FOREST AND STREAM. 



297 



the gods. While we state that fact no attempt is made to 

 point to the time when wrestling began. We are told that 

 Jacob wrestled with an angel, but unfortunately no rules 

 are recorded by which the contest was governed. In India 

 it was also engaged in from a very early date, and seems 

 to have been regarded there, as in Greece, as a necessary 

 part of warlike training. In the latter country it must 

 have been resorted to as a pastime at a very early age, as 

 ■we are told that to Theseus, the hero of Crete and Ariadne, 

 js to be ascribed the honor of first drawing up the rules by 

 which the game should be regulated. At an earlier period, 

 the legend says, Pallux had during the Colebian expedi* 

 tion conquered Arnyeus, and been nominated patron of 

 boxing and wrestling. And there, so far as Greece is con- 

 cerned, in a mythical age the history of wrestling begins. 

 Very naturally, we find Hercules figuring among the adepts 

 ia the game. Coming down to a later date, and passing 

 by the dubious institution of the Olympian games, we are 

 still involved in doubt as to the exact method in which the 

 wrestling contests were first Conducted. According to 

 "West, and his assertion seems reasonable, Theseus' rules 

 are now unknown, in anv case the authorities differ con- 

 siderably, and when it is added that almost every tribe in 

 Greece had some peculiar trick or strategem, the difficulty 

 of generalizing correctly becomes apparent. The author- 

 ity of prints a tew hundred years old is of course of little 

 value. 



As to the preparation and costume of the contestants 

 there is, however, no doubt. Of these Lucian has already 

 supplied us with a few hints. According to the earliest 

 usage the wrestlers appeared naked, and afterwards with a 

 waist cloth. In Homer's time the wrestlers did not anoint 

 themselves, as we have seen they did in Solon's time, and 

 as was also the custom in Crete and Lacedonia. When the 

 usage did spread to Greece the practice was to rub the body 

 with oil, or smear it with an ointment composed of oil, wax 

 and dust, After the anointing process the athletic was 

 either sprinkled with sand, or rolled himself on the 

 ground. The obvious purpose of this was to give his an- 

 tagonist a better hold, an object which, according to Ana- 

 charsis, was even then only partially attained. 



There were three contests in wrestling proper — the ortho- 

 pale, the anaaldnopale, and the acrocheirismus. In the pan- 

 cratium, wrestling was combined with boxing, but in strict 

 wrestling blows were not allowed, although the contestants 

 might push each other back. Of the three- first named the 

 ortliopale meant wrestling in an upright position. When 

 one was thrown the other allowed him to rise again and 

 resume the strife, the third fall deciding the match. When 

 the contestants wrestled on the ground it was called ana- 

 vhinopale, and appears to have been nothing more than a 

 trial of endurance, the one doing all he could to weaken his 

 opponent, until one or other should acknowledge himself 

 defeated. In the acrocheirismus the competitors held each 

 other by the fingers, as indicated by the name, and did not 

 seize upon the rest of the body. We are told of one, Le- 

 vatiscus, who had such a grip that he could break an ad- 

 versary's finger. He was less successful in the pale. Sos- 

 tratus gained a surname from his victories in this peculiar 

 contest. What the great Milo of Cretona, the most famous 

 of all the wrestlers of Greece, was, may be inferred from 

 the fact that he could hold a pomegranite so firmly in his 

 hand that no one could take it from him. 



We may here introduce a few of the recorded feats of 

 this hero of the arena. It is said that he carried a four- 

 year old bullock forty yards, and then killed it with one 

 blow of his fist. He was the winner of six Olympian and 

 seven Pythian crowns. On one occasion at the Olympic 

 wrestling match, he met with no antagonist, and the at- 

 tendant circumstances are related in the following epigram: 



When none adventur'd in the Olympic sand 



The might of boistrous Milo to withstand, 



Th' unrivall'd chief advanced to seize the crown, 



Bat 'mid his triumph slipp'd unwary down. 



The people shouted and forbade bestow 



The wreath on him who fell without'a foe; 



But rising in the midst he stood and cried, 



"Do not three falls the victory decide? 



Fortune indeed has given me one, but who 



WiJJ ondertake to throw ine th' other two?" 



We now come to the disagreements of authors upon the 

 question of combination or separation of the contests in 

 an upright and recumbent position . Some treat them as 

 distinct exercises, others as mere variations of one contest. 

 Dr. Smith speaks of the match as divided into two parts, 

 those above indicated. If the contestants did not rise 

 again the strife upon the ground ended the match when- 

 ever one gave in. He says, further, that the arthropale or 

 that in an erect position, was the only one used in Homer's 

 time, and afterwards in the great national games. We 

 have, however, seen that Ajax and Ulysses contested on 

 the ground, and it is hard to reconcile Dr. Smith's state- 

 ment with Homer's description. The poet was most likely 

 to attribute to the honors of his epic the usage of his own 

 time. The latter part of his statement is, on the other 

 hand, correct, or Milo's challenge loses all meaning. Mr. 

 West, in his desertation upon the Olympic game, regards 

 the one exercise as merely a variation of the other. 



The fact appears to be that the three kinds above men- 

 tioned might be combined or separated as taste inclined. 

 When the athletes met each made use of all the expedients 

 which his ingenuity could prompt, to seize the other at a 

 disadvantage and throw him, and to avoid, at the same 

 time, giving any such opportunity to the other. In the 

 Pancratium, which was first introduced at Olympia, and 

 subsequently imported into Italy under the empire, two 

 methods of throwing are known to have been used. One 

 was to place a foot behind, that of the adversary mi forge 



him backward. The other was for one to seize the other 

 round the middle and lift him off his feet, so that his body 

 outbalancing itself, he fell. To Krause we are indebted 

 for a wood cut illustrative of the Ian of these. One glad- 

 iator has the other round] the middle, head down and feet 

 in the air, which could only^ have been done by crossing the 

 hands — the right to the left side of the opponent, the left 

 to the left — and turning him completely over while lifting 

 him off his feet. He also presents an illustration of the 

 anachinopale. 



The conclusion at which we arrive is, that both the au- 

 thors who speak of the different exercises as separate, and 

 those who speak of them as variations of one contest, are 

 correct. The Greeks did probably what is everywhere 

 done to-day, viz., employed different styles on different oc- 

 casions, and in different places. We have already seen that 

 each district had its peculiarity. We have also seen that 

 the upright position was that used at Olympia. In this, 

 be it observed, the first three falls decided the victory, and 

 as it is stated that the strife was not continued on the 

 ground, there could have been none of the nice distinc- 

 tions as to what constitutes a fall, which are now so mi- 

 nutely specified. A fall was probably made by an athlete 

 throwing the other to the ground in any fashion. 



In the anachinopale, although begun in an upright posi- 

 tion, and continued on the ground, there could be no such 

 thing as a fall, since the test was one of strength and en- 

 durance, and not one of touching the ground with any part 

 or parts of the body. 



The acrocheirismus probably showed a form of wrestling 

 in which tripping was employed. We can, however, easi- 

 ly imagine a contest in which not only the two first named 

 but the last should be combined. 



This brings us to the Graeco-Roman style some time 

 since introduced into New York. In the match between 

 Miller and Carteron last December, the rule forbidding the 

 clasping of hands and interlacing of fingers was suspend- 

 ed. A fall was declared to consist of one throwing the 

 other fairly on his back, so that both shoulders touched 

 the ground at the same time. When Miller and Christol 

 first met here they grasped each other's wrists. Tripping 

 is not allowed, the lower limbs being only used for lever- 

 age. One authority refines the definition of a fall, and 

 gives the following as a brief synopsis of the rules of the 

 game: Catch above the belt; no tripping allowed; touch- 

 ing the ground with two shoulders and one hip, or two 

 hips and one shoulder, to make a fall. 



The rules may, in fact, be modified to suit the contest- 

 ants. What is not clear, however, is the title of the style 

 to the distinctive appellation, Giseco-Roman. We have 

 seen that Ulysses made use of tripping in bringing Ajax to 

 the ground, and into the method of wrestling on the ground 

 none of the conditions of touching shoulders, etc., were 

 introduced to which rhodern athletes have resorted to de- 

 cide their bouts. In a few general features only were the 

 styles alike, and for that reason we must presumably ac- 

 cept the name. 



. -*.«_ 



GAME PROTECTION. 



The New York City Association for the Protec- 

 tion op Game.— The annual inauguration of the winter 

 session of this potential association is always a noteworthy 

 event among those interested in the objects for which it 

 labors. Comprising, as it does, nearly one hundred of the 

 leading citizens of New York, (its, maximum membership,) 

 with high public functionaries as honorary members, and 

 working with the purpose, vigor, and unity which wealth 

 and influence lend to it, and being always foremost in its 

 schemes for protecting game and in the prosecution of of. 

 fenders, its meetings are scanned with interest, not only 

 by those whom the law is liable to reach, and by the law 

 makers themselves who accept its suggestions as bases of 

 legislative action, but by the game clubs and societies 

 throughout the State and country who follow its lead. The 

 first meeting of the present session took place on Monday 

 night at the residence of Royal Phelps, Esq., who has been 

 its honored and efficient President for so many years that 

 his severance from the main body would be equivalent to 

 corporeal decapitation; and when that worthy gentleman 

 seated himself in the time-honored official chair of deer's 

 antlers the members present felt as if they were in an Ar- 

 cadian atmosphere, and adjusted themselves comfortably 

 to listen to his opening address. It may be premised here, 

 that this Society has no club room. Its meetings are held 

 at the private residences of its members, and no applicant 

 is admissable to its ranks who is not eligible from a social 

 status also. 



The President on rising said: — 



Gentlemen of tlie New York City Association for the Protection 

 of Game:— I am happy to meet you again at this, our first 

 meeting for the season 1876-7. In consequence of the 

 great excitement growing out of the national election, the 

 Executive Committee determined to hold no meeting in 

 November. Of the $2,500 which, at the commencement 

 of last season, you placed in the hands of the Executive 

 Committee, $785 93 has been paid for law expenses over 

 and above the amount collected by the lawyers of the asso- 

 ciation. The counsel, Mr. Whitehead, and the assistant 

 counsel, Mr. Cuthbert, will inform you of the condition 

 of the different suits the association had pending in the 

 courts. There are at the present time thirty-six clubs and 

 associations in this State all owing allegiance to the New 

 York State Association, and it will be very hard if, with 

 our united influence, we cannot get what is so much 

 needed, viz: a law by which a Game Constable may arrest 

 infractors of the law without going through the form of 

 getting a warrant from a court. When the farmers and I 



owners ol land come to underhand tfw pr&ctfsal workipg | 



of game laws in America, where the country is divided up 

 into small farms and held in fee, they cannot but be in fa- 

 vor of them. On Long Island, where the game laws are 

 tolerably well enforced, it is not an uncommon occurrence 

 for a farmer to get $10, $20, or even $30 for the right of 

 shooting over a few acres of swamp or woodland, and fish- 

 ing in a small trout stream by which his place is bounded. 

 So, in any view you take of it, the American farmer is 

 benefited by game laws, whereas in England, where the 

 laud is almost universally leased to the farmer with the 

 privilege of shooting and fishing reserved to the landlord, 

 they are detested and a source of continued irritation. The 

 Secretary will read the correspondence which has taken 

 place since our last meeting, and I would particularly call 

 your attention to that with the President of the State Asso- 

 ciation, James W. Wadswortb, Esq., and the Superintend- 

 ent of the State Fishing Commission, Seth Green, Esq. 

 You will observe that a highly influential committee has 

 been appointed to supervise amendments to the game laws-, 

 and it is to be hoped that the close season for quail will be 

 continued up to the 1st day of November, instead of being 

 thrown open on the 1st of October, as it now is. 



Letters were read from Mr. Seth Green on the condition 

 and prospects of trout fishing, and from Mr. Genio C Scott 

 on violations of the game laws in the States of New Jersey . 

 and Pennsylvania. Mr. Charles E. Whitehead addressed 

 the meeting on the progress of law suits instigated for vio- 

 lations of the law. The following gentlemen were proposed 

 for membership : — Judge Henry A. Gildersleeve, James H. 

 Benkard, Joseph C. Willetts, and William C. Maimbeer. 

 Messrs. Charles E. Strong and Roland Redmond, previously 

 proposed, were elected. The meeting adjourned to meet 

 again on the second Monday in January, at the residence 

 of Mr. Charles E. Whitehead, that date being fixed for the 

 annual meeting of the association . 



.»*->■ 



VERMONT GAME LAWS. 



r — • — 



Editor op Forest and Stream :— 



I have just been reading an address delivered by the Hon. 

 E. L.Phelps, at Burlington, Vermont. The gentleman be- 

 gins his address by asking, "Of what consequence, if any, 

 is the preservation of the wild game of this State to the 

 public?" 



I would like to answer through your paper, of no conse- 

 quence whatever, if in preserving the game we do anything 

 which would tend to make an aristocracy based on money, 

 or anything which would tend to estabJish a privileged 

 tilass in society; anything that would tend to make the 

 poor man hate the rich man; anything that would tend to 

 encourage eternal law suits, or which tends towards or 

 imitates the English Game Laws. Better every game bird 

 and fish be destroyed, than to carry out the plan which has 

 been commenced in this State by a few men, who appear 

 to think they ought to be the only one3 who should have 

 the right to hunt and fish. They call themselves gentle- 

 men, I suppose— «W others are "peasants, "loafers," "vaga- 

 bonds, etc., these men appear to think. 



Now, one of the most prominent men of this set, who 

 would transport a poor man to "Botany Bay" for shooting 

 a woodcock, has the reputation in the town in which he 

 lives of being the worst "Poacher" in it. 



These gentlemen know they can't have in this country 

 an "aristocracy of blood," so they want one of the very 

 meanest kind — one of money. 



I predict that the effect of the game laws just passed in 

 our State, will be to make a very large majority of men 

 who take any interest in hunting or fishing, feel that they 

 will do all they can to destroy the fish and game entirely, 

 rather than a few men who may chance to have a little 

 money should have all of those privileges they have 

 always had an equal share in. "It won't work"; too 

 much law is bad. The gentleman who delivered the ad- 

 dress at Burlington, says "the presence of game attracts 

 people in search of pleasure to the country who leave 

 money behind them." That is true, but the attraction 

 looses it charm somewhat, when the pleasure seeker finds 

 "Old Jones" after him with an officer, and he is brought 

 up before "Old Dogberry," and finds out, when too late, 

 that he is a criminal, and. has got to go to jail or pay a 

 heavy fine and costs, because he has crossed "a sheep pas- 

 ture" on his way home from the stream (when he has 

 already paid a high price for "the right to fish"), "with 

 the implements of fishing in his hands," the chances are 

 that he will "leave money behind" him just as soon as he 

 can, and try and find some place where he's not obliged to 

 leave quite so much money behind him. 



It is noticeable that those who want so much law, refer 

 continually to England and her game laws. Now, when 

 we have a condition of society and a government like 

 that of England, it will be quite time enough to imitate 

 her game laws, and not before. 



"While the bird remains on your land, it is your property 

 just as much as your sheep are." 



This is not the fact. The bird is not your property until 

 captured. 



Should any one kill and take away from oil" your land a 

 bird or fish, he would not commit a theft; but should he 

 kill and take away a sheep, he would be a thief without 

 doubt. lam sure most people want good strict laws, as 

 to "close and open seasons," and as to kinds of implements 

 to be used, and I have and always shall be ready to help 

 maintain good reasonable game laws, but this extreme 

 legislation I am opposed to, and feel sure the effect will be 

 bad, and only tend to bring into contempt the whole sub- 

 ject of the preservation of fish and game, and discour- 

 age any private individuals in their efforts to restock the 

 streams with fish. 



If these gentlemen who want so much law would make 

 one-half the effort to get our Stale to establish a State 

 hatching house, as New York has done, and fill our 

 splendid streams with fish, and let the rich and poor, high 

 and low, share them on equal terms, they would do some- 

 thing that would amount to something, though perhaps 

 they would now and then be annoyed by meeting a "peas- 

 ant" on the stream, yet for the public good they ought to 

 be willing to endure that. 



What we want, is a set of eame laws that all good, fair- 

 minded men, would see were reasonable, and bore alike on 

 all. I am certain such laws would be supported and 

 reasonably observed, but a lot of laws which plainly are 

 made for the benefit of a few, of course, it is folly to sup- 

 pose will hjYstkat support fromttw people that would 



