Page:Athletics and Manly Sport (1890).djvu/291

Rh was like the self-satisfied bubble-bubble of the morning birds.

This leads me to say that, in the rapid growth of canoeing, which is surely coming, it is to be hoped that the paddle will be the legitimate means of propulsion, and not the sail. If men want to sail, let them get keel-boats and open water. The canoe was meant for lesser surfaces. Indeed, the smaller the river, the more enjoyable the canoeing. A few feet of surface is wide enough. With the quiet paddle, one can steal under the overhanging boughs, drift silently into the deep morning and afternoon shadows; study the ever-changing banks, birds, even the splendid dragon-flies and butterflies among the reeds and rushes.

As an athletic exercise, paddling is one of the best, or can easily be made so. A canoe trip of a couple of weeks, diversified by two good swims daily, will bring the whole muscular system into thorough working condition. Dr. Guiteras, who has had unusual experience in athletic training, and has given it special attention, is of opinion that no other exercises are so excellent as paddling and swimming in conjunction.

A word about the logs. They are not so bad as they look, nor as their general reputation. We should, of course, prefer a river without