State

Sports of the Long Ago The* early seniors of !\orf li Carolina » eren‘l dependent upon hunting and fishing for di¬ version: they had quite a varied program of recreation, a lot of which wasn't so good. ONE often wonders what the early settlers of North Caro¬ lina did for recreation in those days before baseball, football and other outdoor sports. A good many people arc under the im¬ pression that our forefathers had no other means of amusement ex¬ cept hunting and fishing. That thought, however, is far from being correct. Despite the difficulties attending travel, the Colonists would frequently ride 50 miles or more to see a horse race, or leave their businesses to watch an impromptu cock fight outside a tavern. Dr. Brickell, in his Natural His¬ tory of North Carolina, published in 1737, notes that there were "Race-Paths near each Town and in many parts of the Country." Besides the public courses, there were race tracks on most large plantations. Horses for racing not only were bred on plantations but were imported from England. The jockeys were often young Negroes who rode bareback. In North Carolina the quarter-race, a short swift dash made by two horses on parallel paths, was especially popu- The American Guide Series < North Carolina) gives some inter¬ esting data concerning sports and recreation in the early days of colonization in this state. Evils of Horse Racing William Attmore, a Philadelphia merchant who visited the Colony in 1787. saw many evils in con¬ nection with racing. Not only were large numbers of people drqwn from their work, but there was "wagering and betting: much quarreling, wrangling. Anger. Swearing & drinking. . . Attmore saw "white Boys and Negroes eagerly betting l*» a quart of Rum, a drink of Grog etc., as well as Gen¬ tlemen betting high. . . .” The Gen¬ tlemen sometimes staked a planta¬ tion on a race. Cock fighting with birds import¬ ed from England and Ireland had as much attraction as races be¬ tween thoroughbred horses. Cham- THE STATE. January 24. 1948 pion cocks also were bred in the Colony and were known by name and rated by their prowess. Such prize cocks fought the cocks of rival counties and even those of rival Colonics, while great crowds gathered to watch, and betting was heavy. The crude sport of gander pull¬ ing was considered a prime amuse¬ ment. "This,” wrote a Colonial gentleman, "consists in hanging an old tough gander by the feet, rub¬ bing his neck well with grease and soap, then riding under him with speed, seizing him by the neck as you pass, and endeavoring to pull his head off." Militia Musters Militia musters were ordinarily celebrated with sports as well as with drinking and gambling. Elec¬ tion and other public gatherings also furnished such opportunities. Favorite sports were throwing the sledge, wrestling, jumping over ditches and hedges; fives, which was a kind of hand tennis; long bullets, a kind of football; bandy, a forerunner of golf, sometimes called cambic or goff; football, an early variant of the modern game, somewhat like soccer; quoits, ten¬ pins; shooting matches and horse races. Dance frolics, as they were called, were popular from the ear¬ ly days until they received a wide¬ spread check from the camp-meet¬ ing movement not long before the War Between the States. Although dancing and even the musical in¬ struments associated with the dance were severely denounced by revivalists, the square dance with its numerous figures has persisted in all sections of the state. Men gathered at taverns to play billiards and cai’ds, to bowl and to drink and gamble. Peter de Bois. living in Wilmington, wrote that "an intolerable itch for gaming prevails in all companies." A favor¬ ite game was all-fours, which was similar to seven-up and muggins. In 1753 the General Assembly passed an act "to prevent exces¬ sive and deceitful Gaming." Tav¬ ern keepers were forbidden to al¬ low on their premises any game of chance and skill except billiards, bowling, backgammon, draughts and chess. An attempt also was made to limit the amount of tav¬ ern debts. But these and subse¬ quent measures failed to check the passion for gambling. Hunting and fishing were favor¬ ite pastimes, of course, but the abundance of game and its use as food made these amusements less sport than business or slaughter. Deer were run down with dogs by men on horseback, or were hunted in the Indian fashion by which a man inclosed in a deerskin man¬ aged to get into the midst of a herd. A common and destructive pas¬ time was "fire-hunting.” A band of men would set fire to the woods in a five-mile circle and drive the ani¬ mals to the center, where they could easily be surrounded and slaughtered. There were organized hunts for deer, elk, bear and foxes. Smaller animals, such as opossums and raccoons, were hunted a great deal by boys and Negioes. Turkey Hunting The wild turkey was prized above all birds for the delicate flavor of its meat. Turkeys were not only shot for sport but were trapped in flocks by hunters, who built fires at night under their roosting trees. They then would be shot in great numbers as they took wing. A picturesque sport and one which dates from Colonial times is the tilting tournament. The con¬ test was an imitation of the jousts of the Middle Ages, providing dis¬ plays of horsemanship, pageantry, dowery speeches and chivalric hon¬ ors to women. The "lists” were usually three arches, placed at suit¬ able distances apart, from each of which was suspended a small metal ring. The knight, equipped with a pointed wooden lance, en¬ deavored to pick off the rings while riding at a gallop. The winners chose the queen and crowned her. while the runners-up chose ladies- in-waiting. 9