CHAPTER VIII
IF YOU CAN'T SWIM, LEARN AT ONCE—HELPS TO LEARNERS—CONFIDENCE IS THE THING
Every animal, except man, can swim naturally on finding itself in the water for the first time, for it takes a position nearly the same as if it were on land and walking.
The physical structure of man, the lord of creation, is not so favorably adapted for his making his way through the water, his head being much heavier in proportion to its size than his trunk, while he has to make an entirely new departure, in abandoning his customary erect position, and has to adopt movements of the limbs to which he has not previously been accustomed. Still, the specific gravity of the human body, particularly when the cavity of the chest is filled with air, is lighter than that of water, in proportion to the obesity of the individual, stout people being able to float more easily than those of spare build. 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 accidents 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.
HOW TO LEARN
Beyond the practice that makes for perfection, the only other thing necessary for swimming is confidence. Every man, woman, and child— even if never in the water before—could keep afloat if he, she or it had the required confidence, but as they have not this confidence, the question is: "How can it be acquired?"
There is an old saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt." While, like many other home-made proverbs, this is only partly true, there can be no doubt but that familiarity makes for confidence. The new recruit may be as strong and brave as the veteran soldier, but the lack of experience makes him nervous and unreliable under a fire which the older soldier faces without a visible tremor of eye or hand.
It is difficult to get confidence if you begin by getting "awfully scared." Every boy, and every girl too, should know how to swim, and both are more than eager to learn. Now, the boy who can swim, and who is properly proud of the fact, will, if he stops to think, recall a time not very far distant when he lacked confidence and could not keep himself afloat for a second. And he may recall how frightened he was when some foolishly thoughtless friend or heartless bully tried to duck him, or to push him beyond his depth.
BE KIND
The first hard fight I ever had was with a big boy—it is the conflict I look back at with the most pleasure—who was holding a smaller boy under the water. We fought quite naked, and—well, I licked the bully, and never after that did he try to frighten small boys in that swimming hole.
Boys will be boys, but even then each should have in him much of the man he hopes one day to be. Therefore I say, be a protector, a guide, philosopher and friend of the younger boys, and if you know more than they do of anything, and they want to learn, teach them in a cheery, manly fashion, if you have the time. Avoid conflicts, but if you must have one, see to it that the bully will not be eager for another such meeting.
GOOD ADVICE
Before saying more, let me give you another bit of good advice. Never enter into water the depth of which you are not familiar with, unless you can swim, and in any event do not venture far into strange water unless you are accompanied by a companion as skillful as yourself.
Big boys, as a rule, are glad to help the smaller ones, and in this way they teach by assuring confidence and showing by example how the thing can be done.
Planks, floats, bladders and other artificial contrivances are advised by some, but after swimming for years in nearly all the waters of the world, I cannot endorse such doubtful assistance. As one cannot actually swim when supported in this way, it is far better to start in without them.
There must be a beginning, and it should be made in the easiest and most sensible way.
A GOOD WAY
With your back to the shore and the water almost up to the armpits, bend your knees till the water nearly reaches the chin. Then gradually throw your bead back as far as it will go, until the base of the skull is immersed and the water covers your ears. Now stretch your arms backwards behind your head, at their fullest extent, the palms uppermost and slightly hollowed. Take a full breath, and swelling out the chest, give a little push off the bottom with both feet. Keep your mouth shut, as, perhaps for an instant only, the water will ripple on your face as the head takes its position, and then you will find your legs, which must be stiffened and separated. In this position you will float for a second, moving the while towards the shore. Then the water will dash over your nose and mouth, but, before it chokes, regain your feet and after a good long breath, try it again.
FRANKLIN'S WAY
Another capital dodge is that recommended by Dr. Franklin, in which the buoyant power of water is still more strikingly exemplified. Procure an egg or lump of chalk of an easily handled shape, and, when the water is up to your chest, face the shore and let the egg drop in front of you. Now take breath, shut your mouth, but not your eyes, which you can open and shut as easily in the water as out, duck under, and try to pick up the egg. You will find that while your legs rise from the bottom you will have to struggle with your arms to get down far enough to reach the "egg," owing to the great resistance offered by the water, and two or three attempts may be necessary to accomplish your object. You can come up at any moment by depressing the feet, and, as you face the shore, your struggles are working you into shallower water, so that the experiment is a safe one enough.
You have now gained confidence, which is half the battle, and the next thing to be done is to try to move on the surface of that element which you have proved capable of sustaining you when motionless.
It is certainly easier to float when the body is moving through the water than when it is stationary, on much the same principle which sustains the oyster shell that skips along the surface of the sea, until, the impetus given it by the thrower being exhausted, it sinks to the bottom. In like manner the pace acquired in swimming helps to sustain the body.
If you can keep afloat while you count five, or long enough to inhale the breath once, the battle is won; and while you may not be qualified to enter for the long distance championship, you can modestly call yourself "a swimmer."
Books give us valuable information about how to do many things, but when it comes to swimming, all the book can do is to advise, and if the author gives us his own experience, as I am trying to do here, it must be of great help.
CONFIDENCE
I have said that in learning to swim confidence is the great essential, but while still sticking unchangeably to that, I will add that perseverance is a good second. Never get discouraged. Stick to it. Repeat over and over again either of the two exercises before given. Each time you will find them easier. Then suddenly, and before you know it, you will be keeping yourself afloat. What if it is only for a few seconds and you have not moved a foot? Don't give up. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" That's a motto you should heed, particularly in learning to swim.
There are a great many strokes in swimming, but pay no attention to these at the start.
STROKES
When I was a boy, and I presume it is so still, there was a stroke known as "dog fashion." As a matter of fact, it might as well be called the fashion of any other animal, for all quadrupeds swim exactly as they walk, that is by moving the feet alternately forward; and this is the very way one is inclined to try it at the start.
If you can go dog fashion with some confidence, it will be well to learn the "breast stroke," which, though not the fastest, is perhaps the most general, as it is the most graceful, among non-professionals. But first a word as to the management of the legs.
THE LEGS
While the arm movements can be greatly varied, there can be, in the nature of things, no such variation in the action of the legs. It is said, and truthfully, that the motion of the legs of a human swimmer are much like the motion of a frog's hind legs when swimming. That is, the boy draws his legs up simultaneously and kicks them out in the same way, but in so doing he is not imitating a frog, for if he works the limbs together there is no other possible way in which he can do it under water. The frog's breast stroke is another story. A man swims very much as does a frog, though he cannot do so well under water as the amphibian. The legs are kicked in the same way and there is the same motion of the arms of one as of the forelegs of the other.
Some swimming teachers believe that the main reliance is the legs, but this has not been my experience, and I have seen many swimmers in many waters. The legs steady the body, but it is the arms that make for speed as well as for steering, though on the back it is the legs that do the business.
HOW TO DO IT
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. Bring them together, and, if you time this properly, your position will now be that of an arrow, the point being your extended hands.
While the arms and legs alike do their share in the propulsion of the body, the legs perform by far the most important work, and the importance of a good "kick" cannot be too strongly urged. Though the action of the soles of the feet upon the water helps the "drive," the momentum is also given by the "wedge" of water embraced and driven backwards by the action of the backs of the thighs and calves, as they almost come together at the completion of the leg stroke. Hence, the wider the stretch the more powerful the "drive," and the beginner should try to rival as closely as possible that acrobatic performance known as "the splits" when trying to master the kick. The action of arms and legs is alternate; that is to say, when the legs are making their sweep, the arms are thrown forward to their fullest extent, thus helping to sustain the upper part of the trunk, and serving as a prow or cutwater; then, during the first part of the arm stroke, the legs, almost touching after finishing their work, remain stiff and extended, so as to offer as little resistance as possible. These positions are but momentary, but their rigid observance is necessary to ensure pace with the least expenditure of force.
THE ARMS
The breast stroke will require some practice, and this can be helped by out-of-the-water exercise. Close your fingers tightly, but not so as to be very conscious of the effort. In this position, bring them up till the chin rests on the two thumbs, which are side by side and parallel. Next separate the hands, fingers still close together, shoot them edgewise as far in front as you can reach, then with the flat palms and closed fingers to the resisting water, draw them smartly back, like oars.
For the second stroke, draw the arms edgewise to the first position and repeat as often as may be necessary. This exercise will strengthen the arm and shoulder muscles and greatly facilitate the movements when you come to use them in swimming.
Be careful always to bear in mind the following rules: Keep the head thrown back so as to clear the mouth and chin. Try to swim as low as possible. The lower and the nearer level the plane in which the body lies in the water, the less the waste of power and the greater the speed, so that all rising and falling must be avoided, and nothing seen below the chin. Always keep the trunk steady and the spine hollowed, avoiding all squirming, wriggling and bending, while the motions must be made steadily, avoiding all hurry. Exhale your breath when the hands are extended in front supporting the head, and inhale as they are brought back—an action which expands the chest and gives you almost instinctively the signal for taking breath, which should be inhaled through the nose as much as possible.
CHAPTER IX
METHODS OF SWIMMING, FLOATING, DIVING, AND SOME GOOD WATER GAMES
Some girls, after they have learned the alphabet of music, and are able to play elementary scales on the piano, are eager to surprise themselves and annoy their listeners by starting in to play tunes, if indeed they are not ambitious to tackle grand opera. But the wise learner is satisfied to take one step at a time, and before going on he is sure that he can do the previous steps reasonably well.
I am old enough to have boys of my own, still I hope I shall never be so old as to forget my own boyhood, nor to feel that much of the boy nature does not still keep with me; and this is why I advise my boy friends who read this to learn surely whatever they undertake; in this case it is swimming.
After you can manage the breast stroke well, try the side stroke, which you will find more speedy, but it has its disadvantages in a long swim, by reason of the tension thrown on the muscles of the neck in keeping the head thrown so far back from its normal position, while the chest and shoulders, square to the front, offer considerable resistance to the water. History has not handed down the name of the founder of the side stroke, but he deserves canonization equally with the man who ate the first oyster. Nature evidently intended man to swim on his side, as in this position the body moves more easily in the water, to which it offers less resistance, while the action of the arms is not so fatiguing, and the head is supported by the water at its proper angle to the trunk.
There is no arbitrary rule as to which side you shall swim on, left or right being a pure matter of choice; but while I think the left is preferable, as it gives greater play to the right arm, the right is the usual side "put on" by the majority. The great thing is to be able to swim equally well on either, as this enables you to keep your face to the breakers in a rough sea on whichever tack you lay your course.
When you have mastered this stroke you will seem to move forward continuously, and not in a succession of jerks, as with the breast stroke. The natives of the South Sea Islands, who are, to my thinking, the best swimmers in the world, use this stroke for a long, steady swim, and I have been surprised at the speed they make and the length of time with which they can keep it up without a sign of fatigue.
RACING
The racing stroke is effective for speed, but it soon wears out all but the strong, expert swimmer. In acquiring it you must remember that pace is the great desideratum, and, consequently, rapidity of action is requisite. To gain this you must combine two movements in one, by striking with the propeller on whichever side you swim at the same time as the feet, the sustainer acting in the same manner as before. As the legs are brought up for the kick the propeller is lifted clear of the water, the arm being slightly bent in a graceful curve, and thrown forward in an arc to its fullest extent, the hand being held in the scoop-like position it maintains in the water. Now kick, and bring the propeller simultaneously downwards and backwards, with a bold and vigorous sweep, until it reaches the thigh when the elbow is bent, drawing the hand upwards to be thrown forward again. As this stroke is being made, shoot out the sustainer quickly forwards, and while this arm is pulled in towards the body the legs and propeller are quickly brought into action for the next stroke. The learner will have to count one, two, only in effecting this movement, as, when the propeller and legs are striking, the sustainer is shot out, and vice versa.
OTHER WAYS
Swimming on the back is very easy, once the confidence is assured. In this method the hands are folded on the breast, or still better, kept under the water and close to the sides. This done, the feet are drawn up together, as in breast swimming, and then kicked out together. As the arms are the chief driving power, swimming on the back is at best but a slow, jerky method of proceeding, but if one has not learned to float, it is a good way to rest for a bit in a long swim.
Some swimmers, particularly those that are narrow chested or lank and lean, can never learn to float, though once you know how, it is easier and far more comfortable than "falling off a log."
At first, when learning to float on your back, and by the way that is the only way to do it properly, you will find yourself sinking slowly, feet foremost, until you seem to be standing up, and must use some exercise to keep afloat; but you can learn.
Before lying flat on your back, inflate your lungs fully; as you do so you will be surprised to see how you seem to lift out of the water. Now, before your lungs are exhausted, for you will sink as they empty, breathe deeply again and exhaust slowly as before, keeping your arms by your sides and your legs close together and extended.
Don't expect to float like a life boat at the first try, for you are not built along life boat lines; but if you stick at it, and make the experiment at least once every time you go in swimming, you will float well before the summer is over.
GOING IN
If you know the water, the best way to enter it is by a quick plunge or a straight dive.
To walk into the water and "duck" is rather an ignominious proceeding, only to be excused in the novice or the lady bather we see at our watering-places bobbing up and down at the end of a rope. The swimmer should not rest content until he is able to plunge in like a workman; but first, a word of caution! Never attempt to dive unless you know that the water is deep enough for the purpose.
Many serious accidents have occurred from this mistake, notably when bathing at sea. An incautious plunge from the ship's side into the sail bath extemporized overboard to ward off any danger from sharks has resulted fatally to the rash swimmer, and at all times danger attends rash plunging.
It is, nevertheless, astonishing into what shallow water an expert can fearlessly dive from a height, his arms and head emerging almost before the feet have disappeared beneath the surface. The diver needs to be very quick of hand and eye, and many accidents attest the fact of the game not being worth the candle.
I have seen bathers extend the arms over their heads and fall forward, which generally entails a smart tingling of the chest and stomach, as the body is almost certain to drop flat on the surface.
A very neat plunge, which requires practice and a little pluck, is made by standing erect on the brink edge or board and, instead of springing from the board, allowing the body, kept rigid, to fall forward until it attains the proper distance, then suddenly throw up the feet and plunge in like an arrow and without a splash.
UNDER WATER
It requires some practice to swim under water, but you can soon do it. It is well to learn how to keep the eyes open under water. This is no more difficult nor painful than it is to keep them open in the air. This skill may be of great use in locating a body that has sunk for the last time. Many such cases have been brought up and restored to consciousness, under proper treatment.
WATER GAMES
are not as many as land games, but some of them afford good sport. One of these is "Water Bladder," which requires good swimmers, at least they must not be afraid of the water.
To play this game place two places, for goals, at proper distances where the water is overhead, and mark each with crossed rods, the tops about a foot out of water. 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 convenient point, throws an inflated bladder between the opposite 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.
TUB RACES
One might suppose that this would come under the head of boating, but one would be mistaken, for it properly 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 washtub. 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. This is great fun, and if one out of ten gets through he may count himself fortunate. He may not succeed a second time and will not if the others can help it.
When I was a boy we had no end of sport in running and diving from a springboard. This, as you know, is a long, strong board—the longer the better—one end of which is firmly fixed in the bank and weighted with logs or stones; but no matter how weighted you must see to it that it does not get out of balance.
The free end projects over the water at any desired angle, and care must be taken at the start to see that there are no stones or snags from which harm may come below the surface.
It would be difficult to find anything more graceful than a lot of slender boys speeding up this spring-board and shooting out, feet first or head first, into the river, pond or swimming pool.
When a boy can turn a somersault from the end of the board, and come down feet foremost in a clean-cut way, he may be said to be an expert.
Contrary to the belief of those who have not tried it, it is much easier to turn a back than a forward somersault, though neither can be achieved without some practice.
In the back somersault great care should be taken that the diver leaps far, so as to be free and clear of the board when he turns; otherwise his head may strike with bad results.
As I have said before, diving may be useful in saving life, or in finding objects that have been lost in the water. In such cases it will be necessary to keep the eyes open, otherwise you will be much like one groping in the dark.
The tendency in diving is to keep the eyes closed. There is a feeling that if they are opened the water will hurt them, or that its touch will be painful; but this is a great mistake. If the water is clear, and clear water is the best to swim in, one can see under water nearly as well as on top and the eyes are in no way affected.
Pearl divers in the Persian Gulf sometimes stay under water for minutes at a time, and if they could not keep their eyes open while searching for the pearl shells, their descent would not profit much. The eyes of these people are never injured.
In the Bay of Apia, in the Samoan Islands, I have seen native boys diving from a canoe under the bottom of a great ocean steamer. On one occasion a boy brought up from a depth of fifty feet a silver coin that had been tossed overboard to test his skill.
CLOSING ADVICE
Never go into the water when at all warm. The best way to enter is to plunge or dive in.
Never go in more than twice a day, even if a fresh lot of boys come down to "dare" you. Learn to laugh at dares.
Never stay in the water more than half an hour at a time, unless there is an absolute need for your so doing. You cannot learn too early that good health is easily lost and hard to regain.
CHAPTER X
HOW SIDES ARE CHOSEN IN GAMES
When teams from different clubs, or schools, or places meet to try their skill in some game requiring skill and endurance, there is no occasion to "choose sides" for that has been done in advance. But when boys of the same school or association meet for a game, it is necessary that the leaders should be decided on in advance, as also the means by which the respective sides must be chosen.
When two boys are contesting, one may pick up a pebble and ask, "Which hand is it?" If the guess is right, the boy making it is "It." "Drawing straws" is another method of choosing sides, and it is often used as a game in itself.
From a handful of grass, one of the boys selects as many pieces as there are to be players. One of the blades 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 irregular 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.
Another method is to place a button, pebble or other small object that can be easily concealed in one hand. Then, with both fists closed, place one above the other and ask, "Which is it, Joe; high or low?" If the empty hand is chosen the boy goes free. So it goes on, the last holder of the stone being it, for the one making the unlucky guess has to hold the object.
"Odd or Even" is often the method by which the one having the first choice in choosing shall be selected.
The method is as follows: One boy selects at random a handful of pebbles, marbles or other small objects, and closing his hand, asks, as he holds it out: "Odd or even?"
If the other boy should say "odd," and on count the objects prove to be even in number, he has lost, and the other boy has first choice; or if it is a counting-out game, the one who guesses right goes free and the last is "It."
A very old way is to toss up two coins, sometimes boys carry such things, though never for long. "Heads or tails!" cries the tosser. If the other guesses he is free.
Sometimes a stone or a chip, moistened on one side is used, and the boy who tosses it up shouts, "Wet or dry?"
This is simply a variation of heads or tails, or odd or even. Each section and each crowd of boys has its own way of choosing or counting out, and in this case the best known is best.
CHAPTER XI
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT COUNTING-OUT GAMES AND THE RHYMES USED BY PLAYERS
When children indulge in counting-out games they are quite indifferent to the fact that since the infancy of history and in every land, civilized, barbarous and savage, other children have played the same game, in much the same way, and have used rhymes that are curiously alike. Some learned men use this fact to prove the unity of all races.
Mr. Beard, to whom I am indebted for much, has collected many of these rhymes. It will interest boys to compare some of them with those he already knows.
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 is a rhyme that has in it a distinctly American twang:
Ena, mena, mina, mo,
Catch a niga by the toe,
When he hollers, let him go,
Ena, mena, mina, mo.
Here is another familiar jingle:
Anna, mana, mona, Mike,
Barcelona bona, strike;
Care, ware, frow, frack,
Hallico, ballico, we, wo, wack!
Huddy, goody, goo,
Out goes you!
Eatum, peatum, penny pie,
Babyloni, stickum stie,
Stand you out there by!
This is Irish:
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!
The little Turks and Armenians use this count:
Allem, Bellem, chirozi,
Chirmirozi, fotozi,
Fotoz, gider magara,
Magarada tilki bash,
Pilki beni korkootdi,
Aallede shooullede
Edirnede, Divid bashi
Ben Ilayen kehad bashi,
French youngsters use this rhyme:
Un, deux, trois,
Tu ne l'est pas;
Quatre, cinq, six,
Va-t'en d'ici!
One, two, three,
Thou art not "it";
Four, five, six,
Go away from here!
Here is how Dutch boys do it:
Een, twee, sen kopje thee;
Een, klotje er bij,
Af ben jij!
Along the Rhine this is popular:
Ene, tene, mone, mei,
Paster, lone, bone, strei,
Ene, fune, herke, berke,
Wer? Wie? Wo? Was?
CHAPTER XII
DO YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT THE GAME OF TAG?
The poet Pope says, "The proper study of mankind is man." If he did not mean this to include boys, then I don't quite agree with him, for I have found boys and girls, too, be it said, as a rule, far more interesting as objects of study than the average grown-up.
I have always liked these stanzas from Hood's fine poem, "The Dream of Eugene Aram": "'Twas in the prime of summer time, An ev'ning calm and cool, When four and twenty happy boys Came bounding out of school; There were some that ran, And some that leapt, Like troutlets in a pool.
"Like sportive deer, they cours'd about,
And shouted as they ran,
Turning to mirth all things of earth,
As only boyhood can."
If the boys had not already decided on a game, it would be safe to wager that the first thing they started off with was the old and ever- popular game of tag.
I have seen boys, and girls, too, playing tag among the Indian tribes of Arizona. The young and ever lightly-clad Mexicans delight in it, and the Chinese and Japanese youngsters never grow weary of a game needing so little in the way of equipment, and which is so easily started, but not so easy to give up, when the spirit of the game has taken full possession of the players.
Although so simple, there is never monotony in tag. If you don't like one form you can try another, and there are certainly a lot to choose from. One can have brick, wood, iron, tree or any other kind of object tag, the principle being that so long as the pursued has his hand on the object decided on in advance, he cannot be touched.
In what is known as "Cross Tag," the boy who starts the game tags another, who at once starts in pursuit. Now, if another boy darts across "its" path this second boy becomes the object of pursuit, and so he continues until he has made a capture and is free to join the field.
PRISONER'S BASE
One of the oldest, and I think the most general and popular of tag games, is called now, as when I was a boy, "Prisoner's Base."
In this game the two leaders choose sides. This done, two objects— they may be walls, trees or posts that stand some distance opposite each other—are used as goals. Before these goals, the two armies are drawn up in opposing lines. Then the captains, or it may be others, lead off.
One of these defies the other to meet him. After this the armies charge, but the purpose of each is to avoid being tagged by the other side, while it tries to tag or touch as many of the opponents as it can.
Every boy touched is regarded as a prisoner and must go to the base provided for the purpose, which is usually the goal of the other side, where he must remain till the game ends or he is released.
The prisoner is guarded, but if he can escape and reach his own side, without being touched, he is free, or if one of his own side succeeds in touching him, he gains his liberty.
When all of one side are prisoners the game is over, and the winners deserve their success, for they have had to fight hard for it.
THE WOLF
Another variation of tag is called "The Wolf" in some places, and in others, "When do you eat?" But no matter the name, it is good sport.
This is how to do it. A good sized piece of paper—any paper that shows a pencil mark will do—is torn into as many bits as there are boys. Each bit is marked with a number, showing some hour of the day. After every player has his marked paper, there must be one piece left. The last piece is marked with a number the same as that on one of those already given out.
There are only twelve hour marks on the clock, but if there are more than twelve players, the extras can be given by half hours, like half- past one.
Now, under one of the hour or duplicate numbers, mark a cross like X. No one but the marker knows the numbers. Each boy, as he draws, looks at his own number, but he must keep it a secret. The numbers must be drawn from a hat, without looking. The undrawn paper belongs to the marker, and he is the boy who holds the hat.
The boy who has drawn the paper marked with the X is "it," and so is regarded as the wolf. He goes off some distance, while the huddled "sheep," as the other players are called, decide what time of day they shall each represent.
When all is ready the wolf calls out in chilling, hungry voice:
"I eat no meat but woolly sheep,
My appetite is good; I thirst,
I think, their blood to drink,
If caught within my wood!"
On hearing this, the sheep set up cries of fear and run to form a circle about the wolf. If the ring is not complete before he gets through the rhyme, he is free to seize any boy who is not holding the hands, on either side, of two other boys.
If the ring is formed and no sheep captured, the sheep circle about the wolf, chanting this song:
"Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! with the brown ear,
Tell us what hour you dine
On one of the sheep assembled here!"
The wolf selects his own hour. If he answers "One o'clock," the sheep bearing that number darts out of the ring with the wolf after him. If this sheep circles the ring three times without being caught, he is safe and takes his old place. The same hour cannot be selected again until all the others have been called.
When the wolf guesses the number corresponding to his own, he does not have to pursue, for his double becomes the wolf, and he is changed into a sheep.
After the game has gone on so far that the number of each is pretty well known, the boys can change numbers without the knowledge of the wolf, and this adds greatly to the sport.
BULL IN THE RING
Another variation of tag is popularly known as "Bull in the Ring." The bull or "it" is a position to be sought after in this game. The bull can be selected in any one of the ways I have suggested, or in any other way that may be decided on.
When all is ready, the boys form a ring by joining hands, with the bull penned in the center.
This done, the bull seizes a pair of the grasped hands, and asks: "What is this lock made of?" One of the boys replies, "Steel." "Steel is strong. What is this lock made of?" asks the bull, as he grasps another pair of hands. "Bronze," may be the answer. "And this?" "Copper." The next reply, "I can break copper!" shouts the bull.
He then makes a feeble effort to break through, or it may be that he is doing his best, but he knows he cannot get out in that way. Suddenly he wheels and makes a dash for a part of the ring which he thinks is weakest. If he gets through he dashes away, with the others at his heels, and the first boy that tags him is "it" for the next game.
CHAPTER XIII
"I SPY" AND LEAP FROG, THE EVER-POPULAR GAMES
Like tag, "I Spy" needs no apparatus and no great study. Any boy with keen eyes and nimble legs can play the game better than a man four times his age. Of course, "I spy" is not a game of solitaire. It needs at least two boys, but it will be more exciting if there are five or six times that number; the more the better.
You know how to select who is to be "it." This done, and a goal or home selected, "it" remains at the goal and counts up to one hundred as fast as he can, and this is usually so fast as to eclipse the lightning calculator whom Barnum charged an admission to see and hear.
While "it" is counting, with his eyes closed and his head bent, his companions start off and conceal themselves in the neighborhood as best they can. When the count is up, and it is all too soon for the half hidden boys, "it" goes out to find them. Any hider who can run and touch the goal before "it" shouts: "In free," and he is free. But if "it" spies a boy, then shouts the boy's name and reaches home first, that boy is caught.
The game continues till all are free or caught. If "it" fails to catch any, then he must be "it" again for the next game. If he is successful, then the first boy caught is "it."
The best time to play "I spy" is in the evening, for the dusk is the best time to hide, and in the dim light it is harder to recognize the boys. If "it" calls a boy by another's name, then he is free for that game. To deceive "it" the other boys often change hats or turn their coats—an act usually frowned down on, but quite permissible in this game.
If the last hider gets in undetected and shouts "Freeings!" all go out for another hide, and "it" stays in his old position.
There are some varieties in this game, but they are not so different from the one given as to make them worth describing.
LEAP FROG
is distinctly an athletic game, but it nevertheless requires that quality of brains called "judgment." The boy who does not know leap frog has something good to learn, and it is for him I am writing this.
One boy turns his back to the player and, bending his head low, 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 until there is no boy left who is not stooping. Then the first boy's back straightens up and he goes leaping over his fellows and again gives a back, while the second follows, and so on until they are all tired and the game ceases.
FOOT-AN'-HALF
The foot mentioned in this title is not the foot marked 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 "it" is known as First
Back. He stands in the proper position at a taw.
The leader tells the First Back how and where to stand, then lays his hands on the stooping shoulders and straddles over When the leader strikes, he makes a mark to show the place, and the First Back takes his place on this line. All the other boys must clear First Back from the taw line, not always an easy task if the leader is a good jumper.
When the leader's turn comes around again he marks a new taw line about a foot and a half—he uses his own foot for a measure—about eighteen inches or "foot-an'-half" in advance of the old one. On the second jump he marks where his heels strike, and the First Back moves to that place, and the others make the leap.
So the game goes on till a player fails to clear First Back, a failure that usually results in tumbling both over. The player who fails is "it" for the next game, which begins at once.
A variation of this game is known as "Foot-an'-half," with a Leader and a "Foot-an'-half."
In this game the First Back, who must always select the leader, picks out, instead of the best, as in the former case, the very poorest jumper. He chooses for Foot-an'-half a better player. His object in doing this is to have Foot-an'-half, who is his ally, set tasks that are beyond the ability of the boy chosen as leader.
When all is ready First Back takes a position, with one foot on either side of the taw line and his side toward the players. Foot-an'-half is the last to jump, and knowing what is expected of him, he leaps as far as he can. Where his heels come down another line is drawn. To this line First Back moves, placing a foot on either side. Now comes the test of the leader. He can now take a foot and a half, using his own foot for a rule, and jump from that point, but if any other boy can make the leap from the old taw line, the leader becomes "it" and a new game is started.
SPANISH FLY
I have been unable to learn where the boys got this name. It is started just like the preceding game. Some player, usually one who has confidence in himself, shouts as he makes the leap, and just before his feet touch the ground: "Spanish Fly!"
At once the fun begins in wild earnest. The boy who just shouts is regarded as leader. The second time he makes the leap he cries: "Torchlight" and makes the jump with only one hand on First Back's shoulders, while he waves his hat in the other.
The player that fails to follow the leader's example becomes "it." On the third turn the leader shouts: "Hats on deck," and he places his cap on First Back's shoulders and goes over without knocking it off. The next player places his cap on top of the leader's and goes over.
If there are many boys the hats pile up and the last jumper has a hard proposition to face, but if he succeeds he has a second try when he removes his own hat or cap without knocking the others off; and so it goes on till all the hats are removed.
If this trick is successfully completed, and it rarely ever is, the leader goes over again, this time shouting: "Hats full of water." As he leaps, he turns his hat so that it rests upside down on his head.
If all the players succeed in doing this without losing their hats, the next cry is "Hats in the water." As the leader goes over he shakes his hat off and all the others must follow his example.
When the hats are all in the water the leader must jump over First Back and alight on one foot without touching the hats. Then, without touching his raised foot to the ground, he must hop to his own hat, and kneeling down, pick it up with his teeth, turn his back to taw and, with a head toss, throw the hat over First Back.
If any error should be made, the one making it becomes "it." Each player must take his turn at every change made by the leader.
There is good sport in this game, if it is played in the right spirit. Sometimes boys with the rowdy element in them make it rough, boisterous and even dangerous.
Let me advise: Never play any game with any boy who tries to boss and bully weaker boys.
CHAPTER XIV
THE GAME OF CAT, WITH A GLANCE AT SOME OTHER GAMES ALL SHOULD KNOW
The game of tip-cat, although very old in Ireland, where it is said to have originated, and in all the British Islands, where it is very popular, is comparatively new in this country.
Up to twenty years ago "Cat," as it is generally called, was unknown to the boys of this country. Now it is played from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Lakes to the Gulf.
The cat is a piece of wood from four to six inches in length, and from one to two inches in diameter in the middle. From the middle to both ends it is whittled into blunt points. As it must stand a lot of pounding, it will be better if the wood is hard and tough.
The bat or driver should be from one to two feet in length, an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, and of uniform thickness. When the cat is placed flat on the ground, or in a slight depression made with the heel, it will, when smartly struck, fly into the air. As soon as it rises it is struck again and sent in the direction desired.
In the game of English Cat there are from four to eight bases, depending on the number of players. The bases may be small stones, or even holes in the ground.
The bases are marked on the circumference of a circle, at equal distances apart. After sides are chosen and it is decided which shall have first innings, the Outs take to the field and the Ins post themselves at the bases, one base for each.
One of the Outs throws the cat to the nearest man at base. If he makes a strike then all the boys on base change places, for safety's sake taking the nearest. If the cat has been sent far they keep on changing so long as they think it prudent.
Each base gained scores one point. If the cat is caught the striker is out, or if the cat is thrown in front of an In who is changing bases, he is out.
When the Ins are made Outs, the positions are reversed and the game goes on as before. When a striker fails to hit, he tosses the cat back to the fielder and tries again.
COUNTRY CAT
For this game a ring twenty or more feet in diameter must be made, in the center of which the striker stands. The fielder—any boy not a striker is now a fielder—tosses the cat, and if it is missed there is no count. If he hits and fails to send the cat outside the circle, he is out, or if the cat is caught, he is out.
If the cat is sent beyond the circle, the striker calls out "Twenty", "Thirty" or "Fifty", depending on the estimated distance the cat has gone. If his claim is allowed, the number called out is placed to the striker's credit. If it is disputed the bat is used for a measuring rod and the distance is measured from the striker's place to where the cat has fallen.
If the striker claimed too much he resigns his stick to the one who has the next turn. If it is found that the striker did not claim too much, the number is placed to his credit and the game proceeds.
The number of points that is to count for the game is decided on in advance, and when a player has served the full amount, he is declared victor, and another game is in order.
AMERICAN CAT
The American cat is smaller than the Country or English cat, being over four or five inches long. If the game is played on the sidewalk, 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 number of points named in the last bid of the pitcher, and the striker is out.
DUCK ON A ROCK
does not require an "it" to start with. As soon as it is decided to try the game, each player hurries to secure a good sized stone, or where this cannot be had, a club or a half brick will do. As each grasps his weapon he shouts, "My Duck." The last boy to find a stone is "It" and must call out, "My drake."
The drake places his stone on a rock, stump, or other prominence and stands guard.
A taw line is drawn and from this the ducks are thrown at the drake, each trying to knock him off his perch.
When a player has failed, he must recover his own duck, and in doing so he runs the risk of being tagged by the boy guarding the drake. The drake guardian cannot touch the other until he has put his hand on his duck.
The best way is for the ducks to make a rush for their weapons at once when most of them are sure to escape, whereas one has but little chance. Whenever a boy is tagged he must assume the place of guardian.
If the drake is knocked off, all the boys make a rush for their ducks.
The drake cannot tag till he has placed the stone in position.
STONE THROW
This game may be played with from six to twenty players. When the game is played outdoors, a large stone is placed on a boulder, and a player stands to guard it. A line is drawn twenty or thirty feet from the boulder. Here each of the other players stands in turn and throws a stone at the stone on the boulder, which he tries to knock off the rock. If he does not succeed he goes and stands by the place where some stone has fallen, and waits until some one does succeed. If he prefers, he may pick up his stone and try to run back to the goal before the guard of the stone can tag him. If he reaches it in safety he has a chance to throw again. When some one succeeds in knocking off the stone all who have thrown may pick up stones and run back to the goal line, while the guard replaces the stone on the rock and tries to tag any one who has his stone in his hand, and who has not crossed the goal line. Whoever is tagged becomes guard.
CHAPTER XV
AND NOW FOR BALL—SOME OF THE MANY GOOD GAMES THAT CAN BE PLAYED WITH A BALL, BAT, OR RACKET
Ball in some form is played all the world over. Before Columbus came across, the Indians of the St. Lawrence valley played a ball game with rackets, which the French adopted and named Lacrosse. No game requires more dexterity of foot, hand, and eye.
Certain games seem to be favored in certain lands; Cricket in England, hand ball in Ireland, and baseball in the United States. But, then, as we adopt and absorb peoples of all nationalities so we take all the good things they have to offer in the way of games and, modifying them to suit our own tastes, we make them American.
In addition to these imported games, we have, with characteristic originality, invented a lot of games of our own, and in these the boy takes endless delight, without bothering about their origin. On cricket, baseball, hand ball and other great games, many books have been written telling how to play "scientifically". Now, I am not trying to teach scientific games. My purpose is to add something to the knowledge of games which my readers already have, and so to increase their interests in those healthful sports that add to the joys of boy life.
TOWN BALL
This game, before being imported from England, long, long ago, was called "Rounders." In this game the bat and ball are both different from those used in baseball. There are corners instead of bases, and there is a "giver" instead of a pitcher. The fielders may be of any number, but they are not known by distinctive names.
The greatest freedom is permitted in the choice of ball. It may be of hollow rubber, or it may be of the good, old-fashioned, home-made sort. Did you ever make a ball, but of course you have, by unravelling a heelless worsted stocking and then winding the thread about a core of cork or rubber till the whole is quite round, the end being sewed to keep it from unravelling. This ball is finished by a cover of thin leather, cut in the form of a three-leaved clover and neatly sewed on with a waxed thread. The bat is like that used in baseball but lighter and shorter. 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 baseball. In place of home-base there is a rectangle 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 baseball; 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 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 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 in baseball.
The catcher stands behind the bat and without gloves, and with no protection 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 directions 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 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 makes a successive throw at a man running the corners and strikes him with the ball when he is not touching his corner, 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.
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 "skyscraper" over the fielders' heads; but he must run his corners while the giver and catcher, standing in their regular position, pass the ball between them. This always produces 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 side.
Should he at last succeed in reaching home-base untouched, 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.
ONE OR TWO OLD CAT
is a modification of town-ball, and was played by our great grandfathers while in camp during the Revolution. It is a good game for three or four boys, not less than three, as there must be a pitcher, a catcher, and a batter. Any goal can be decided on in advance, but usually the striker, after making a hit, runs and touches the pitcher's base. If he gets back without being it, or stung by the thrown ball, he can keep on, each run counting one. If the ball is struck at and caught, the striker is out, and the catcher goes to the bat. This is one old cat. With two strikers, there are sides and it is called two old cat.
HAND BALL
is another game that has grown into popularity in the United States. It is said to have originated in Ireland, where regular courts are built for it, but it can be played in any place where there is a high brick wall with a smooth open space in front.
This game can be played by two, or sides may be chosen with any number of players on each.
A medium ball, with good bounding qualities is the best for this game. The player throws the ball on the ground and in the bound he strikes it with the palm of his hand, sending it against the wall, above the three foot line. The force must be enough to cause the ball to drop outside the taw line. The next player uses his hand as a bat, and sends the ball back against the wall 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 some one 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 wall, 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 wall 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.
ANTHONY OVER
or House Over. This game was very popular out West when I was a boy. We called the game Anthony Over; in the East I find it is called House Over. But no matter the name, it affords a lot of exciting sport. It is best played in the country for there can be found a house or a barn standing alone and with lots of space on either side for running.
After sides are chosen and all are ready, divide into two groups, each out of sight on opposite sides of the building. The ball may be that used in Town Ball. The boy who has it throws it over the building at the same time shouting as a warning to the boys on the other side: "Anthony Over," or "House Over."
One of those on the opposite side must try to catch the ball before it reaches the ground and if he succeeds, he shouts, "Over! Over! Over!" at the same time rushing around one end of the building. Those on the side from which the ball was thrown at once make a rush for the opposite side, and all whom he reaches by touching or by striking with the ball are his captives and are counted "out".
If there is no catch, there is no count and the sides remain as they were, each throwing the ball alternately, and shouting as before to give warning. In some places the boy hit, instead of being a captive, joins the opposite ranks. It is always very hard, sometimes impossible, to capture the last boy, but it can be done through strategy.
CORNER BALL
In this game the corners depend on the number of players. With six boys there are three corners, which make the limits of a triangle. With eight boys there are four corners, the limits forming a square. You should have more than four players 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 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 center catch the ball, there is a laugh and the ball is thrown back to a corner man with no scorce either way.
When all of the 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 the 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 remembered that the dangerous baseball is never used in these games, and the other ball does no injury to the lad struck.