The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 2, 1903, Page 8

THE SUNDAY CALL. How the Business Man, on Vacation or During His Little Excursions to the Country or the BSeashore, Can Enjoyably Benew His Health and Strength | by Eil and Log and Fenos | Olimbing — Interesting Exer- cises on Two of Nature’s Best Kinds of Gymnastic Apparatus | Fully Described — The Photo- graphs Illustrating the - Story Taken Out in the Open on Hill and Fence - + (Copyright, 1308, by Anthony Barker.) 33 ELLO, Jones; what'd you de during your vacation? s & common salutation heard om city streets in summer. The answer is equally in one key “Hello, Brewn, old man Bimply ate, @rank and had & good, time—dances and all that sort of thing. don’t you know.” A few days later on Jones meets Brown again, and Jones enters a complaint. “By gead, old man Jones, “don’t know wt . the matter with me. Thought I'd come back feeling fine and ready to est up work. But here I am all run Gown already Jones” case is & common one and from & ¢ mon cause. He and negiect to avell themselves of the real object of vacation time. They fall repeir the ravages of months of office work by & few minutes spent every day ng & system of outdoor, hot 1 c. They never cles & thought; they spend ng what they cail “a 1 of the aftermath of They utterly neglect nature’s health- ratus that hedges is s free as the pure air y. could- take into their lungs in great quantities if they only would. s neglect of physical culture in sum- & can often be righ charged the man who is assiduous in taking exercise in his room during the months he 18 cooped up in town | stop exercising now.,” he says to self, “since I can et out into the open.” But he doesn't stop taxing his strength, and there's the He forgets exercise in the air will do. hi tely more good exercise in & room, where air is r ceived at best through two or three wi dows. It is a bedrock principle of all sc have to do with bodily he have too much fre: this princ'p abundance at the season when he should be feeling his best, when -every- thing that grows is in greatest vigor, man alope suffers from muscular and = 1tal depression To remedy all this, let the man away on vacation, or while on his little excur- sions to country, mountain resort or sea- shore, take up a system of hot weather ysical culture. He will not be at it long before he will find that it is far more exhflarating than working in a gymna- sium with dumbbells; that improvement ie more speedily shown; that agility and self-reliance is developed in abundance and that be is being made over so rapidly that his friends are wondering how he has managed it in such a brief time. This is especially true of that system of open-air physicdl culture that has to do with hill or log fence climbing, two of na- ture’s best kind of gymnastic apparatus. simultaneously place the body’s weight on the forward leg and advance the rear leg for & long step between the other leg and the cane. Repeat the movement when go- ing down hill. The balancing caused by this exercise brings into play the upper legs,’ the thighs, the small of the back and the ab- doment while bending. The shoulders and arms are also strengthened by pressing hard on the cane, and if care is taken to hold the cane alternately in sach hdid de- velopment will be even. The exercise is fine for heart and lungs, as it stimulates deep breathing without Hill Climbing.—To get the right kind of exercise from hill climbing, select a hill that is not too steep. Take as long a step upward aw possible, at the same time sup- porting the body_on the rear leg every Next plant the cihe or staff that you carry in one hand firmly in the ground as far ahcad as you can reach and still keep erect. bit that"you can. (Figure 1) Then special effort. Fence Climbing.—Preparatory to fence climbing, 1t would be well to do the fol- lowing exercises on logs and other low obstacle.. Then the muscles brought in- to play- will- be gradualiy bullded up -to the more vigorous work on fences. - A preparatory exercise is to ttep on and over logs, 80 as to become accustomed to stepping high. Another good ldea I8 to bajance on a small log,.and thus be- come. self-reliant for more ambitious déeds. 3 1. The Vibratory - Exercise.—After self- assurance: arid suppleness have been en- couraged in. this” manner, seek out a strong and convenint fenee of the rafl or rustic variety and practice the effi- caclous vibratory éxercise ori it. This consists, simply- in walking up to. and over the fence without putting hands to it, clearing ii in two er more steps according to’ its height (Figure 2), aid, when the rear foot is drawn to tlie top rafl, stepping to the ground with a’clear « sweep with -the other. As this exercise causes the entire body to vibrate in order to retain balance, an exhilarating eftect is produced on the vital organs, and the tendency is to re- place careworn features - with brighter and younger ones. In addition, - the whole body, especially the hips and the small of the back, is given beneficlal ex- ercise. Il Plunging and Natural Massage.— Put the stomach on the top rail. The body being heavier “than the legs, the head and arms descend and the hands are placed, palms downward, upon the ground. (Figure 3.) After this position has been secured, throw the legs over the fence to either side, and gét up on your feet. d As you become proficient, do the exer- cise by diving over the fence. Later on, duck your head and roll over, and follow up with the many tumbling exercises that will occur to you as you are at work. The special value of this exercise lies in its massage effect, produced by the body's coming constantly. in ‘contact with grass and ground. Stomach troubles, as well as headaches, are also cured by it, and as an all-round exhilarator it cannot be beaten. IIT. Vaulting.—This {s & very muscular exercise and one of the hardest that can’ be done on log or fence. For this reason it would be well to start going over a small object. This strenuous movement is described in a few words. Place the hands on the top fence rall, conveniently apart and with the ffiiger tips of each hand turned away from each other. Then, while hold- ing on firmly, throw the feet forward and backward over the fence, as is done on a gymnasium horse. (Figure 4.) When the muscles are accustomed to this unusual exercise, spring over the fence by lightly touching the hands to the top rail, or go over it in vaulting style, with the legs well drawn up to the boay while going over the top. Also run and jump over the fence without touching it, and later on walk up to and go over it in similar manner. In a short time a five or six foot fence Ctan be easily Cleared. Lookout for your shin bones and then you will have no reason to distract your mind from the pleasant task of building up arms, shoulders, legs and the abdom- inal reglon. ¢ A final word. Of course, In outdoor physical culture the same general rules should be observed as when indoor work is carried on. Be careful not to exercise just after meals. Dress properly, which, in this case, means old and as little cloth. ing as conventionality allows. untll general weariness sets in, and then, if the sea, a stream or a lake is not con- venient, take a cgld shower or a cold rub- Also, if you would improve the healthfulness of your hair, wear a hat as little as possible and subject it to long How the lndléns Played Lacrosse Like Warfare The present game, modified and reduced to ‘a sclence, is intense enough, but the old lacrosse, as played by thé magnificent aborigine warriors of a century ago, was more akin to warfare than friendly sport. Months before a tribdl match was due the players would be selected—and weeks before they would prepare by fasting—in fact by going into rigorous training. On the night before the day of the match all 1e players would assemible round a great fire, and: there would begin a_ wild, flerce dance, with mad music ever rising louder and faster, the dancers leaping, -scream- ing, shaking their crosse sticks, an. invo- cation, this, to the Great Spirit for vie- tory. On the next day, on the playing ground, a great crowd would. assembie—ancient warriors, squaws and children—and _the young braves wha were to. play would Zather in the woods in two parties, in- dulging in the wildest war whoops while they festooned and painted themseives. Then, at a signal, when the goals were set and all was made ready, out from the trees they would pour, shouting, leaping and somersaulting, while their lady loves ran forward greet and cheer them. The game director would count the sides, make a long speech and give the signal te lay. p P Matches might consist of from twehty to a hundred games, and were spread over several days, beginning early in the morning and lasting far into the day. At the start the ball was generally thrown high up into the air, and then the wildest scramble would ensue as 1t fell, and & score of players would leap up at it to strike. Wherever the ball went, there the fleld would follow with wild yells, and one at last would pick up the ball in his stick, and make off like a deer, twisting, ducking. leaping. doubling, while forty or fifty braves pursued at top speed, for there were no restrictions in the way of boundaries, in a wild and glorious stame pede.