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Story
November 7, 1896
The Diamond Drill
Crystal Falls, Iron County, Michigan
What is this article about?
Boys in Texas play an exciting game of passing flaming cotton balls in a circle during cotton-picking season, risking burns for fun; northern boys use cat-tails instead, which also make effective torches for parades.
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FIRE-BALL PLAYING.
A Splendid Sport of Which the Boys of
Texas Are Very Fond.
About the time every year that the
negroes begin cotton-picking the boys
of Texas have rare sport playing with
fire-balls. Just at evening they gather
from the field a pile of cotton-pods and
take them to a near-by common or
field. As soon as it is dark they go out
in force, carrying with them a can of
coal oil, or kerosene. Several of the
cotton balls are wadded together in a
solid mass and saturated with the oil.
Then the boys separate in a big circle,
standing 15 or 20 feet apart.
"All ready!" shouts the boy who
holds the dripping ball of cotton.
"Ready, ready," comes the word from
the other players.
A match is lighted and in a moment
the coal oil in the cotton ball is blaz-
ing. Of course the boy who set it afire
cannot hold it more than a second, so
he throws it swiftly to the boy next to
him. This boy sees the flaming ball
coming and he must catch it in his
hands and throw it before it burns him.
He may take any boy in the ring by sur-
prise, and if that boy drops it he is not
only out of the game but he must pay
a heavy forfeit for his carelessness.
This forfeit usually consists in making
the "fumbler" stoop over and allow
himself to be struck once with a hat or
knotted handkerchief by each of the
other players,
When one ball is used up another is
lighted and the game continues mer-
rily. Of course the players become
well blackened and sometimes just a
little scorched, but the intense excite-
ment of the game makes up for all that.
Not only is this game played in the
south, but the boys of the north also
have a hand at it. Instead of cotton
PLAYING WITH FIRE-BALLS,
they use the fluffy head of the marsh
flag, commonly known as the cat-tail,
which, as you know, falls apart when
dry in a cottony mass. This makes
just as good a fire-ball as cotton. Where
cat-tails cannot be obtained sometimes
cotton batting is used.
Right in this connection many boys
would doubtless be glad to know that
dried cat-tails make excellent torches.
The stalks should be cut as long as
possible and the heads of the cat-tails
well saturated with kerosene oil. When
lighted they will burn for a long time
with a flare that will outdo most ready-
made torches. No doubt there are com-
panies of boys who would like to march
in the political parades of the present
campaign. If they do they will find
cat-tail torches a very great attraction
and they can be supplied at little or no
expense.—Chicago Record.
A Splendid Sport of Which the Boys of
Texas Are Very Fond.
About the time every year that the
negroes begin cotton-picking the boys
of Texas have rare sport playing with
fire-balls. Just at evening they gather
from the field a pile of cotton-pods and
take them to a near-by common or
field. As soon as it is dark they go out
in force, carrying with them a can of
coal oil, or kerosene. Several of the
cotton balls are wadded together in a
solid mass and saturated with the oil.
Then the boys separate in a big circle,
standing 15 or 20 feet apart.
"All ready!" shouts the boy who
holds the dripping ball of cotton.
"Ready, ready," comes the word from
the other players.
A match is lighted and in a moment
the coal oil in the cotton ball is blaz-
ing. Of course the boy who set it afire
cannot hold it more than a second, so
he throws it swiftly to the boy next to
him. This boy sees the flaming ball
coming and he must catch it in his
hands and throw it before it burns him.
He may take any boy in the ring by sur-
prise, and if that boy drops it he is not
only out of the game but he must pay
a heavy forfeit for his carelessness.
This forfeit usually consists in making
the "fumbler" stoop over and allow
himself to be struck once with a hat or
knotted handkerchief by each of the
other players,
When one ball is used up another is
lighted and the game continues mer-
rily. Of course the players become
well blackened and sometimes just a
little scorched, but the intense excite-
ment of the game makes up for all that.
Not only is this game played in the
south, but the boys of the north also
have a hand at it. Instead of cotton
PLAYING WITH FIRE-BALLS,
they use the fluffy head of the marsh
flag, commonly known as the cat-tail,
which, as you know, falls apart when
dry in a cottony mass. This makes
just as good a fire-ball as cotton. Where
cat-tails cannot be obtained sometimes
cotton batting is used.
Right in this connection many boys
would doubtless be glad to know that
dried cat-tails make excellent torches.
The stalks should be cut as long as
possible and the heads of the cat-tails
well saturated with kerosene oil. When
lighted they will burn for a long time
with a flare that will outdo most ready-
made torches. No doubt there are com-
panies of boys who would like to march
in the political parades of the present
campaign. If they do they will find
cat-tail torches a very great attraction
and they can be supplied at little or no
expense.—Chicago Record.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Adventure
What themes does it cover?
Bravery Heroism
Triumph
What keywords are associated?
Fire Ball Game
Texas Boys
Cotton Pods
Cat Tails
Kerosene Torches
Where did it happen?
Texas
Story Details
Location
Texas
Event Date
Seasonal, During Cotton Picking Time
Story Details
Boys in Texas gather cotton pods, saturate them with kerosene, light them into flaming balls, and pass them quickly in a circle to avoid burns, with forfeits for dropping. Similar game uses cat-tails in the north. Dried cat-tails make good torches for parades.