Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopaedia of Sports and Amusements Part 44

TREATMENT OF VICES.

The chief vices which are met with among ponies are--1st, Obstinate Stopping; 2d, Stumbling from Carelessness; 3d, Rearing; 4th, Kicking; 5th, Shying; and 6th, Running Away.

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_Obstinate Stopping_, which in its worst forms is called "jibbing," is a very troublesome vice, and even in the saddle is sometimes attended with danger, whilst in driving it is so to a dreadful degree.

The rider should never attempt to force his pony forward with the whip or spur, which only aggravates the bad-tempered brute; but should patiently sit quiet in the saddle, and keep his temper, until the pony chooses to move forward again. In this way sometimes very vicious animals are cured when they find that their stable is not the sooner reached by their device; on the other hand, if the whip is used, the pony, especially if of Welsh breed, is very apt to lie down and roll his rider in the dirt, or even sometimes to bolt into a river, or pond, and leave him in danger of his life. My young friends will therefore remember my advice when being mounted upon an obstinate pony, and having lost their tempers, they have proceeded to use their whips, and are bemired or half drowned in consequence.

_Stumbling_ is more a defect of conformation than a vice; but nevertheless, it greatly depends upon a want of spirit to keep up a steady action of the fore legs. It often happens that a pony trots along for a mile or two safely enough; but after going that distance he becomes lazy and careless, and trips with one foot and then with the other, a sure prelude to such a fall as the following, which would be a very bad one, and sufficient to cut both knees to the bone, and to cause serious damage to the rider. The only way to avoid such accidents is to keep the pony at a steady pace, fast enough to keep him alive, but not enough so to tire him. Loose stones and broken ground should be avoided, and a careful hold should be kept upon the mouth, without being so tight as to gag it. When a stumble actually takes place, the body should be well thrown back and the mouth forcibly jerked, so as to make the pony exert himself to keep his legs. An unsafe animal of this kind is, however, wholly unfit for young riders, and they should never be allowed to ride one.

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_Rearing_ is a very dangerous vice, and not very common among ponies after they are once broken in. If the rider should, however, be placed upon a rearer, he should be careful to avoid hanging upon the bit when he rises in the air, but on the contrary should loose the reins entirely, and clasp the neck, if the pony should rise very high in the air. The accompanying sketch shows this vice in a very trifling degree, and in such a case the seat thus represented is sufficiently forward to prevent accidents.

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The rider will, however, observe that the reins are quite loose. It often happens that this vice is produced by too tight and severe a curb in a tender mouth, and that upon changing the bit, or letting out the curb chain, the tendency to rise is entirely gone. Whenever, therefore, the young rider finds his pony inclined to rear, let him look well to his bit, and at once drop the curb rein if he has one. If, however, he has only a snaffle, he may rest a.s.sured that it is a regular habit, and at once make up his mind either to battle with it or to change his pony.

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_Kicking_ is much more common among ponies than rearing, and very many of these little animals are given to practise it. It is perhaps partly owing to the teasing of their young masters that it is so common; but whatever the cause, there can be no doubt that it is too prevalent among them. Sometimes it exists as a regular attempt to unhorse the rider, which is a very troublesome habit, and one very difficult to break, because it so often succeeds that the pony is tempted to try again. When this vice is met with, the rider should do all in his power to keep his pony's head up, by jerking the bit, and at the same time he should sit well back, with his feet well forwards, with heels down, and trust to his knees in holding on. When kicking is only the result of high spirits and "freshness," the best remedy is a smart gallop, which soon stops all these pranks, and makes the most riotous animal quiet.

_Shying_ is also very common among ponies, and in them is often the result of cunning, which leads them to pretend a greater degree of shyness than they really possess. The best mode of treatment is to take as little notice as possible of the shying, but carefully to make the pony pa.s.s the object at which he is looking, without regarding how this is effected. The whip should seldom be used at all, and never _after_ the object is pa.s.sed.

_Bolting, or Running Away_, is often the result of want of exercise, but sometimes it is a systematic vice. A powerful bit and a steady seat, with good hands, are the best means of grappling with this habit, which is sometimes a very dangerous one. If the pony really runs away, the rider should not pull dead at his mouth, but should relax his hold for a short time, and then take a sharp pull, which is often effectual. A good gallop until he is tired will often cure a runaway for the rest of his life. There are a variety of bits intended expressly to counteract this vice, such as the Hanoverian Pelham, the curb with a high port, &c.; but nothing is perfectly effectual where there is a determination to run away. A nose-band has lately been invented for the purpose, which answers better than anything hitherto brought out; it consists of a long nose-band which crosses behind the jaw and then hooks on to the bit in the same way as the ordinary curb-chain. When the rein is pulled hard, this nose-band is drawn tight round the jaw, by which the mouth is closed, and the port is pressed strongly against the roof of the mouth, causing a great degree of pain, sufficient to stop most horses. This powerful remedy, which has been named the Bucephalus nose-band, should not lightly be used; but in the case of a runaway horse, or pony, it is the only really efficacious one.

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ROWING.

"A boat, a boat, is the toy for me, To rollic about in on river and sea; To be a child of the breeze and the gale, And like a wild bird on the deep to sail, This is the life for me!"--_Procter._

HISTORICAL MEMORANDA.

The sea service is the glory of Old England, notwithstanding all the glorious land service of ancient and modern days. A country having nearly ten thousand miles of sea-coast, with numerous ports, harbours, estuaries, river mouths, and capacious bays, must ever be a maritime nation, and look for its supremacy to the sea--to her sons being amphibious; and nothing is better calculated to develop the inherent instinct for sea duties than the amus.e.m.e.nts of boating, of rowing, of sailing, and other aquatic sports. Every young gentleman in England should know how to manage a boat, and to sail a cutter; and it will be our duty to initiate him into the methods of doing so.

The origin of ships must be traced to the ark of Noah; but this was not a sailing or a rowing vessel, but simply a large floating house or receptacle for Noah and his family, and the various types of animated nature. The first navigators were the Phnicians, who sailed in various seas. They were succeeded by the ships of Carthage, Egypt, Venice, Genoa, Holland, and Portugal. The Saxons under Alfred, and the Danes under Canute, had formidable navies. Alfred, who ascended the throne in 872, commenced the first English fleet in person, and is said to have suggested a variety of improvements in the structure, as well as greatly to have increased the size of the vessels, some of the largest of which carried sixty oars. After the death of Alfred, the naval power of England seems to have lain dormant; and this, no doubt, tempted the Norman invasion in 1066, under William the b.a.s.t.a.r.d, who sailed for the coast of England with a fleet of 900 vessels; and so sensible was he of the importance of the naval service, that he gave certain privileges to certain towns on the sea-coast, which were from their number called the Cinque Ports. Richard I. fitted out large fleets; and his successor, John, a.s.serted the exclusive right of the English nation to the dominion of the seas. The reign of Edward I. was also distinguished for successes at sea. Henry VII., on gaining the throne, in 1485, put the navy into a respectable condition; and a large ship, called the "Great Harry," which may properly be termed the first _ship_ of the British navy, was built at a cost of 14,000_l._ The discovery of America, about the period of the accession of Henry VIII., gave a new stimulus to our navy, and many ships were then built of large tonnage, some of a thousand tons. But Queen Elizabeth, deeply impressed with the maxim, that "whosoever commands the sea, commands the trade of the world," and that "whosoever commands the trade, commands the riches of the world," and consequently the world itself, so encouraged and restored the marine, that she may be called the "Restorer of the naval power of England;" and, in a few years after, the invasion of the Spanish Armada put our naval power to the proof. Charles I., the great and courageous Cromwell, and even the pleasure-loving Charles II., were all impressed with the great advantages of a formidable navy; and in the reign of Anne, fifty-two French ships, containing more than 3,000 guns, were captured. And during the reign of George III. the naval superiority was placed by a series of glorious successes beyond all dispute; and it is to be hoped that the reign of our beloved Queen Victoria, who is herself a sailor, and full of every generous aspiration that belongs to a British Tar, will, notwithstanding the "mistakes of the Admiralty," prove that England still retains the sovereignty of the ocean, and on that element she will defy the world.

CONSTRUCTION OF ANCIENT SHIPS AND GALLEYS.

The Egyptian vessels are the earliest of which any well-authenticated graphic ill.u.s.tration has been preserved. We here give a view of one of their earliest sailing vessels. The celebrated Egyptian vessel called the "Isis" is said to have been in length 180 feet, in breadth 45 feet, and in height, from the upper edge of the deck to the bottom of the well, 43 feet. The well-known ship of Hiero, king of Syracuse, was nearly 400 tons burden.

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ROMAN GALLEYS, SHIPS, ETC.

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They were in length about 125 feet, and in breadth 10 feet. Their first requisite was swiftness, and no part of the side was left vacant where an oar could be put out; hence they had often three banks of oars, one above the other. In most ancient ships, there was placed at the prow an image called "the sign." The part of the vessel that cut the water was called the "goose." At the stern, which generally resembled a shield, was set or some way delineated a representation of the deity to whose tutelary favour the ship was committed, and to which daily prayer and sacrifice were offered. War ships were chiefly rowed with oars, that they might be able to tack about. The first long ships were rowed with fifty oars, but afterwards a larger number was used. In the more perfect condition of ancient navigation, there were some ships that had as many as five tiers of oars, and three hundred rowers. Two large holes at the prow of the vessel, occasionally used for oars, were called the ship's "eyes;" and a wooden projection at the prow, covered with bra.s.s, was called a "beak;" and pieces of wood placed on each side of the prow of a vessel, to ward off the force of the enemy's beak, were called the ship's "ears." Over these vessels were certain raised platforms, and on their forecastles were towers on which the soldiers stood, whose shields were usually hung upon the railings which begirt the ship. The sides of the prow were called "cheeks." The anchors at first used were often large stones, or even bags of sand; afterwards, however, the ancient ships carried anchors with one, two, and four flukes. The larger anchor was called the "sacred anchor," and reserved for the most trying occasions. Among the ancients, ships were usually termed "horses," which explains many ancient fables. The elder Pliny, for instance, tells us of a boy who was carried by water some miles every day on the back of a dolphin to school; the vessel, in all probability, having a dolphin at the prow. Arion, the famous musician of Lesbos, having made great wealth in foreign parts by his profession, was returning home by ship, when the sailors resolved to kill him, and seize upon his riches. Playing once again, at his last request, a favourite tune, he leaped into the sea. A dolphin, attracted by his melody, received him safely on its back, and carried him again to the coast where Periander lived. Arion, doubtless, escaped by a boat, the fore-part of which consisted of a dolphin.

Having thus given the young reader a notion of ancient boats and ships, we shall now proceed to make him acquainted with the modern practices of rowing, boating, sailing, &c.

OF BOATS.

A _Boat_ is properly a vessel propelled by oars. In a more extensive sense the word is applied to other small vessels, which differ in construction and name, according to the services in which they are employed. Thus they are light or strong, sharp or flat-bottomed, open or decked, according as they are intended for swiftness or burden, deep or shallow water, &c.

The _Barge_ is a long, light, narrow boat, employed in harbours, and unfit for sea. The _Long Boat_ is the largest boat belonging to a ship, generally furnished with two sails, and is employed for cruising short distances, bringing the cargo and bales on board, &c.

The _Launch_ is more flat-bottomed than the long boat, which it has generally superseded. The _Pinnace_ resembles the barge, but is smaller.

The _Cutters_ of a ship are broader and deeper than the barge or pinnace, and are employed in carrying light articles, single pa.s.sengers, &c. on board.

_Yawls_ are used for similar purposes to the barge and pinnace. A _Gig_ is a long, narrow boat, used for expedition, and rowed with six or eight oars. The _Jolly Boat_ is smaller than a yawl, and is used for going on sh.o.r.e. A merchant ship seldom has more than two boats,--a long boat and a yawl.

A _Wherry_ is a light, sharp boat, used in a river or harbour for transporting pa.s.sengers. A _Punt_ is a flat-bottomed boat, chiefly used for fishing on a fresh water river. A _Skiff_ is a small sharp-nosed boat, used in rivers. A _Dingy_ is a very small stiff boat used by yachts. A _Yacht_ is a pleasure sailing-boat. A _Lugger_ is a boat which is furnished with sails of a peculiar cut. A _Funny_ is a small light boat used in river rowing, and made with her bow and stern nearly alike.

THE COMPONENT PARTS OF BOATS.

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Rowing boats consist of the bows (1); the stem, or entrance (2); the stern (8), where are the rudder and the lines for steering; the rowlocks (3), for giving purchase to the oars; and the thwarts, or seats (4). At the bottom are the foot-boards (5), which are easily removed, in order to bail out any water which may leak into the boat. Besides these parts there is a board placed across the boat for the feet of the rower, called a stretcher. The whole boat is composed of one or more planks, called streaks, nailed upon a light oak framework, called the timbers, or ribs; and the upper streak, upon which the rowlocks are placed, is called the wale-streak. Boats with two rowlocks opposite each other are called sculling boats, and are propelled by a pair of light oars called sculls, the art being called "sculling." When a boat is fitted with a pair of rowlocks not opposite each other, it is called a pair-oared boat. If with two in the middle opposite each other, and two others, one before and the other behind, but not opposite each other, it is called a _randan_. When a boat has four rowlocks, none of which are opposite one another, it is called a four-oared boat, and so on up to ten oars, which is the utmost limit in common use for any kind of boat but the pleasure barge, which sometimes has twenty-four oars, as in the City barges of London. The rowlock nearest the bow is called the bow rowlock, or No. 1; the next No. 2, and so on; and the oars used in them receive the same number, the one nearest the stern being called the "stroke oar." The rowlocks in river and sea boats are somewhat different in shape though identical in principle, both consisting of a square s.p.a.ce of about the breadth of a man's hand, and both lying on the wale-streak; but in river boats being generally bounded before and behind by a flat piece of oak or ash called, respectively, the thowl-pin and stopper; whilst in sea boats they are merely common round wooden pins dropped into holes made in the wale-streak, but still receiving the same names. The thowl-pin is for the purpose of pulling the oar against, whilst the stopper prevents the oar from slipping forwards when the rower is pushing it in that direction after the stroke.

THE OARS AND SCULLS.

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A scull is a small oar used with one hand, and requiring a pair, as in the case of oars, one being placed in the rowlock on each side the boat, and the pair being used by one person with his right and left hands.

Oars are used by both hands, and a pair-oared boat consequently requires two oarsmen; a four-oared boat four, and so on. Both sculls and oars consist of the same parts, except that the handle of the _oar_ is made long enough for both hands, as at (_b_). In every case there is a rounded handle (_a b_), a loom, square in form, and extending from the handle to the b.u.t.ton, or about one-third of the length of the oar; and beyond the b.u.t.ton is the blade, which is first nearly round, and then gradually widens, until it a.s.sumes the form best adapted for laying hold of the water, which is now found to be broad rather than long, as was formerly thought to be desirable. The b.u.t.ton is a piece of leather nailed on to prevent the oar from slipping through the rowlock, but only used in river rowing, as it is not adapted for the rough work which is often met with in sea rowing.

SEA ROWING.

This is necessarily less elegant than river rowing, because of the rough nature of the element on which the exercise is pursued. The oar must be held firmly in the hands, the inside hand being placed at (_b_), and the outside at (_a_), and both hands grasping the oar between the thumbs and fingers. The whole art consists in the crew moving backwards and forwards together, called "swinging," and laying hold of the water as well as they can, taking care to avoid pulling in the air with great force when there is a trough or interval between two waves, and on the other hand equally avoiding a heavy wave, which has a tendency to dash the oar out of the hand. All this requires practice in the rowers, and also in the steersman, called the c.o.xswain, who should watch for the high waves, and warn his men when a heavy one is coming. He should also take care to cross the roll of the sea as much as possible, so as to avoid being struck on the side of the boat called "the counter," which would either swamp her, or else knock the oars out of the rowlocks. In this kind of rowing, the "feathering" of the oar, to be presently described, is not attempted, on account of the roughness of the water, but it merely is pulled steadily, but strongly, backwards, and is then pushed forwards in the rowlocks.

RIVER ROWING.

The art of river rowing is capable of a high degree of elegance, and few sights are more pleasing to a lover of graceful forms than that of a crew of fine lads, or young men, rowing well together and in good style.

To do this requires great practice, and attention to a few essential points, which I will here endeavour to describe.