179 - RIGHT AND tEPT HANDED, Had it not: been for such an authority as the United States, recsbrding. the paddle to be only two feet long, it would be hard to comprehend, but when it Is considered how close to the water a man's "axia^ would be, and what an advantage it would be to haTe the arms clowa instead of elevated, it can readily be understood the power that can be put into the pad.dle. In Ben Hur, you will remember, how he, although a galley slave, asked the commander of tiie vessel to ullow him to change sides at the oar, calling attention to the deformity icaused by the men being compelled to use the same side, whereas if permitted to change, both arms would be exercised differently, thus obviat- ing one shoulder becoming lower than the other; and more important still, that in case of accident, the slave would be just as expert on one side as the other. So the Indian, when he got tired on one side, would change hands and paddle the other side. It is advan- tageous to cultivate the use of both hands, particular- ly in performing physical labor, for let a man shovel* spade, hoe or chop right-handed aU day, he will get more exhausted than if he changes off. This art can be acquired very quickly. This will hold good with aU manual labor, and when it comes to gathering corn, a young man should be admonished of the abso- lute necessity of his training himself to alternate the peg or husking gloves, as that wiU save his body, and particularly his wrists, from many aches. The great scientist, Huxley, states the possibili- ties of using one hand or leg as well as the other, and he is authority for the assertion that all artists in tra- peze and tumbling performances have to cultivate the
