A Man's Domain.

Men had more frequent opportunities for sport in the West than women did. Women might participate in frolics and dances, but most men and women believed that a woman should spend her time on domestic duties. This ideology suggested that women belonged at home and limited their contact with others. Their work was done alone more often than men's, and women were seldom encouraged to display strength or athleticism. Men, who had more opportunities to work in company with other men, also had more opportunities to play sports.

Hunting and Shooting Contests.

In these contests men sought to prove their skill with weapons. In the late eighteenth century competitive squirrel hunts were a popular form of recreation. In one such contest two teams of four men each spent a day hunting squirrels. When they returned, one team had killed...