a much worse trait than the former,
and a boat with a lee helm is a dangerous boat. It may be
possible to remedy it by adding sail aft or reducing sail
forward, which should immediately be done.
1 66 Summer
In spite of the fact, already stated, that the wind's
constant effort is to capsize a boat, there is little or no
danger of a properly rigged boat upsetting unless the
sheets are fast or hampered in some way. When a sailboat
upsets it is, of course, because the wind blows it over.
Now, the wind cannot blow a boat over unless the boat
presents some surface larger than its hull for the wind to
blow against, and the sail is the only object that offers
enough surface to the breeze to cause an upset.
If the sheet is slackened, the sail will swing around until
it flaps like a flag and only the thin edge is presented to
the wind ; and a boat that a flag will upset is no boat for
beginners to trust themselves in. True the boom may be
very long and heavy enough to make it dangerous to let so
much of it overboard, but this is seldom the case. A good
sailor keeps his eyes constantly on the sails and trims them
to take advantage of the slightest favorable breeze. In
place of losing control of his sail by letting go the sheets
he will ease the tiller so as to " spill " part of the wind that
is, let the forward part or luff of the sail shake a bit. Or,
in case of a sudden puff of wind, he may deem it necessary
to " luff" that is, let her shake and slacken the sheets, too.
Trimmed Flat. Sheets hauled in until the boom is only
a little to the leeward of the helm (Fig. 112).
Close-Hauled. Sheets trimmed flat and the boat point-
ing as near as possible to the eye of the wind. Then the
sail cannot belly, and is called flat (Fig. 112).
To Sail Close-Hauled.
The skipper must watch that his sail does not flap or
ripple at the throat, for that means that he is pointing too
close to the wind and that some of the breeze is blowing on
The Land-Lubber's Chapter 167
both sides of his sail, which even a novice can see will re-
tard the boat.
Upon discovering a rippling motion at the luff of the
sail put the helm up that is, move the tiller a little to wind-
ward until the sail stops its flopping.
Before the Wind. When the wind is astern; sailing
with the wind ; sailing directly from windward to leeward
(Fig.
FIG. ii2. Close Hauled.
FIG. 113. Before the Wind.
In order to reach the desired point it is often expedient
to sail before the wind, but unless the wind is light, begin-
ners had better not try this. To sail before the wind you
let your sheets out until the boom stands at almost right
angles with the boat. Keep your eye on the sail and see
that it does not flap, for if the man at the helm is careless
and allows the boat to point enough away from the direc-
tion of the wind to allow the wind to get on the other side
of the sail, the latter will swing around or jibe with such
1 68 Summer
force as to endanger the mast, if it does not knock some one
overboard.
The price of liberty is constant vigilance, and the price
of a good sail is the same. I have seen a mast snapped off
clean at the deck by a jibe, and once when out after ducks
every one was so intent upon the game that proper at-
tention was not paid to the sail. The wind got round
and brought the boom with a swing aft, knocking the
captain of our boat club overboard. Had the boom hit
him in the head and stunned him, the result might have
been fatal.
Wing and Wing. When a schooner goes before the
wind with one sail out at nearly right angles on the port
side and the other in the same position on the starboard
side she is said to be wing and wing, and presents a beau-
tiful sight.
Tacking. Working to the windward by a series of
diagonal moves.
Legs. The moves or diagonal courses made in tacking.
It is apparent to the most unthinking observer that no ves-
sel propelled by sail can move against the direct course of
the wind, that is, nothing but electricity, naphtha, steam, or
some such power can drive a boat into the eye of the wind.
But what cannot be accomplished in a direct manner can
be done by a series of compromises, each of which will
bring us nearer to the desired point.
First we point the boat to the right or left, as the case
may be, as near or as close to the wind as the boat will sail.
Then we come about and sail in the other direction as
close as practicable to the eye of the wind, and each time
we gain something in a direct line.
When your boat changes its direction on a tack it is
done by " jibing " or " coming about."
The Land-Lubber's Chapter
169
Jibing. With the wind on the quarter, haul the main
boom aft or amidships with all possible speed, by means
of the main sheets (Fig. 115), and as the wind strikes the
Fig. 115. Boom
hauled in.
Fig. 116. On new
course.
Fig. 114. Before
the wind.
l!
FIGS. 114, US and 116. Jibing.
sail on the other side let it out as deliberately as possible
until it reaches the position desired (Fig. 116).
Beginners should never attempt to jibe, for if there is
Summer
more than a capful of wind, the sail will probably get
away from them, and, as described in going before the
wind, some disaster is liable to occur. Experts only jibe
in light winds, and frequently lower the peak, so as to
reduce sail, before attempting a jibe.
When you wish to come about see that all the tackle,
ropes, etc., are clear and in working order, and that you
are making good headway, then call out : " Helm's a-lee ! "
FIGS. 117, 118, 119 and 120. Coming About
or " Ready about ! " and push the tiller in the direction
opposite to that from which the wind blows that is, to the
lee side of the boat. This will bring the bow around until
the wind strikes the sail upon the side opposite to that
which it struck before the helm was a-lee (Figs. 117, 118,
119, 120).
If you are aboard a sloop or schooner, ease off the jib
sheet, but keep control of it, so that as the boat comes up
to the wind you can make the jib help the bow around by
holding the sheets so as to catch the wind aback. When
the bow of the craft has passed the eye of the wind and the
The Land- Lubber's Chapter 171
sail begins to fill give the order to make fast or trim the
jib, and off you go upon the opposite tack, or on a new leg.
If the wind is light, or if, for any cause, the boat works
slowly, you can sometimes help her by trimming in the main
sheet when you let the jib sheet fly. In the diagram of
coming about no jib is shown.
Wearing is a term sometimes used in place of jibing.
In a Thunder-Storm.
A thunder-storm is always an uncertain thing. There
may be a veritable tornado hidden in the black clouds that
we see rising on the horizon, or it may simply "iron out the
wind" --that is, go grumbling overhead and leave us
becalmed, to get home the best way we can ; generally by
what the boys called a "white -ash breeze" that is, by
using the sweeps or oars.
On Long Island Sound a thunder-storm seems to have
certain fixed rules of conduct. In the first place, it comes
up from the leeward, or against the wind. Just before the
storm strikes you for an instant the wind ceases and the
sails flap idly. Then look out ! for in nine cases out of ten
you are struck the next moment by a sudden squall from
exactly the opposite direction from which the wind blew a
moment before.
What to Do.
Make for the nearest port with all speed, and keep a
man at the down haul ready at a moment's notice to lower
sail. The moment the wind stops drop the sail and make
everything snug, leaving only bare poles. When the
thunder-squall strikes you, be it ever so hard, you are now
in little danger ; and if the wind from the new quarter is
not too fresh, you can hoist sail again and make the beet
172 Summer
of your way to the nearest port, where you can " get in out
of the wet."
If the wind is quite fresh keep your peak down, and
with a reefed sail speed on your way. If it is a regular
howler, let your boat drive before the wind under bare
poles until you can find shelter or until it blows over, and
the worst mishap you are likely to incur is a good soaking
from the rain.
Shortening Sail. Just as soon as the boat heels over too
far for safety, or as soon as you are convinced that there is
more wind than you need for comfortable sailing, it is time
to take a reef that is, to roll up the bottom of the sail
to the row of little ropes or reefing points on the sail and
make fast there. This, of course, makes a smaller sail, and
that is what you wish.
While under way it will be found impossible to reef a sail
except when sailing close-hauled. So the boat is brought
up into the wind by pushing the helm down, as if you in-
tended to come about. When possible it is better to lower
the sail entirely before attempting to put in a reef.
To Reef Without Lowering Sail.
It sometimes happens that on account of the proximity
of a lee shore, and the consequent danger of drifting in
that direction, or for some other equally good reason,
it is unadvisable to lower sail and lose headway. Under
such circumstances the main sheet must be trimmed flat,
keeping the boat as close as possible to the wind, the helm
must be put up hard a-lee, and jib sheet trimmed to wind-
ward (Fig. 12 1).
When this is done the wind will hit the jib, " paying her
head off," or pushing her bow to leeward, and this ten-
dency is counteracted by the helm and mainsail, bring-
The Land-Liibber's Chapter 173
FIG. 121. Squirming ; Jib on Port Side, Boom
Close-hauled on Starboard Side.
ing the bow up into the
wind. This keeps the
boat squirming. Low-
er the mainsail until the
row of reef points is
just on a line with the
boom, keeping to the
windward of the sail.
Tie the first point
that is, the one on the
luff rope then the one
on the leach, being
careful to stretch out
the foot of the sail.
Then tie the remaining
points, always making
a square or reefing
knot. Tie them to the jack stay on the boom or around
the boom.
The Reef or Square Knot
is most frequently used, as its name implies, in reefing
sails. First make a plain overhand knot, as in Fig. 122.
Then repeat the operation by taking the end and passing
it over and under the loop, drawing the
parts tight, as shown in Fig. 123. Care
should be observed in crossing the ends
Squaw or Reel so that they will always lay fairly along-
side the main parts. Otherwise the knot
will prove a granny, and be comparatively worthless.
To Shake Out a Reef,
untie the knots, keeping to the windward of the sail.
Untie the knot at the leach first, next the one at the luff,
1 74 Summer
and then the remaining points. In lowering a sail you use
a rope called the down haul.
Starboard Tack. When the main boom is over the port
side.
Port Tack. When the main boom is over the starboard
side.
Right of Way. All boats sailing on the starboard tack
have the right of way over all those on the port tack. In
other words, if you are on the starboard tack, those on the
port tack must keep out of your way. Any boat sailing
close-hauled has the right of way over a boat sailing free.
Lights for Canoe.
A canoe under sail at night should have an uncolored
\antern hung to her mizzen-mast to notify other craft that
$he is out and objects to being run down. The light is put
on the mizzen so that it may be behind the skipper and not
dazzle him.
What you have read in the foregoing pages will not be
found very difficult to remember, but there is only one
way to learn to sail and that is by sailing. If possible, sail
with some one who is a good seaman. If this sort of com-
panion cannot be had, try it alone on smooth water and
with short sail until you accustom yourself to the boat and
its peculiarities. No boy ever learned to skate or swim
from books, but books often have been helpful in giving
useful hints to those who were really learning by practical
experience.
Some Do Nots.
Do not overload the boat.
Do not carry too much sail.
Do not sail in strange waters without chart or compass.
Do not forget your anchor.
The Land- Lubber's Chapter 175
Do not forget your paddles or oars.
Do not attempt to learn to sail before you know how to
swim.
Do not sit on the gunwale.
Do not put the helm down too suddenly or too far.
Do not let go the helm.
Do not mistake caution for cowardice.
Do not be afraid to reef.
Do not fear the ridicule of other land-lubbers.
Do not fail to keep the halyards and sheets clear.
Do not jibe in a stiff wind.
Do not fail to keep your head in times of emergency.
Do not make a display of bravery until the occasion de-
mands it.
Do not allow mistakes or mishaps to discourage you.
You will soon become an expert and be able to engage
in one of our most exhilarating, healthy, and manly sports
and earn the proud distinction of being a good small-boat
sailor.
CHAPTER XIV
RIGS OF ALL KINDS FOR SMALL BOATS
How to Distinguish between a Ship, Bark, Brig, and Schooner Mer-
its and Defects of Cat-BoatsAdvantages of the Sloop Rigs for
Canoes Buckeyes and Sharpies,.
THE two principal rigs for vessels are the fore-and-aft
and the square rig.
Square rigged consists in having the principal sails
extended by yards suspended at the middle. (Fig. 135.)
Fore-and-aft rigged is having the principal sails ex-
tended by booms and gaffs suspended by their ends (Figs.
124, 125, 126, 132, 138 and 137).
Barks, brigs, and ships are all more or less square rigged,
but schooners, sloops, and catboats are all fore-and-aft
rigged. In these notes the larger forms of boats are men-
tioned only because of the well-known interest boys take
in all nautical matters, but no detailed description of the
larger craft will be given. All that is aimed at here is to
give the salient points, so that the youngsters will know
the name of the rig when they see it.
The Cat.
There is a little snub-nosed American who, in spite of
her short body and broad waist, is deservedly popular
among all our amateur sailors.
The appreciation of her charms is felt and acknowl-
edged by all her companions without envy, not because
Rigs of All Kinds for Small Boats 177
of her saucy looks, but on account of her accommodating
manners.
Possessing a rare ability for quick movement, and a
wonderful power to bore her way almost into the very eye
of the wind, or with double-reefed sail to
dash through the storm or gently slide up
alongside of a wharf or dock as easily as a
rowboat, the American catboat, with her
single mast " chock up in the eyes of her,"
has made a permanent place for herself
among our pleasure craft, and is omni-
present in our crowded bays and har- FIG. 124- The snub-
J nosed American Cat
bors.
Knowing that there is little danger of the catboat losing
its well-earned popularity, and being somewhat familiar
with many of her peculiarities, I am free to say that this
rig, notwithstanding its numerous good points, has many
serious defects as a school-ship, and the beginner had bet-
ter select some other rig with which to begin his practice
sailing.
First, the great sail is very heavy and difficult to hoist
and reef. Second, in going before the wind there is con-
stant danger of jibing, with serious results. Third, the cat-
boat has a very bad habit of rolling when sailing before the
wind, and each time the boat rolls from side to side she is
liable to dip the end of her heavy boom in the water and
" trip herself up." When a boat trips up she does not
necessarily go down, but she is likely to upset, placing the
young sailors in an unenviable, if not a dangerous, position.
Fourth, when the craft begins to swagger before the wind
she is liable to " goose neck," that is throw her boom up
against the mast, which is another accident fraught with
the possibilities of serious mischief.
i 7 8
Summer
The catboat has no bowsprit, no jib, and no topsail, but
that most graceful of all single-stickers,
The Sloop,
possesses several jibs, a bowsprit, and topsail. Besides
these, when she is in racing trim, a number of additional
sails are used. All our great racers are sloops, and this rig
is the most convenient for small yachts and cutters.
Racing Sloops.
A racing sloop (Fig. 137) carries a mainsail, A, a fore stay-
sail B, a jib, C, a gaff topsail, D, a club topsail, E, a baby
jib topsail, F, a No. 2 jib topsail, G, a No. i jib topsail, H, a
balloon jib topsail, J (Fig. 133), and a spinnaker, K (Fig. 133).
Jib and Mainsail.
A small sloop's sails are a mainsail, jib, and topsail. A
sloop rig without topsail is called a jib and mainsail (Fig.
125).
While every small-boat sailor should know a catboat
and a sloop when he sees them, and even be able to give
the proper name to their sails,
neither of these rigs is very well
suited for canoes, sharpies, or
other boats of the mosquito
fleet; but the
Schooner Rig,
which is the form of boat gen-
no. i2 S .-Jib and Mainsail. erall 7 USed f r the lar g er jachtS,
is also very much used for opent
boats. As you can see, by referring to Fig. 126, the
schooner rig consists of a bowsprit, fore and main mast,
Rigs of All Kinds for Small Boats 179
with their appropriate sails. Lately freight schooners have
appeared with three or more masts. For small boats two
adjustable masts and an adjusta-
ble bowsprit, as described in the
Rough and Ready, Chapter XIV.,
are best. The sails may be sprit
sails, Fig. 143, balance lug, Fig.
127; standing lug, Fig. 128; leg
Of mutton, Fig. 129, Or the Sliding FlG . I26 ._Schooner Rig for Open
hunter Fip" I ^Q Boat. Boom on Mainsail, none
6 on Foresail.
In the chapter on how to build
the Rough and Ready, the sprit sail is depicted and fully
described.
The Balance Lug
comes as near the square sail of a ship as any canvas used
on small boats, but you can see, by referring to the dia-
gram, Fig. 127, that the leach and the luff are not parallel
and that the gaff hangs at an angle. To boom out the can-
FIG. 127. The Balance Lug. FIG. 128. Standing Lug.
vas and make it sit flat there are three sticks extended
across the sail from the front to the back, luff to leach,
called battens. This has caused some people to call this a
batten lug. Like the lateen sail, part of the balance lug
i8o
Summer
hangs before the mast and serves the purpose of a jib.
This rig is said to be easily managed and to possess good
sailing qualities.
The Standing Lug
is another sail approaching the square in pattern, and, as
any novice can see, is a good canvas with which to scud be-
fore the wind. It is very convenient for open boats built
to be propelled by paddles. While the standing lug can-
not point up to the eye of the wind like a schooner or cat,
it is very fast on the wind or when running with the wind
astern. Probably the safest form of sail used is the old
reliable
Leg-of-Mutton Sail.
This is used by the fishermen on their stanch little do-
ries away up on the coast of Maine, and by the " tide-
water " people in their " buckeyes "
on Chesapeake Bay. The latter boat
is very little known outside of the lo-
cality where it makes its home, but
like the New Haven sharpies, it is
very popular in its own waters.
FIG. 129. Leg of Mutton
Sail. Jib and Mainsail
The Buckeye,
or " bugeye," as it is sometimes vul-
garly called, has a great reputation for
speed and sea - going qualities. When it cannot climb a
wave it goes through it. This makes a wet boat in heavy
weather, but when you travel at a high rate of speed you
can endure a wet jacket with no complaint, especially
when you feel that, in spite of the fast-sailing qualities of
this boat, it is considered a particularly safe craft.
The construction of a buckeye has been evolved from
FIG. 131.
FIG.
FIG. 135.
FIGS. 130-137. F
FIG. 134.
FIG. 133.
FIG. 137.
MEET AT SEA.
Rigs of All Kinds for Small Boats 181
the old dugout canoe of the Indians and the first white
settlers. America was originally covered with vast forests
of immense trees. Remnants of these forests still exist in
a few localities. It was once possible
to make a canoe of almost any dimen-
sions desired, but now in the thickly
settled regions big trees are scarce.
So the Chesapeake Bay boat-build-
ers, while still adhering to the old dug-
out, have overcome the disadvantage
of small logs by using more than one
and bolting the pieces together. Masts
.. . FIG. 138. -The Buckeye.
and sails have been added, and since
the increased proportions made it impracticable to drag
such a craft on the beach when in port, anchors and
cables are supplied. Two holes bored, one on each side
of the stem, for the cables to run through, have given the
boat the appearance of having eyes, and as the eyes are
large and round, the negroes called them buckeyes,
and this is now the name by which all such craft are
known.
At first only two masts with leg-of-mutton sails were
used, but now they have a jib and two sails. With the
greatest width or beam about one-third the distance from
bow to stern, sharp at both ends, its long, narrow, and
heavy hull is easily driven through the water, and makes
both a fast and stiff boat.
The buckeye travels in shallow as well as deep waters,
and hence is a centre-board boat, but there is nothing
unnecessary on the real buckeye no overhanging bow or
stern, for that means additional labor ; no stays to the
masts, for the same reason. The lack of stays to stiffen the
masts leaves them with " springiness," which in case of a
1 82 Summer
sudden squall helps to spill the wind and prevents what
might otherwise be a " knock-down."
The foremast is longer than the mainmast and does
not rake aft so much, but the mainmast has a decided rake,
which the colored sailors say makes the boat faster on the
wind. Sometimes in the smaller boats the mainmast can
be set upright when going before the wind.
Wealthy gentlemen on the Chesapeake are now build-
ing regularly equipped yachts on the buckeye plan, and
some of them are quite large boats. A correspondent of
the Forest and Stream, in speaking of the buckeye, says :
" Last summer I cruised in company with a buckeye, forty-two feet long,
manned by two gentlemen of Baltimore city. She drew twenty inches
without the board. In sudden and heavy flaws she was rarely luffed. She
would lie over and appear to spill the wind out of her tall, sharp sails, and
then right again. Her crew took pleasure in tackling every sailing craft for a
race ; nothing under seventy feet in length ever beat her. She steered under
any two of her three sails. On one occasion this craft, on her way from
Cape May to Cape Charles, was driven out to sea before a heavy northwest
blow. Her crew, the aforesaid gentlemen, worn out by fatigue, hove her to
and went to sleep. She broke her tiller lashing during the night, and when
they awoke she was pegging away on a southeast course under her jib.
They put her about, and in twenty hours were inside Cape Henry, pretty
well tired out. Buckeyes frequently run from Norfolk to New York with
fruit. For shallow waters, I am satisfied there is no better craft afloat.
Built deep, with a loaded keel, they would rival the English cutter in
seaworthiness and speed."
When the hardy, bold fishermen of our Eastern States
and the brave fishermen down South both use the leg-of-
mutton sail, beginners cannot object to using it while prac-
tising; knowing that even if it is a safe sail, it cannot be
called a " baby rig." Another safe rig, differing little from
the leg-of-mutton, is the
Rigs of All Kinds for Small Boats 183
Sliding Gunter.
In this rig the sail is laced to a yard which slides up or
down the mast by means of two iron hooks or travellers
(Fig. 139). No sail with a nar-
row-pointed top is very service-
able before the wind, and the
sliding gunter is no exception to
the rule. But it is useful on the
wind, and can be reefed easily
and quickly, qualities which make
it many friends.
In the smooth, shallow waters along the coast of North
Carolina may be seen the long, flat-bottomed
Sharpies.
Without question they are to be ranked among the fastest
boats we have. These boats are rigged with a modification
of the leg-of-mutton sail. The ends of the sprit in the foresail
FIG. 139. The Sliding Gunter.
FIG. 140. Sharpie with Sprit and FIG. 141. FiG. 142.
Club Leg-of-Mutton Sails. Showing Detail of Sprit Club Sail
project at the luff and leach. At the luff it is fastened to the
mast by a line like a snotter at the leach. It is fastened to a
stick sewed into the sail, called a club. The sheet is attached
to the end of the sprit (Figs. 140, 141, 142, 144, and 145).
1 84
Summer
The Sprit Leg-of-Mutton Sail
has this advantage, that the clew of the sail is much higher
FIG. 143. Plain Sprit
Leg-of-Mutton.
FIG. 144. FIG. 145.
Another Form of the Sprit Sail.
than the tack, thus avoiding the danger of dipping the clew
in the water and tripping the boat.
The Dandy Jigger,
or Mizzen Rig,
is named after the
small sail aft, near the
rudder -head. This
jigger, mizzen, or
dandy may have a
boom, a sprit, or be
rigged as a lug. (See
Figs. 146, 147, 149,
150, 151, 152,154,156,
and 160, which show
the principal mizzen
rigs in use.)
In puffy wind and
lumpy water the main
and mizzen rig will
FIG. 147. Lug Rig with Jigger and Jib. be found to WOrk well.
FIG. 146. Lug Rig with Jigger.
Rigs of All Kinds for Small Boats 185
The little sail aft should be trimmed as flat as possible. It
will be found of great help in beating to the windward, and
FIG. 148. Jib. FIG. 149. Sprit Sail, Schooner Rig, FIG. 150. Sprit Sail Jib and
with Dandy. Dandy.
will keep the nose of the boat facing the wind when the
mainsail is down. Different rigs are popular in different
localities. For instance :
The Lateen Rig
is very popular in some parts of the Old World, yet it has
only few friends here. It may be because of my art training
that I feel so kindly toward this style of sail, or it may be
from the association in my mind of some of the happiest
days of my life with a little black canoe rigged with lateen
sails. At any rate, in spite of the undeniable fact that the
lateen is unpopular, I never see
a small boat rigged in this style
without a feeling of pleasure. The
handy little stumps of masts, end
in a spike at the top, and are
adorned by the beautiful sails
lashed to slender spars, which, by
means of metal rings, are lightly, Fia I5I '- T ^ d a y een Rigwith
but securely, fastened to the mast
by simply hooking the ring over the spike. I freely ac-
knowledge that when the sails are lowered and you want
to use your paddle the lateen sails are in your way. It
1 86 Summer
is claimed that they are awkward to reef, and this may be
true. I never tried it. When the wind was too strong
for my sails I made port or took in either the large or the
small sail, as the occasion seemed to demand.
The Ship.
When you are out sailing and see a vessel with three
masts, all square rigged, you are looking at a ship proper,
though ship is a word often used loosely for any sort of a
boat (Fig. 135).
The bark is a vessel with square-rigged foremast and
mainmast and a fore-and-aft rigged mizzen-mast (Fig. 136).
The brig is a vessel with only two masts, both of which
are square rigged (Fig. 134).
The brigantine has two masts foremast square rigged
and mainmast fore-and-aft rigged (Fig. 131).
The barkentine has three masts mainmast and mizzen-
mast fore-and-aft rigged and foremast square rigged. (See
Fig. 130.)
CHAPTER XV
A "ROUGH AND READY" BOAT
Just What an Ingenious Boy Must Do to Build It Detailed Instructions
as to How to Make the Boat and How to Rig It.
GOOD straight-grained pine wood is, without doubt, the
best ''all-around" wood for a boy's use. It is easily whittled
with a pocket-knife; it works smoothly under a plane; can
be sawed without fatiguing the young carpenter ; it is elas-
tic, pliable, and cheap ; therefore use pine lumber to build
your boat.
Examine the lumber pile carefully and select four boards
nearly alike. Do not allow the dealer or his men to talk
you into taking lumber with blemishes. The side-pieces
should be of straight-grained wood, with no large knots
and no " checks " (cracks) in them, and must not be " wind
shaken."
Measure the wood and see that it is over twenty-two
feet long by one foot four or five inches wide and one inch
thick. Trim two of the side-pieces until they are exact
duplicates (Fig. i6oa). The stem -piece (or bow- piece)
should be made from a triangular piece of oak (Fig. 166),
and it is wise to make it a few inches longer than will be
necessary, so that there may be no danger of finding, after
all your labor, that the stick is too short; much better
too long, for it is a simple matter to saw it off. Make a
second stem-piece (Fig. 167) of oak about one inch thick
1 88
Summer
and the same length as the first, and two or three inches
wide, or twice as wide as the thickness of the side boards.
The Stern-Piece.
The stern-piece can be fashioned out of two-inch pine
boards, and may be made as wide or narrow as you choose.
FIG. i6oa.
FIG. 161.
FIG. 162.
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FIG. 163. FIG. 164.
Diagrams Showing the Construction of the Rough and Ready.
A narrow stern makes a trim-looking craft. With your saw
cut off the corner of the tail-piece, so that it will be in the
form of a blunted triangle (Fig. 168), measuring three feet
ten and one-half inches across the base, three feet four
inches on each side, and nine and one-half inches at the apex.
The base of the triangle will be the top and the apex will
be the bottom of the stern-board of your boat.
Now make a brace on which to model your boat. Let
it be of two-inch pine wood, two and one-half feet wide and
A " Rough and Ready" Boat 189
seven and one-half feet long (Fig. 161). Measure twelve
inches on one edge of this board from each end toward
the centre and mark the points ; then rule lines from these
points diagonally across the width of the board (A, B and
C, D Fig. 161), and saw off the corners, as shown by the
dotted line in Fig. 161.
Lay the boards selected for the lower side boards on a
level floor and measure off one and one-half foot on the bot-
tom edge, then in a line with the end of the board mark a
point on the floor that would be the top edge of the board if
FIG. 165.
The Rough and Ready.
FIGS. 166, 167, and 168.
the board were two and one-half feet wide ; rule a line from
the point on the floor to the point marked on the board and
saw off the corner as marked ; make the other side-piece
correspond exactly with the first (Fig. i6oa).
190 Summer
Use Rope for Binding.
Set the side-pieces upon their bottom or shorter edges
and place the brace between the sides. Now bind the
stern ends with a rope and bring the bow-pieces together
until they touch ; rope them in this position, and when
all is fast push the brace up until it rests at a point nine
feet from the bow; fasten it here with a couple of nails
driven in, but leaving their heads far enough from the
wood to render it easy to draw them out. Now adjust
the bow-piece, and use the greatest of care in making the
sides exactly alike, otherwise you will wonder how your
boat happened to have such an unaccountable twist in it.
When the stem is properly adjusted fasten on the side
boards with screws. Do not try to hammer the screws in
place, but bore holes first and use a screw-driver.
Take your stern-piece and measure the exact width of
the stern end of the bottom boards and mark it at the bot-
tom of the stern-piece ; or, better still, since the stern-board
will set at an angle, put it temporarily in place, bind it fast
with the ropes, and mark with a pencil just where the side
boards cross the ends of the stern-board. Remove the stern-
board and saw out a piece one inch wide, the thickness of
the bottom board, from the place marked to the bottom of
the stern-board. Because the top side board overlaps the
bottom one at the stern, there must be either a large crack
left there or the stern-board notched to fit the side boards
(Fig. 1 68). Replace the stern-board and nail side boards fast
to it ; now loosen the ropes which have held your boat in
shape, and fit on the upper side boards so that at the stern
they will overlap the lower side boards an inch. Hold in
place with your rope, then bring the bow end up against the
stern-piece over the top of the lower side board and fasten
A " Rough and Ready " Boat 191
it in place with a rope. With your carpenter's pencil mark
the overlap, and with a plane made for that purpose, called
a rabbet, trim down your board so that it will have a shoul-
der and an overlap to rest on the bottom board, running
out to nothing at the bow. When the boards fit all right
over the lower ones bind them in place and then nail them
there (Fig. 162). If you can obtain two good boards of
the requisite size, you need have but one board for each
side of your boat ; this will obviate the necessity of using
the rabbet, and be very much easier ; but with single boards
of the required dimensions there is great danger of split-
ting or cracking while bending the boards.
Planing the Bottom.
Turn the boat upside down and you will see that there
is a decided arch extending from stem to stern. This would
cause the boat to sink too deep amidships, and must be
remedied to some extent by cutting away the middle of the
arch, so that the sides in the exact centre will measure at
least four inches less in width than at the bow and stern,
and reducing the convex or curved form to a straight line
in the middle, which will give a sheer to the bow and stern.
A good plane is the best tool to use for this purpose, as
with it there is no danger of cutting too deep or of split-
ting the side boards. Saw off the projecting ends of the
side boards at the stern.
Make the bottom of three-quarter-inch boards. Lay the
boards crosswise, nail them in place, leaving the irregular
ends projecting on each side. The reason for this is obvi-
ous. When you look at the bottom of the boat you will
at once see that on account of the form no two boards can
be the same shape, and the easiest way is to treat the boat
bottom as if it were a square-sided scow. Fit the planks
192 Summer
closely together, nail them on securely, and then neatly
saw off the projecting ends (Fig. 164).
The Deck.
The brace may now be removed by carefully drawing
the nails, so that a bottom plank trimmed to fit the bow
and the stern can be securely nailed in place (Fig. 169).
Cut a notch in your brace to fit tightly over the bottom
plank just laid. Plane off the top of the brace so that when
in the boat the top of the brace will be four inches below
the top of the side boards. Replace the brace and securely
nail it. Next cut two small cross-pieces (F, G, Fig. 163) and
place them near the bow, four inches below the top of the
sides of the boat. Drive the nails from the outside through
the side boards into the end of F and G, the cross-brace.
Cut out a bow-piece to fit from the middle of G to the bow
and nail it in place, driving the nails from the outside into
the edge of the bow-piece. Fasten a small cleat along the
boat from the solid board brace to F on each side and deck
the space over with light lumber.
Of the same material make a trap-door to fit in between
the braces F and G. This door should be big enough for
a boy to creep through, for this compartment is intended
as a safe place to store cooking utensils, foods, etc., as well
as a water-tight compartment. At a point five feet from
the stern put another cross-brace, similar to the ones in the
bow, four inches below the top of the sides. At the same
level nail a cleat on the stern-piece and make a stern seat
by boarding over between the cross-piece and the cleat.
When your boat is resting securely on the floor or level
ground rig a temporary seat, then take an oar and by ex-
periment find just where the rowlock will be most conven-
ient and mark the spot. Also mark the spot best suited for
A " Rough and Ready " Boat 193
the seat. On each side of the spot marked for the rowlock
cut two notches in the side-boards two inches deep, one and
a half inches wide, and three inches apart. Saw two more
notches exactly like these upon the opposite side of your
boat. These will make the rowlocks when the side strips
are nailed on (Fig. 169).
The side strips should each be made of one-inch plank
three inches wide and a few inches longer than the side
boards. Nail the strips on the outside of the boat flush
with the top of the side boards. Make your thole pins of
some hard wood, and make two sets of them while you are
FIG. 169. Top View of Rough and Ready with Tiller Stick.
about it, " one set to use and one set to lose." Screw a
hardwood cleat on the inside of your boat over each pair of
rowlocks, as shown in Fig. 169.
Ready for the Water.
Fasten the remaining bow-piece securely over the ends
of your side boards, and the nose of your craft is finished.
Put a good, heavy keel on your boat by screwing it
tightly in the stern to the hardwood rudder-post that is
fastened to the centre of the stern ; bolt your keel with four
iron bolts to the bottom of the boat, and the ship is ready
to launch, after which she can be equipped with sails and
oars.
13
194
Summer
Of course, you understand that
all nail-holes and crevices should
be puttied up, and if paint is used,
it must be applied before wetting
the boat. But if you have done
your work well, there will be little
need of paint or putty to make it
tight after the wood has swelled in
the water. Fasten your rudder on
with hooks and screw-eyes, and
make it as shown in the diagram
(Fig. 165). Step your mainmast in
the bow through a round hole in
the deck and a square hole in the
step, which must, of course, be
screwed tightly to the bottom be-
fore the bow is decked over.
Step your jigger or dandy-mast
in the stern after the same manner.
These masts should neither of them
be very large, and are intended to
be removed at pleasure by unstep-
ping them, that is, simply pulling
them out of their sockets. An out-
rigger will be found necessary for
your dandy-sail, and since the deck
aft is below the sides of the boat,
a block of wood will have to be
nailed to the deck to the starboard
or right-hand side of the rudder-
post. If the builder chooses, he can
make the decks flush with the sides
of the boat, and thus avoid blocks. A couple of staples for
FIG. 170.
Rudder, with Tiller
Lines.
A "Rough and Ready" Boat 195
the out-rigger to slip through are next in order. They must
be fastened firmly in the block or stick of wood just nailed
to the deck. A similar arrangement can be made for the
bowsprit, but as it is a movable bowsprit, and the stem of
the boat is in the way, put it to the port or left-hand side of
the stem of the craft (Fig. 169).
How to Make the Sail.
Secure for a sail material as strong as you can find, but
it need not be heavy. Unbleached muslin is cheap and
will make good sails. Turn over the edges and sew or hem
them, as in the diagram. Make eyelets like buttonholes in
the luff of the sail that is, the edge of the sail nearest the
mast. Sew a small loop of rope in each corner of the sail.
Through the eyelets lace the luff of the sail to the mast.
From spruce or pine make a sprit two inches in
diameter. For a " sheet" that is, the rope or line that you
manage the sail with tie a good, stout line about a dozen
feet long to the loop in the loose corner of the sail. Trim
the upper end of the sprit to fit the loop in the top of the
sail and make a simple notch in the other end to hold the
line called the " snotter."
Now, as you can readily see by referring to Fig.
165, when the sprit is pushed into the loop at the top
of the sail the sail is spread. To hold it in place make a
cleat like the one in the diagram, and bind it firmly with a
cord to the sprit ; pass the snotter or line fastened to the
mast through the notch in the sprit up to the cleat and
make fast, and the sail is set The jigger or dandy is
exactly like the mainsail except in size, and the sheet rope
is run through a block or pulley at the end of the out-rigger
and then made fast to a cleat near the man at the rudder
or helm. The jib is a simple affair hooked on a screw-eye
196 Summer
in the end of the bowsprit. The jib halyard, or line for
hoisting the jib, runs from the top of the jib through a
screw-eye in the top of the mast, down the port side of the
mast to a cleat, where it is made fast. When the jib is set
the jib-sheets are fastened to a loop sewed in the jib at
the lower or loose end. There are two jib-sheets, one for
each side of the boat, so that one may be made fast and the
other loosened, according to the wind. The remaining
details you must study out from the diagrams or learn by
experiment.
How to Reef Her.
When the wind is high reef your sails by letting go the
snotter and pulling out the sprit. This will drop your peak
and leave you with a simple leg-of-mutton sail. Only use
the jib in light weather.
In this boat, with a little knowledge of sailing, you may
cruise for weeks, lowering your sails at night and making a
tent over the cock-pit for a sleeping-room.
When the author described the Rough and Ready for
the New York Press, Mr. Curtis Brown, the genial editor
of the Sunday edition of that paper, was delighted with
it. He had had letters from boy readers asking the rules for
building just such a boat. After the article was published
Mr. Brown received more letters asking for descriptions
and rules for building a rowboat. The writer had already
told how to build a rowboat, under the head of a " Yankee
Pine " in the " American Boy's Handy Book." If the
young boat-builders do not have a " Handy Book " they can
reduce the dimensions of the Rough and Ready, leave off
the decks, and they will have a serviceable rowboat.
CHAPTER XVI
A RAFT THAT WILL SAIL
And a Homc-Madc CatamaranThe Raft is Just the Thing for Camp
Life Pleasurable Occupation for a Camping Party Where Wood
is Plentiful You Will Need Axes and Hatchets and a Few Other
Civilized Implements.
FIRST we will select two pine logs of equal length, and,
while the water is heating for our coffee we will sharpen
the butt or larger end of the logs on one side with the axe,
making a "chisel edge," as shown in Fig. 171. This gives
us an appetite for breakfast and makes the big fish in the
lake, as they jump above the water, cast anxious looks
toward our camp.
Breakfast finished, we will cut some cross-pieces to join
our two logs together, and at equal distances apart we will
bore holes through the cross-pieces for peg-holes (Figs. 172,
173, and 174). While one of the party is fashioning a num-
ber of pegs, each with a groove in one side, like those
shown in Fig. 175, the others will roll the logs into the
water and secure them in a shallow spot.
Shoes and stockings must be removed, for most of the
work is now to be done in the water. Of course, it would
be much easier done on land, but the raft will be very heavy
and could never be launched unless under the most favor-
able circumstances. It is better to build the craft in the
element which is to be its home.
Cut two long saplings for braces, and after separating
198 Summer
the logs the proper distance for your cross-pieces to fit, nail
your braces in position, as represented by Fig. 171.
This holds the logs steady, and we may now lay the two
cross-pieces in position and mark the points on the logs
carefully where the holes are to be bored to correspond
with the ones in the cross-pieces. Bore the holes in one
log first ; make the holes deep enough and then fill them
with water, after which drive the pegs through the ends of
the cross-pieces and into the log. The grooves in the pegs
(Fig. 175) will allow the water to escape from the holes and
the water will cause the peg to swell and tighten its hold
on the log and cross-pieces.
Now bore holes in the other log under those in the
cross-pieces and fill them with water before driving the
pegs home, as you did in the first instance. Fig. 176 is a
Man-Friday raft.
The Deck.
Before placing the bow in position we must go ashore
and make a dry deck. Selecting for the springs two long
elastic ash or hickory poles, trim the ends off flat on one
side, as shown by Fig. 177. This flat side is the bottom, so
roll them over, with the flat side toward the ground, and if
you can find no planks or barrel staves for a deck, split in
half a number of small logs and peg or nail them on the
top side of the springs, as in Fig. 178.
Now all hands must turn out and carry the deck down
to the raft and place it in position, with the flattened sides
of the springs resting on top of the logs at the bow. Prop
it up in this position, and then bore holes through the
springs into the logs and peg the springs down. Over the
flat ends place the heavy bow cross-piece, bore the peg
holes, and fasten it in position (Fig. 179).
A Raft that will Sail
199
FIG. 171.
FIG. 172. FIG. 173. FIG. 174.
FIG. 176.
FIG. 177.
,
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FIG. 175.
FIG. 179.
FIG. 178.
PARTS OF MAN-FRIDAY SAILING RAFT.
FIG. 171. Logs in Place with Braces. FIGS. 172, 173, and 174. Struts. FIG. 175.
Pegs. FIG. 176. Raft with Middle and Stern Strut in Place. FIG. 177.
Springs for Dry Deck. FIG. 178. -Dry Deck. FIG. 179. Dry Deck in Place.
200
Summer
. In the centre of the bow cross-piece bore several holes
close together and chip out the wood between to make a
FIG. 180. Sail for Man-Friday.
hole, as square a one as possible, for the mast to fit or
"step" in. With the wood from a packing box or a slab
from a log make the bench for the mast.
Bore a hole through the bench a trifle astern of the step
or hole for the mast below. It will cause the mast to
"rake" a little " aft." You have done a big day's work, but a
couple of days ought to be sufficient time to finish the craft
A Raft that will Sail
201
The Sail.
Turn over the raw edges of the old sailcloth and stitch
them down, as in Fig. 180 that is, if you have the needle and
thread for the purpose ; if not, trim the cloth to the proper
form and two inches from the luff (the side next to the
mast). Cut a number of holes ; these should be stitched like
buttonholes, if possible, but if the sailcloth is tough and we
FIG. 181. Scudding Before the Wind.
have no needle, we shall have to let them go unstitched. A
small loop of rope must be sewed or fastened in some
other manner very securely to each corner of the sail.
2O2 Summer
From spruce pine or an old fishing pole make a sprit,
and of a good, straight piece of pine manufacture your
mast somewhat longer than the luff of the sail (Fig. 180).
Through the eyelets lace the luff of the sail to the mast,
so that its lower edge will clear the dry deck by about
a foot.
Through the hole made for the purpose in the bench
(Fig. 181) thrust the mast into the step or socket that we
have cut in the bow cross-piece. Tie to the loop at the
bottom corner of the sail a strong line about twelve feet
long for a sheet with which to control the sail.
Trim the upper end of the sprit to fit in the loop at the
upper outer corner of the sail, and make a notch in the
lower end to fit in the loop of the line called the " snotter."
Now, as you can readily see, when the sprit is pushed
diagonally upward the sail is spread ; to hold it in place
make a loop of line for a "snotter" and attach the loop
to the mast, as in Figs. 180 and 181. Fit the loop in the
notch in the lower end of the sprit, and the sail is set.
The Keelig.
We need anchors, one for the bow and one for the stern.
It takes little time to make them, as you only need a forked
stick, a stone, and a piece of plank, or, better still, a barrel
stave. Figs. 186, 187, 189, and 190 show how this is made.
Down East the fishermen use the " keelig," in preference to
any other anchor.
Make fast your lines to the " keelig " thus : Take the end
of the rope in your right hand and the standing part (which
is the part leading from the boat) in your left hand and
form the loop (A, Fig. 182).
Then with the left hand curve the cable from you,
A Raft that will Sail
203
bringing the end through the loop, as in B, Fig. 183 ; then
lead it around and down, as in C, Fig. 184.
Draw it tight, as in D, Fig. 185, and you have the good,
old-fashioned knot, called by sailors the " bow-line."
To make it look neat and shipshape you may take a
FIG. 182. FIG. 183. FIG. 184. FIG. 185.
FIG. 186.
Te STOWS
FIG. 187.
FIG. 189.
FIG. 190.
piece of string and bind the standing part to the shaft of
your anchor or keelig keelek killick killeck kelleck
kellock killock, etc., as you may choose to spell it.
A paddle to steer with and two pegs in the stern cross-
piece to rest it in complete the craft ; and now the big bass
had better use due caution, because our lines will reach
their haunts, and we are after them !
A Home-Made Catamaran.
Possibly after you have built and sailed on the rude
catamaran described above you have grown ambitious
and wish to try a real catamaran. In this case it is, of
2O4 Summer
course, necessary that you should be in some locality
where you can have access to ordinary building materials
and tools.
In place of the two unwieldy logs substitute two narrow
boats. If such boats can be found already built, so much
the better. Two old-fashioned dugout canoes make most
excellent hulls for a catamaran, but unfortunately dugout
canoes are now few and far between. In these modern
days we must look for something more up-to-date, and
probably the shortest way out of the difficulty is to build
two long, narrow boats. This is not a difficult piece of
work. Any boy who has successfully built either of the
preceding craft, or is sufficiently skilful to build even a
rude skiff, will be able to put together two long water-tight
boxes, and it does not require much additional skill to
make boxes pointed at each end.
Make each side of the boat of one straight-grained
white pine board, twelve or fourteen feet long, and put the
boat together after the fashion shown in Figs. i6oa, 161, 162,
163, and 164 (Rough and Ready), with this difference :
You must make the bow and stern just alike, and leave
the four stretchers or moulds in their places, to add
strength to the hulls. This, of course, divides the hulls
into five compartments, each of which is liable to hold
water. To prevent this saw a triangular notch in the
bottom of each mould to allow the water that may leak
in free passage from bow to stern ; then it may be all
bailed out from one trap or hatch. Particular attention
must be paid to making the two side boats exact duplicates
of each other. If white lead is applied to all seams and
joints before they are fastened together, it will make them
very nearly water-tight, but a new boat will leak until the
water has caused the wood to swell.
A Raft that will Sail
205
A Trap-Door or Hatch,
large enough to admit one's hand and bailer, should oc-
cupy an accessible position near the stern of each boat.
The trap should be built
to fasten as tightly as
possible to prevent any
water that may splash
over the boats from
leaking in through the
openings in the deck.
Make each deck of a
single board, trimmed
to conform with the lines
of the boat, and make
holes in the deck for
the bands to pass
through. With bolts
and bands, that have
oeen made for you at the
nearest blacksmith shop,
you fasten the cross-
piece supporting the
deck to the moulds in
the boat. Fig. 193, A,
shows one of the bolts.
It is understood that
these bolts are securely
fastened to the moulds
before the hulls are
decked. The holes are
then bored in the deck, and the screw ends of the bolts
come up through the deck and through the holes made for
FIGS. 191, 193, 193. A
f Home-made Catama-
ran.
206 Summer
that purpose in the cross-pieces supporting the deck. A
piece of india-rubber from an old hose can be used for
washers to fit under the bolts. The nuts are then screwed
home.
The deck is now floored, as shown in Fig. 191, and
The Rudder and Mast
benches are put in place, the latter at the forward and the
former at the after end of the deck. Underneath the deck
a keel-piece is securely bolted on. If you wish a sloop rig,
a bowsprit is fastened to the keel-piece, but in regard to
sails, you may make your own choice of the many styles.
A good lateen will look best and is easily made, as de-
scribed in the chapter on rigs. If one sail does not work
to suit you, a dandy or a jigger may be added.
This style of craft may be built as large or small as you
choose to build it. In a very small catamaran that would
only hold one boy he could probably steer it with a paddle
or an oar, but in the larger ones a somewhat more compli-
cated steering apparatus is necessary.
Steering Apparatus.
Evidently it would be a most difficult undertaking to
steer the catamaran with independent rudders, and we
must devise a method by which one tiller will control both.
Fig. 201 shows how it may be done with a system of
pulleys or blocks and tiller-lines, or you may make a
short oaken stick of the form shown in Fig. 194, A. Bore
a hole through the centre, as is shown in Fig. 195, B.
Trim off the top to fit the tiller-handle (Fig. 196, C). Saw
into all the four corners of the square stick to form a
shoulder to rest on the bench. Fig. 197 shows the shoulder
at S. Plane off the square corners of the wood below the
A Raft that will Sail
207
saw cut. After this it is quite a simple matter to round it
off below the shoulder (Fig. 197, E).
After slipping the rudder-post through the two holes
FIGS. 194, 195. Stick for FIG. 196. FIG. 197. FIG. 198.
Rudder-post of Catamaran. Rudder-post of Catamaran.
bored for the purpose in the rudder bench, drive through
the post a good, strong oaken or hickory peg (Fig. 198, F),
V
FIG. 199. Rudder Bench of Catamaran.
208
Summer
and bind the cross-pieces tightly with tarred twine. The
end of the cross-sticks should be firmly lashed with tarred
FIG. 200. Half Hull of Catamaran.
or painted twine. A large screw-eye may be now put in each
end of the cross-stick or near the ends, allowing the screw-
ends of the eye to protrude far enough to screw on a nut.
ANOTHER STEtfUNG^
FIG. 201. Tackle for Steering a Catamaran.
Now we must have two long, strong hoop poles to
connect with the rudders by means of bolts and rings, as
A Raft that will Sail
209
FIG. 903.
FIG. ao2. The Half Hull with Double Block Steering Gear.
FIG. 203. The Side View of Helm.
id
2IO
Summer
shown in Fig. 191. All that is now necessary is to fit your
tiller-handle over the top of the rudder-post, and the steer-
ing apparatus is finished. Fig. 201 shows another plan for
steering with a helm
like Figs. 202 and 203.
The mast is
stepped in a bench
at the bow similar
to the rudder bench.
Each consists of
board benches bolt-
ed to heavy plank
supports and bolt-
ed to the deck. The
material used should
be as light as possi-
ble, consistent with
ofT-^nrrtV. TV# Aw
deck Can be made
of neatly planed
boards, and the whole craft may be as neat and well done as
the skill of the maker will admit. Hulls with a swell on
each side jam the water between them and retard the
boat; so if you build the catamaran with half hulls you
will do away with this objection. Fig. 200 shows diagram
of hull ; Fig. 202, plan of craft ; Fig. 203, the helm.
FIG. 204. Detail of Rudder, Showing Braces and
Rings, AA' BB', for the Rudder -pin, C, to fit
in. D is the Ring for Attaching Steering Gear.
A Tom Thumb Catamaran
could be built just large enough to hold one boy.
The
dry deck may be made with bamboo poles, in the form
of a seat for the sailor, and if a foot-rest is added below,
he may sit perched in his dry seat like a horse-jockey
in a sulky, where he can manage his little craft in
A Raft that will Sail
211
weather that no other small boats could stand. Some
people say that under a heavy sail and a hard blow this
style of boat will rear up at the stern and go end over
end. If this is true, it is because the craft is too short and
dumpy, or has too large a spread of canvas. Even full-
rigged ships have been known to run their bows under.
FIG. 205. A Home-made Catamaran.
There was a good-sized catamaran wrecked in Flushing
Bay the same day that the writer upset in his canoe, but
from the looks of the wreck, with its sails torn to ribbons,
it seemed probable that the sails had been carried away,
and the craft had then drifted ashore. The wreck showed
no signs of having turned somersaults.
Two old single shells would make a beautiful Tom
212 Summer
Thumb catamaran, and they would be far more likely to sail
up in the air than to stand on end, but all these gymnastics
on the part of the boat can be avoided by not venturing out
during a gale or by shortening sail when the wind is strong.
Never be misled into thinking it seamanlike to carry full
sail when other boats are reefed. Too much sail retards
the boat as much as too little. In all yacht races the
skippers never hesitate to take in sail when it is necessary
any more than they do to shake out a reef when more sail
is thought to be beneficial.
Danger of False Pride.
Learn to manage a small sail first and then a larger one.
Do not be ashamed of blunders. Why should you ? Is a
baby ashamed to creep before it learns to walk? On the
contrary, the baby is very proud of its newly acquired
powers of locomotion. Nobody is a born sailor. The
best seaman was once a land-lubber.
CHAPTER XVII
SINGLE SHELLS AND UMBRELLA CANOES
How Old Shells Can Be Turned into Boys' Boats The Cause of Up-
setsLanding from and Embarking in a Shell What an Umbrella
Canoe Is and How It Is Made.
WHERE there are oarsmen and boat clubs there you will
find beautiful shell boats of paper or cedar, shaped like
darning needles, so slight in structure that a child can knock
a hole in them, and yet very seaworthy boats for those who
understand how to handle them. The expensive material
and skilled labor necessary to build a racing shell puts the
price of one so high that few boys can afford to buy one ;
but where new shells are to be found there are also old ones,
and when they are too old to sell they are thrown away.
Many an old shell rots on the meadows near the boat-houses
or rests among the rafters forgotten and unused, which with
a little work would make a boat capable of furnishing no
end of fun to a boy.
Checks or Cracks
can be pasted over with common manilla wrapping paper
by first covering the crack with a coat of paint, or, bet-
ter still, of varnish, then fitting the paper smoothly over
the spot and varnishing the paper. Give the paper sev-
eral coats of varnish, allowing it to dry after each appli-
cation, and the paper will become impervious to water.
214 Summer
The deck of a shell is made of thin muslin or paper, treated
with a liberal coat of varnish, and can be patched with simi-
lar material. There are always plenty of slightly damaged
oars which have been discarded by the oarsmen. The use
of a saw and jack-knife in the hands of a smart boy can
transform these wrecks into serviceable oars for his patched-
up old shell, and if the work is neatly done, the boy will be
the proud owner of a real shell boat, and the envy of his
comrades.
The Cause of Upsets.
A single shell that is very cranky with a man in it is
comparatively steady when a small boy occupies the seat.
Put on your bathing clothes when you wish to try a shell,
so that you may be ready for the inevitable upset. Every
one knows, when he looks at one of these long, narrow boats,
that as long as the oars are held extended on the water it
cannot upset. But, in spite of that knowledge, every one,
when he first gets into a shell, endeavors to balance himself
by lifting the oars, and, of course, goes over in a jiffy.
The Delights of a Shell.
It is an error to suppose that the frail-looking, needle-
like boat is only fit for racing purposes. For a day on
the water, in calm weather, there is perhaps nothing more
enjoyable than a single shell. The exertion required to
send it on its way is so slight, and the speed so great, that
many miles can be covered with small fatigue. Upon re-
ferring to the log-book of the Nereus Club, where the dis-
tances are all taken from the United States chart, the au-
thor finds that twenty and thirty miles are not uncommon
records for single-shell rows.
During the fifteen or sixteen seasons that the author has
devoted his spare time to the sport he has often planned a
Single Shells and Umbrella Canoes 215
heavy cruising shell, but owing to the expense of having
such a boat built he has used the ordinary racing boat, and
found it remarkably well adapted for such purposes. Often
he has been caught miles away from home in a blow, and
only once does he remember of being compelled to seek
assistance.
He was on a lee shore and the waves were so high that
after once being swamped he was unable to launch his boat
again, for it would fill before he could embark. So a
heavy rowboat and a coachman were borrowed from a
gentleman living on the bay, and while the author rowed,
the coachman towed the little craft back to the creek
where the Nereus Club-house is situated.
In the creek, however, the water was calmer, and rather
than stand the jeers of his comrades, the writer embarked
in his shell and rowed up to the boat-house float. He was
very wet and his boat was full of water, but to the inquiry of
" Rough out in the bay?" he confined himself to the simple
answer " Yes." Then dumping the water from his shell
and placing it upon the rack, he put on his dry clothes and
walked home, none the worse for the accident.
After ordinary skill and confidence are acquired it is
really astonishing what feats can be accomplished in a frail
racing boat.
It is not difficult to
Stand Upright in a Shell,
if you first take one of your long stockings and tie the
handles of your oars together where they cross each other
in front of you. The ends will work slightly and the
blades will keep their positions on the water, acting as two
long balances. Now slide your seat as far forward as it will
go, slip your feet from the straps and grasp the straps
216 Summer
with your hand, moving the feet back to a comfortable
position. When all ready raise yourself by pulling on the
foot-strap, and with ordinary care you can stand upright
in the needle-shaped boat, an apparently impossible thing
to do when you look at the narrow craft.
How to Land Where there is no Float.
When for any reason you wish to land where there is no
float, row into shallow water and put one foot overboard
until it touches bottom. Then follow with the other foot,
rise and you are standing astride of your boat.
How to Embark Where there is no Float.
Wade out and slide the shell between your extended
legs until the seat is underneath you. Sit down, and, with
the feet still in the water, grasp your oars. With these in
your hands it is an easy task to balance the boat until you
can lift your feet into it.
Ozias Dodge's Umbrella Canoe.
Mr. Dodge is a Yale man, an artist, and an enthusiastic
.canoeist. The prow of his little craft has ploughed its way
through the waters of many picturesque streams in this
country and Europe, by the river-side, under the walls of
ruined castles, where the iron-clad warriors once built
their camp-fires, and near pretty villages, where people
dress as if they were at a fancy-dress ball.
When a young man like Mr. Dodge says that he has
built a folding canoe that is not hard to construct, is
inexpensive and practical, there can be little doubt that
such a boat is not only what is claimed for it by its
inventor, but that it is a novelty in its line, and such is
undoubtedly the case with the umbrella canoe.
Single Shells and Umbrella Canoes 217
How the Canoe was Built.
The artist first secured a white-ash plank (A, Fig. 206),
free from knots and blemishes of all kinds. The plank was
one inch thick and about twelve feet long. At the mill he
had this sawed into eight strips, one inch wide, one inch
thick, and twelve feet long (B and C, Figs. 207 and 208).
Then he planed off the square edges of each stick until
they were all octagonal in form, and looked like so many
great lead-pencils (D, Fig. 209).
Mr. Dodge claims that, after you have reduced the ash
poles to this octagonal form, it is an easy matter to whittle
them with your pocket-knife or a draw-knife, and by taking
off all the angles of the sticks make them cylindrical in form
(E, Fig. 210) ; then smooth them off nicely with sand-paper,
so that each pole has a smooth surface and is three-quarters
of an inch in diameter.
After the poles were reduced to this state he whittled
all the ends to the form of a truncated cone that is, like a
sharpened lead-pencil with the lead broken off (F, Fig. 211)
a blunt point. He next went to a tinsmith and had two
sheet-iron cups made, large enough to cover the eight pole-
ends (G and G', Figs. 212 and 213). Each cup was six
inches deep. After trying the cups or thimbles on the
poles to see that they would fit, he made two moulds of
oak. First he cut two pieces of oak plank two feet six
inches long by one foot six inches (H, Fig. 214), which
he trimmed into the form shown by J, Fig. 215, making a
notch to fit each of the round ribs, and to spread them as
the ribs of an umbrella are spread. He made two other
similar moulds for the bow and stern, each of which, of
course, is smaller than the middle one. After spreading
the ribs with the moulds, and bringing the ends together in
218
Summer
9 JO
C S S S 5 3
II II II II II R
< 03 U Q W fe
Single Shells and Umbrella Canoes 219
the tin cups, he made holes in the bottom of the cups where
the ends of the ribs came, and fastened the ribs to the cups
with brass screws, fitted with leather washers, and run
through the holes in the tin and screwed into the ends of
the poles or ribs.
A square hole was then cut through each mould (K, Fig.
216), and the poles put in place, gathered together at the
FIG. 217. Frame of Umbrella Canoe.
ends, and held in place by the tin thimbles. The square
holes in the moulds allow several small, light floor planks
to form a dry floor to the canoe.
The canvas costs about forty-five cents a yard, and five
yards are all you need. The deck can be made of drilling,
which comes about twenty-eight inches wide, and costs
about twenty cents a yard. Five yards of this will be
plenty. Fit your canvas over the frame, stretch it tightly,
FIG. 218. Umbrella Canoe.
and tack it securely to the two top ribs only. Fasten the
deck on in the same manner.
When Mr. Dodge had the canoe covered and decked,
with a square hole amidship to sit in, he put two good
coats of paint on the canvas, allowed it to dry, and his
220
Summer
boat was ready for use (Fig. 218). He quaintly says that
"it looked like a starved dog, with all its ribs showing
through the skin," just as the ribs of an umbrella show on
top through the silk covering. But this does not in any
way impede the progress of the boat through the water.
Where the moulds are the case is different, for the lines
of the moulds cross the line of progress at right angles,
and must necessarily somewhat retard the boat. But even
this is not perceptible. The worst feature about the
FlG. 219. Canoe Folded for Transportation. Canoe in Water in Distance.
moulds is that the canvas is very apt to be damaged there
by contact with the shore, float, or whatever object it rubs
against.
With ordinary care the umbrella canoe
Will Last for Years,
and is a good boat for paddling on inland streams and small
bodies of water ; and when you are through with it for the
night all that is necessary is to remove the stretchers
by springing the poles from the notches in the spreaders,
roll up the canvas around the poles, put it on your
Single Shells and Umbrella Canoes 221
shoulder, and carry it home or to camp, as shown in
Fig. 219.
To put your canoe together again put in the moulds, fit
the poles in their places, and the umbrella is raised, or,
rather, the canoe is, if we can use such an expression in
regard to a boat.
CHAPTER XVIII
HINTS FOR COLLECTORS
How to Capture and Preserve Moths and Butterflies A New Cabinet.
WITH some marked exceptions, among which we are
apt to place wasps, hornets, scorpions, and spiders, insects
may be held of slight account as individuals. Collectively,
however, they certainly at times demand serious con-
sideration.
We can scarcely regard with contemptuous indifference
tribes, for instance, like those of the dreadful African ant,
before whose armies of tiny, but savage, soldiers men
and beasts fly in terror, or the destructive termites, or
white ants, whose countless hordes eat their way into
everything made of wood, and hollow out tall telegraph
poles until nothing remains but the merest shell, too weak
to support their weight of wires. Sometimes, too, these
wires are rendered useless by cobwebs, such as are woven
by South American spiders, which form conducting lines
and steal the messages.
Nothing seems to be more preposterous than the idea
that any number of insects can bring an engine and a train of
cars to a standstill; and yet every year the newspapers
testify that it is not an uncommon occurrence. Caterpillars
and, in some cases, grasshoppers appear in such quantities
that the rails are rendered slippery with their crushed bodies
and no progress is possible until the tracks are cleaned.
In August of last year the daily journals had many graphic
Hints for Collectors 223
descriptions of " hold - ups " of locomotives by the innu-
merable multitudes of potato -bugs that were endeavor-
ing to pre-empt a right of way on the various lines of the
Long Island Railroad.
Practical Value of the Study of Insects.
The study of insects is really a matter of no small im-
portance to humanity, and the boy collector who imbibes
a taste for this most intensely interesting study, when he
breaks out of his boyhood state, to shake out his strong men-
tal wings as a perfect man, may become the wise naturalist
who shall show us how to do away with the danger of such
small fry as potato-bugs "holding up " express trains or
of robbing the hard-working truck gardener of his crop of
new potatoes. He should also be able to tell the farmer
how to prevent the devastating effect of a horde of grass-
hoppers, or the vegetable gardener how to protect his cab-
bage from the larvae of the white butterfly, or the ship-
builder how to secure his lumber from the ruinous effect
of " borers," and in a hundred ways be of great service to
his country and to the world.
All the great things that are to be done in the next fifty
years will be done by men who at the present time are
either unborn or are now common, every-day boys. They
wear no badges to tell you they are to be great scientists,
artists, authors, engineers or statesmen, but they are cer-
tain to occupy those positions. The greatest man who ever
lived was a boy to begin with, and the next to fill his place
may be now reading this book may perhaps be you !
The Popular Classification.
With the exception of butterflies, the general public
class the whole insect world under two heads worms and
224 Summer
bugs and regard them with unqualified disgust. But this
is only a sign of universal ignorance.
Some insects are veritable living jewels; many possess
all the iridescence of an opal. There are few of our pre-
cious stones that cannot be matched in beauty by some
despised creeping or buzzing insect.
Baby butterflies and moths are properly called caterpil-
lars, not worms. The caterpillar's taste is as varied as that
of any other animal. Roots, wood, buds, flowers, wool, fur,
flour, wax, lard, and meat, are some of the articles selected
as food by different individuals, but the majority of these
creeping infants live on the leaves of trees, shrubs, and
other vegetables.
If you take a sausage and tie bits of string around it at
short intervals, you will have a very good model of a cater-
pillar. Supply a little lump at one end for a head, some
warts along the back, add from ten to sixteen small legs,
and your sausage will be sufficiently lifelike to alarm any
timid people who see it.
The Life of Caterpillars.
Caterpillars are as varied in their mode of life as in
their choice of food. Some hide in the earth and only
steal forth to feed ; others dwell in crowded silken tene-
ment-houses, while their relatives of different taste lead the
solitary life of hermits or make themselves small tents of
silk or huts of folded leaves.
Every boy knows at which end of its body the spider's
spinning apparatus is placed, but the caterpillar carries
his thread at the other end, the silk issuing from a little
tube in the middle of the lower lip. Inside the body
there are two long bags of sticky stuff. The bags connect
Hints for Collectors 225
with the tube in the lower lip, and as the sticky fluid is
forced out it is hardened into silk by the atmosphere.
When a caterpillar grows too large for his skin he
crawls out, dressed in a bran new suit of clothes that fit his
increased dimensions comfortably. About four suits of
clothes answer for the young butterfly, and he is ready to
be born again. The change is all inside, and when he is
good and ready and feels all right, he bursts open the skin
on his neck and wiggles out; but his own brothers would
not know him.
He is shorter and thicker than ever before, has lost all
of his ten or sixteen legs, and has no eyes, nose, mouth, or
head. All he can do is to wriggle his funny ringed tail.
This is what is called a chrysalis or pupa state.
Not Ready to Fly.
After hanging by the tip of his tail under a fence-rail, or
after sleeping in his soft silken bed inside his waterproof
cocoon, or covered in his bed of earth, as the case may be,
for a sufficient time to regulate his internal anatomy, he
again cracks open the skin on his back and crawls out a
six-legged winged insect, but his wings are sadly crum-
pled from being folded in the narrow quarters within the
chrysalis skin.
This, however, is a small matter, and still clinging with
all six feet to his cast-off shell, he trembles and shakes until
wrinkle after wrinkle and fold after fold is shaken out,
and four beautiful wings move slowly up and down ; grad-
ually their delicate framework is dried and hardened, and
then we see one of the most beautiful of sights a perfect
butterfly or moth.
The reason they are called lepidopters, or scaly wings, is
because all that fine powder that rubs off so easily on one's
15
226
Summer
fingers is not powder, but minute scales, which may be seen
by examining what adheres to the fingers with a magnifying
glass.
As a rule, butterflies fly by day and moths at evening or
night. Butterflies have knobbed " smellers," " feelers," or
antennae, and moths have feathered antennae. Most moths
are much thicker and shorter in the body than butterflies,
but this is not invariably the case (Figs. 220 and 221).
Important Differences.
In studying insects examine and note the form and
proportion of the heads, the length and form of the feelers
(antennae), the plan of the
FIG.
FIG.
size and proportion of the
latter, and you will soon
see greater difference than
there is between Irishmen,
Germans, Hebrews, Eng-
lishmen, negroes, and In-
dians.
The preservation of cat-
erpillars for cabinet use is
very difficult on account of
their soft, perishable bodies.
Some of the more minute ones may be prepared by heating
a bottle in the oven until it is a little glass oven itself, and
then inserting the small larvae in the bottle, where it will
bake and dry, and may be then pinned in the cabinet or
box the same as a moth, butterfly, or beetle.
FIG. 220. A Moth with Feathered " Feel-
ers."
FIG. 221. A Butterfly with Knobbed
" Feelers "
Hints for Collectors
227
FIG. aaa. A Day in the Country.
228 Summer
Drying Better than Alcohol.
Alcohol will preserve almost any sort of specimen. I
have bottles at home filled with all manner of creatures-
bats, baby bats, mice, fish, lizards, and shrimp-like animals
from salt water. For ten years they have remained undis-
turbed and practically unchanged, but there is an unpleas-
ant look about alcoholic specimens that is not present in
cabinet collections of dried insects.
For the purpose of study, however, those specimens
preserved in spirits have many advantages over the dried
ones. It is claimed that lar-
vae (young insects, grubs,
caterpillars, etc.), if im-
mersed in boiling water
for half a minute and then
placed in bottles contain-
half Water and half al ~
FIG. 223. Caterpillars.
cohol, will retain all their
natural colors and form. Mr. Packard, in his most valua-
ble book on this subject, advises the use of whiskey as a
preservative for a few days before placing the caterpillars
in their final resting-place in vials of alcohol, the latter be-
ing so strong that all soft specimens will shrivel and shrink
when placed in it without preparation.
The careful and methodical German collector prepares
beautiful, if frail, specimens by first squeezing the insides
out of the baby butterflies, and then with a blowpipe made
with the nozzle fitted over a fine straw, and worked by a
bladder filled with air, he blows up the larvae skin by
squeezing the bladder under his arm or between his knees,
while with his hands he holds the little skin over a small
lamp, so that it dries in its distended form.
Hints for Collectors 229
The perfect insect that is, the full-grown winged but-
terfly or moth may also be preserved in alcohol, after
the manner described for the larvae, but the most artistic
and beautiful specimens are the dried ones.
Common-Sense Needed.
The best specimens are only procured by rearing the
young and collecting the full-grown butterflies after they
have freed themselves from their horny chrysalis. The
space allowed for these hints is too short for a detailed
account of the science of caterpillar farming, but this
I can say : By experiment you can learn more than can be
taught by * books.
If a larva is found eating willow leaves, it does not
require a ponderous volume on natural history to tell a
bright, intelligent boy that willow leaves are good food for
that particular young insect. If the experimenter finds that
sprinkling the food leaves in his farming box with water
causes the caterpillars to swell up with a sort of fungus
growth, killing them, he is bright enough to keep his
leaves dry the next time. If his pets seem restless and
pained by the sunlight, his common-sense will tell him to
put them in the shade ; so I must rely on his good Ameri-
can common-sense observation, judgment, and ingenuity to
supply the information that want of space makes imprac-
ticable to insert here.
How to Make a Cabinet.
Any broad, flat box will answer, but it should be neatly
joined, with a cover that fits closely. Some collectors use
* Chapter XXV., American Boys' Handy Book, gives many novelties which,
of course, are omitted here.
230
Summer
flat strips of cork, glued in the bottom, to pin their speci-
mens on ; others stretch a piece of drawing-paper on a
frame that fits closely in the box and leaves a half or
quarter of a inch air-space underneath, for the purpose of
stowing gum camphor or other drugs to keep the moths,
buffalo beetles, and other small pests from destroying the
dried insects. But the following plan will be found most
convenient :
Make a false bottom of wood or card-board; fit it
securely in the box on a frame that holds the false bottom,
FIG. 212.
FIG. 213.
FIGS. 224, 225. The American Boy's New Box for Insects.
about half an inch from the real bottom. Through the
false bottom bore a series of round holes of a size to fit a
number of small corks. In the top of these corks the
specimens are pinned (Figs. 224 and 225).
This cabinet has a great advantage over the others, for
the collector can remove any cork, with the specimens
attached, for examination or show with the least possible
danger of injuring the frail object (Fig. 213). Lumps of
camphor or other moth-preventive drugs can be freely in-
serted under the false bottom with no danger of damaging
the collection by the heavy particles of the drug coming
in contact and breaking the dried insects.
Hints for Collectors
231
At any drug store,
and many candy stores,
you can for a trifling
sum buy wide, open-
mouthed bottles with a
metal top that screws
on, in place of the
clumsy, old-fashioned
cork ; these make per-
fect collecting bottles.
Take a piece of com-
mon blotting - paper,
cut from it several
pieces in the form of
circular disks just large
enough to fit tightly
in the bottom of the
bottle. Push one piece
down until it rests
snugly on the bottom
of the bottle. Satu-
rate it with chloro-
form, ether, benzine,
or creosote ; then fit a
dry piece of blotting-
paper over the wet
one, and another dry
piece in the metal
stopper. Screw the
top quickly on, and
the fumes of the drug
will fill the bottle,
forming a death-deal-
FIG. aad.
FIG. 227.
FIG. 228.
FiG. 226. A Killing Bottle.
FIG. 227. A Grub in Spirits.
FiG. 228. A Beetle on Flat Cork.
232 Summer
ing atmosphere to any unfortunate insect you may capture
and drop in the fatal glass chamber (Fig. 226).
Often the opportunity presents itself of capturing a
small moth or butterfly without touching its delicate wings
with your clumsy finger, for if the insect is carefully ap-
proached, the top removed from the bottle and the latter
inverted and placed over the victim, it will cease to live
without a struggle and, with its dainty wings unmarred,
may be preserved in your collec-
tion.
Before going hunting insects,
fill your pockets with all the pill
boxes and glass vials that you
can conveniently carry, and, armed
FIG. 229. insect on Drying with a net made of light gauze or
mosquito-netting, sally forth. No
game laws protect your game, no badly spelled and un-
grammatical notices warn you not to hunt insects on the
farms, because the farmers are all glad to have you make
war on their little but expensive enemies.
Useful Occupation.
You will experience as much joy in securing a rare
specimen as any hunter does in his successful efforts to
help exterminate the beautiful, harmless, and useful birds,
and you are conscious of the fact that while enjoying your-
self and adding to your stock of health and useful knowl-
edge, you are also in a small way making war on the
enemies of the trees and flowers.
While it is true that many insects are of absolute benefit
to mankind, it is also true that the moths and butterflies
Hints for Collectors 233
and many other insects, though they be dreams of love-
liness in form and color and add beauty and interest to the
flowers and fields, make us pay for their beauty by the
destruction of crops which each year amounts to thousands
and thousands of dollars.
CHAPTER XIX
HONEY-BEE MESSENGERS
How to Send a Cipher Message by the Bee Line The Key Bee
Stings and How to Avoid Them.
MONSIEUR TAYNAC, the celebrated French bee expert
at Versailles, has a hive of several thousand bees trained
like carrier pigeons, which he offers for the French mili-
tary service.
This is an idea for boys to follow not to be used in
any such old-fashioned, barbarous practice as the wholesale
murder called war, but in healthy, modern, up-to-date,
intelligent play. If one of my readers or one of his friends,
anywhere within ten or fifteen miles of his home, owns a
hive of bees, the two can use the little insect to carry mes-
sages between their respective homes.
With your butterfly net catch some honey-bees, or,
better still, trap them with a box set in front of the door-
way of the hive. Make a hole in the box like the hive door,
and the insects will enter the box under the impression that
by that means they can reach their home. The boy who
lives at a distance takes
The Box of Bees
home with him, and liberates them in a closed room, where
he has placed a saucer of honey or syrup. After the bees
Honey-Bee Messengers
235
have fed on the syrup he opens the windows and they, of
course, will go directly home. Bees have been known to
travel fifteen or twenty miles, but these are long distances.
Monsieur Taynac's bees traversed ten miles with messages
on their backs ; they travelled at the rate of twelve and one-
half miles per hour. Boys at school used to catch blue-
bottle flies, and with fine thread fastened bits of paper to
their legs and let them loose in the school-room, to the
delight of the other pupils, and the annoyance of the
patient and long-suffering teacher ; but the paper message
is glued on the bee's thorax between the wings and the
head.
How to Make the Message.
With a little pair of scissors cut some small slips of pa-
per in the form of Fig. 233. Make a slit at the bottom, and
FIG. 230. FIG. 231. FIG. 232.
FIG. 233.
FIG. 230. Sticking the Messages on the Bee.
FIG. 231. The Tweezers.
FIG. 232. Bottle of Fish Glue.
FIG. 233. Paper for Message.
bend the divided parts in opposite directions. Monsieur
Taynac used isinglass with which to glue the paper to his
bees, but there are other glues that will answer. Mucilage
can be made to serve the purpose ; but great care must
be taken to prevent daubing the sticky stuff on the poor
insect's wings or legs.
236
Summer
How to Handle the Bees.
The best manner of handling bees, and the safest way to
prevent being stung, is to use a small pair of tweezers
to pick them up with and to hold them (Figs. 230 and
231). Monsieur Taynac uses a little gauze cage to trans-
port his bees. When a bee with a letter on his back reaches
the home hive, the message standing upright on his back
prevents him from entering the door-
way, and the owner on watch finds
the messenger bee crawling around
and captures him.
How to Write the Message.
The bit of paper is so small that it
would be difficult to write even a
sentence on it, but any boy with a
hard, sharp pencil can make a few
figures on the slip, and if his friend
has a key he can read the message.
Each figure may stand for a sentence,
and with i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, o,
you will have ten sentences. If you
add the alphabet to this and allow
each letter from A to Z to stand for a sentence, you will
have twenty-six more, or thirty-six sentences in all ; and,
with thirty-six well-chosen sentences a great deal can be
said. You may add thirty-six more by adding a dot over
each letter and number, thus, 3 or D ; and thirty-six more
by a dash over each character, thus, 3 or D. Here we
have 3 for one sentence, 3 for another, 3 for still another.
With the aid of a magnifying glass and a finely pointed
pencil several sentences may be put on one bit of paper.
FIG. 234. Enlarged View of
Honey Bee with Message.
Drawn from a photograph.
Honey- Bee Messengers 237
Suppose A to stand for some such sentence as this:
" If to-morrow is pleasant," and B to stand for " Meet me
after school at the old chestnut-tree," and nine with a dot
over it (9) to mean " We will go a-fishing," A 9 B will be
read by your friend: " If to-morrow is pleasant we will go
a-fishing. Meet me after school at the old chestnut-tree."
How to Make Your Key.
Write the numbers, beginning with i and ending with o,
in a column, 2 below i, 3 below 2, etc. Opposite each num-
ber write the sentence you wish it to represent, below the
first column of figures place a second column, in every way
similar to the first, except that each figure has a dot over
it ; then a third, each figure with a dash over it ; then three
alphabets, one plain, one with a dot, and the third with a
dash above each' letter. Opposite each character write the
sentence you desire it to stand for in your code.
Of this key make a duplicate, which is to be given to
your correspondent.
Bee Stings and How to Avoid Them.
Some cousins of mine and myself had been gathering
nuts on the shores of Lake Erie and were sitting on an old
log to rest and crack a few walnuts. We had not ham-
mered long on the old log before we were aware of a
peculiar buzzing noise inside, and the next thing that
claimed our attention was a stream of very angry yellow-
jackets pouring out of a hole in the log, all intent upon
wreaking vengeance upon the disturbers of their peace. I
fled in dismay, wildly swinging my hat, but my two coun-
try cousins stood stock still and were passed unnoticed by
the angry insects, all of whom devoted their entire attention
to me with a persistency that baffled my most energetic
238 Summer
efforts to fight them off. They stung me in the back of the
neck, in the edge of my hair, behind the ears, and even
crawled down inside my collar and left their stings in my
back until I howled with pain.
Experience is a Good School.
I have seldom been stung since, and the few times I
have suffered have been what might be called accidents.
Once I put on a hat that had a lot of bumble bees in it ;
once I took up a pail and a wasp at the same time, but I
never since have been attacked by a swarm, although it has
happened that bees, wasps, and yellow-jackets have rushed
out of their homes with murder in their hearts, and finding
only a perfectly motionless figure, have either passed me by
or alighted on me, crawled around for awhile, and then
flown away without once unsheathing their sharp little
swords.
A Bee's Stinger.
Under a powerful microscope the point of a cambric
needle looks like the blunt end of a crowbar, and the
point of a pin is no point at all ; but the sting of a bee is
sharp even under the powerful magnifying glasses of the
microscope, and when magnified a thousand times it still
looks as a fine needle-point does to the naked eye.
I have always found almost immediate relief when the
sting left by a bee or wasp has been removed. This may
be done with a needle or with the pointed blade of a pocket-
knife. But the best plan is to use care and then you will
not be stung.
CHAPTER XX
A "ZOO"
For the Housetop or the Backyard How to Build a Coop for Animals
on the Roof or in the Yard The Way to Provide Homes for Various
Kinds of Pets.
ASCENDING any of the modern "sky-scraper" buildings
and gazing around at the vast city beneath, one is interested
in the acres and acres of wasted space of tin and gravel
roofs. I know of no good reason why this space may not
be utilized for pleasure. Roof-gardens are not difficult to
construct, and can do no possible damage to the buildings
if they are properly made.
Boys in the city have " no place to be," as I heard one
of them express it. They are fretful and a nuisance in the
house, and on the street they are a constant source of anx-
iety to their parents, and annoyance to the policemen. All
boys with healthy minds are fond of pets, and as I look out
of my studio window on the unoccupied fields of red tin
and white gravel roofs I wonder that the space is not used
for the neglected young people of the city, or that the
young people do not pre-empt claims, as their ancestors
did the sites upon which the buildings are built.
Strange Birds on the City Housetops.
Up aloft, above the crowded, noisy streets, you are more
free to breathe, to see and to enjoy life. Overhead is the
240
Summer
blue sky, as yet unmarred by "no trespass" signs, and
unfrequented by policemen. Even the wild birds know
this, and 1 have myself seen a bald-headed eagle calmly
roosting on a flag-pole, gazing with dignified curiosity upon
the crazy lot of human beings hurrying along crowded
Broadway. Not long ago, casually looking over a roof on
FiO. 235. A City Boy's Zoo.
Fifth Avenue, I saw a black-crested night heron patiently
standing on one leg in a pool of rain-water, awaiting the
appearance of some unwary fish or frog, all unconscious of
the fact that such creatures do not, as a rule, frequent red
tin roofs.
Once, while experimenting with a new kind of kite for
the boys, and losing my patience over the network of wires
that then covered the downtown roofs, I was startled to
A " Zoo "
241
see that I was watched by a great Virginia horned owl,
perched upon a neighboring smokestack.
A friend whose business is among the great warehouses
along the river-front tells me that on more than one
occasion he has seen yellow-legs running over the roofs and
shy woodcock boring for
worms in the soft black mud
accumulated in the gutters
on the tops of high build-
ings.
Material Easy to Get.
Now, since these wild
creatures visit the tops of
buildings of their own ac-
cord, why cannot the boys
use the vacant housetops
for private zoological gar-
dens of their own, where
white rats, coons, crows,
herons, pigeons, and chick-
ens could be reared and en-
joyed? Coops, pens, and
inclosures can, with little
ingenuity, be built for the
shelter and protection of
the pets. Wire-netting is an ideal material for such struct-
ures. All boys, however, are not supplied with the requis-
ite amount of money, but I never yet saw the boy who
could not obtain a few old barrels, and the barrel-staves are
most excellent material for pigeon- or chicken-coops and
rabbit-houses. What will do for these animals will do for
any creature a boy is likely to possess.
16
FIG. 236. End View of House.
242
Summer
FIG. 237. End Pieces Set Up.
You Must Be a Carpenter.
Select two sticks for uprights, and let them be exactly
the same length and long enough to enable you to stand up
inside the coop when it is
finished.
Cut two more uprights
a foot or two shorter, to
give a pitch to your roof.
Lay these on the floor,
and nail on firmly cross-
pieces, as shown in Fig.
236, the frame for the ends
of your house. Place the
largest upright against
the fire-wall of the roof, and fasten it there ; at the proper
distance say six feet, set up the other end piece (Fig.
237) ; connect the front and rear with cross-pieces, as in
Fig. 238, and erect two more uprights for door -jambs
(see A B and C D, Fig.
238) ; nail all firmly togeth-
er, and fasten on the roof
the stringer (E F, Fig. 238)
and the braces G H, I J,
G L, and J K ; split a num-
ber of barrel - staves, and
nail them on, as in Fig. 235.
For the roof of the coop
USe Whole Staves in place FIG. ^-Frame of House.
of shingles, and lay them
tile fashion. Make one row on the lower end of the roof,
all with their hollow, or concave, side up, and place them
several inches apart. At the upper end place a second row
A " Zoo "
243
in the same manner. Commence again at the bottom, and
place a second row of staves, each overlapping the staves
on each side, and covering the open spaces left between the
first ones; these last must
have their round, that is,
their convex, side up. Re-
peat the process for the
second tier, and the roof
is complete and water-
tight.
Make a door-frame of
four sticks. Cross it with
FIG. 239. Finished House.
slats of split staves. From
the soles of cast-off shoes
make a pair of leather hinges, and, with the addition of a
hook and eye, the thing is done.
Plank the back end up solid above the fire-walls, and
you have a good, substantial chicken-coop, rabbit-house, or
cage for other pets. A run-way for exercise room for your
pets may be connected with the coop by a door, as in Fig.
240.
Splendid for a Yard, too.
This same house is first-class in a yard, if any of you city
boys are fortunate enough to have one, and when neatly
built looks well, and, if you
choose, its cost will be
absolutely nothing, except
the exercise of your mus-
cle and brain.
There are boys, and
FIG. 240. Run-way.
many of them to-day, who have spending-money freely
given to them by their wealthy parents, and who can con-
sequently buy whatever they wish. This is an unfortunate
244
Summer
condition for the boys to be placed in, for, as a rule, they
will never know the real pleasure of being a boy. But even
these boys may have some fun if, in place of buying things
outright, they spend their money for materials and then
make their own playthings rabbit-houses, kites, and sleds.
The boy with money may have beautiful carpenter-tools,
plenty of selected timber, and wire netting, and with these
and a little skill he may build houses for his pets which will
be an ornament to his father's grounds. But while his
wire-netted cages will look more expensive, the barrel-stave
cage will answer all purposes, and, if neatly made, will
look more picturesque.
FIG. 241.
CHAPTER XXI
CHOOSING UP AND "IT"
" Which Hand is It in ? " " Pick'er Up, Wipe'er Off, and Stone-
holder" " Last One Over "Short Straw Handy, Dandy, Riderly
Ro "Whole Fist or Four Fingers " " Odd or Even?" "Wet
or Dry?"
TWENTY-FIVE years ago a popular method of deciding
which boy should be " It " was called " Which hand is it
in?" A boy, in the party about to engage in some game,
would pick up a pebble, and facing his companions he
would put his hands behind him and place the stone in
either hand to suit himself. Then extending his closed fists
to a companion he would exclaim, "Which hand is it in?"
The companion, after due study and deliberation, would
say, "Not that!" as he slapped one extended fist with his
open hand. If the hand he chose was empty he would " go
free ; " if not, he would take the stone and go through the
same performance with the next boy, and thus the process
would continue. Each lad went free when he passed the
stone on, and each lad who guessed the empty hand went
free, until all had had a chance and one boy was left hold-
ing the stone in his hand.
The evident objection to this method is that the first
boy has every chance to go free that is, if there are six
boys the first one has only one chance in six of being
caught, and the next one one chance in five. But the last
246 Summer
one has only one chance in two of going free. This does
not appear to affect the popularity of this method, although
the eagerness of the boys to hold the stone first, or to have
first choice, plainly shows that they fully understand the
importance of first choice.
Of course the last boy to hold the stone is " It."
" Pick'er up, Wipe'er off, and Stone-holder "
stands as evidence that the boys see nothing unfair in the
old method of " Which hand is it in," and that they deem
it right that the boy whose wits are the quickest is entitled
to go free.
As soon as a game is proposed nowadays one lad shouts
" Pick'er up ! " as he stoops and picks up a pebble. The
words are not out of his mouth before another cries
" Wipe'er off ! " and a third " Stone-holder."
Pick'er-up hands the stone to Wipe'er-off. Pick'er-up is
then free, Wipe'er-off makes a great show of wiping the
stone off on his trouser leg, and hands it to Stone-holder.
Wipe'er-off is then free and Stone-holder puts his hands be-
hind him, arranges the stone as described in the preceding
method and allows the next boy to choose which hand it is
in. The last lad to hold the stone is " It."
"Last One Over is 'It!'"
This is a simple but exciting mode of deciding who shall
be in that terrible position described as " It."
Suppose that a group of boys are standing by a fence
and one of them proposes a game of " I spy." No sooner
is the proposition made than another lad shouts " Last one
over the fence is ' It ! ' "
Immediately all is confusion and hubbub. Each boy is
trying his best to scramble, leap, vault, or tumble over the
Choosing Up and "ft" 247
fence before his companions can perform the feat. Some-
times the cry is " Last one across the street ! " or " Last one
to the corner and back ! " etc.
Whatever it be, a trial of speed, agility, or skill, that is
proposed, the last boy to accomplish the feat is " It."
Short Straw.
From a handful of straws or grass, one of the boys selects
as many pieces as there are to be players in the proposed
game. One of the blades of grass or pieces of straw is cut
off so that it will be much shorter than the other pieces.
" Straw-holder " arranges the straws so that the top ends
protrude from his closed fist, either perfectly even or irreg-
ular in their height above the hand according to his fancy.
It may happen that the first boy to choose a straw will
select the short one. This in a measure spoils the fun, and
to guard against it the lads are often made to stand up in
a line and each one in turn pulls a straw from the fist of
" Straw-holder." Each one is expected and required to
put it behind his back immediately and keep it there until
all the boys in the line have straws behind their backs.
Then " Straw-holder," holding up the straw left in his
own hand, cries, " Who is short straw ? " At that each boy
produces his straw and compares it with the others.
While it adds greatly to the interest to have all the
straws of different lengths, it is best to make the short straw
unmistakably shorter than any of its fellows. Otherwise
the game may be broken up by a heated and angry dispute,
a state of affairs never desirable and one which is easily
avoided by the precaution suggested above.
After comparison of the relative length of all the straws,
the boy found with the shortest straw in his possession is
"It."
248 Summer
"Handy, Dandy, Riderly, Ro."
This is another form of " Which hand is it in," only in
this case the fists are put one above the other. One hand
contains a button, stone, piece of coal, or any other object,
and the other hand is empty. The two hands are then
clenched tightly and are extended out in front of the
" Stone -holder," who shouts " Handy, dandy, riderly, ro !
Which will you have, high or low ? "
The boy appealed to makes a guess. If he guesses the
empty hand he goes free. If he guesses the hand with the
stone in it he takes the stone and says, " Handy, dandy,"
etc., to the next player, who guesses high or low as suits
him. The last one to hold the stone is " It"
" Whole Fist or Four Fingers ? "
shouts one of the boys, as he grasps with his right hand the
middle of a base-ball bat or broom-stick. Immediately the
other boys fall in line and the lad with the stick tosses it to
the first boy in such a manner that the stick does not lose
its upright position. The first boy must catch it with his
left hand, and he is not allowed to move his hand after
catching it until the test is over, or until his turn comes
around again and he puts his other hand on.
Number two in the line now grasps the stick with his
right hand just above and close against number one's hand.
Number three does the same with his left hand and so on
until the first boy's turn again comes. Then this boy puts
one hand on and number one puts his right hand on the
stick until at last one boy is unable to get his whole fist or
four fingers on the stick. When that happens, the boy that
fails is " It."
This is a poor method where there are four or more
Choosing Up and "It" 249
boys in the game, but for any game where the captains
choose their sides it is a very popular method of deciding
between the two captains which shall have first choice.
When only two are choosing, the first tosses the bat, as de-
scribed, the second catches it with his left hand, then tht
first puts his right hand on top of the second's left, the
second places his right hand on top of the first boy's right ;
and in this manner the hands climb to the top of the bat or
stick until the time comes when one is unable to get four
fingers on the bat.
When this occurs the other boy has first choice of his
playmates for the game that is to follow, which is usually
a game of ball. While evidently not invented for that pur-
pose, still the author has often seen " Whole fist or four
fingers" used to decide who should be "It."
"Odd or Even?"
is also generally used to decide who shall have first choice
in a " choosing up " game, but like " Whole fist or four
fingers " it is sometimes used for counting out. One boy
takes the contents of his pocket, a handful of marbles,
Jack-stones, pebbles, coin, or whatever is handy, and hold-
ing out his closed hand cries "Odd or even?" meaning,
" Have I an odd or even number of objects in my hand ?"
The other boy makes a guess, and if it is correct he has
first choice, and if not the first choice falls to the share of
the one who holds the objects.
When used in counting out the boy who guesses cor-
rectly goes free, while he who does not turns to the next and
cries " Odd or even ? " with his extended hand filled with
the contents of his own pocket. When all are free but one,
that one is " It."
250 Summer
"Heads or Tails?"
It seems absurd that any one should deem it necessary
to describe in detail this method of deciding a disputed
point, but the author has written a great many things for
boys, and consequently learned much by experience. He
knows that he will be forgiven much more readily for de-
scribing something the reader is perfectly familiar with
than he will for taking it for granted that the reader knows
all about it, which, if true, would do away with the neces-
sity of books altogether.
Throw up a cent or other coin and cry " Heads or
tails ? " Your playmate must make his choice and call out
his guess while the coin is in the air. Then both stoop and
examine the piece of money as it rests on the ground. If
the side with the date on it is up, that is " heads " ; if the
other side is up, it is " tails." If your playmate's guess
was correct, he has first choice for sides in the game you
are about to play ; otherwise you have first choice.
When this game is used for counting out, each one goes
free who makes a lucky guess, and each one who fails tosses
the coin for the next one to guess. If at any time the coin
does not lie flat on the ground, but rests wholly or partly
upon its edge, that toss does not count, and it must be
tossed over again.
When all the boys but one have gone free, the boy who
is left is " It."
"Wet or Dry?"
This was formerly the method of deciding who should
have first choice for sides in a game of ball. Not base-ball,
for it was before that now popular game had made its ap-
pearance. It was used for " town-ball," a game played with
a flat bat like a cricket bat. One boy would dampen one
Choosing Up and "It" 251
side of the bat, and then send the bat twirling in the air,
and the other boy would guess which side would come up,
wet or dry. Often one side of the bat would be marked
with a piece of chalk or soft brick, and that side was called
wet. But the old flat bat and the old game have both been
swept aside.
" Wet or dry " has not disappeared, however, with the
bat that originated it. If any one will watch the boys care-
fully as they scream and shout at their play, he will no
doubt, sooner or later, see the youngsters decide " first
choice " by throwing up a chip and crying " Wet or dry ? "
The choice is decided exactly as it is in " Heads or tails,"
or " Odd or even," and when the chip is used in counting
out, as in " Heads or tails," "Odd or even," or "Which
hand is it in," each boy has a turn to guess. The boy who
fails, tosses the chip, until another unlucky playmate fails,
when he in his turn tosses the chip, crying " Wet or dry ? "
This goes on until all the boys are free but one, and as this
one, should he choose to toss the chip, would have no one
to guess but himself, he gracefully accepts the situation
and becomes " It."
CHAPTER XXII
COUNTING OUT RHYMES
How the Game is Played Various Rhymes An American Version of
an Ancient Rhyme Causes of Variations Rhymes of Different
Nationalities.
THE full-grown man who hears the once familiar words,
or rather articulate sounds, of " On-ery, ore-ry, ick-ery,
Ann ! " without a pleased smile overspreading his face, is a
man devoid of sentiment, or a man with no fond memories
of his own boyhood days.
For untold centuries the boys have handed the queer,
whimsical rhymes down to their younger playmates with
only slight variations. " On-ery, ore-ry " is sometimes
" one-ry, two-ery," etc., but the author has made diligent
inquiry among fyis young acquaintances and has been un-
able to find more than one or two verses that were not
familiar to him in his own childhood.
After consulting the rhymes contributed by H. Carring-
ton Bolton, of Trinity College, to the Boston Journal of
Education; those published in the New York Mail and
Express of May 9, 1885 ; a collection in the Journal of
American Folk-Lore, and a collection by William Wells
Newell, in his interesting book of " Games and Songs of
American Children," the author is still unable to add many
new ones to his list.
Counting Out Rhymes 253
How to Count Out.
These quaint rhymes seem to be the common property
of all children, especially those of the Anglo-Saxon or
Anglo-Norman race. We all know how these rhymes are
used. A game is about to be started and one boy chooses
to count out. After a brief clamor of protests from his
playmates, all of whom are anxious to do the counting
themselves, the first boy is generally allowed to proceed.
Standing his playmates in a row in front of him, or in
a circle around him, he places his forefinger on his own
breast and impressively pronounces the word " one-ery."
Placing his finger on the breast of the first playmate to the
left he repeats " two-ery " or " ory " according to his ver-
sion of the rhyme. With each mystic word he places his
finger upon the chest of a playmate until he comes to
" buck." Buck is out, or free, and the count commences
over again, each buck going free until only one boy is left,
and he is " It."
Sometimes it happens that there are more boys than
words in the counting rhyme, or the counter foresees that
he himself will be " It." In both cases he adds to the verse
something like this :
One, two, three,
Out goes he!
Often he will add a whole verse and dialogue as follows :
One, two, three,
Out goes he
Into the middle
Of the deep blue sea !
Are you willing to be IT?
Here the boy indicated answers "yes" or "no "as it
suits him, and the counter continuing, repeats, " N O
254 Summer
spells No," or "Y E S spells Yes, and you are out
O U T spells Out!"
This is spoken with long pauses between the words or
letters. "Out" is free, and the counting commences again:
One-ry, or-ry, ickery, Ann!
Fillison, follison, Nicholas, John,
Queevy, quavy, English Navy,
Stinckelum, stanklum, buck!
Or, as it is sometimes repeated :
One-ery, two-ery, hickory han,
Fillison, follison, Nicholas, John.
Queevy, quavy, Virgin Mary,
Stingelum, stangelum, berry buck !
Some say " English navy," some " Virgin Mary," some
" Irish Mary," etc. As a rule, " English navy " is for boys,
and " Virgin " or " Irish Mary " for girls. Some end
with simple " buck," some with " berry buck," some with
" John buck," others with " Jericho buck," etc. According
to Mr. Bolton there are at least thirty variations of this
rhyme, but the lines given here will be all that are neces-
sary for our purpose.
A Counting Verse.
It is evident that " Mother Goose " and various other
nursery books have contributed some of the verses used,
but none of these have the true ring in them. It is appar-
ent that the following has been adapted by the boys for
the purpose of a counting verse :
One a penny bun,
Two a penny bun,
One a penny, two a penny;
Out goes one !
Counting Out Rhymes 255
And this :
One a penny bun,
Two a penny bun,
One a penny, two a penny
Hot cross buns !
If your mother don't like 'em,
Give them to her son.
One a penny, two a penny,
Out goes one !
The following rhyme is unmistakably
An American Version of an Ancient Verse.
It brings in our colored brother in the "befo* de wah"
style.
Enna, mena, mina, mo,
Catch a niga by the toe ;
When he hollers, let him go,
Enna, mena, mina, mo !
It is evident that the above American verse has been
built on the framework of the antique Cornwall rhyme
which has the reputation of coming down from the Druid
priests of ancient Britain :
Ena, mena, mona, mite,
Pasca, laura, bona, bite,
Eggs, butter, cheese, bread,
Stick, stock, stone, dead.
Another verse springing from the same root is familiar
to the boys all over the land in some one of its many varia-
tions :
Ana, mana, mona, Mike,
Barcelona, bona, strike ;
Care, ware, frow, frack,
Hallico, ballico, we, wo, wack !
Huddy, guddy, boo,
Oat goes you !
256 Summer
The last two lines are frequently added to other verses,
and do not belong to any one rhyme in particular.
Another form, or variation, very commonly heard, is the
same as the last with this exception, in place of " Barcelona,
bona, strike," we have "Tuscalona, bona, strike."
Many differences in the sounds or words which compose
these verses are due to the different pronunciations of the
boys. West of the Alleghany Mountains the boys will say
" Wee, wo, whack / " But in New York and along the
Atlantic coast the boys drop the " h " in whack as they do
in " white," " what," and " whip," which they pronounce
" wite," " wat," and "wip." Consequently the New York
boy says " Hallico, ballico, we, wo, wack" Here is another
ending that the counter sometimes adds to his verse to
lengthen it or to save himself from being " It."
Three cheers for the red, white, and blue !
All are out but you !
In this case the one named " you " is " It," and all the others
go free.
Some Good Rhymes.
Among the many notes made for this chapter there are
some for the explanation of which it was evidently intended
that the memory should supply the data. But in the case
of the following verse memory has failed to do its duty.
The lines, however, make good counting out rhymes with
the real swing in them.
Fip Dick, bumphrey gig,
Mother Hop-foot milled a pig ;
Ithy, mithy, owery, gout,
Lytle tinkar, thou art out !
One-azall two a-zall, titter zal zan,
Bobtailed Britisher, little girl Nan ;
Counting Out Rhymes 257
Harum, scarum, ball of hot rorum,
Knuckle bone, crackle bone, bloody bone,
Tuck!
Mr. William Wells Newal gives a verse very similar to
the last which he gets from Salem, Mass. It is interesting
because it plainly shows that the phrase " One-azall, two
a-zall " was originally " One is all. two is all," etc.
One's all, zuzall, titterall, tawn,
Bob tailed vinegar, little Paul ran,
Harum, scarum, merchant marum,
Nigger, turn-pike, toll-house out.
There are few of my readers but have either used or
heard the following :
Monkey, monkey, bottle of beer,
How many monkeys are they here ?
One, two, three,
Out goes he !
But I doubt if many of them are familiar with this :
Ane, a-zall tane a-zall titterzall zee,
Striddledum, straddledum, chicken knee,
Ham, slam, musty jam,
Stingum, stangum, bumble bee.
A Quaint One from Georgia
is given in " Games and Songs of American Children:"
One-amy, nery, hickory, seven,
Hallibone, crackabone, ten and eleven.
Peep, O, it must be done,
Twiggle-t waggle, twenty -one !
A gentleman from Cambridge, Mass., gives the follow-
ing one as a favorite rhyme used when he was a lad some
258 Summer
twenty-five years ago. There is nothing ancient either in
the words or in the theme, but it has the elements of popu-
larity which cannot fail to please some of my readers :
Bee, bee, bumble bee,
Stung Jacob on the knee,
Stung Sally on the snout,
Oh ! golly, you are out !
This Cambridge verse reminds me of one sometimes
used in Kentucky :
Ole Dan Tucker clum a tree,
He clum so high he couldn't see.
A lizard caught him by the snout
And he hollered for a niga to pull him out !
O-U-T spells out.
Dan Tucker was also very popular as a dance, and
the verse was sung by the dancers.
Another nursery jingle sometimes used for counting
out is :
Hickery dickery dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
And down he come,
Hickery dickery dock !
But this nas the genuine swing of the counting rhyme :
Haley, Maley, Tipperley Tig,
Teeny, Tiney, Tombo Nig,
Goat throat, bank note,
Tiney, Toney, Tiz !
And this is a familiar old timer :
Five, six, seven, eight,
Mary at the cottage gate,
Eating plums off a plate.
Five, six, seven, eight,
Counting Out Rhymes 259
12345678 !
Susan at the garden gate
Eating grapes off a plate,
12345678 !
Now she leaves the gate, changes her name, and goes
to the door:
One, two, three, four.
Kitty at the cottage door,
Eating plums off a plate,
Five, six, seven, eight!
Susan and Kitty are both left out in the following and
Mickey takes their place:
One, two, three,
Mickey caught a flea,
The flea died and Mickey cried,
Out goes he !
Mickey had no plate, and evidently it was neither plums
nor grapes that bothered him. But a lady from " down
East " gives the following in which Kitty takes Mickey's
place :
One, two, three,
Kitty caught a flea,
The flea died and Kitty cried,
Out goes she.
This is evidently a version that has been adapted to fit
girl players. In New Haven the boarding-school girls
have still another variation. They claim that it was mother
who caught the pest:
One, two, three,
Mother caught a flea
The flea died and mother cried,
One, two, three !
260 Summer
But no self-respecting boy will use a girl's verse to count
out by. So they may use " Mickey " or "Father" in the
place of "Susan," "Kitty," and "Mother," or, better still,
take another rhyme, for there are plenty of them. The
verse most familiar to the author, because with the boys of
his acquaintance it was the most popular, is :
Intry, mintry, pepery corn,
Apple seed and apple thorn !
Wire, brier, limber lock
Three geese in a flock,
One flew east, and one flew west,
And one flew over the cuckoo's nest.
Rhymes of Different Nationalities.
Upon the wind-swept mountains of Scotland the bare-
legged, kilted descendants of Rob Roy when preparing for
a game in the heather count out with this verse :
Eatum, peatum, penny, pie,
Babyioni, stickum stie,
Stand you out there by !
The little Irish lads have a very original rhyme of their
own which the author believes few if any Americans have
ever heard :
A lirripeg, a larrapeg,
A bee, a nail, a stone, a stack,
A bonny Billie Gelpie,
A Belia-bug, a warum rock,
Crib-i-stery, Hick !
According to the New York Sun, Mr. Bolton says that
the little Turks and Armenians used this count:
Allern, Bellem, chirozi,
Chirmirozi, fotozi,
Counting Out Rhymes 261
Fotoz, gider magara,
Magarada tilki bash,
Pilki beni korkootdi,
Aallede shooullede Edirnede,
Divid bashi
Ben Olayen kehad bashi,
and we suppose that if the counter does not fall ill after the
first count or lose control altogether of his tongue from the
hard knots that he has tied in it, he continues his " Allem,
Bellem, Chirozi " until all the " bashi " have gone free, leav-
ing some little red-capped Mahomedan or Armenian as " It."
The Turkish jingle is all about ghosts in a cave and
foxes' heads and other queer things, with about as much
sense in them as the English and American boys have in
their rhymes. The Bulgarians have one about a strange
sort of frog that jumps screaming from fence to fence, and a
little white bone. The polite little French boy, as he bows
to his companions, counts out in this fashion :
Un, deux, trois, One, two, three,
Tu ne Test pas ; Thou art not " it " ;
Quatre, cinq, six, Four, five, six,
Va-t'en d'ici ! Go away from here !
The sturdy little Dutchman, in his wooden shoes, counts
out too :
Een, twee, een kopje thee ;
Een, klontje er bij,
Af ben jij !
While the North German boy has evidently taken his
rhyme from the same source we get ours from, for he says :
Ene, tene, mone, mei,
Paster, lone, bone strei.
Ene, fune, herke, berke,
Wer ? Wie ? Wo ? Was ?
262 Summer
A verse from India that Mr. Bolton gives also has a
familiar sound in it :
Ha, hoo, too,
Pooska, bramina padala stoo !
Antiquity of the Rhymes.
Where the ancestors of our present crop of young peo-
ple found these verses is a question that has troubled many
a wise old head, but there seems to be little doubt that the
verses which our boys use for play served a far more
serious purpose for our ancestors. It is claimed that in
ancient Britain, when the wild-eyed Druid priests ruled the
people, and built funny sorts of play-houses with stones set
up on end, the priests used to sacrifice human beings in
their mummeries, and in
Ena, mena, mina, mite,
Pasca, laura, bona, bite,
Eggs, butter, cheese, bread,
Stick, stack, stone, dead !
the first two lines are the identical words the old priest
sang when the victims who had been fattened on " eggs,
butter, cheese, and bread," were being killed with " sticks,
stacks, and stones."
Possibly some, if not all, of these jingles were originally
incantations used by the old humbugs who pretended to
practise magic, often fooling themselves as well as the poor,
ignorant, awe-stricken, common people by their rites.
" One-ry, two-ry, ickery, Ann " is thought to be a gypsy
magic spell. There is small doubt that you, my readers,
are all unconsciously making fun of your poor, ignorant,
old forefathers every time you count out to find who is " It."
And "It" what did that mean? Well, we will not
Counting Out Rhymes 263
make too many guesses into the mysterious rites that the
people once thought to be religion ; but we will let " It "
go, as the boys understand it to be the most undesirable
part of the game that is to be played; and, whether the
reader is " It " in the boyish game of " I spy," or in
the great game of life, the author feels certain that his
reader will play his part with that cheerful, manly spirit
that makes a good play-fellow and a desirable citizen.
George Washington was " It " for the Revolution.
Abraham Lincoln and General Grant played " It " in the
last war ; and in both cases it was the nation that counted
out to the end that all should " go free."
FIG. 242. The American Boy's Wooden Swimming Master.
Bow-line-knot
Fig. 243 Shows the
CHAPTER XXIII
IN THE WATER
How to Swim A Wooden " Swimming Master "Suspension Bridge,
Chump's Raft, and Tub Races.
EVERY boy's book, with the exception of the " American
Boy's Handy Book," has a chapter telling boys how to
learn to swim. This was left out of the " Handy Book "
because the author believed no boy could learn to propel
himself in the water while sitting in the house reading
about it. Such a chapter appeared to him very much like
the old bit of advice to " hang your clothes on a hickory
limb, but don't go near the water."
Still there are many practical hints that will not be
In the Water 265
amiss to those who are already good swimmers, and
who are good-natured enough to devote some of their
time to their more backward or less fortunate companions.
There are thousands and thousands of boys in this vast
country who have never seen big rivers, like the Ohio and
Mississippi, or beheld the broad ocean, with its white
sandy beach and small quiet bays, or the great blue lakes,
and whose only chance to swim is in the deep holes of some
small stream, a mill-pond, or small lake.
Beginners are just as liable to meet with serious acci-
dents in such places as in the large rivers or the salt sea.
For it must be remembered it is not the width of the water,
but its depth, that troubles a beginner. Fig. 242 shows a
simple contrivance that will make it absolutely safe for any
lad who cannot swim to go " over his head," as the boys call
it when they enter deep water.
It will require work to make one of these swimming
masters ; but the machine, of any use, is yet to be invented
that does not need work to build, and there is nothing in
the construction of a " swimming master " that a crowd of
boys could not accomplish in a few hours.
How to Build a Swimming Master.
Dig a hole about three feet deep on the brink of the
swimming pool. Plant in this a good stout post, six or
seven feet long, and see that the earth is packed solidly
around the post, so that it will stand firm and immovable.
This is called the " ducking post" (Fig. 244). Next select
a long pole for the sweep, the length of which will depend
upon the extent of the swimming hole. With an auger*
* In case you have no auger get a piece of iron rod of some sort, heat it red
hot, and burn the holes, or use a chisel and cut square holes.
266
Summer
bore a hole in the top of the post and 'a trifle larger one
through the sweep, at such a distance from the butt, or
big end, of the latter, as will allow the small end to reach
well out over the deep water (Fig.
245).
The principle of this machine
is a very old one : it is the model
of a well-sweep of ancient times.
Even to-day a few such sweeps
may be seen in old-fashioned
farm-yards.
Make a good long hickory or
ash peg with a groove in the end
that enters the stump. The peg
must be large enough to fit tightly
in the post. Pour some water in
the post-hole and drive the peg
home. The groove will allow the
water to escape and the water will make the wood swell and
hold the peg tightly in place.
To the end of the sweep lash a good strong rope, start-
ing with a clove hitch (see Index) and binding the rope
around the sweep. In this case, however, you allow one
end to hang down in place of cutting it off. Place the
sweep on the ducking post so that the ash peg holds it in
place. At the butt end of the sweep nail some boards in
the form of a rude box (Fig. 242).
FIG. 244. Post for the Wooden
Swimming Master.
FlG. 345. Sweep for Wooden Swimming Master.
In the Water 267
At this point let
One of the Good Swimmers
strip and swim out to the hanging end of the rope, fasten it
into a loop with a bowline knot which will not slip (see
Fig. 230). Before drawing the knot tight he should slip
the loop over his head and under his arms, making the rope
of sufficient length for the weight of his body suspended in
the water to lift the butt of the sweep a couple of feet clear
of the ground.
While the swimmer occupies this position the other
boys must load up the box at the end of the sweep with
stones or any heavy material they may have, until the
weight of the swimmer and the weight of stones make an
even balance.
Ready for the Novice.
When this is done and all the good swimmers have
tested it, the small end of the sweep may be swung around
and the novice may slip the noose over his head and under
his arms and bravely push out into deep water. Here he
can flounder and splash after the manner of all beginners
until he is tired, or until he learns the trick of propelling
himself through the water and of keeping his head above it.
Should the novice be stricken with a panic and try to
climb the rope, the weight of his body when lifted out of
the water will bring the end of the pole down and he will
still have only his head above water. But should he be one
of the rattle-brained boys, a boy whose mind is like a badly
trained dog that refuses to obey its master in times of emer-
gency, he must not be allowed to work himself into a state
of panic, for he can drown even while the "swimming mas-
ter's " rope is around him. Such a lad needs watching, but
268 Summer
most of all he needs just this sort of training to give him
command over himself.
In Case of Fright.
When a beginner is seized with fright one of his com-
rades must rest his weight on the stone box and slowly swing
the novice in shore and allow him to regain nis composure
at leisure.
Never try to frighten a timid boy ; it is not only cruel,
but you may spoil the " makings " of a good fellow. Some
of the bravest soldiers the world ever knew were badly
frightened at their first battle, and, no doubt, many an ex-
pert swimmer and noted life-saver was seized with terror
when first he found himself in deep water. A boy who,
because he knows how to swim himself, will try to duck or
terrify a beginner has no business to associate with good
fellows and should be avoided by them.
Hints for the Beginner.
It is best not to try to swim immediately on swinging
out into the deep water. Allow your legs to sink if they
will and your arms to hang idly down the rope will keep
your head above water. In this pose loll around awhile
until you become accustomed to your surroundings and
gain confidence in the sturdy wooden " swimming master "
who holds you. This is of vital importance, for without
confidence in your ability to keep your head above water
you can never learn to swim. Even if you put in two or
three days in floating around it will not be time lost, and
when you begin to experiment with kicking and striking
out with your hands and arms you will learn the more
readily because you are not retarded by the fear that per-
haps your head may go under water for a moment. What
In the Water
26 9
if it does? You will come up smiling in place of gasping or
shouting for help.
The Frog
is a good swimming teacher, but he has the advantage of us
in possessing a pointed head, with bulging eyes on top, so
that it is not neces-
sary for him to throw
his head back to see.
And, as for breath-
FIG. 046.
FIG. 247.
FIG. 248.
ing, one breath every
ten minutes answers
his purpose. The frog
does not use his arms
in swimming, as is
commonly supposed ;
he holds them close
to his sides, and swims
by kicking his long
legs and dispropor-
tionately long feet.
If you watch a frog
swimming you will
see that he draws his
knees up on each side
of him, as shown in
Fig. 246, and then
pushes them back as
if he were pushing
something away from
him (Fig. 247). And,
indeed, that is just
what he is doing, for he is pushing the water back. At the
end of the stroke his legs are straight and close together,
The Beginning and End of a Kick.
270 Summer
his toes pointed down and heels up (Fig. 248). In this
position he shoots a long distance through the water be-
fore he again draws up his legs for another stroke.
Kicking.
After you have gained confidence in your support,
practise the frog's kick. Never mind your arms; it is
possible to swim without them, as the frog has shown us.
Do not draw your knees up under you, but spread your
legs apart like a dancing-jack (Fig. 249)
with your knees on each side. This, as
has been shown, is the bull-frog's style. He
knows his business and will take no points
from us, though we may with advantage
take some from him. In kicking, strike
the soles of your feet against the water
as you would against the foot-board, were
you lying face downward on your bed,
FIG. 249. -Dancing- and > like the fro > P ush tne water from
jack Showing the you . Finish the kick with the feet wide
Position of Legs J
for Swimming. apart, then bring your legs close together,
extending them in a straight line. At this
point your toes must be turned down and your heels raised
as far as possible, to lessen the resistance as you glide
through the water. And glide you will, if the peg in
the ducking-post is well greased and the kick properly
made.
Do not be in a hurry to make the next kick. There is
time enough to do that when the impulse forward that the
first kick gave is dying out. Many old swimmers make
the mistake of hurrying their kick and thus losing speed
while making double the exertion necessary.
In the IVater 271
The Breast Stroke.
Gus Sundstrom, the champion long-distance swimmer
and swimming master at the New York Athletic Club, in an
article published ten years ago in the Harper's Young People,
states that " this is the stroke that frogs use and always
have used." Well, we will go to Gus to learn to swim, for
he is a past grand master of the art. But we prefer to
watch a frog ourselves, and by so doing we shall see that
he does not use his little short arms, or his funny hands,
with no web between the fingers. As already stated, he
depends entirely upon his long muscular legs and big
webbed feet to propel him through the water. So, in place
of going to Mr. Frog for the breast stroke, we prefer to go
to Gus, for he has no webbed feet and does depend upon
his hands and arms to help propel himself.
He says that when you strike out you must "hold your
fingers close together." Perhaps one of the principal uses
of man's hands in the water is keeping his head up, so that
he may breathe, and that is why he makes the stroke a
little downward, for by pressing on the water he lifts his
head.
How to Make the Breast Stroke.
Bring your hands together under your chin with the
palms down, fingers straight, close together, and pointing
in the direction you are about to move. Next shove the
two hands straight out in front of you, keeping your
thumbs touching. As your hands are pushed forward kick
backward with your legs, as previously described. When
the knees are straight the legs will be spread wide apart
(see dotted lines above Fig. 248). Bring them together
and, if you time this properly, your position will now be
that of an arrow, the point being your extended hands.
272 Summer
In this pose you will shoot through the water some dis-
tance, and not until your speed begins to slacken per-
ceptibly must you sweep your hands to the right and to
the left with the palms slightly hollowed, and bearing down
hard enough to force the head sufficiently above the water
for you to breathe through your nose without taking in
water. When your stroke is finished, bring the hands back
to the same po-
sition they first
occupied under
fVi ^V,;v FIG. 250. End of Sweep (Wooden Swim-
ming Master), Grape Vine Cable.
Practise this
stroke without the kick, if the latter bothers
you, until you learn it. Then practise the two
together, and when you succeed in doing this
you will be surprised to find that you can get
along better without the aid of the old wooden
" swimming master " than with it.
Do not abandon your friendly rope, how-
ever, until you have gone back and forth in the
semicircle it describes a sufficient number of times to as-
sure yourself that its support is no longer needed.
The Grape-Vine Cable.
If it should so happen that the rope is the most difficult
thing to procure, a wild grape-vine will answer your pur-
pose, and it may be nailed securely to the end of the sweep
as in Fig. 250, and the loop made by lashing the end to the
vine, as shown in Fig. 250.
The Suspension Bridge.
Make two pairs of shears by binding two stoujt poles
together, as shown in Fig. 251, for each pair. Set th shears
In the Water
273
on each bank, and use a good
strong rope or wild grape-
vine for a cable. Fasten the
cables to a tree, stump, or
some other unyielding object
on each bank. If it is a rope,
fasten with a lark's head, as
shown in Fig. 252. If you
use grape-vine, wrap once
around the tree and nail it
there. Erect the shears un-
der it on each bank, and the
suspension bridge will be
found firm and strong.
Short lines, which will
reach the water, must be fas- FlG - 251. shears for Sus
for Swimming T
sion Bridge
FlG. 252. Diagram Showing the Suspension Bridge and Cross Section of Ground
and Water.
18
274
Summer
tened at brief intervals to the cable, before it is swung across
the stream ; little wooden handles tied to the ends of the lines
will add to the security of the bather. With this contriv-
ance beginners may enjoy themselves even in deep water,
crossing and recrossing the' hole with no danger, for so
long as the bather holds one of these handles he is sup^
ported by the cable above, and by kicking and paddling he
can reach another life-line before he lets go the last. An*
other aid to the novice, and a very useful thing to the
swimmers, when they are sky-larking in the water, is
The Chump's Raft.
Its construction is simple. Four boards, each about six
feet long, are nailed together in the form of a square, with
n
u u
FIG. 253. The Chump's Raft.
the ends of the boards protruding, like the figure drawn
upon a school-boy's slate for the game of " Tit, tat, toe."
All nail-points must be knocked off and the heads ham-
mered home, to prevent serious scratches and wounds on
In the Water
275
the bather's body when he clambers over the raft or slips
off in an attempt to do so.
Beginners get in the middle hole, and there, with a sup-
port within reach all around them, they can venture with
comparative safety in deep water.
FIG. 254. A Beginner in a Chump's Raft.
Water Bladder.
While inflated bladders can and are often used by boys
learning to swim, in the game of Water Bladder they are
used for an entirely different purpose. Water Bladder is a
game, and all the players must be perfectly at home in the
water, because the "field" is all "overhead." In some deep
pool or hole erect two goals after the manner of those used
in football. But in this game have the cross rods only a
foot or two above the water.
276 Summer
Divide the party into two sides and take your positions
as in an old-fashioned game of football. At the word
" Ready," the umpire, who is on the shore or at some con-
venient point, throws an inflated bladder between the oppos-
ing* sides. The object of the players is to send the bladder
over the enemy's goal, and the rules are very simple. It is
foul to interfere with an opponent by putting your hands on
him, it is foul to use more than one hand in handling the
bladder, but you may swim in front of a man, dive under
him, in fact, " interfere " in every way you can. Each goal
counts one point, and five points make a game.
A similar game is played in the swimming tanks of the
big athletic clubs in New York, and is called Water Polo.
In place of an inflated bladder these full-grown boys use
an india-rubber ball.
Tub Races.
One might suppose that this would come under the
head of boating, but one would be mistaken, for it prop-
erly belongs to swimming, as any one who has witnessed
or taken part in such a race will tell you.
Each contestant supplies himself with an ordinary wash-
tub. At the word " Go ! " he places it in the water, climbs in
as best he can, and paddles with his hands for the taw line.
In most of the races the writer has taken part in the
winner was the most deliberate and slowest moving fellow
of the lot. He took more time to get into his tub, took
more time to balance himself properly, but at last, when
more than half the other tubs were upside down and their
late occupants floundering in the water, this methodical,
cool-headed racer, with his legs hanging in the water, the
tub listed slightly forward, began with deliberation to pad-
dle with his hands ; and usually, before he reached the taw
In the IVater
277
line he had the satisfaction of knowing that he was the only
racer who still occupied a tub.
Sometimes another would pursue the same tactics.
Then the fun was at the finish, for here both would risk
sinking in their efforts to come in ahead. There is possibly
no water sport more enjoyable to all concerned and pro-
voking more laughter and excitement than a well-con-
ducted tub race.
Springing Boards.
Upon all those rivers where the big lumber rafts come
down and are moored to the banks, the boys not only have
FIG. 255. Springing Board.
excellent floats to swim from, but the material is always at
hand for a good springing board, from which they can try
any circus trick that suits their fancy. For when they fail
the worst that can happen is the smart slap of the water as
they strike it on their backs or sides, and the hearty laugh
of the lookers-on.
There are few better devices for developing and at the
same time keeping supple the growing muscles of a boy
than a good springing board. At the sea-shore, at boat-
278 Summer
club houses and places of resort they are supplied by the
proprietors of the clubs and hotels, and are made by carpen-
ters. But when you are inland and in the country, that is
the very time you long for one and the very time there are
none on hand. All you need to make a springing board is
a good elastic plank, and that is seldom a difficult thing to
borrow or buy.
How to Set up a Springing Board.
Place the plank on the edge of your swimming pool,
and under it a box, log, stone, or any other object strong
enough for a rest. Now if two or three lads will stand on
the shore end, another boy can spring from the other end
into the water. This is a very rude plan, but often the
time is too limited to waste in work, and all are desirous
of a swim, and a rude springing board is better than none.
When you have time at your disposal you may fasten the
shore end securely to a board and nail the board fast
to a log, beam, or other like object, or drive a number of
stakes deeply into the ground with their heads flush with
the earth and nail the board to the heads of the stakes.
(See Fig. 255.)
Back Somersaults.
In attempting a back somersault from a springing board
there is always danger of coming down in the exact spot
you spring from, and striking the board, with more or less
serious results. To avoid this push yourself away with
your feet as you leave the board and there will be no
danger.
Never enter the water when you feel exhausted or
shortly after eating a meal. You will derive no pleasure
from it and it is injurious.
CHAPTER XXIV
GAMES OF TAG
Origin of this Sport King's X Last Tag Iron Tag Cross Tag Old
Bloody Tom Black Man Prisoner's Base and Other Variations.
WHEN you observe one kitten hiding behind a tree or
other object, and another creeping cautiously around in
search of its playmate, you see the original and primitive
game of " I Spy " as it was played long before there were
any boys to enjoy the game. Some ancestors of our kit-
tens invented " I Spy," some ancestors of our puppies
invented " Tag," and some common ancestors of four-legged
animals invented " Racing." All that the boys have done
is to take these games as played by young quadrupeds and
make fixed rules to govern them; and from these three
simple sports almost all of the out-door games that boys
play have been evolved.
Home.
There must be a place of refuge for every one. The
wild beasts have their dens in the heart of the jungle,
where they can retire in safety ; wild men have their secret
hiding-places in the mountains or forests; the old pirates
had their islands, surrounded by shoals and rocks that
would pierce the hull of any vessel attempting to land
without a pilot; and civilized man has his home, which is
sacred from the invasion of friend or foe, a place to which
he need admit no man.
280
Summer
In all games there must be some such spot where the
players are safe for the time, where neither the Wolf with
FIG. 356. A Typical Plan of Various Games of Tag.
a Brown Ear, the Woolly Wolly Wolf, The Black Man,
Old Bloody Tom, or " It " can catch him. This place is
called goal, taw, den, base, or home-
Games of Tag
281
King's X.
Away back in those times that are so dry to study about
in our school histories and so intensely interesting to read
of in " Ivanhoe," " The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and
" The Black Arrow," King's X had
its origin.
Everything was queer in those
days. Men like Robin Hood really
lived outside of the pages of a story-
book. Foot-ball, golf, and other
popular games were forbidden be-
cause they might take time that
otherwise would be devoted to
archery, and the law in England
compelled small boys to practise
a certain number of hours each
year with the long bow.
Men on the streets dressed like
the clowns in Barnum's circus, and
blacksmiths did a tailoring busi-
ness ; for gentlemen wore iron
clothes and heavy iron pots for
hats, even under a broiling hot
, ., ,1 FIG. 257. King's X.
summer s sun, because it was the
style. The horses these iron-clothed men rode were re-
splendent in gorgeous crazy-quilt coverings which reached
to their heels.
It is strange how dull a historian can make these inter-
esting old times, when farmers who worked in the fields
wore only a shirt to cover their nakedness, and barefooted
priests with shaved heads trod the highways ; when there
282 Summer
were no railroads, no steam-engines, and no telegraphs,
kerosene lamps, gas, or electric lights.
It was then that everybody, from the beggar to the king,
ate with his fingers ; but nobody smoked, because they had
no tobacco. Without tobacco they got along very well,
but how did they manage to make a meal without sugar,
tea, coffee, potatoes, corn, or turkeys ? The streets were
never cleaned, watered, or lighted, and every house of any
pretensions was a fort and the people all knew how to fight.
There was among them a dim idea of fair play, and con-
scious of the fact that the courts were seldom just, they
provided sanctuaries or places of refuge where the poor
persecuted people might fly and be safe from the law and
their neighbors. These sanctuaries were sometimes in the
monasteries or churches, and sometimes in the King's
house.
All that remains of this quaint old custom of our funny
old ancestors is preserved by the boys in their games, and
they call it " King's Cross," " King's X," or " King's Ex-
cuse," and cross their first and second fingers to proclaim a
truce. Here we have a combination of the king and the
church that insures the safety of the player.
Notwithstanding the fact that out-door games are largely
provided with retreats in the form of goals, homes, taws, or
dens, it is often convenient to have some other safeguard
to protect the player from " It ; " this is supplied by the
crossed fingers and the cry of " King's Ex ! " As long as
the boy giving this cry keeps his fingers crossed he is safe,
for to " It," the sign of the cross is sacred.
King's X is used only in times of accident or emergen-
cy, for instance when a player's shoelace becomes untied,
or when he is disputing some point in the game. Then
he cries " King's Ex until I fasten my shoestring ! " or
Games of Tag 283
" King's Ex until we settle this," and the truce lasts until
the shoestring is tied or the disputed point decided. Often
boys of weak character will give the cry and cross their
fingers to save themselves from being caught. This is
called " the baby act," to show the contempt with which all
real manly boys hold a comrade who will seek safety under
the cross because his legs are lazy.
Last Tag.
As a crowd of boys are coming out of school one of
their number slaps a friend on the back and cries " Last
tag ! " No boy with any spirit will allow this to pass un-
noticed, for that would be against the ethics of a school-
boy. Immediately upon hearing the words " Last tag " the
boy struck darts for his nearest playmate and slaps or
touches him, crying " Last tag ! " and so the game goes on
until the boys are tired.
The only rules of the game are these : A touch is a
tag and the boy touched last is " It " until he tags some one
else ; and he cannot tag the boy who has just tagged him.
Iron Tag, Wood Tag, Stone Tag, and Cross Tag.
All of these games are alike in their simple rules and un-
like only in their goals or homes. In Iron Tag no player
can be caught so long as he has a hand or foot touching
iron ; in Wood and Stone Tag it is the touching of wood
or stone with hand or foot that brings safety from " It."
In other respects the games are like the first described
games of tag.
Cross Tag.
This game is usually played on the ice by skaters, but
it is also played during the summer on the streets or in the
fields. " It " selects a victim and starts after him, but
284
Summer
whenever another player crosses between " It " and the
boy he is after, "It" chases the boy who crosses his path
and no other unless another boy crosses out the second.
FIG. 258. Cross Tag. Dotted lines show where a boy has crossed out the lad " It "
is after.
Then " It " again changes his pursuit. In this manner the
boys continue to cross each other out until " It " succeeds
in tagging one before a playmate can cross between him
and his prey.
Korungattam or Monkey Tag.
" It" is a hunter who, we may suppose, wishes to supply
some hand-organ men with monkeys. At any rate he is
a monkey hunter, and all the other players are monkeys.
There must be as many trees, stones, or bases of some kind
Games of Tag 285
as there are monkeys, and the boys to act their part must
keep in constant motion, running from base to base as in
the game of Pussy Wants a Corner, while the hunter uses
his best endeavors to catch them between their bases.
The bases are supposed to represent the branches of
trees and are called branches. No two monkeys can oc-
cupy the same branch, and if any monkey stands still for an
instant and the hunter catches him while he is not moving,
that monkey is " It." The monkeys endeavor by their con-
stant chatter to disconcert the hunter and tantalize him
with the oft-repeated rhyme of :
" Monkey, monkey, bottle of beer,
You can't catch a monkey here ! "
Korungattam is said to be the East Indian name for
this game, which is played by the boys in India in the wide-
spreading branches of some forest tree, each little Indian
occupying a branch of the tree. Like the little animals they
are supposed to represent, they jump from branch to branch
while " It," the hunter, tries to catch them. A circle is
drawn around the trunk of the tree and all the monkeys try
to drop to the ground inside that circle. Any one putting
a foot outside the ring is " dead," any one ceasing to move
is dead, any one touched by the hunter while in the act of
climbing or jumping from limb to limb is dead, and the
game ceases when all are dead. The first monkey killed is
" It," or the hunter for the next game.
Old Bloody Tom, Black Tom, or "Pull Away!"
What the original meaning of this last cry was, is lost in
the mist that veils so many of the expressions of boys. Old
Bloody Tom and Black Tom are probably names for an
ogre, while " It," no doubt, also represents one of these
286 Summer
monsters. The game, under any of its names, is a simple
one. "It" stands in the middle of the street while the
other players are gathered on one of the sidewalks which
form the two homes. "It" cries: "Pull away once! Pull
away twice ! Pull away three times ! "
At the conclusion of the last cry the other players make
a rush for the opposite sidewalk, while " It " tries to tag
them. Each boy tagged joins " It " and helps him tag
the others until all are caught. The first player caught is
"It" for the next game. No boy Can be tagged after he
has crossed the home curbstone or while he touches it with
hand or foot, unless all the players are on the same side
of the street. In this case " It " may tag them while on
home-grounds. (See Fig. 256.)
In some places " It " cries :
" One for the money,
Two for the show,
Three to make ready,
And four for to go ! "
in place of " Pull away," but the game is the same, and is
in no respect different from the following game of " Black
Man," except in the words used to set the boys running.
"What Are You Doing in My Vineyard?" or Black Man.
" What are you doing in my vineyard ? "
" Stealing grapes ! "
" What will you do when the black man comes?"
" Rush right through like we always do ! "
This is the whole of the game of the Black Man. Yet I
have had as much fun playing this simple game as any
sport of my boyhood that I can recall. We always played
it at dusk, and Black Man on one side of the street calls out
Games of Tag 287
the first question. The boys upon the opposite side give the
answer as above ; then the Black Man threateningly asks
what the boys will do when he comes, and the boys bravely
respond with the boast that they will " rush right through
like they always do," which, strictly speaking, is not the
truth, because it often happens that one of the vineyard
robbers is caught half way by the Black Man, and is then
compelled to give up his pilfering and become a Black
Man himself and help guard the vineyard. (See Fig.
256.)
So the game goes on until all are Black Men. Then the
boy first caught is " It" for the next game. The rules of the
game are simple. The two curbs form the home lines and
the sidewalk is home, or two lines are drawn for home
lines. If a boy is on this goal, that is, if his feet are on the
home side of the curb or line, the Black Man cannot touch
him, but between the goals if the Black Man catches him,
the boy caught joins this vineyard guardian in chasing his
late comrades. (See Fig. 256.)
The simplicity of this last game you will find upon trial
in no way detracts from its enjoyment, but on the contrary
adds zest to the sport, as the mind being unencumbered
with tiresome rules is free to devote its whole attention to
the swiftness of the heels.
Prisoner's Base.
War is the probable origin of this sport, and originally
the two sides faced each other, but it was found that while
in real war the armies oppose each other in two lines of
battle, this is not necessary for the game, it being much
easier to have only one line occupied by both sides.
Usually in town the curbstone forms the boundary and
the sidewalk is home. The boys choose up for side and
288 Summer
then select two trees diagonally opposite home for the
prison-pens, called the bases, one for each army.
The game begins as the battles did of old by the leader
of one army stepping out in the field and daring the other
captain to meet him. Any player of one army can tag any
one of his opponents who has left home before he did, and
all players tagged must go to the prison-pen of their cap-
tors and remain there until they are released or until the
game is finished.
A prisoner can only be released by one of his own side
evading the other soldiers, reaching the base and touching
the prisoner before a foe tags the lad attempting the rescue
of the prisoner. This done neither can be molested on their
way back home, or until they again leave the curb line.
The game ends when all of one side have been made
prisoners.
The Den of Wild Beasts A Jungle Game.
There is no " It " in this game or it might be said that
all are " It."
Each player represents some wild and ferocious animal,
and each one chooses a convenient tree, post, or stone for
his particular den. All then make a terrible noise, the lion
roars, the panther screams, and the wolf howls as a signal
for the game to commence.
The most venturesome and alert lad leaves his den.
Keeping a close watch upon his neighbors he dances around
to entice them from their dens and soon succeeds in draw-
ing a crowd to the centre of the field.
The fun then begins. No animal can be captured while
at its own den, and no animal can be captured while bring-
ing home a captive. Any animal which leaves its den last
may capture any one of those already in the field. If the
Games of Tag 289
lion is away from his den and the tiger is not, the tiger may
leave his den and give chase to the lion, and if the wolf
from his den sees them, he may give chase to one or both.
But if the lion in the meantime touches his own den he
may start out in pursuit of both tiger and wolf.
It often happens that all the animals are in the field at
the same time. Captures are made by tags or touches with
the hand. The animal tagged deserts his former den and
joins with his captor in pursuit of the others. Often one
den will contain a lot of animals, and a few moments later it
will be cleaned out by the skill and dexterity of some wolf,
panther, or lynx. The game ends only when all the ani-
mals are collected in one den and there are none left to
capture.
Dixie's Land, or Yank and Johnny Reb.
This is a relic of the last war, and evidently the grand-
son of the old game of Tom Tiddler's Land, which,
during the four years of bloodshed that visited this
country, was modified by the boys to fit the occasion. Of
course it was a simple matter to change Mr. Thomas Tid-
dler's Land into Dixie's Land. That change once made,
the popular Southern song supplied the rest of the verse.
But as the game represents both the Federal and Con-
federate sides, there must be taunts for each, more or less
appropriate to the occasion. The South supplied one verse,
the North supplied another, both taken from old war-time
songs, which are now forgotten by most of those who sang
them, and, with perhaps the exception of the few lines that
are used in the boy's game, are unknown to the younger
generation.
As in Tom Tiddler's Land a section of the playground
is marked off to represent the land, and after counting out
'9
290
Summer
to see who shall be " It " or Johnny Reb, Johnny takes his
place on his land, and shouts :
44 On Dixie's Land I'll take my stand,
I'll live and die on Dixie's Land ! "
This is a signal for hostilities, and all the little " Feds "
commence to invade the South. Of course they use what
taunts they can to excite Johnny Reb, as
44 Eighteen hundred and sixty-one,
That's the time the war begun.
Eighteen hundred and sixty-three,
Abe Lincoln set the niggers free !
Oh, Johnny Reb, you can't catch me."
Now if Johnny Reb can catch and hold any " Fed "
while on Dixie's Land long enough to repeat
44 Any, taney, tother, ted,
Now I've caught you little Fed ! "
that " Fed " must change his blue coat for a gray one, that
is, join Johnny Reb in his efforts to capture more Union
soldiers. And so the game goes on until all are caught,
with mutual bantering and jingles, historical and nonsensi-
cal. The following comes under the latter heading :
44 Skeedaddle, vamose,
Counterband goose,
Mason and Dixon's line,
I'll catch you this time!"
To which they reply :
44 Jeff wore hoops ! Jeff wore a dress !
Jeff has no niggers now,
And,
" I'm on Dixie's Land,
Dixie's not home.
Dixie's got a sore foot,
And he cannot roam I "
Games of Tag 291
Johnny, nothing daunted at the personal nature of the
rhymes, sings out :
" Mud sills, Mud sills, nigger stealers ;
Blue back, Blue back,
Barnican Peelers ! "
or,
" If you want to see Yankees just tremble with fear,
Tell them Johnny Reb has got in their rear.
Hooray ! Hooray ! for the people they dread !
Hooray for Jeff Davis and the Red, white, and red ! "
After the Johnnies capture all the players a new game
begins, and the first one caught in the last game is " It " for
the next.
I felt some hesitancy about incorporating this game
among the boys' sports. For, at first thought, it appeared
likely to keep the old sectional feeling alive. But, on sec-
ond thoughts, I believe it has quite the contrary effect, for
whoever plays must sooner or later take both sides, and I
also notice that the boys find no deeper significance in the
game than in any other hereditary sport, and that to most
of them there is no more meaning in the verses than in the
old familiar button-count :
" A rich man,
A poor man,
A beggar man,
A thief.
A doctor,
A lawyer,
A merchant,
A chief!"
So let them play their game of Johnny Rebs and Little
Feds, and jumble it up with their queer folk-lore for future
wise men to try and decipher and gi'.ess its source.
292
Summer
Tommy Tiddler's Land.
Tommy Tiddler represents a miserly old dwarf, the
owner of some mineral property. The dwarf attacks all
trespassers on his domain. Tommy's land must have been
very rich in mineral deposits, for the boys cry :
" I'm on Tom Tiddler's ground
Picking up gold and silver."
Sometimes Tommy is the King. Then the boys say :
" I'm on the King's land
Stealing his gold and silver."
But whether it is Tommy Tiddler's, the King's, Van
Dieman's, or the Ogre's land, there seems always to be
plenty of gold and silver. On Dixie's Land, however, if it
is anything that they are stealing, it is colored people.
Cow-boys, or Cattle Rustling.
This game descends to us through our Highlander
and Lowlander ancestry, and originally represented the
struggle between these ancient people over the possession
of cattle which had been stolen and restolen so many times
that no court could have decided who had a just right to
them. Indeed, no court was necessary, for the old-fash-
ioned, bare-legged cattle thieves decided the question in a
manner that was always perfectly satisfactory to themselves
v.-hen they won, and more cannot be said of a modern court
decision.
It is a slander on the American cow-boy to call this
game after him, for the cow-boy is not a cattle thief, though
he may sometimes work for one. On the whole, cattle
rustling is a perfectly proper name, and the one that should
be adopted hereafter in place of cow-boy.
Games of Tag 293
Choose up for sides in the usual manner, and after the
sides are made up let each player provide himself with a
cow ; not a real live cow, but some object to represent one,
such as a stick or a stone.
If the game is played in the street, as it usually is, the
sidewalks will represent the ranches of the opposing
factions, the street will be the battle-ground, and the curb-
stones the boundaries. Each side must place its cattle in a
line in its own ranch.
The object of each player is to guard the cattle on his
side from the rustlers across the street, and to watch his
opportunity to " rustle," or capture, a cow from the boys on
the other side. Any boy found in your ranch or on the
street may be made prisoner by slapping him on the back
three times or holding him long enough to repeat " one,
two, three." Every prisoner captured takes sides with
his captors, and tries to rob his late friends across the
street of the very cows he was so carefully guarding be-
fore he was captured. The game lasts until all the cows,
or all the cow-boys, or both of one side, are captured by
the other.
As a rule, this game is played in the twilight, and there
are great opportunities for slyly creeping into the enemy's
ranch, when they are all busy defending a united attack
from your side, or when they are all busy in a raid on your
cattle and leave their own unguarded. Your ranch is
home for your own side, and no one can capture a rustler
on his own ranch, or on his own side of a line drawn in the
middle of the street.
There is plenty of racing, dodging, shouting, and
laughing ; and, in spite of the low state of morals it
depicts in our ancestors, as a game Cattle Rustling is a
thoroughly moral and enjoyable sport.
294 Slimmer
" Lil ! Lil ! Over the Hill ! "
This is a Yankee form of Tag or Black Man, and is
played with two homes, or goals, with Lil or " It " in the
middle. The players line up, half at each, goal, with Lil in
the middle, on the battle-ground.
At the cry of " Lil ! Lil! over the hill!" the players
make a wild rush, the boys on each side doing their best to
reach the opposite side without being caught, while " It "
uses his best endeavors to capture one or more of the
players before they can gain their goal. To make a
capture, he must slap his captive three times on the back.
All captives help Lil to^catch their free comrades until
all .are caught. The first one caught is " It" for the next
game.
Wolf and Sheep.
" It " is the wolf, and the boy who is to play this part is
selected by one of the numerous methods of counting out.
The sheep select one of their number for a shepherd-
boy. When this is arranged, the wolf departs to some
place of concealment, a short distance from the spot
selected for home, or the fold.
When the wolf has concealed himself he sets up a most
dismal howling, and the shepherd-boy, followed by his
sheep, seeks to discover the wolf, and all the sheep cry
" Bah ! bah ! " As soon as the shepherd-boy discovers the
wolf he announces the fact with these words, " I spy a
wolf ! " Immediately he and all his sheep take to their
heels, closely pursued by the wolf. If the wolf catches or
tags a sheep or the shepherd before he reaches the fold, the
one caught is wolf for the next game.
In Brooklyn the shepherd or any one of the sheep who
Games of Tag 295
spies the wolf, cries " Stand ! " At the cry of " stand " all,
wolf, sheep, and shepherd, remain stationary until the
shepherd counts ten. As the word " ten " is pronounced
the spell is broken, and there is a wild race for the fold.
"What Time do You Dine ?" or, The Brown-eared Wolf.
Take a piece of old newspaper, wrapping-paper, or any
other similar material, and tear it into as many bits as there
are players. Mark each piece of paper with a number rep-
resenting some hour of the day, until there is only one
piece left. Mark this piece with the same number as any
one of those already numbered.
This will make two of a kind ; that is, the papers will
read one, two, two, three, etc., or one, one, two, three, four,
etc. There can only be twelve numbers, as there are only
twelve hours on the clock ; but, if more boys are playing,
you can make some of the numbers half hours until the
required number of papers are marked.
Under one of the twin numbers mark a cross, thus
No one but the lad chosen as marker must see the num-
bers until they are drawn, and then each player must keep
his number a secret.
To draw the numbers the marker places them all in a
hat, and each boy in turn reaches in the hat without look-
ing and selects a bit of paper ; the piece of paper left in the
hat belongs to the marker. The boy who finds that he
has drawn the paper with a figure and a cross is " It."
A simpler form of the game is played by omitting the
duplicate number and counting out to see who shall be
" It." " It " then retires a short distance while the sheep
decide among themselves what o'clock they shall each
represent.
296 Stimmer
"It" announces himself in this way :
" I eat no meat but woolly sheep,
My stomach is very good ;
It's their blood, I think, that I will drink,
If caught inside my wood ! "
With a cry of alarm all the sheep hasten to form them-
selves in a ring around the wolf, for, if the ring is not
complete before he finishes his verse, he is allowed, by the
rules of the game, to catch any boy who is not grasping
the hands of two other boys, one on each side. Conse-
quently the end boys of the line hasten to join hands and
form the circle.
Now this funny old wolf is hemmed in by his prey, and,
in spite of his blood-thirsty nature, he is either not allowed
or is afraid to catch anyone until a proper signal is given.
The signal is given in this manner: All the sheep dance
around the wolf, shouting together this verse :
" Wolf ! Wolf ! Wolf with a brown ear,
Tell us what time you will dine
On one of the sheep gathered here ! "
Then the wolf shouts out " Two o'clock," " three
o'clock," or whatever he chooses, and the sheep holding
the ticket answering to the time given darts out of the ring
with the wolf after him. The wolf cannot call the same
number twice. If the sheep can run around the ring three
times without the wolf catching him, and regain his place,
he is safe, and the wolf sings out again :
" I eat no meat but woolly sheep,
My stomach is very good ;
It's their blood, I think, that I will drink,
If caught inside my wood ! "
Games of Tag 297
And the sheep reply, repeating the verse first given. The
wolf then guesses another hour, and so the game goes on
until a sheep is caught, when the sheep becomes a wolf and
the wolf a sheep, and all the boys trade numbers, being
careful not to allow the brown-eared wolf to hear them.
In case the wolf guesses the twin number of his own, it
is unnecessary for him to catch that sheep, for the sheep
becomes a wolf as soon as his number is mentioned, and
there are two wolves inside the circle. Happy then is the
sheep that escapes them when his time is called.
The Red Ogre.
The ogre appears in various forms in a majority of the
children's games, more frequently, perhaps, in the girls'
and small children's play than in that of the boys ; but even
in the boys' sport he is to be found.
It may be that he likes girls and little children best be-
cause they are more tender, and avoids boys because they
are tough. Probably it was this same ogre, " Old Raw-
bones," who invented these lines :
" What are little girls made of ?
Sugar and spice and everything nice.
That's what little girls are made of!
What are little boys made of ?
Snaps and snails and puppy dogs' tails.
That's what little boys are made of ! "
If he did I trust he is happy, because these silly lines
have made more small boys indignant than any others that
1 can recall. But, on the whole, one is led to believe that
Old Rawbones's ugly face is only a mask that hides a
laughing countenance, and that his bloody talk is only
a make-believe to disguise his jovial disposition. Other-
298
Summer
wise, why should he take part in so many games, and
always be found on the playground and in the best story,
books ?
When the boys have decided who is to be Ogre, the
latter hides around the corner, and in his deepest voice
growls out these gory lines :
" I'm the great Ogre Red !
I will eat you when you're dead !
I must be fed !
Your bones are my bread.
Come, come, and be bled ! "
The other players, to show how little they fear the Red
Ogre, rush by the corner shouting challenges to the
FIG. 259. Red Ogre.
monster, who darts out and usually manages to catch one
or more of the players. These captives then help him
catch their playmates in the following manner :
The players who escaped the Ogre's first rush, retreat
to their starting-point. The captives then clasp hands and
shout together :
" We are the great Ogres Red !
We'll eat you when you're dead !
Games of Tag 299
We must be fed !
Your bones are our bread.
Come, come, and be bled ! "
Again the players rush by the corner, while the Red
Ogres try to intercept them, as they string across the
street with joined hands, and thus the game goes on until
all are caught.
In Brooklyn the boys call this game Red Robin, but
the rules are the same, and the same game possibly has
twenty names in various parts of the United States.
The American Game of Three. Fox and Geese Mod-
ernized.
An even number of boys are necessary to play this
game. They decide who shall be " It " and who shall be
" Three."
The remaining boys form themselves in a double circle
or in concentric circles ; that is, one ring of boys is inside
the other ring of boys, and so arranged that they stand in
couples. (Fig. 260.) " It" takes his position opposite the
outer circle, and " Three " takes his position opposite to
him, also outside the outer ring.
When ready, all the couples join hands, " Three " taking
the hand of the boy next to him, and all facing the same
way. The boys now shout in unison a jingle making fun
of "Three:"
" Three, Three !
Ric, stick, stee !
High ball, low ball,
Long-legged Three ! "
This is supposed to anger " Three," and he retaliates
with a verse of his own. While the boys recite their verse
300
Summer
they march around in a
circle, and " It " stands
still. When "Three"
passes " It " he shouts :
" There stands he,
High ball, low ball,
Red-headed he,
Will never catch me ! "
The word " me " is the
signal for the circle to
come to a stand-still and
for " It " to dash after
"Three," who must run
around, outside the ring,
at least once, after which,
if hard pressed, he may
shout : " Hands right and
left!" Then he grasps the
right hand of the boy near-
est to him with his right
hand, and the left hand of
the next in order with his
left hand, one hand and
then the other, right and
left, as in a square dance.
(B, Fig. 260.)
"It" follows close at
his heels, going any way
he can and watching for
"Three" to make a mis-
take. If " Three " gives
his right hand when he should have given his left, or
his left when he should have given his right, and " It "
A TKru Htm n.
B Hand-) YJgVvt iuul U$t.
C "Thm" onVn&uU. mulu;s.
FIG. 260. American Game of Three.
Games of Tag 301
touches him before the mistake is rectified, then " Three "
is " It," and the game begins again. But if "Three" gets
out of breath he may suddenly stop on the inside of the
circle next to one of the ring boys. This move puts the
outside boy of the couple next to which " Three " stands
outside the circle. (C, Fig. 260.) The outsider then be-
comes " Three " and " It " must try to catch him.
In case " Three " is caught while running, the outside
boy that he stood next to when the game commenced is
" Three," and " It " takes his place, while the late " Three "
becomes " It."
It is a noisy game, furnishing plenty of exercise of
muscle and ingenuity, and the jingle, as it is changed to
suit the different players, creates any amount of laughter.
Sometimes it is " Little dude three," " Freckled-face three,"
" Long-nosed three," " Short-legged three," " Curly-headed
three," " Pretty boy three ; " and " Three," when he sings his
verse, retaliates upon poor " It " with some apt or comic
allusion to this particular boy's peculiarities. " It" always
stands stock-still until he hears the word " me."
Bull in the Ring.
"It" in this game is the most sought-for position, for
" It" is the bull. After it has been decided who shall be
the bull, the other boys all join hands in a circle around
him. The bull then examines the different hands where
they are clasped together, asking : " What is this lock made
of?"
" Brass ! " answer the boys.
" Well, brass is strong. What is this lock made of ? " he
again asks of the owners of two other clasped hands.
" Iron ! " they answer.
"And this?"
302
Slimmer
" Steel ! "
" I think I can break steel ; " and making believe to try,
the bull suddenly turns and breaks his way through the
circle where it is unguarded and runs with all speed up
the street with all the players running pell-mell at his heels.
The boy who catches the bull is bull for next game.
FIG. 261. Bull in the Ring.
It must not be supposed that the bull always succeeds
in breaking through the ring the first time. Sometimes
the locks of brass, iron, gold, or even lead are too strong
for him, and he makes believe examine some other locks,
while the circle of boys jeer him, and tell him that he can-
not escape. But sooner or later he breaks through some
weak point in the ring and scampers away. If the bull is
a fast runner he often leads the boys a long chase, over the
Games of Tag 303
fences and through back-lots of the city ; or, if the ring is
in the country, through pasture-lots, where real bulls gaze
in wide-eyed wonder at the scampering boys, through the
woods, with the rabbits and gray squirrels flying ahead,
and over the brooks, where the speckled trout hide under
the banks. Over fences and ditches, with never a stop, the
bull rushes on until he is at last headed off and caught.
Then all go back to the playground, and a new ring is
formed with the victor for a new bull, and new locks of
brass and iron are forged to keep him in the ring.
CHAPTER XXV
I SPY
With Instructions also How to Play Hunkety and Kick the Wicket.
WHEN the world was young the little folks played I
Spy, and the game is still popular, and will be, I venture to
say, as long as there are young people to play it, even
though the world becomes old and gray in the meantime.
And, if there are no children left, the young beasts of
the forest will play it as they do now. A pair of young
foxes once owned by the writer never seemed to tire of
playing I Spy. First one would hide and then the other,
and great would be the race when the hider was discovered.
The race generally ended in a rough-and-tumble fight and
then the game was started afresh. They had no rules
determining which should be " It " that I could discover,
nor did " It" count a hundred with his eyes shut to give
the other a chance to hide as a boy does. Nor was the
young fox intelligent enough to use the unfair methods of
counting sometimes employed by boys. For instance,
when " It " agrees to count one hundred, and the other
boys are seeking a hiding-place, they are sometimes caught
unaware when " It " shouts " Ten, ten, double ten, forty-five,
and fifteen ! " opens his eyes and goes in search of his half-
hidden playmates. Any hider gaining home before " It "
can do so is in free, and generally announces the fact by
shouting as he runs. " In free ! in free ! " But if " It" spies
I Spy 305
a boy, calls his name, and reaches home first, the boy is
caught. The game goes on until all are in free or caught.
If " It " fails to catch one, then " It" must be " It " for the
next game, but if he catches one or more boys, the first one
caught is " It " for the next game.
As Played in the Evening.
As this game is played in the evening, or after dark, it is
frequently difficult for " It " to distinguish one boy from
another. This difficulty is often increased by those hiding
turning their caps and coats inside out or exchanging caps
and hats, and purposely allowing the disguised heads to
appear from behind a tree or the front steps of a house.
When the boy who is "It "sees the head and recognizes
the covering, in nine times out of ten he will be deceived,
and cry out, " I spy Tom Jones ! " when it is really Billy
Smith with Tom Jones's hat or cap on. In this case both
Jones and Smith are free. Usually, while this affair is go-
ing on, several others slip in crying, " In free ! " and " It "
learns by experience to be more cautious the next time.
The exchanging of hats and coats or the turning of them
inside out adds greatly to the difficulty of detection and to
the interest of the game.
Freeings.
If the last hider to come in succeeds in reaching home
without being caught and cries " Freeings ! " then all go
out and hide again, and " It" is " It " for another game.
Hunkety : A Long Island I Spy, with a Wicket
After " It " has been chosen by one of the usual methods
he selects a tree, fence, lamp-post, or the corner of a house
for his den, home, or goal. First leaning a stick against
20
306
Summer
home, " It " turns his face to his den, and, covering his
eyes with his hands, counts five hundred by fives as rapidly
as possible, while the other boys run and hide.
At the end of the count he shouts " Five hundred, com-
FIG. 262. Long Island Hunkety.
ing, ready or not ! " As in ordinary I Spy, or Hi Spy as
the boys term it, " It " searches for the other boys, and
when he discovers a playmate he rushes home to his den,
and, placing his hands upon the goal, shouts " One, two,
three ! " and calls the boy's name that he has spied. If the
307
hider discovered by " It " does not reach home or kick the
stick over before " It " finishes his sentence the hider is
caught, and " It " goes out to seek the others, and the game
goes on.
" It's" power to move is governed by the stick, for, while
that is down, he is not allowed to spy any one. Conse-
quently he guards the stick with great care for fear some
hider-out may rush in and kick it over. When a hider-out
succeeds in kicking the stick over without being caught,
then those who have previously been caught are free, and
all that are in go out and hide again while " It" is fixing the
overthrown stick.
Often one of the players will hide within ten paces of the
den, and as soon as "It " leaves his goal the boy inside the
ten-pace limit rushes in, kicks over the wicket, and is free.
To guard against this last move "It" sometimes shouts
"Anybody hiding around my den is 'It.'" The boy, if
there is one, who is hiding within the limit of ten paces is
now " It," and the former " It " goes out and hides. Fre-
quently it happens that the last boy out succeeds in knock-
ing over the stick before " It" can prevent him. This, of
course, frees all that have been previously caught, and all
rush out and hide again.
When at last all the boys are caught or in free a new
game is started with the first one caught in the last game
for " It."
Kick the Wicket.
This is a game of Flushing, Long Island. The boy who
is to be " It" is decided upon after the manner in vogue
with the boys, and the rest take their numbers according
to the order in which they call them. " I choose number
one ! " shouts one boy. " Two for me ! " cries another,
and so it goes until all are numbered.
308 Summer
Then " It " places the wicket, which is simply a stick,
against a tree. Three other trees are selected for bases.
Number One gives the wicket a kick and sends it as far as
possible and runs for the first base, while " It" hurriedly
chases the wicket and replaces it with all possible speed.
As soon as the wicket is in place the runner is supposed to
be suddenly stricken with paralysis, or is enchanted, so that
he can move neither hand nor foot. If perchance the
runner is detected by " It " in lifting a toe, he must take
" It's " place.
The enchantment can only be broken by Number Two
kicking the wicket. When Number Two has sent the
wicket flying he runs for the first base and Number One
for the second, provided he has reached the first base be-
fore he became enchanted, and both continue to run the
bases until the spell is thrown over them by the magic
wicket being again replaced against the home-tree by " It."
The object of the players is to run all three bases and
home again, and the object of " It" is to prevent them from
moving at all. Often it happens that all the boys are be-
witched at one time between the first and home base. In
this case they must endeavor to steal along until one
reaches home without being detected by " It," in which
case he kicks the magic wicket, and sets all his comrades
in motion again. But this is a very difficult feat to per-
form, because "It" is lynx-eyed and he will if possible keep
close watch and as soon as he sees a boy move cry,
" I saw you stir,
Yes, sir!
Don't say nit,
You're ' It.' "
Nevertheless it sometimes happens when the boys are
well scattered that little by little they will steal ahead until
/ Spy 309
one can reach the wicket and give it a kick, which he is en-
titled to do if he touches home base before being detected
by " It."
In Brooklyn, when all the players are enchanted be-
tween bases, " It" is compelled to kick the wicket himself.
This he does reluctantly, making many false passes first in
order to deceive the players and cause them to move.
This interesting and queer game is new to the writer,
though without doubt it is as old as all the others, and only
chance has prevented him from becoming acquainted with
it until he took up his residence in the old Quaker village
of Flushing. The game savors distinctly of the old times,
when people believed in fairies, gnomes, witches, and magic
spells.
CHAPTER XXVI
LEAP-FROG.
Teaching the Game to the Esquimaux Foot-an'-Half With Firs':
Back and a Leader A Game Requiring Skill Spanish Fly
The Danger of Quarrelling Dick's Hat-band.
WHEN Mr. Landon Gibson was with Lieutenant Peary
on his polar expedition he often had very jolly times
with the hardy, good-natured, flat-faced natives of those
cold climes. Among other things the explorers taught
the natives the game of leap-frog, and used to have great
fun allowing the little fur-clad, laughing Esquimaux to
go straddling over their bent backs. It is possible that
all of those in the polar region now know how to play
the game, for the sport pleased them beyond measure, and
no doubt they took advantage of the first opportunity to
teach it to all their neighbors.
How to Play Leap-frog.
However, the Esquimaux will not read this .book, and
there may be some poor little chap so unfortunate as to be
born and bred in one of our big cities, whose careful
parents have had tutors for him in place of sending him
to school, and whose life has been narrowed in various
ways by his surroundings, so that he has never taken
part in a game of leap-frog, or seen it played. For this un-
fortunate, possible boy it is well to explain that this simple
Leap-Frog
game is performed in the following manner : One boy,
with his back to the player, stoops down and rests his
hands on his knees. This is called
"Giving a Back."
The other boy places his hands on the first boy's back and
leaps over him by straddling his legs wide apart on each
side like a frog. The second boy then assumes the stooping
posture and the third boy leaps over the first and second,
and the fourth over all three, one at a time, of course.
This goes on un-
til there is no boy
left who is not stoop-
ing. Then the first
boy's back straight-
ens up and he goes
leaping over his fel-
lows and again gives
a back, while the
second one follows,
and so on until they
are all tired and the
game ceases.
Foot -an'- Half, or
Foot and One-
Half.
The foot men-
tioned in this title is
not the foot marked FIG. 263. Leap-frog,
on a United States
standard rule, but a boyish foot enclosed in a rusty shoe
and owned by the leader in the game. The boy who is
312
Szimmer
" It" in this game is called First Back. He stands at a taw
line and gives a back. The leader is supposed to be the
best jumper in the game, and is selected by the First Back
for this reason. He tells First
Back the height to hold his back
and places his hands on First
Back's shoulders, gives a leap,
spreading his legs, and over he
goes. Where the leader's heels
strike he makes a mark, and First
Back takes his position at this
line, astride the line and with his
side toward the taw and the
other players. All the other boys
stand at the taw line and one
after another jump over First
Back.
When the leader's turn comes
around again he makes another jump, not from the taw line
but from a point a foot and a half in advance of the first
starting point, measured with his own feet. Again he
marks where his heels strike, and First Back takes his po-
sition at this mark.
This goes on until one of the players fails to clear First
Back, usually tumbling him over and rolling both together
on the ground. The player who fails is " It," or First Back,
for the next game. Any player may direct First Back to
give him a high, low, or medium back before he jumps.
Usually each boy calls for as high a back as the leaper
thinks he can possibly jump, each player taking pride in
making good jumps and being loath to call for a low back
unless the distance is great.
Any jumper is allowed to place the middle of his foot on
FIG. 264. Foot-an'-Half.
Leap- Frog 313
the line, but more than that in advance of taw is called
" toeing over the line." If a boy alights with one heel on
the taw side of the line which First Back is straddling, it
is called " heeling behind the line." Any one of these er-
rors, or jumping out of turn, may "bring a player down."
Generally some one shouts " Something up," and if he first
names the error the boy who is caught becomes First Back.
If the right error is unnamed the game proceeds.
Foot-an'-Half, with a Leader and a Foot-an'-Half.
Count out to find who shall be " It," or First Back. The
First Back then selects the poorest jumper for leader and
a good player for Foot-an'-Half, or " header " and " footer."
The object of this arrangement is evident when the game
proceeds, for it soon becomes plain to the dullest observer
that Foot-an'-Half is First Back's friend and is doing his
best to set tasks that it will be beyond the powers of the
leader to perform.
First Back stands with one foot on each side of the
taw line, with his side toward the players, and " gives a
back." The leader, followed by all the other players in
turn, jumps over First Back. Foot-an'-Half, coming last,
jumps as far as he can and marks the spot where his heels
strike by a line drawn parallel to the taw line. First
Back moves to the line drawn by Foot-an'-Half, and, plac-
ing a foot on each side of the line, again gives a back.
The leader may now take a foot and a half measured
by his own feet from taw, or take a step beyond the taw
line, if he deems the distance too great for a single jump.
But should any one of the players following the leader be
able to make the jump from taw, the leader becomes First
Back and the game commences over.
With good players and a good Foot-an'-Half the dis-
314 Summer
tance of First Back from the original taw line sometimes
becomes so great that a successful jump is only accom-
plished by taking a hop, skip, and a jump from the start-
ing point, marking the spot where the heels strike, or three
jumps and a hop and making the final jump over First
Back from this mark. First Back stands high or low as
he may be directed by each player in turn.
Par
is a game of Foot-an'-Half in which the leader marks his
jump, which each boy following must equal or exceed.
After all have marked their jumps, First Back measures a
foot and a half from taw line and takes his position at
this point ; the leader now jumps from taw over Foot-an'-
Half and he must surpass all previous jumps. Failures
bring the culprits " down."
Spanish Fly.
After settling who is to be leader the boys start the
game as in the preceding by the leader placing his hands
on the shoulders of First Back and leaping over. As the
boys go over in turn some good player, desiring to win
glory for himself and to increase the fun, shouts " Spanish
fly !" before he touches.
Up to the moment that the player makes this announce-
ment it is supposed to be an ordinary game of Leap-frog
or Foot-an'-Half. But now all realize that excitement and
difficult feats are ahead of them. The next time the sell-
appointed leader goes over First Back he cries
"Torchlight!"
and jumps with only one hand on First Back's shoulders,
while with the other he waves his cap for a torch. All the
Leap- Frog 315
otner players follow suit, and encouraged by their applause
the leader selects more difficult feats to perform.
" Hats on Deck ! "
he now shouts, and placing his hat or cap on First Back's
shoulders he leaps over without disturbing his head-gear.
The next player places his cap on top of the leader's and
leaps over it. The last boy in " Hats on deck ! " or " Hats
in a pile," as some call it, has the most difficult part to
perform, often having five or six hats to jump over. Now
the last boy makes another jump and takes his hat off the
back without disturbing the others, and all the other play-
ers follow suit.
If none fail the leader next cries
"Hats Full of Water!"
and picking his hat up he balances it upside down on his
head and makes the jump without jostling it off his head.
This act being performed by all the players, the leader
next cries
"Hats in the Water!"
and jumping over First Back he deftly shakes off his hat on
the other side. Each player following must do likewise,
without touching another hat with his feet or with his own
hat.
When the hats are all in the water the leader must jump
over First Back and alight on one foot without touching
any of the hats scattered around ; and still without coming
in contact with hat or cap, or touching his uplifted foot
to the ground, he must manage to hop to his own hat,
kneel down and pick it up with his teeth, and hop back to
First Back, turn his back to taw and First Back, and with a
316 Summer
toss of his head send his cap backward over his own head
and clear of First Back, toward taw. The touching of
another hat or of the uplifted foot to the ground before the
last feat is performed, will bring the leader down, or if he
touches his own cap with his hands, or if his cap strikes
First Back in going over, the leader " comes down, that is,
takes First Back's place."
Each of the players must perform the same feat in turn.
A failure to perform the part in accordance with the pre-
scribed rules brings the player down and the game begins
over. Generally some one fails before the hats reach the
water. If not the leader taxes his memory and invention
to its utmost for difficult acts to perform, until some one
<ails, and the game starts afresh.
Spanish Fly is a jolly game, full of fun and noise, two
elements that seem inseparably connected ; but sometimes
the rougher boys introduce rowdyism into the game that
eventually results in doubled fists, blows, or bad names.
This is the invariable result of such deportment where-
ever it may be found, and all such acts as " spurings,"
" knucks," and " ramming the cannon " are to be tolerated
only by toughs.
Effect of Bad Names.
Speaking of bad names, which with boys as well as with
men are the invariable prelude to a fight, I once saw a little
fellow in Kentucky close up the mouth of a low, vulgar bully
in a truly boyish, but to me, a most novel and effective man-
ner. Many of the horrid names that a retentive memory had
stored in fifteen years of life among the " river rats " were
hurled by the bully at the little Kentuckian. The latter
turned pale, hesitated a moment, while a crowd of boys
looked curiously on to see the result. It was evident to all
Leap- Frog 317
that the little fellow would stand but a poor chance for
victory in a scuffle with the bandy-legged, broad-shouldered
young tough from the levee on the river front. Yet, at
first, it appeared as if the smaller boy meant to fight, for
his little fists were clenched as if he intended to resent the
insult with a blow ; but it was only a natural impulse of a
brave boy, and was but momentary.
Soon his little fingers unclasped and his hands were
thrust carelessly into his trousers' pockets, the color came
back to his cheeks, and with a bright smile on his lips,
he gently said, " Fen for me, all on you, twice as many as
you call me."
This reply was greeted with a roar of applause and
checkmated the levee bully, who, low as he was, did not
care to call himself all the vulgar names he had applied to
the little Kentuckian, and according to boys' etiquette it
was evident that the only way he could prevent the names
reverting to himself with doubled intensity was by keeping
his bull-dog jaws closed.
Dick's Hat-band.
One of the players consents to act the part of Dick ; the
others are his band, and since all their hats are used in the
game the other boys are called his hat-band. Dick's own
hat is placed in front of a row of those of his band, which
are ranged in a line parallel to a board-fence or dead wall,
at a distance of about a foot from it and a couple of inches
or thereabouts from each other.
The game is begun by Dick, who, placing the heel of
one foot against the toe of the other, and then the heel
of the latter against the toe of the other, alternately, meas-
ures off from twelve to fifteen of his foot-lengths directly
away from the line of hats. At this distance he marks his
318 Summer
taw line. He then measures off five more of his foot-
lengths and marks the distance line.
Standing upon the taw line Dick tries to toss a ball into
his own hat. If he succeeds in doing this he cries " Even
score," which is twenty points, the game being one hun-
dred ; if he fails, the other players shout " Odd," and each
gains a point, while Dick gets a " scratch," which is one
against him. Whether he wins or loses, however, he puts
his hat on his head and throws the ball a second time, try-
ing to make it drop into the last hat in the row on the
right. If he fails, the boy to whom the hat belongs,
together with all the players but Dick, again shout " odd,"
and gain a point, Dick losing one, and the said owner of
the hat becomes "Dick," while he who was Dick places his
hat to the left of the others. If, however, Dick succeeds in
making the ball fall into the hat, he puts it on his head on
top of his own, while the owner of the former hat gives a
back, as in Leap-frog, at the distance line, and Dick, stand-
ing at the base line, tries to leap over him without jolting
off either one or both the hats from his head. Should he
do this he shouts " Even score " and gets twenty more
points ; should he fail, the band shout " Odd," and get a
point apiece, while Dick has a scratch and loses one, and
becomes one of the band, the owner of the extra hat be-
coming Dick. If, however, Dick gets his " even score," he
tries to make the ball rebound into the next hat on the
right from the one in which the ball was last, and, succeed-
ing, puts this hat on his head in addition to the two already
there, and again attempts the same feat with the owner of
the third hat he has successfully performed with that of the
second.
And thus the game goes on. As Dick's hats increase
in number the other boys try to disconcert him by shouting
Leap- Frog 319
" Wig, wag ! wig, wag ! Dick with a hat-band ! " Dick
cannot very well carry more than half a dozen hats on his
head, and consequently the game is generally limited to
that number of players, the odd number, five, being the
band, and the extra one Dick.
, Much sport may be had at this game. It is simple and
yet requires considerable skill and activity to play it well.
An ordinary tennis ball, or, better still, a child's rubber ball,
is the best one to use. The score may be kept by marking
it down on the wall or fence with a bit of chalk, or each
player may have a shallow hole in the ground in which a
bit of stick is put for a point and a stone for a scratch.
CHAPTER XXVII
VARIOUS SPORTS FOR HOT DAYS
" Jack's Alive I "Spirit Tortoise and Dead Turtles Jack and the Can-
dles Bowlder On, or Duck on a Rock Nine and Ten Pins Skit-
tles, Ancient and Modern.
HAVING built a small bonfire in some vacant lot, all the
boys squat around it like so many Indians about their camp-
fire. A cork on the end of a stick is thrust into the blaze
and allowed to remain there until it becomes well lighted.
Then by using the stick for a handle one of the boys with-
draws the cork and, blowing out the flame but leaving the
red glowing end of the cork, exclaims
" Jack's Alive ! "
and passes it to the next boy to the right. This boy blows
the cork to see that the end still glows and repeats the
words, " Jack's alive ! " as he hands it to
his companion at his right.
As the hot end becomes duller the
boys pass it with greater haste, each re-
peating, " Jack's alive," until the time ar-
rives when no amount of blowing will
FIG. 265. Been Play ing bring to life the dead embers on the
Tack s Alive.
cork. Then " Jack is dead," and the boy
holding the dead Jack must submit to having the score
marked on his face. One black mark only can be made for
one dead Jack. The first mark may be on one side of the
player's upper lip representing one-half of a mustache.
Partous Shorts for Hot Days 321
The cork is then again placed in the fire while the boys
sit around and wait for Jack to come to life again. Then
the cork is again passed around with the same remarks,
until Jack again expires and another lad is decorated with
the half of a mustache or a big black eyebrow or a round
black dot on his cheek.
When Jack shows a ruddy red light he is passed alon#
carelessly, but as his light pales it is laughable to see witL
what haste the boys shout "Jack's alive! "and pass the
dying ember on to the next player.
Spirit Tortoise and Dead Turtles.
There is no necessity of counting out in this game, for
all are " It." The game commences by each lad choosing
what sort of turtle he intends to represent. " I'm a soft
back!" "I'm a snapper!" "I'm a mud turtle!" "I'm a
diamond back!" " I'm a red belly !" and " I'm a land tor-
toise ! " they shout. Then they all squat down in a row,
resting their chins on their knees and crossing their hands,
each holding his right foot with his left hand and his left
foot with his right hand.
A short distance from the line of boys is some object,
a fence or wall, which they have decided upon as their taw
line or goal. It is the object of all the turtles to waddle along
without removing their hands from their feet until they
have touched goal and returned to the starting point.
When all are ready they shout out a comical verse, which
is probably intended to represent the awkward motions 01
the turtles by words
" Kumbo, kuzetoo, rungetoo, zee !
When we start, fun you'll see !
Wiliy, wally, wully^wake !
See this turtle take the cake! "
91
3 22
Summer
At the word " cake " all start in their queer race amid
general laughter, boasting, and banter. Sooner or later
some one of the boys is certain to loose his grip on either
one or the other of his feet. Then the others shout " Dead
turtle ! " and the player whose hand slipped must lie mo-
tionless where he is until the return of his more skilful
companions.
The first racer who reaches his goal and returns success-
fully is the victor, and is supposed to be endowed with su-
pernatural powers. After reaching the starting point he
goes back to the dead turtles, and of each he makes the
same inquiry, " Dead turtle, what are you doing there ? "
Now, while all who fail are considered dead, yet they
are not supposed to be deprived of the power of speech,
and so no one is surprised when the dead turtle answers in
these words : "I am waiting for the spirit tortoise to blow
life into me." The victor, or spirit tortoise, still retaining
fast hold of his feet with his hands, manages to waddle
around the dead turtle, repeating these mystic lines :
" Hunyab, Punjab, chiz row zie,
I bring life to all near me !
I touch a turtle on the snout.
Life blows in and death blows out ! "
Loosening his grasp on one foot for an instant, the spirit
tortoise touches the nose of the dead turtle with his finger,
and instantly the dead turtle returns to life, grasps his right
foot with his left hand and his left foot with his right hand
and wiggles back to the starting point
After the victor has restored all the dead to life he man-
ages to regain his position at the starting point and the
game is finished.
It is no easy matter to win in this game, and the victor
Various Sports for Hot Days 323
must have the pluck and force of character to hold hard
with both hands, no matter how great the temptation to let
go and be a dead turtle.
This game is said to be of Indian origin. In the Indian
game neither the turtles nor the tortoises repeat verses, but
in other respects it is practically the same as the Indian
tortoise race.
Jack and the Candles.
"School is out and it will be hours before it is dark.
What shall I do to fill in the time ? " says the healthy boy.
\
FIG. 266. Jack and the Candles.
Well-meaning parents sometimes answer: " Come home, be
washed and dressed, and go out with nurse for a walk."
Old Mother Nature says: "Shout, run, jump, and have
a rollicking good time. After a good romp you will need
no walk and no nurse. You can wash yourself as clean as
324
Summer
soap and water will make you, put on your good clothes,
and eat as hearty a meal as your parents can provide;
study as hard before bedtime as your young mind is able,
sleep as soundly as good health will admit, and wake up as
bright as a dollar next morning."
It is hard in cities to find games that can be played in
the awful presence of cable and trolley cars and big brass-
buttoned policemen, none of whom have much sympathy
with boys or their sports, but there are few places, even in
crowded New York, that have not a comparatively quiet
side-street near by where such a game as Jack and the
Candles can be played with little danger of the direful
interference of the street cars or policemen.
Choosing the Master.
There ought to be at least half a dozen boys in the
game. One boy is chosen for master by drawing straws
previously described ; the boy holding the longest straw
is "master," and the lad with the shortest straw is poor
" Jack." The game begins by the master sending Jack after
some candles.
"Jack!" calls the master in a domineering manner.
" Yes, sir," answers Jack, meekly. " You lazy rascal, come
here!" "Yes, sir," replies Jack, edging cautiously up.
" We expect company to-night, and need more light; go and
fetch me some candles." Jack, apparently glad to escape
from the presence of his master, hastens away. While
Jack is out of hearing, the other boys range themselves in
a row on any convenient seat, and each selects a name for
himself, as "Baked Beans," "Tripe," "Onions," "Mutton
Chops," " Mush," " Sauerkraut," " Plum Pudding," or any
other set of names they may choose.
After all have chosen names and told them to the mas
Various Sports for Hot Days 325
ter, the latter, in a loud tone, summons Jack, who, of
course, comes back empty-handed. This apparently en-
rages the master, and he threatens Jack with a pocket-
handkerchief that has a knot in one end. Jack begins to
make excuses, saying that he went to the hardware shop
and the clerk told him he had nothing in light ware except
tin lanterns; at the bakery they told him that the only
light they had for sale was light bread, and the blacksmith
told him to light out, and some one else said that if he did
not snuff himself out mighty quick he would let daylight
through him, and the butcher that he would sell him liver
and lights, etc. In fact, Jack tries in his excuses to be silly
or witty enough to make the other boys laugh. The mas-
ter then tells Jack that he is light-headed enough to answer
the purpose, and since he has brought no candles they
must eat in the dark. Then he commands him to bring on
the " sauerkraut," or any other name chosen by the boys.
It is
Now Jack's Duty
to select the one of his playmates whom he thinks may have
chosen sauerkraut for his name. If the servant fails, as he
is most likely to do, Jack is told to get up on the back of
the boy he has selected, and that boy passes sentence on the
unlucky servant in this manner : " Master, let him have
three hard eggs and three soft eggs," or " four soft eggs
and two peppers," always limiting the amount of the dish
to six. For soft eggs the master gently flaps Jack on the
back with the loose or soft end of the handkerchief ; for
hard eggs he applies the knotted end ; for pepper he snaps
the handkerchief at that part of Jack's clothes which is
drawn the tightest, after which he is told to try again and
to bring on some other dish named.
But if Jack selects the boy whose name has been called,
326
Slimmer
then that boy must mount on Jack's back and Jack passes
the sentence and the master administers the punishment
accordingly, giving him pepper, soft or hard eggs, as the
case may be, after which Jack becomes master. The mas-
ter takes his place in the line, and the boy whose name was
guessed becomes Jack and is sent for candles, while the
FIG. 267. Hard-boiled Eggs.
others choose new names, and so the game goes on. Each
boy in the line is careful, as a rule, not to make Jack's pun-
ishment too severe, for fear Jack may guess his adopted
name and pay him back in his own coin.
In many cities in the United States there are hundreds
of Jacks hunting for candles every summer evening, and
some that I have heard of have become so proficient in
their part and create so much fun by their witty excuses
Various Sports for Hot Days 327
that the merry shouts of boyish laughter that greet their
remarks may be heard for a block away. And some boys
make excellent masters, imitating with rare ability the
harsh, unreasonable language of a churl in authority, while
Sauerkraut, Baked Beans, Pickles, and Mush sit in a line
on curbstone or fence and applaud their young dramatic
stars.
Bowlder On ; or, Duck on a Rock.
It was hot. The boards of the lumber-piles visibly
shrank and lost color under the direct rays of the sun.
The yellow-clay banks of the river dried and cracked until
what was lately mud now appeared to be a mosaic work
of irregular flat stones. Between the bricks of the uneven
sidewalks the ants were busy piling up little cones of dry
pellets of yellow earth. The angle-worms had retreated
so far below that a spade would scarcely reach them,
and on the gate-post the song sparrow perched himself,
that being the most exposed and unprotected spot avail-
able, and there he gleefully sang his little tune. In the
vacant lots the bumble-bees buzzed and feasted on the red
clover that grew among the weeds.
Where were the boys on this hot day ? All were in
swimming, except those who had already soaked them-
selves in the water until the ends of their fingers shrivelled
up like a washer-woman's. And these lads were gathered
under the wide-spreading branches of a giant oak playing
" Bowlder On," the local name for " Duck on a Rock," and
the author of this book was with them gaining his first
knowledge of the charms of this simple but popular game.
How the Game is Played.
It is not customary to count out for the one who is to bs
"It" in this game. As soon as the game is proposed each
328 Summer
boy searches for a cobble-stone, and when he finds one
announces the fact by shouting " My duck ! " The last
boy to shout is " It," and he cries " My drake ! " and
places his cobble-stone or small bowlder on the larger one
selected for the purpose and stands guard over his drake.
The other players stand at a taw or scratch line and
throw their ducks at the drake with the purpose of
knocking it from its perch. Each player who has thrown
and missed must recover his duck and run the risk of be-
ing caught by the lad guarding the drake. The guardian
stands by the rock, but cannot tag a playfellow until the
latter has touched his duck. Often all the boys make a
rush for their ducks at the same time, each one trusting
to luck that he will have the good fortune to escape
over the taw-line free, and sometimes they all escape.
More frequently, however, some one of the crowd re-
ceives a tag from the guardian of the drake, and he must
then drop his duck and assume the guardian's place,
while the latter picks up the duck and joins the rest of
the crowd of duck-throwers at taw-line.
If at any time one of the players succeeds in knocking
the drake off of his perch then all the boys scramble for
their ducks that are scattered around, and the guardian, or
" It," as quickly as possible replaces his drake, for he may
not tag any one until his drake is in place.
There is always an appearance of danger in this game
on account of the flying bowlders, but the danger is only
apparent and is nothing like as real as it is in base-ball or
foot-ball. " Bowlder On," however, is quite exciting.
Nine- and Ten-Pins.
Because some people used nine-pins as a gambling game,
the authorities thought to stamp out the evil by making the
Various Sports for Hot Days 329
FIG. 268. Brick Skittles.
game unlawful. But after the
law against nine - pins was
passed the proprietors of the
bowling alleys hung out signs
" TVtf-pins played here," and
as the law said nothing about
ten-pins the authorities were
unable to interfere. Ten-pins
thus became the American
game. At first all games with
balls and pins as bowls and
skittles were out-door games
and played on smooth, level grass-plots similar to the old
Bowling Green in New York City.
Skittles
is an old English name for wooden pins and the game in
which they were used. The game of
Bowls
was like a game of marbles, with this
difference, that in place of shooting a
small marble from the fingers a large
wooden ball was rolled at a number of
other wooden balls placed some dis-
tance away on the green.
a
n
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
British Skittles.
British skittles is a game allied in
character to bowls. In the last century
skittles was a fashionable game. An
old print of 1786 represents a skittle-
FIG. 269. American Bowls, alley of that period. The alley is
330
Summer
fringed with poplars, and has at one end a summer-house.
Here three gentlemen in cocked hats read the news
and partake of refreshments. More refreshments are car-
ried by a waiter. Old-fashioned "dudes" in cocked hats
look on, while a friend rolls a ball at the pins. The moral
is:
" In Reason's Eye the world's a Skittle Ground
In which mankind will tott'ring pins be found."
Skittles in China and Persia.
The book which is adorned with these reflections is a
complete guide to " Old and New Methods of Forming
General Goes and Tips," and includes a discourse on the
Chinese and Persian modes of playing skittles. From this
it appears that skittles in olden times was considered a
most scientific affair. The frame (the name of the arrange-
ment of pins) and other features of the game were all
calculated on mathematical principles, with arcs and curves
and plenty of goodly learning.
The Chinese use twenty-five pins, and the game counts
457 points. The different pins are called Tong-hw, Tsi-shu,
Nang-Mw, etc., and refer to the resemblance between the
standing pins and a wood or forest. The Persians set up
the pins in concentric circles that is, one circle inside an-
other circle and use seventeen pins. The ball was like
that used in English bowls.
Such are the rude outlines of British and foreign
skittles ; but mastery of the details of the game can be
acquired only by special aptitude and serious application,
and is hardly to be attained by an American boy, who has
EO many equally good games at hand. According to an
old English book of games, skittles proper is what we call
nine-pins.
Various Sports for Hot Days 33 1
Brick Skittles.
Ordinary bricks, or, as the Ohio boys call them, " brick
bats," make good skittles, and cobble-stones will make
very fair bowls for a game. On a vacant lot or open space
draw a diamond-shaped figure and set up three rows of
bricks at equal distances from each other. At a distance
agreed upon from this " frame " draw the scratch or taw-
line, and with your cobble-stones or small bowlders bowl
the bricks down as you would the pins in a bowling-alley.
Count a point for every brick
fairly upset. Make the game
as many points as you wish, and
take turns in bowling.
Fours
is played in the same way as
nine-pins or skittles, with the
exception that bricks are used
for nine-pins, and that only four
bricks are set up in the frame,
one at each of the four corners
of the diamond.
FlG. 270. Frame of Four Bricks.
Dutch Pins.
In the real game of Dutch pins
the skittles are larger and taller than
in the other games here described,
but as bricks are made of one size you
will use the same bricks for Dutch
pins that you do for nine-pins, but a
square is used in place of a diamond for the frame, and nine
bricks are set up in three lines.
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
FIG. 271. Dutch Pins.
CHAPTER XXVIII
TIP-CAT
How the Cat is Made English-Cat Country-Cat American-Cat
A Game Requiring Skill and Quickness.
THERE are many quaint laws in this and other countries
that are never enforced, and there are many games in boys 1
books that are never played. Once on a time the old laws
were active and were obeyed; and once on a time some
boys somewhere played the old games, but to-day they are
dead.
Trap-ball is one of these dead games, but Tip-Cat is a
revival of the old game and is anything but dead. Not
only does it show signs of renewed popularity, but it is
spreading rapidly all over the world where there are boys
to play. It is popular all along the Atlantic Coast, in Ger-
many, Italy, and even in Hindostan. Fifty years ago Tip-
Cat was practically confined to the rustics in England, and
fifteen years ago was uncommon in the United States and
unknown in many sections.
The Cat
is a piece of wood about half a foot long and two inches in
diameter at the middle, from which it narrows down to a
point at each end, forming two elongated cones joined at
their bases (Fig. 272). When the cat is placed upon the
ground and struck upon either end with a stick it will fly
up in the air.
Tip- Cat
333
FIG. 272, FIG. 273.
English Cat.
In this game there are from four to eight bases, accord-
ing to the number of players. Usually the bases are simply
holes in the ground, like " roily poly " or " nigger baby "
holes. These bases are arranged on the circumference
of a circle at equal distances apart. The Outs take the
field, and the Ins, each with a stick for a bat, station them-
selves at the bases or holes. One of the fielders toss-
es the cat to the nearest batsman. The latter endeavors to
strike it, and if he hits the cat then all the boys on the
bases must change places. If the cat has been knocked a
long distance they continue
to run from one base to an-
other as long as they feel
safe in doing so. Each base
gained scores a point, but if
one of the Outs catches the
cat the striker who struck it
is out, and if one of the Outs
stops the cat and throws it
in front of a player after he
has quitted one base and be-
fore he reaches the other,
that player is crossed out.
When all are out the oth-
er side take the bases and
have an inning, while those
lately at the bat take to the
field and toss the cat as be- FlG - 274 *
fore described. When a FlGS ' 3 7 2 -274.-Cat, Bat, and Player.
striker misses the cat he tosses it back to the fielder, and
the latter tries another toss.
334 Summer
Country Cat.
Make a ring on the ground as large as a big circus
ring, and stand the striker in the centre. The fielder or
fielders, as the case may be, stand inside the ring in front of
the striker, and toss him the cat. If the boy at the bat
misses, it counts nothing ; if he hits and fails to knock the
cat outside the circle, he is out. If a fielder catches the cat
when struck by the stick of the batter, the batter is out.
When the striker succeeds in sending the cat outside of
the ring, he carefully measures the distance with his eye,
and calls out " Twenty," " Thirty," or " Seventy," as the
case may be, and if his call is not disputed, his score is
credited with that number. But if the fielders challenge
the score, the stick used by the striker for a bat is used as a
measuring rod, and the distance is measured from the point
where the striker stands to the spot where the cat has fallen.
If it is found that the striker has claimed too much he
scores nothing, and resigns his stick to the fielder whose
turn comes next. But if it is discovered that there are
twenty-one stick-lengths where the striker has only claimed
twenty, or seventy-two where he has only claimed sixty-
eight, that is, if it is found by measurement that he has not
claimed too much, he is credited with the number called
and the game goes on.
Where there are more than one fielder they decide
among themselves the numbers they take. Number One
has the first inning, and Number Two's inning begins when
Number One is out, etc.
American Cat.
The American cat is smaller than the Country or
English cat, the double cone not being over four or five
Tip- Cat 335
inches long. If the game is played on the sidewalk, as the
boys play it in New York City, a small circle is drawn on
the paving stones, where the striker stands; but if the
game is played on the bare earth, a hole is made, where
the striker stands. It is the duty of the batsman to defend
the hole or ring with the stick he uses for a bat, and it
is the object of the giver or pitcher to toss the cat in the
circle or hole.
If he is successful, the striker is out. If, on the other
hand, it falls outside the circle, the striker places the cat
inside the ring, strikes it on one end, which causes the
little piece of wood to fly up in the air, and before it
reaches the ground the striker endeavors to hit it again
and send the cat as far as possible.
If he Misses
he throws the cat back to the fielder, who again attempts
to toss it into the circle, but if he succeeds in sending it
a good distance he does not call his score, as described in
Country Cat, but the pitcher offers him five points or ten,
as the case may be. The striker, however, is not compelled
to accept the offer, and may keep the pitcher bidding for
some time, and if his last bid is refused the pitcher
proceeds to measure the distance from the circle to the cat
in jumps. If he can make the distance in fewer jumps than
he has bid, the striker, or the striker's side, loses the num-
ber of points named in the last bid of the pitcher, and the
striker is out.
Sometimes the score is measured by feet, that is, the
length of the pitcher's foot is the unit of measure, or one
point in the score. If a fielder or the pitcher catches the
cat when struck by the batter, the batter is out.
CHAPTER XXIX
GAMES OF BALL
How Town-Ball is Played One or Two Old-CatHouse-BallHand
Up Bailie Gallic Crackabout Over the Barn Stool-Ball Corner-
Ball Black Baby Hat-Ball.
IT is almost a waste of space to describe in detail any
of the National popular games, such as base-ball, as the
rules which govern them for one year will not answer
for the next. And, furthermore, there is possibly not a
reader of this book that does not keep himself thoroughly
posted upon such games. But there is the " father " of
base-ball, which is a first-rate game, and not played enough
to be constantly changing its form and rules. In England,
this game, or its immediate ancestor, is called Rounders,
and possibly it may go by this name in some parts of the
United States, but in the West it was formerly called
Town-Ball.
The ball and bat used in Town-Ball are both different
from those used in base-ball. In place of bases there are
corners, in place of a pitcher there is a giver, and the field-
ers are of any number, with no distinctive names.
The Ball
is sometimes a small rubber ball, such as can be found at
most toy -stores not those of solid rubber, which are
Games of Ball
337
generally black in color and too heavy, but the hollow
ones of a whitish color. The real town-ball, however, is a
home-made affair, consisting of a small ball of tightly wound
yarn, usually unravelled by the boys from old yarn socks,
and wound up into a spherical form. This is covered with
leather that is cut in the form of a three-leaved clover, or
may be you will understand better if it is likened to an
FIG. 275.
FlG. 275, 276. Town-ball ; showing
How it is Made.
FIG. 277. Delilling.
FIG. 278.
orange-peel when you make three cuts in the orange-skin
and then take the rind off without breaking it (Fig. 275).
This leather covering is sewed on the ball with shoemaker's
thread by means of an awl and a waxed-end, and should fit
tightly and evenly without wrinkles. A well-made ball is
a work of art that boys are proud of exhibiting and talk-
ing about.
The Bat
is either very short, resembling a dwarf base-ball bat (Fig.
277), and is called a " delill," or it is broad and flat after the
fashion of a cricket-bat (Fig. 278).
22
Summer
The Corners
are usually three in number, with a home-base, making four,
but this varies according to the whim of the players or the
locality where the game is played. Ordinarily with three
corners the distances are about the same as between the
bases in base-ball. In place of home-base there is a rec-
tangle marked on the ground where the striker and catcher
stand.
The Giver
stands in the same position that the pitcher occupies in a
game of base-ball ; but in place of pitching or making the
underhand throw, he throws overhand and "gives" the
ball to the catcher over the
right shoulder of the batter.
The Batter
stands at the front line of
the home-base and holds his
bat above his shoulder and
strikes from that position,
with both hands grasping
the handle of the bat, if he
is using a flat bat. But if
he is using a "delill" he
holds it with one hand and
allows the swiftly thrown
ball to strike his club and
FIG. 279. Game of Town-bail. glance off at an angle to a
part of the grounds where
no fielders are on the outlook for it. Every time the ball
touches the bat it is considered a fair hit, and the batter
must run for his first corner and reach it, if possible, before
Games of Ball 339
some fielder, the catcher, or giver secures the ball and
" burns " or " stings " him, as they call it when they hit a
player with the ball. No one stands on guard at the
bases to catch the batter out, and the ball, in place of being
thrown to the base, is thrown at the man running the corners.
When one batter makes a hit or is put out the next batter
takes his place, as fn base-ball.
The Catcher
stands behind the bat and without gloves, and with no pro-
tection for his face or body he catches the "hot" balls the
giver sends to him. The balls are not heavy enough to be
dangerous.
The Fielders
scatter themselves over the field, according to the direc-
tions of the captain, and try to catch or stop all balls from
the bat, or those that are thrown at and miss the runners
between corners.
When Out.
When a man is out he is out until the next inning, and
the game proceeds without him. If a striker sends a ball in
the air and it is caught before it touches the ground by the
giver, the catcher, or any one of the fielders, the batter is
out. If the ball touches his bat it is counted a hit, and if it
is caught by any one of the opposite side he is out.
If any one of the fielders, the catcher, or giver make
a successful throw at a man running the corners and
strikes him with the ball when he is not touching his cor-
ner, he is out.
If the batter misses a ball that he strikes at, and the
catcher catches the ball before it strikes the ground, the
batter is out.
340 Summer
When a man is put out, he is out for that inning, and
cannot strike again until the next inning for his side.
When all are out but one, that one has a very difficult task
to make a score, unless he can make a home-run strike.
There are no other batters to help him by sending a " sky-
scraper" over the fielders' heads; but he must run his cor-
ners while the giver and catcher, standing in their regular
position, pass the ball between them. This always pro-
duces a great deal of excitement and sport, as all the
batter's side coach him, and if he succeeds in stealing a
corner or successfully dodges the ball thrown at him, he is
greeted by wild cheers from his own side.
Should he at last succeed in reaching home-base un-
touched, he has the privilege of "putting in" the best
batter on his side, and there are then two men in and a
better chance to score.
Any number of boys may play in one game, and since
all the really necessary properties consist of a ball and a
bat, both home made, it makes a game much better suited
to boys than base-ball, with all its array of expensive balls,
bats, bases, home plates, armor, wire masks, sliding gaunt-
lets, and gloves. As far as skill is concerned, no good town-
ball player need hang his head in the presence of the best
of base-ball players.
Fig. 279 shows the proper method of laying out the
field. In this case, wands, with colored flags on them, are
stuck into the ground for corners. These are strong
enough, for the runner only touches them with his hand
and does not fall all over them, or slide to them, as in base-
ball. The distances between bases are regulated according
to circumstances and the dimensions of the play-ground.
Games of Ball 341
One or Two Old Cat, Striking Out, or Feeder.
This is town-ball modified to suit the occasion when
only three or four boys play the game. Of course a giver,
a catcher, and a batter are necessary, but there is usually
only one corner for the batter to run. Generally the run
is from home to the pitcher's stand and back again. If
the game is played with a small ball the runner must be
"stung" with the ball; if played with a base-ball, he must
be touched with the ball while in the hand of the pitcher or
catcher. In other particulars the rules of the previous
game govern this. When the striker is on his corner the
catcher and giver, or pitcher, pass the ball back and for-
ward, between them, while he tries to run home.
When there is only one striker, the game is One Old
Cat; when there are two strikers, it is called Two Old Cat,
the game being named according to the number of strikers.
House-ball.
In this game the house takes the place of the pitcher or
giver. Two boys, a batter and a catcher, stand facing a
blank wall, usually the side of a brick house. The catcher
throws the ball against the side of the house and as it
rebounds the striker, or batter, endeavors to hit it, and then
runs to the house and back home before the catcher can
touch him with the ball. If the batter misses the ball and
the latter is caught by the catcher, the batter is out, and
must take the catcher's place. If the striker reaches the
house, but is unable to return before the catcher secures
the ball, the catcher throws the ball against the house and
catches it on the rebound, and the runner is expected to
run in home, or attempts to do so before four balls are
342
Summer
passed. Otherwise the striker is out, and must give up his
bat to the catcher and take his place behind the bat.
Hand Up.
The blank side-wall of a brick house and a bit of hard,
flat ground form an ideal field for Hand Up. With a sharp
stick trace three sides of a square on the hard ground i.i
front of the wall, and let the wall form the fourth side and
complete the square. These are the boundary lines. Make
W A
Fl E.LD
FIG. 280. Hands Up.
another line on the wall, three feet from the ground, and a
taw line, nine feet from the wall, on the ground, and
you are ready to choose up for sides or toss for " first hand
up." You may have one on a side, or as many as you
choose ; there is no limit.
First Hand Up takes a small rubber town-ball or a base-
ball and drops it in the square at the taw line, so that it will
bound, or bounce, as the boys would say. As the ball rises
from the earth the player strikes it with the flat of his
hand, sending the ball against the wall, above the three-foot
line, with sufficient force to cause it to rebound and fall
Games of Ball 343
outside the taw line. The next player uses his hand as a
bat, and sends the ball back against the house in the same
manner. He must hit the ball on the first bound or before
it has touched the earth. The next player is ready to take
his turn and strikes the ball on the rebound, and so the
game proceeds, until someone misses, or sends the ball
below the three-foot mark or outside the boundaries.
If it is the first striker who misses or sends the ball out
of the boundaries on the ground or side of the house, then
he loses his inning, and the boy on the other side drops the
ball and strikes it as already described.
If it is a player on "outs" that makes a miss, then the
"inners" count one for each miss or foul. A foul is when
the ball goes below the three-foot line on the house or
rebounds outside the boundaries.
The Outs cannot count when the Ins miss, but they
take the place of the Ins and the Ins are out. After the
first hand up or play it is unnecessary that the ball should
rebound beyond the taw line. Fifteen points make a game.
In England the boys have the same game under the name
of Fives.
Bailie Gallic.
As in the preceding game the ball is thrown against the
house while all the players group themselves around the
giver. As soon as the latter sends his ball against the
house he shouts the name of one of his playmates who must
catch the ball on the rebound. If he misses or drops the
ball the other boys scatter in every direction, but come to
a halt when he picks up the ball and cries, " Stand! " He
then selects a victim and throws the ball at him. If he hits
the boy aimed at, the latter throws the ball against the
house, and the game goes on, but if he misses he must stand
344 Summer
against the wall with head down and allow each of the other
players to have one throw at him with the ball from a
distance of ten paces.
Crackabout
is played with a town-ball or a soft rubber ball. For noise
and activity Crackabout excels all other games. The boy
owning the ball cries "Crackabout!" and throws the
missile at his nearest comrade. All the others make a mad
rush to gain possession of the ball, and as soon as one of
their number has secured it, the others make an equally
mad rush to escape ; and alternately rushing together to
secure the ball and scattering far apart to escape being hit
by it, shouting and laughing, the boys are soon tired out
and are ready to rest or play some quieter game. Twenty
years ago Crackabout was the favorite recess game in
Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky, and when the
boys came in at the call of the bell they were all mopping
their heads with their handkerchiefs, and brighter eyes and
rosier cheeks never faced a tired and patient school-teacher
than those which came fresh from a rollicking game of
Crackabout.
Over the Barn, House Over or Haley Over.
Choose up for sides. When all are ready, form two
separate groups, one on each side of a house or barn. The
boy with the ball cries, " House over ! " and throws the
ball over the house where the others are watching for its
appearance in the hopes of catching it before it touches the
ground. If they are successful in this, the boy who makes
the catch rushes around the house and throws the ball at
some one on the other side.
Since there is no way for the side who threw the ball to
Games of Ball 345
know whether or not it was caught until the lad from the
other side appears with it in his hand, it is no wonder that
there should be wild cries and a scurrying of feet upon the
sudden appearance of the boy with the ball.
If the latter hits one of the other side, the boy hit must
follow his captor, who returns to his own side of the house
with his prisoner, shouts, "Over the house!" and throws
the ball. Each miss counts nothing. Each catch brings
with it the right to invade the enemies' camp, and to select
a victim and even run after him, so as to shorten the dis-
tance and increase the chance of hitting him with the ball.
Each boy hit joins the side of the boy who threw the ball,
and the game ends only when all the players are gathered
upon one side of the house. This game will do for the
suburbs of cities and villages, where detached houses of
moderate height are to be found.
In olden times
Stool-ball
appears to have been quite a popular game, but it never
took root in American soil.
The second Christmas after the founding of the colony
of Massachusetts, Governor Bradford took the balls and
stools away from the players ; and he it must be who is
responsible for the killing of the ancient game in America,
for apparently it never revived.
Corner-ball.
The number of corners depends upon the number of
players. If you have six boys, then there are three corners,
making the boundaries of a triangular form. If you have
eight boys, then there are four corners, and the boundaries
form a square. There should be more than four players,
346 Slimmer
because with this number you would have only two bases
and the boundaries would be a straight line.
The Ins take the bases and the Outs group themselves
inside the triangle, square, or whatever the figure may be
formed by the corners. The Ins pass the ball around the
corners, throwing and catching until they see a good chance
to hit one of the Outs grouped inside the boundaries. The
ball is then thrown at the Outs, and if it hits one he is out
of the game ; and if it misses, the thrower is out of the
game. But, if one of those in the centre catch the ball,
there is a laugh and the ball is thrown back to a corner
man with no score either way.
When all of one side are put out of the game the
opposite side has won, and all are entitled to a throw with
the ball at the boy on the losing side who was first put
Out. The victim stands with head down and back arched
facing a wall, while the victors line themselves at thirty
feet distant and take turns " burning " the captive that is,
hitting him with the ball if they can. It must be remem-
bered that the dangerous base-ball is never used in these
games, and the other ball does no injury to the lad struck.
Black Baby.
A much noisier and more active game is that of Black
Baby. It is a game of ball and can only be played in such
parts of the city as still possess bare earth, level and soft
enough for the series of shallow holes necessary for the
game.
There must be a hole for each player, and a common,
hollow India-rubber ball or a soft yarn ball covered with
leather. On no account use a hard ball, as the game is too
rough for the use of a missile that can do injury when
thrown with force.
Games of Ball
347
First, with your heel make a number of holes about
three feet apart and all in a line, one hole for each boy in
the game. When there is a shallow hole for each boy let
every boy stand by and guard his particular hollow, while
the boy at one end attempts to roll the ball slowly over the
line of the holes, so that it will rest in the hole at the ex-
treme end in front of the lad at the opposite end. In case
the ball passes safely over, the player at the other end rolls
it back again in the same manner.
FIG. 281. Game of Black Baby.
This cannot go on long before the ball stops in one ot
the holes. As soon as this happens all the players except
the one at the hole where the ball stops scamper away for
dear life, shouting, " Black baby ! Black baby ! " while the
remaining lad seizes the ball as quickly as possible and
throws it (a New York boy would say "fires it") with
might and main at his nearest playmate. If he fails to hit
the fleeing mark all return to their places, and a little piece
of coal, a " black baby," is put in the hole lately occupied by
the ball ; but if he strikes the mark, the boy hit must quick'y
348 Summer
pick up the ball and throw it at his nearest playmate, and a
game of " crackabout " ensues until someone makes a miss.
As soon as this occurs all return to their places, and the
failure is marked by a " black baby " placed in the hole
belonging to the lad who failed, and the game of rolling the
ball is continued by the boys at the end holes. As soon as
a boy receives two " black babies " he is called " black baby
half whitewashed."
The game goes on until some one player receives three
" black babies." As soon as this occurs the culprit takes the
ball, retires to a wall, fence, or tree, and with his left hand
and right foot resting against the tree, wall, or fence, which
he must face, he throws the ball over his shoulder as far as
he can. The spot where it strikes the ground is marked by
the other boys with a taw line, and from this line each
player in turn has the privilege of throwing the ball at the
unfortunate owner of three " black babies," who stands with
his back bent and his head resting against the wall.
This may appear hard on the unlucky " black baby "
boy, but and here is the chance for which he is watching
every miss entitles the " black baby " to a throw at the
bad marksman. After each thrower has had three shots at
the culprit then the misses are called, and each in turn
takes his place at the stake and receives his punishment
until all debts are paid.
One game will give to a crowd of boys sufficient ex-
ercise and harmless fun to occupy the time between the
close of school and tea-time. Then home you go, glowing
with health and good nature, to wash and dress for the
evening meal.
Roily Poly
is only another name for Black Baby or Nigger Baby, and
is played in the same manner.
Games of Ball 349
Hat Ball
is a variation of the same game, the difference being that in
place of holes in the ground each player places his hat on
the sidewalk or play-ground in the same order in which
the holes in the other game are arranged. Of course it is
evident that the ball cannot be rolled into the hats, and the
boy who has the ball tosses it in one of the hats. All the
boys scatter except the one whose hat contains the ball.
Five "babies" put a boy out and condemn him to the
penalty prescribed in Black Baby.
CHAPTER XXX
MUMBLY PEG, HOP-SCOTCH, AND JACK
STONES
The Motions of Stick-knife Universality of the Game of Hop-Scotch
As Played in Different Countries Different Games with Jack
Stones.
A SUMMER'S day, a shady nook, a close-cropped green
sod, two or three boys, and a jack-knife are the things
necessary for a quiet game of Mumbly Peg.
The first player takes the knife and goes through as
much of the game as he can without a blunder. The
second follows in turn, doing the same. The last one to
perform all of the difficult feats is beaten, and must pull a
peg, two inches long, from the ground with his teeth. The
winner drives the peg with the knife-handle for a hammer,
being allowed, by the rules of the game, three blows with
his eyes open, and three with his eyes closed.
This usually drives the peg out of sight in the sod, and
in that case the boys cry :
"Root! Root!"
as the defeated player, unaided by aught but his teeth,
literally roots, until, with a dirty face and a broad grin, he
lifts his head, showing the peg between his teeth. From
the penalty that the loser pays comes the name of
Mumbly or Mumbelty-Peg.
Mumbly Peg, Hop-Scotch, Jack Stones 351
The Feats
are these :
First. Hold the right fist with back to the ground and
with the jack-knife, with blade pointing to the right, resting
on top of the closed fingers (Fig. 282). The hand is swung
to the right, up and over, describing a semicircle, so that
the knife falls point downward and sticks, or should stick,
upright in the ground (Fig. 283). If there is room to slip
two fingers, one above the other, beneath the handle of the
Top Vie.w
FIG. 282.
FIG. 283.
FIGS. 282, 283. First Feat
FIG. 284. Third Feat
knife and if the point of the knife is hidden in the ground,
it counts as a fair stick or throw.
Second. The next motion is the same as the one just
described, but is performed with the left hand.
Third. Take the point of the blade between the first
and second fingers of the right hand, and fillip it with a
jerk so that the knife turns once around in the air and
strikes the point into the ground (Fig. 284).
Fourth. Do the same with the left hand.
352
Summer
Fifth. Hold the knife as in the third and fourth
positions, and bring the arm across the chest so that the
knife-handle touches the left ear. Take hold of the right
ear with the left hand and fillip the knife so that it turns
once or twice in the air and strikes on its point in the
earth (Fig. 285).
Sixth. Do the same with the left hand.
Seventh. Still holding the knife in the same manner,
FIG. 285. Fifth Feat.
FIG. 286. Seventh Feat.
bring the handle up to the nose and fillip it over through
the air, so that it will stick in the ground (Fig. 286).
Eighth. Do the same with the handle at the right eye.
Ninth. Repeat, with the handle at the left eye.
Tenth. Place the point of the blade on top of the head.
Hold it in place with the forefinger, and with downward
push send it whirling down to the earth, where it must
stick with the point of blade in the earth (Fig. 287).
Eleventh to Fifteenth. Hold the left hand with the fin-
gers pointing up, and, beginning with the thumb, place the
point of the knife on each finger as described above, and
Mumbly Peg, Hop-Scotch, Jack Stones 353
PIG. 287. Tenth Feat.
and the forefinger of
the forefinger of the
right hand on the
end of the knife-
handle. By a down-
ward motion, throw
the knife revolving
through the air, so
that it will alight
with the point of the
blade in the sod (Fig.
288).
Sixteenth to Twen-
tieth. Repeat, with FIG. 288. -Elev-
enth Feat.
the right hand up
the left hand on the knife-handle.
Twenty-first, Twenty-second. Do the same from each knee.
Twen ty- tJi ird.
Hold the point of
the blade between
the first and sec-
ond fingers and,
placing the hand
on the forehead,
fillip the knife
back over the
head, so that it
will stick in the
ground behind
the player ready
for the next mo-
t i o n (Fig. 289 ;
dotted lines show
flight of knife).
FIG. 289. Twenty-third Feat.
354
Summer
Twenty-fourth. After twenty-three the knife is left in the
ground. Then with the palm of the hand strike the knife-
handle a smart blow that will send it revolving over the
ground for a yard, more or less, and cause it to stick in
the ground where it stops. This is called " ploughing the
field " (Fig. 290 ; dotted lines show flight of knife).
FIG. 290. Ploughing the Field.
When a miss is made the next player takes his turn,
and when the first player's turn comes again he must try
the feat over that he failed to perform last. A good
player will sometimes go through almost all the twenty-
four motions without failing to make a " two-finger " that
is, a fair stick, each time ; but it is very unusual for anyone
to run the game out in one inning. This is the game in
twenty-four motions ; many boys play it with double that
number.
Hop-Scotch.
One would suppose that where thousands of children
are every year killed by wild beasts and poisonous snakes,
and where boys and girls are compelled to marry like
grown-up people, the boys would be so busy fighting
tigers, killing snakes, and attending weddings that they
would find no time in which to play. But in India, where
all these things take place, such is not the case. The
games the young East Indians play are perhaps as numer-
ous as those in vogue in America, and many of them are
Mumbly Peg, Hop-Scotch, Jack Stones 355
the same. Often the little natives may be seen hopping
around on one brown, bare foot regardless of snakes in-
tent upon the game of hop-scotch.
From far Hindoostan, all the way across the map of
Europe and Great Britain, in every town, chalked on the
sidewalk or scratched on the ground, may be found
the boys' hop-scotch courts. Not content with crossing
the English Channel, this popular game has traversed the
wide Atlantic and spread all over the United States, and it
is only a matter of time when, by the way of California
and the Pacific Islands, it will reach Japan and China. The
whole world will then be encircled with a chain of hop-
scotch courts, and who will dare to say that it is not a pop-
ular game ?
The Hop-Scotch Court
is drawn with chalk or a soft brick on the stone flags of a
sidewalk, or is scratched with a stick on a piece of hard,
level ground. It is about twenty feet long and five or six
feet wide. Figs. 291, 292, and 293 show some English
courts, and Fig. 294 shows an American court. Fig. 295
is a modification of the American court made so that the
flags of the pavement make the courts and only require a
few cross lines and numbering.
A taw line is drawn a short distance from the court. In
England the last division or sub-court at the top of the main
court is called "cat's cradle" or "plum pudding;" in Italy,
the "bell;" in New York, the "pot," and in Austria, the
" temple."
The little Italian boys -give a religious significance
to the game by calling the last three divisions Infernal
Regions, Purgatory, and Paradise; and it must be very
encouraging to them, because if they play long enough they
are sure to reach Paradise,
356
Summer
The Potsherd.
Originally a broken piece of crockery, a shell, or a small
flat stone was used for the potsherd to play with, but now a
bit of old tin folded and refolded, and hammered flat with
a hammer, brick, or any other heavy object, is the favorite
potsherd, though a piece of brick or a stone is often used.
10
4-
II
FIG. 291. An English Court with Eleven
Subdivisions and a Plum Pudding.
FIG. 292. The Six Divisioned English
Court with Cradle,
Mumbly Peg, Hop-Scotch, Jack Stones 357
FIG. 293. The Simplest English Court FIG. 294. A Typical American Court with
with Cat's Cradle. Ten Subdivisions.
The Game.
After deciding who shall be first, second, etc., the player
stands at taw and tosses the potsherd into division number
one (Fig. 294). Hopping on one foot over the line into
number one and still keeping one foot raised, he makes a
hop-kick with the other and sends the potsherd out of the
358
Summer
court. Whenever he fails to do so the next player takes a
turn.
After kicking out of number one the player returns to
taw and tosses the tin into number two. Then he "jumps a
straddle," that is, he jumps
so as to straddle the division
line between number one
and number two, with one
foot in each of these divi-
sions of the court, and with-
out lifting up either foot he
makes a sliding kick, send-
ing the tin into number one.
Then hopping into that di-
vision he makes another
hop-kick, sending the pot-
sherd out.
In this manner all the
divisions are played, with a
straddle jump over the di-
viding lines at four and
five and eight and nine,
the player always going
through the lower divisions
as he came, with a hop or a
straddle. At ten, after hop-
ping three times around in
the " pot," he strikes the
potsherd with his toe and
sends it through all the di-
visions toward the taw line,
FIG. 295. An American Court Adapted to
Stones of Sidewalk.
clear of the court, returning with hops and straddles the
way he came.
Mumbly Peg, Hop-Scotch, Jack Stones 359
Sometimes at seven and ten he is required, while still
standing on one foot, to pick up the potsherd, place it on
the top of his ground foot, and then with a hop-kick throw
it toward taw, clear of the court. Or with an upward
jerk he may send the potsherd up in the air, catch it with
his hands, replace it in the court, and kick it out without
touching his foot to the ground. After doing the " pot,"
" plum pudding," " cat's cradle," or paradise, he goes back-
ward through all the divisions to number one, and the
game is finished.
In Fig. 293, with four divisions and a cradle, there are no
straddles. In Fig. 292, with six divisions and a cradle, there
are no straddles, but in Fig. 291, with eleven divisions and
a plum pudding, there is a straddle at two and three, eight
and six, ten and eleven, and a " pick up and kick," as
described above, at four and nine and the plum pudding.
In the American game (Fig. 295) there is a straddle at one
and two, a single at three, a straddle at four and five, a
single at six, a straddle at seven and eight, and a single at
nine. When the potsherd is pitched into ten, the player
hops into one, straddles into one and two, hops into three,
hops into four, straddles into four and five, hops into six,
straddles into seven and eight, hops into nine, hops into the
space surrounding the small pot ten, and then, without
putting his foot to the ground, hops three times around
the centre pot and into it.
If he is successful so far, he kicks the potsherd toward
taw out of the court, and returns the way he came.
If there is any one who looks with contempt upon this
game, thinking it a simple baby play, let him attempt this
last feat and ever afterward he will consider Hop-scotch a
sport in which it requires no small amount of skill to suc-
ceed.
360 Summer
Grounds Out.
When the player touches his foot or hand to the
ground it is called " grounds," and he is out.
When a player pitches the potsherd in the wrong divi-
sion or on a line, he is out.
When he kicks it into the wrong division or on a line,
he is out ; and in each case the next in turn plays from taw,
and the other players, when their turns come around again,
begin at the division they failed in.
Hop-Scotch on Stilts.
If any one of my readers wishes to try a game that will
test his athletic skill, let him try hop-scotch on the simplest
English court (Fig. 293) with a pair of " gadabouts," such
as are described in Chapter VIII., strapped to his legs, and
he will find it no simple game.
Jack Stones.
This is another game that was old when Greek civiliza-
tion was young. " Chuckie stanes," " chuck stones," " five
stones," and " knuckle-bones," are some of the names by
which the game has been known. Knuckle-bones were in
favor for use in this game two thousand years ago and are
still used. White, water-washed pebbles ; crockery stilts,
which are little three-legged bits of earthenware upon
which china and earthenware are placed when firing ; iron
stilts, made in imitation of the crockery ones ; " lucky
stones," which are bones from the inside of the head of the
fresh-water fish called sheepsheads; and marbles, are all
used in this country for jacks. But perhaps the best are
the earthenware stilts with an agate (marble) for the jack.
Mumbly Peg, Hop-Scotch, J ' ack Stones 361
FIG. 298.
Jack is the name given to the
stone which is thrown up
while the different feats are Fia 296
performed.
First Jack.
The game opens with one FlG< 297>
player taking the five stones
in his hand. Holding the
hand, palm up (Fig. 296), he
tosses them into the air (Fig.
297). Before the stones have
time to descend the player
turns his hand over and
catches as many as he can on
the back of the hand (Fig.
298). These, he again tosses
up (Fig. 299), and before they
descend he picks up those
jacks that he failed to catch
on the back of his hand (Fig.
300). Quickly turning the
hand he catches the descend-
ing jacks, and now holds all
five in his fist (Fig. 301).
Whenever a player fails the
next in turn takes the jacks.
After successfully catching
the jacks on the back of the
hand, or picking up all that FIG. 303.
fell off, the player does the
second feat, called
FIG. 299.
FIG. 300.
,,,. ONTMt
B*CK Of THt HANI
FIG. 301.
362 Summer
Ones.
First rolling the stones from his hand on to the ground,
he throws his Jack up, and before it falls, picks up a stone.
Again tossing up Jack he picks up another, continuing
until all are successfully picked up from the ground. The
next play is called
- Twos.
Again rolling the stones on the earth and tossing Jack
aloft, the player picks up two stones at a time, and, sending
Jack up again he picks up the remaining two. This same
process is repeated in
Threes ;
but in this play one is picked up first and three at the next
toss, or three first and one afterward.
Fours.
All four stones must be picked up while Jack is in the
air.
Drive the Horses in their Stalls.
Roll the stones from the hand on to the ground, and
place the left hand with fingers spread apart on the ground
near the jack stones. Toss Jack aloft, and before he comes
down, drive one of the stones between the outspread first
and second fingers. This is called putting the horse in the
stable or stall. Do the same with all the other stones.
Then in succession
Drive the Horses Out of their Stalls.
Toss Jack up, and while he is in the air fillip one horse
out. Repeat the action with all the others, then bunch
them together and pick up all four, and catch Jack as he
descends.
Mumbly Peg, Hop-Scotch, J ack Stones 363
Jumping the Hurdles.
Place the four horses (jack stones) in a line. Then toss
Jack up, and before he comes down, pick up the first and
third stones together and catch Jack as he comes down.
The second and fourth are next caught up together and
Jack is caught as he falls.
Base-ball.
Four of the Jacks are placed to represent the four bases
on the base-ball field. Jack is sent aloft and the jack stone
at home base is picked up and deposited at first base and
Jack is caught as he falls. Jack is again tossed up, and the
second base is run in the same manner, and then the third,
and then the home base.
Now the first-base man is picked up and set down at the
second, then the first and second are picked up together
and set down at third, then the first, second, and third are
all taken up at one time and set down at home base. Then
as Jack is again tossed up all four are taken up at the same
time and Jack is caught before he reaches the ground.
Cats in the Well.
The Jacks are rolled from the hand on to the ground ;
these are the cats. Then the left hand of the player is placed
near them with the fist lightly closed, the thumb and first fin-
ger forming the opening to the well. Jack is now thrown
up, and while he is in the air, one of the four cats on the
ground is picked up and put in the well. The same oper-
ation is repeated with the second, third, and fourth cat, until
all have been drowned in the well. The left hand is now
taken away and the dead cats are left in a bunch. Jack is
364 Summer
tossed up and all four of the cats are picked up before Jack
comes down.
Sending the People to Church.
Again the stones are spilled upon the ground. This
time they have changed from dead cats to well-dressed
people, but people who need urging before they will go to
church. The left hand is placed with fingers crooked and
spread apart. The ends of the fingers resting on the
ground form the bases to the arched doorways of the
church, while the hollowed palm forms the ceiling and
the back of the hand the roof.
Jack is now sent up and one of the Sunday idlers is
driven through one of the five doorways into the church.
One at a time, all four are sent to church. Then all four
are gathered up while Jack is above, and Jack joins them
when he is caught as he returns to earth.
When girls play Jack-stones they use a pretty marble
for Jack, select a stone step to play upon, and allow Jack
to strike the step aftid catch him on the rebound. They
also have a number of feats generally ignored by the
boys. This being a boys' book, these feats, such as " peas
in a pod," "setting the table," "doves in a cot," "spin-
ning the plate," "knock at the door," "pick up a pin,"
"light a match," "washing the clothes," will be left for
books written for girls.
CHAPTER XXXI
PRACTICAL HINTS FOR BICYCLISTS
Regarding Baggage and how to Carry it A Photographer's Outfit on a
Wheel A Collector's Box How to Deal with Punctures An Ex-
temporized Handle Bar A Rope Tire A Cleaning Rack, and a
Bicycle Stand.
THERE is only one way to learn to ride a bicycle, and
that is, to straddle a wheel and try ; but there are thou-
sands of practical and useful things to learn after you are
able to ride. Every boy knows how to strap his coat on
the handle bars, and most of them can carry various parcels,
but there are some articles of
Baggage
that need special care. It is customary in ordinary wheel-
ing to strip a machine of every ounce of weight not abso-
lutely necessary. Many riders travel without even a tool-
bag, pump, or wrench. This is absurd, for the additional
weight of a few tools cannot possibly be sufficient to make
any appreciable difference to an ordinary road-rider.
Of course, if you are a "scorcher," and are out to pass
everything you meet on the road, the less weight you carry
the better time you can make. But the wheel is used by
most boys for other purposes. In Flushing, Long Island,
it is no uncommon thing to see one of the local colony of
artists wheeling merrily along with sketching easel and
umbrella strapped to his handle-bars, and paint-box and
3 66
Summer
canvas swung in the frame beneath him. Nor is it an
uncommon sight, in the spring, to see the trout fishermen,
men and boys, passing by on their bicycles with their
jointed fishing-rods strapped to their handle bars and their
creels on their backs.
This suggests a variety of uses that boys may make of
their wheels.
How to Carry Photographic Outfit on a Wheel.
The top diagram shows the arrangement of straps on Mr.
Hemment's camera, Fig. 303. This gentleman is the official
FIG. 303.
FIG. 304.
Photographic Outfit.
FIG. 305.
photographer for Leslie s Weekly, and carries his eight-by-
ten camera and five-feet tripod on his wheel. The tripod is
strapped to the handle-bars and the camera is strapped on
in front, as shown in Fig. 304, side view, and Fig. 305, front
view of the same. The straps allow a certain amount of
movement, which is necessary for safety. If the camera is
Practical Hints for Bicyclists
367
fastened too tightly to the machine the constant jarring of
the bicycle will be more than likely to result in injury to the
plates or other apparatus.
But all boys are not photographers. Some are fish-
ermen and need only to strap their rods to their handle-
FIG. 306. Bicycle Stand and Naturalist Outfit
bars. Most of them are great collectors of something, and
many are interested in making cabinets of beetles, butter-
flies, and moths ; or in collecting various small creatures,
such as toads, frogs, snails, and even snakes. These boys
will be glad to know
How to Rig the American Boy Naturalist's Wheel.
The drawing, Fig. 306, it will be seen, shows a wheel
loaded with bags for tools, bottles, boxes, lunch, and vari-
ous knick-knacks essential to the outfit of a naturalist
collector. Cut paper patterns for the different boxes, so
that they will fit the particular machine for which they are
designed. Make the boxes of stiff pasteboard. Divide the
largest box or bag into as many subdivisions as will best
meet your requirements. Make the compartments of paste-
368 Summer
board, and keep them in place by pasting cloth along the
edges on both sides.
After all the divisions are made, line the whole inside of
the box with cloth and sew it in neatly, turning in all the
rough edges. Next make a cover of pasteboard and cut a
door for each compartment. Cover the inside with cloth,
sewed on neatly. Sew the cover itself to the box. Make
the doors or lids for the compartments, and make each
considerably larger than the opening it is to cover. Line
the inside of each lid with cloth, leaving a flap for a hinge,
and cover the outside with enamelled cloth. Sew the
linings to box so that the lids will cover the proper
openings, and cover the whole outside of the box with
enamelled cloth. Use an awl or big darning-needle with
which to punch holes, when you are sewing the paste-
board. Do not sew the enamel cloth to the box. Cut
holes to correspond to the various doors, leaving flaps to
turn in, and sew the flaps to the lining on the inside.
There is no mystery about the art of sewing a thing of
this kind. It is not a girl's work, and few of them could do
it ; but any boy who will take pains can, and a boy who
will not take pains will never make a collector.
All that remains to be done now is to
Add the Straps and Buttons.
Sew short straps or pieces of tape to the box to fasten it
by buckling or by tying it to the frame, and small straps on
the lids with slits in the ends for button-holes. Put some
round buttons on the box to which you can button the
straps, thus fastening the lids. The small boxes under the
seats can be made in the same manner; but, being without
divisions, they are so simple that they need no further
explanation.
Practical Hints for Bicyclists 369
As to Punctures.
The dreaded carpet -tack, the lurking horseshoe, with
rusty nails sticking up like the fangs of a serpent, the
treacherous broken bottles, and the innocent-looking clam-
shells, are all mortal enemies of the inflated rubber tires
and lose no opportunity to stab or cut the rubber and spoil
the cycler's ride. It is supposed that every rider goes pre-
pared for such emergencies, but observation teaches that
many do not, and all should know
How to Stop a Puncture with Chewing-Gum,
or any other sticky substance that can be procured. A
nail or tack hole can be temporarily mended with chewing,
gum in the following manner: Let all the air out of the
tire, make a small wooden paddle, and with this implement
poke the gum through the hole from the outside of the tire,
flatten what is left over the outside and bind on a piece of
rag or a part of your pocket-handkerchief. Do this neatly.
Then pump up the tire, and the compressed air on the in-
side will flatten the wax over the inside of the hole and
prevent the escape of air, so that you may reach home
without another application of the pump.
Not long ago the New York Journal told of a cyclist
who broke his handle-bar and patched it up so that he was
able to ride his machine a long distance, reaching home in
safety. His method is a common-sense one, and all boys
should know
How to Rig a Jury Handle-Bar.
Take two elastic saplings and bind them securely to the
front fork, as shown in the front view (Fig. 307). Lash 9
stout stick to the handle-bar, holding the broken part in
37
Summer
place. Bind the ends of the fork-sticks securely to this and
you have a jury bar that, though it may work a little
stiffly, will enable you to ride home, which, even in a short
distance, is a much pleasanter ending to a
ride than walking and leading a crippled
wheel.
It sometimes happens that from con-
tact with the knife-like edge of a piece of
tin or glass, a slit is cut in the tire, so large
that it is impracticable to attempt to mend
it on the road. In such a case
A Rope Tire
will often enable the rider to reach home
without humiliating himself by walking
and leading his wheel. A few yards of
clothes-line borrowed, begged, or bought
from some wayside house, will enable you
to make an old-fashioned solid tire. Re-
move the rubber tire, tie it to your handle-
bar, and take the rope and bend one end
diagonally across the hollow in the rim
of the wheel. Then wind the rope care-
fully around, over the bent end of the rope, around again
alongside of the first length until the rim is covered.
Keep the line tight and wind it until it fills up the hol-
low and is considerably higher in the middle than at the
sides. The neater this work is done the more comfortable
will be your ride home. When the rope tire is complete
pry up the side lap and force the free end of the rope diag-
onally under until it comes out on the other side. Draw it
taut and cut off the end flush with the outer wrapping.
Now pour water all over the rope until it is thoroughly
FIG. 307.
Practical Hints for Bicyclists
wet, this will cause it to shrink and become firm and
hard. All that remains to be done is for you to jump on
your wheel and start for your destination.
When you reach home after a ride you should always
clean your wheel. To do this it is best to turn the wheel
upside down. The work of cleaning is made more pleasant
if you have a repairing stool.
How to Make a Cleaning and Repairing Rack.
It is a simple but most convenient affair, and varies in
dimensions with the wheel that it is intended to support.
FIG. 308.
FIG. 309.
The first drawing, Fig. 308, shows a side view with the
wheel upside down, ready to be cleaned ; the second, Fig.
309, shows the construction of the bench. The front slots
for the handle bars must be covered with cloth, stuffed
with cotton ; and the bench in the rear must have a cushion
made by tacking on a piece of cloth and filling the upper
part loosely with hair, moss, cotton, or excelsior.
The only safe way to stable your machine is to have a
stand of some kind for it, and the most simple stand is the
best.
372 Summer
How to Make a Bicycle Stand.
Select a good straight-grained piece of plank, of any
kind of wood, an inch and one-half or two inches thick, and
twelve or fourteen inches wide. Saw off a piece eighteen
inches long for the base of your stand. Saw out a slit
in the middle of the stand nine inches long and a trifle
wider than the tire of your wheel. With your pocket-
FIG. 310. FIG. 311.
knife, or chisel, round off the sharp edges of the slit, and
cut a slot from the bottom of the plank, at the end of the
slit, to the top. Round this out so that it will fit loosely to
a wheel pushed in the slit. At the end of this hollow bore
two holes, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, to hold
a stiff wire which is bent over in a loop to receive the tire
of the wheel (Fig. 306). This wire can be taken out and the
board set up against the wall when it is not in use, or both
may be hung up in the hall closet, out of the way. When
you wish to stable your wheel take down the base, set it on
the floor, put the wire in place, and back your wheel in the
Practical Hints for Bicyclists 373
slot until the rear tire is held by the wire loop. This will
keep the wheel upright, with no danger of its being
knocked over.
The last two diagrams, Figs. 310 and 311, show how to
decorate a wheel for
A Night Parade.
The illustrations are made from the two wheels which took
the first and second prize in a parade. The first, Fig. 310,
was simply a very large Japanese umbrella, with Japanese
lanterns suspended from the ribs. The lanterns illuminated
the whole umbrella, which, when seen at a distance, had
the appearance of a large colored balloon. The second,
Fig. 311, was rather sparsely decorated with lanterns, but
plentifully supplied with streamers of all colors, which the
light from the lanterns brought out in brilliant effect. In
appearance the rider was sailing in a boat.
Autumn
CHAPTER XXXII
POINTS ON CAMPING OUT
How to Make a Fire in the Woods on a Rainy Day To get a Light
Without Matches The Diamond Hitch, and a Home-made Cinch.
" LAFE, I can't make a fire ; we have no paper and the
wood's all wet."
Lafe is a Pike County backwoodsman. He only smiled ;
then shouldering his axe he walked over to a moss-covered
log that lay on the ground as sog-
gy and wet as a sponge in the
water. With a few blows from
the butt end of his axe he knocked
out of the rotten wood the rem-
nants of what were once the noble
limbs of a giant pine-tree. These
remnants were now nothing more
than spike-shaped clubs, the larg-
est not over two feet long.
" Here's what we use in the
woods for paper," said Lafe.
Upon examination, we discov-
ered that the spike-shaped clubs
were almost as heavy as lead, but
it was not water that gave them
weight; it was the sap of the tree,
the pitch, that colored them a rich red and made them hard
FIG. 312. The Fire Won't Burn.
378 Autumn
and impervious to rain. Lafe pulled out his one-bladed jack-
knife and began to whittle the pine stick, but he allowed no
shavings to become detached (Fig. 313). When he had three
cut in the manner shown in the ac-
companying drawing (Fig. 314), he
set them up on the ground, with the
small ends down and the big ends
resting against each other, placed as
the sticks are that form the frame of
an Indian wigwam. He touched a
FIG. 313. A FIG. 314. lighted match to the shavings, and
K^ot. ' Pine liS! ing * he immeidately a flame burst forth with
a black smoke. Selecting some
sticks he had previously split in halves, he piled them
around the blazing pine-knots in a conical wigwam fashion,
and soon we had a fire that was hot enough to ignite the
wet, unsplit wood we gathered.
Building a Fire Without Matches.
After the coffee was boiled and the fish fried and the
boys' clothes partially dried, they made haste to ply Lafe
with questions.
" How would you build a fire, if your matches were wet,
or if you had none ? " asked Tom.
" I generally calculate to keep my matches dry and
always keep some about me," answered the woodsman ; " but
in case, as you say, I had none, I'd put a light charge of
powder in my gun and a loose wad of cotton rag and shoot
in the air, and then double the red-hot ashes of the rag up
and blow on it until it flamed up.
" Or, if I find that I am running out of matches, I take
a piece of cotton cloth and dry it at the fire, heating it until
Points on Camping Out 379
it is almost charred ; then I dampen the rag and rub gun-
powder into its fibres as hard as I can until I can rub no
more powder in. After that I dry the rag thoroughly
again and put it in a bottle, tin box, or horn, cork it up
tight and keep it until I need it. With the back of my
knife-blade for a steel and a piece of flint, I strike a spark
that sets the rag a-burning and fold the glowing rag up,
cover it with shavings, twisted straw or punk, and blow it
into a flame."
Things Worth Remembering.
" Tamarack is a very good wood,
If you can get it dry,
But to make a fire of green tamarack,
I'll be a fool to try."
An Indian builds a small camp-
fire and hugs it, a white man makes
a roaring big fire
and stands away
from it.
In selecting a
camping-place never forget that
the presence of good firewood
in abundance is a matter of grave
importance. A standing dead ce-
dar will furnish the best of kind-
ling wood. Green, soft woods,
spruce, and white birch, burn
badly and are difficult to ignite.
To build a fire that will burn
all night, select a couple of good
heavy sticks for andirons, and a FIG. 315. A Camper.
380
Aittitmn
quantity of green hardwood, maple, yellow birch, or beech,
for fuel. Across the andirons lay all the fuel sticks in
the same direction parallel with each other; in this
position they will burn slowly and smoulder for a long
time. A large tree, or, better still, a large rock at the back
of your fire will retain and reflect the heat.
FIG. 316. The Author's Camp at Big Tink, Pike County, Penn.
Always select a well-drained spot, or a slight elevation
for a place to pitch your tent or build your shack ; this will
prevent an exceedingly disagreeable experience of awaken,
ing during a rain-storm to find your tent, floor, and blankets
soaked with water. The presence of a neighboring spring,
or other water-supply for drinking and cooking, of course,
must not be overlooked.
Points on Camping Out 381
Never pitch your tent in a hollow or depression, or you
may find yourself in the middle of a pond. Soldiers always
dig a ditch around their tents. The floor, which is often
your bed, can be covered with straw, if straw is obtainable ;
if not, fir-boughs ; these lie flatter than spruce. It is best
to lay the foundation of good-sized branches, cover them
with smaller ones, and over all place a deep layer of fir-
twigs broken off the length of your hand, and laid shingle-
fashion, commencing at the foot of your bed, or the door-
way of your shack or tent, each succeeding row of boughs
covering the thick ends of the previous row. A properly
made bough-bed is as comfortable as a mattress, but one in
which the ends of the sticks prod your ribs all night is not
a couch that tends to make a comf 
