534 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Fcr Forest and Stream and Rod and Jl tin. 

 ON SKATES. 



IN these degenerate days we have no such skaters as there 

 were in the sturdy old times. Notwithstanding the great 

 popularity to which it attained only a lew years ago, the aver- 

 age skater now requires more territory than ever in order to 

 exhibit his spasmodic skill He is very much such an artist 

 as that ambitious academician who ordered a hundred square 

 yards of canvas on which to paint a landscape that would 

 have looked much better if reduced to ten feet by seven. In 

 skating, as in many other arts, wo do not condense and con- 

 centrate. It is only the most perfect among artists who can 

 reproduce „in perspective upon infinitesimal surface. The 

 ability to do so is gained only by constant practice and earnest 

 application. The vast area of our country and our lack of 

 years seem to lead us into corresponding ideas of doing 

 things, and unless we attempt them on a grand scale— like 

 that fellow who went " around the world on skates" — they 

 attract no attention, although to compass the globe on skates 

 requires less preparation than to write one's name backward 

 on the ice with skates, or dance a minuet under the same con- 

 ditions. 



No doubt the god TJller, of ancient fame, derived much 

 of his reputed beauty by reason of his fondness for skating. 

 At all events, with the single exception of walking, there 'is 

 no more natural or healthful exercise than skating. But as 

 with dancing, swimming and various other amusements, we 

 are apt to overdo it in the attempt to make excess answer for 

 frequent and regular practice. It is only the strong, healthy 

 man or woman, with plenty of leisure and funds, who can 

 undertake long-distance skating. To those in suitable con- 

 dition, however, this affords the keenest pleasure imaginable, 

 especially it the additional charm of accomplished skating 

 has been acquired j for stretching away upon a frozen lake 

 or river, where the ice has no visible limit, is a magnificent 

 sport. In Scotland and Ireland, and other extremely cold 

 countries, it is not an unusual thing to see parties of three or 

 five spending weeks and months on the polished blades, visit- 

 ing widely several localities, and making an average of fifty 

 or even seventy-five miles a day. 



It is only at rare intervals that such expeditions can be un- 

 dertaken in the United States, owing to the extremes of at- 

 mospheric changes and frequent heavy snows ; therefore, we 

 must be content with fine-art skating and a day's excite- 

 ment "all along shore," in pursuit of deer and fox. A 

 thrilling adventure of the latter description once came under 

 my observation, not far from the headwaters of the Chenango 

 and Susquehanna rivers. I was skating with a friend on the 

 former river, about five miles north of BiugbamtOD. It was 

 a clear, cold day, with a bright sun, two feet of snow on the 

 ground, including a light crust, yet not a flake on the beauti- 

 ful ice, for the swift river had not closed until most of the 

 snow fell, and the little that had lain for a day or two had 

 melted in the February sun, which came out genial and kind 

 after the long storm. It was near the closa of the month, 

 and the sun was high, his welcome smile having tempted us 

 out in pursuit of ducks, which came a long distance to one 

 of the many coves in that vicinity, where water from several 

 liviDg springs kept the cove open, although there was an 

 average of five inches of ice in mid-channel. This place was 

 on lands belonging to the old half-mile square Indian reser- 

 vation, known as "Glen Castle" and " Cascade!, " the latter 

 a beautiful brook, which empties into the river further south; 

 The farm then belonged to a gentleman in New York named 

 Pierson. The " Castle Farm," as it was sometimes called, 

 contained 800 acres, and had every variety of landscape within 

 its bounds. At that time a grove existed near the mouth of 

 Oascadel, in which the ring where the Indians danced round 

 their camp-fire was plainly marked, as no tree or uuderbrusn 

 would grow where so many feet had stamped the sod in days 

 and nights gone by. This grove covered an acre or 

 two, and had chestnut, pine, beech and oak within 

 it, and several fine beech trees, as well as oak sprouts grow in 

 the centre of this camp-fire-ring, as we then called it. This 

 was a famous place, for the poor Indians were hurried at the 

 base of the knoll on which this grove stood, and the brook, 

 which comes down from the northwest, makes a graceful 

 curve to the southward around the knoll, so that during high 

 water it washed out not only flint arrow heads and old Queen 

 Anno cents, but bones of the fatod red men as well. As a 

 boy 1 have picked up many curious relics of the vanished 

 race thereabout, and remember reading in Wilkinson's " An- 

 nals of Binghamton " the particulars of the sale of the reserva- 

 tion which, by means of fire-water and fraud, the Indians 

 were induced to part with for our old rifles. 



The cove is formed by setting back of the river upon marshy 

 land extending southwestward to a circular ridge in the old 

 orchard where the Indians had a stockaded or palisaded in- 

 olosure which they designated as "the castle," and within 

 which some twenty or thirty families kept their lodge fires 

 burning. The river abounded with fish of many kinds— I 

 have Been very large bass caught there in my time— and the 

 hills were alive with deer and small game of nearly every 

 variety. It was a paradise for the braves, and but for the red 

 man's love of the pale- face's firewater their descendants 

 might have been enjoying it still. On the day described my 

 friend carried a double barreled side and side shot-gun, and I 

 had my splendid little top-and-bottom rifle and shot, built by 

 Stuart, of Binghamton— a capital gunsmith, b}^ the way, who 

 still lives, notwithstanding some terrible adventures in the 

 wilds of South and Central America. 1 was a boy then, and 

 our guns were muzzle-loaders. The " breech-butters," as we 

 named the Other kind, were ouly just making their appear- 

 ance, and we did not like them, for our old 'una would not 

 only reach further but shoot more accurately than the breech- 

 loaders, which have since been greatly improved, I am glad to 

 add, and consequently my prejudice has been softened ; but 

 BO strong is habit within us that if I were goiug ducking to- 

 morrow I would much prefer the old muzzle-loader, for the 

 others have a " measly trie!.: of missing" yet, which 1 do not 

 like or care to get better acquainted with. 



The traveler coming south over the A. & S. or S. & B. 

 branch of the D. L. & W. may see the cove, as it is in plain 

 sight of the Iron bridge, a few rods south of Chenango Bridge 

 Station, on the latter railway. The river makes a sharp bend 

 to the southward about half a mile west oC the bridge, and in 

 the elbow of the curve thus formed is the scene 1 have de- 

 scribed. 



As my friend and I were skimming on up the river with 



Our gUUB thrown into the hollows of our left arms and our 

 skates making a subdued " CQ-t'-T-r " in the bs tl jlai i ic 

 caught Bight, almost instantaneously, of two bibeds apparently 



covered with blood from head to loot. Tbev were half or 



three-quarters of a mile distant up the rive/ and n( 



posite or eastern shore. Thej were on skates 



like ourselves, and somewhere fur in <■. "■"'.." 



a strip of woodland, we could hear that long, nm- 



hound, which is unmistakable evidence of B strong « at 



My friend elevated his toes with anexc i 

 meut, and as bis skates ground into the ice, making a shower 

 of its glittering dust fly right and left, be i 



" What now ? Are the red men returning '(" 



Before. I had time to reply a loud shout and violent gesticu- 

 tions from the reds, as we afterward designated them, induced 

 us to look down stn s, not more than 



away, a string of three foxes were making a bee. line for the 

 opposite bank, which was about 1,000 feet" ahead of them. 



While my friend and I stood looking at the tempting sight, 

 but withholding our fire, a rifle cracked behind us, and a 

 heavy ball passed between us, killing the middle and 

 largest fox instantly. We never measured the distance 

 between us, but agreed to call it five feet, although my 

 impression at that lime was, and continues to be, that it 

 did not exceed three feet. The free flight of the. ball was not 

 less than halt a mile, and may have been a hundred feet more. 

 To say that we were frightened does not I 

 tice. I never shall forget the vicious hiss of that IpDg 1 all if 

 I live a century. There was nolhing to be said ami we said 

 nothing, but I saw my friend's knees tremble as be turned to 

 look at the fellows who were hastening toward us, while the 

 rear and leading fox went up the bank like cats, and the 

 hound came down across the eastern flats at full speed. Not 

 an instant did he lose at the dead fox, but gained the western 

 shore and w r as gone several seconds before the hunters came 

 up to us. We could now see that they wore red flannel un- 

 derclothing, and nothing else except boots. I afterward 

 learnedjwhat I did not [know at the time, that the flannels 

 were double, that is, each man wearing two sets. 



" Was you scarte, boys?" asked the larger fellow as they 

 came up. 



" No," said I ; " but we are now. Don't youconsider such 

 experiments rather dangerous r" 



"Per the fox— yes ! Come down, and we'll have a look at 

 him." 



" What's your name?" asked my friend, as we turned about 

 and skated leisurely back. 

 ' " Ain't any — folks too poor to gin me one." 



It was a year or more before we could learn his family 

 name, which was Soper. The fox bad an ounce ball through 

 his heart, and 1 am morally certain that it passed within a 

 foot or I wo of my friend's shoulder, as he always assured me 

 that he Celt the windage, or, more accurately, the quick quiver 

 of the air as the ball rushed between us on its fatal errand. 

 Such experiences are very much the same as those attending 

 earthquakes— the more one has of them the less he wants — for 

 the fear increases with the repetition, and there is no such 

 thing as getting used to it. 



There were "ducks enough that day, but we did not kill 

 many, as we were a long time getting our nerves quieted. 



We are indebted to Holland for the skate— scluuit— where it. 

 is used as we use boots and shoes or horses and steam, for the 

 sake of convenience aud the cconomizatiou of time. It is a 

 custom so ancient that there are no records of its introduction, 

 and yet good skaters are almost unknown in Holland. As a 

 nation the Dutch arc awkward on skates, flinging I 

 about like the wings of their native wind-mills. Until recent- 

 ly it was an unheard-of feat to skato ten miles continuously. 

 They would not do it any more than the average American 

 will walk that distance. Several centuries ago the people of 

 Edinburgh aud London led the world in popularizing the art. 

 Strutt records the fact in his "Sports ami Pastimes*' and de- 

 scribes Eour gentlemen who danced a double minuet on skates 

 with a degree of elegance and ease far superior to thai dis- 

 played in the ball-room. William Hone stales that " the ele- 

 gance of skaters on that sheet ot water is chiefly e 

 quadrilles, which some parties go through with a beauty 

 scarcely imaginable by those who have "not Bee 

 skating." If we except a few of the northwest countries of 

 Europe, there is noplace in the world where more 

 pushed skaters abound than in this moderncity of New York, 

 although many of them are foreigners. (.Mitsui.. 

 Circles of St. Petersburg very little skating is done i 

 Mr. William H. Fuller nowhere met with greater success and 

 attention thau during his tour of Russia. True, most of his 

 art was confined to parlor skates, but it was art for all that. 

 He was diced and wined by the nobility, especially the ladies, 

 and more than once .he enjoyed drives with princesses. He 

 could only please the Dutch by skating with folded arms, 

 which waB the easiest part ot his programme. 



Probably one of the finest exhibitions of this description 

 ever witnessed was that of the dancers, Dumas and wife, at 

 Paris, in the opera of Prophcle, roller skates having been in- 

 troduced there as early as 1819, and the long, smooth avenues 

 and boulevards were frequently enlivened by the sv i 

 Who also flocked to the public gar . i 



Central Park and Prospect Park to see the crowd and skate 

 awhile." 



Mr. Pulier, the athletic gentleman who circumnavigated the 

 globe with a pair of roller skates in his vest pocket, giving 

 successful exhibitions of his wonderful skill inmost of the 

 targe cities of Europe, is a native of Boston, which he left at 

 the age of twenty as a seaman, going to Cal 

 Liverpool and back to New York" ff] re 1 

 ing-raaster of a yacht . lh, [ng since be 



was a boy took place at Central Lark Bttbsequt Ul to 

 already mentioned, whither he wenl one d ; 

 forgotten his skill. Unconsciously he attracted instant atten- 

 tion, andbeforebe realized what had happened to him the 

 thousands around him divld ■ | long lines, 



i splendid ,.i irl ■ eering him as he 



performed feat after feat of the. most diffieui description. 



He became the lion of the hour in no turn 

 t lie winter delighted immense orowi 



on purpose to see him and witness his unsurpassed exhibitions 

 of skill. 



The transition to parlor skates wasqnite na 



lye him full command of them; and Bh 



Dining business, with pleasm, . he .. the man- 



ufacturer in theil sale. A !'■ 



Coppjn, the Barnum of Australia, n Melbourne, 



where he made his first appearance as Do 

 .served hoi 



(Ul it did not, who!' , 

 bourne-, " these, attacks no . . . 



i ild country were not, af| 

 know," and he ventured to return— to India—? 



months of popular entertainments in the citits and large 

 towns of that auriferous isle. 



Ai. Calcutta the Nabob of Surat caused a platform, ollxllll) 

 feet, to be laid in a grove of evergreens, v.i 

 a superb exhibition, beginning With a waltz, then varsovianne, 

 which created great excitement and applause. A 

 figure skatmg followed, aud Dundreary closi 

 of his falls were there, my countrymen, and were intensely 

 amusing, After the entertainment was over an olQcial pre- 

 sented our hero with a purse of 700 rupees. 



The Nabob gave no visible hint of satisfaction or di 

 but two or three months after Fuller left Burnt the NahQjti 

 sent him a magnificent golden star of tie most ingenious 

 manufacture. The points were composed of diamonds, and 

 the whole was valued at $1 ,800, 



He went to BufiE, giving exhibitions of his skill on the dcrk 

 of the steamer which astonished passengers and er«n\ At the 

 hotel in Suez he was invited to give an entertamm ' which 

 was much more elaborate than that on the steamer, and he 

 was rewarded with apurse of Bilk, which had been filled with 

 rupees, to the number of lijfl. ' Way likely it was the first 

 skating ever done in Die desert of the Pharaohs. 



At Constantinople our Knight of the Golden Star met with 

 another flattering reception, but the countless dogs which in- 

 fest that city nearly killed him. 



Odessa was his next objective point, where he has won 

 glory and his manager took the cash. Here her 

 first bouquet from a princess. People shook hands with hiui 

 in the street, and informed him confidentially that he had 

 made a decided hit. He concluded such must bo the case 

 after his second appearance, when the same lady who gave 

 him the bouquet stopped her carriage in the street, gave him 

 a ride with her through the suburbs, and invited him to make 

 her house— the Governor's official resilience— his home while 

 in the city. He dined there occasionally durin 

 of his stay, but never with the lady, as that was not in accon l- 

 ance with court etiquette. 



He went next to the handsome city of Kherson, thence 

 overland to Katherinoff. Karkov, and Poltava were his next 

 stopping places. On again to Orel, where other ladiel 

 paid him marked attentions, for his fame had marched in 

 front, and everywhere his appearance was a Siglta 

 ovation. He proceeded to Zulu and Moscow, remaining in the 

 latter city three months, and visiting the famous Williams' 

 iron works. He tarried at St. Petersburg seven months, and 

 3d before an audience of a thousand people, once 

 in the great national theatre, for which the Government paid 

 him ; on the ice of the Neva, with aud under the patronage 

 of the Russian Noble Club, art organization as lane 

 way as the N, Y. Y tl. : then to Prussia and Germany, ami 

 finally to the paradise of skaters— Holland, lie spent the 

 ensuing winter in Amsterdam, where be enjoyed only three 

 . skating. At Rotterdam he had one fine day, and 

 skated in the harbor before thousands of spectators who lined 

 the river shores. At the Hague he skated before the Queen-, 

 and there closed his engagements on parlor skates, having 

 been away from Inane about five years. 



The autumn of 1809 saw him once more in his native land 

 for a short visit, after which he went to Paris and 

 his triumphs. 



Those who have nothing else to tempt them from the lire 

 cannot do better than acquire the arc of skating. It brings 

 every muscle into full and natural play, lOutS 



end stirs the blood with that inspiring exercise so 

 conducive to health. Besides, it is 

 of motion in its widest sense. "V 1 liwmw," 

 _ Ego. 



{Reported for F 



APPROACH OF THE ARCHERY 

 SEASON. 



Ma. Editor: Hearing there was to. be a convention of 

 archers in Chicago the middle of January, I concluded to 

 take the trip to that city, as I was anxious tobecon 

 acquainted with the already famous members of the 

 archery clubs. On my arrival, however, I was diss 

 to find the meeting postponed. My friend, Mr. H. O. Cat ws , 

 one of the best shots with a bow id the West, and 

 of the Chicago Archery Chili, introduced me to a number of 

 the members of that association, and showed me their arrange- 

 ments for shooting in-doors. They are fitting up a 100-yard 

 range at the Exposition building, and will soon be practicing 

 regularly. 



Prom Chicago I went to Crawfordsville, ' 

 brothers Th mpson, who have done so much toward creating 

 an interest in archery in this country. Unfortunately, Jdr, 

 Maurice Thompson, the author of the charming book, 

 "Witchery of Archery," was alee 

 pleasaut evening with his brother Will, who entertained me 

 with his hunting exploits with the bow, and with whom I 

 talked archery to ray heart's content. Mr. Will and Maurice 

 Thompson are masters of the subject, and tbi 

 very thorough. They and other members of the Wabash Merry 

 Bowmen were very much pleased with the patent split bam- 

 boo bow now being made by Messrs. Con roy, Bissett A Malic- 

 the members of | mo. They 



subjected the bow to the most severe tests, but l'ai'< 

 anything but a few bow-springs ; in fact, Mr, Will 

 pronounces them unbreakable. The texture or fibre of bam- 

 boo is entirely different from that of wood, and, as it runs the 

 e tii of the caue, it makes the bow ruie 

 ■■doulatcd to withstand the seVi 



straining. They believe these bow.- ike th laci 



ported wood bows and drfr 

 seems to be the experience of all clubs tbat no w 

 will stand the severe shooting at long range, and though I 

 could not believe it possible at first, I am 

 est wood bows will give out afte 

 The heavier the hoe 

 break, 



I stopped on my return at Buffalo, where 1 i 

 archers very much in earn 



■ ■' feet. The City Armory, a well b 

 lighted building, affords them a splei 



are frequently found practicing tl 



who have not the facilities, and tie. 



the rest, of the archers in the great tournament at ChieagOnext 



to., used by 



herto 

 ton street, 



