Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 January 1881 — A Hint for Skaters. [ARTICLE]

A Hint for Skaters.

Mr. Jos. G. Kitchell, of Cincinnati, Ohio, sends the following, which may prove beneficial to those who, for the sport of skating, often undergo great personal risk: “Cut, or select from the carpenter’s lumber, a strip or rod of ash, walnut, maple, or any light yet strong wood; procure a round piece tbreefourths of an inch in diameter, and about six and a half feet long. Take this with you when going to skate; grasp it near the center with the right hand, and carry vertically; if the ice should break, and you sink, a little presence of mind and the rod, which you throw horizontally as the first cracking is heard, will prove

very valuable, as you dan keep head and shoulders above water until help arrives, or enable you to emerge entirely, by shifting the rod, so that it rests on the thickest ice around the hole. You will find from a little use that it is not in the least an incumbrance, but it gives a graceful appearance to the skater, will often avoid a fall, and will insure a greater aid to beginners on skates, I think, than the helping hand of an interested expert”— Young Scientist.