The Red Cloud chief., 1881-04-07
CoaSting in Connecticut-An Exciting
but Dangerous Sport.

NORWICH. CoNN.. ls The cOaSting par
adise of New England. Ii has mtr
hills than cid Rome. and most Of then
are twice Is steep. Ii is impossible tt
60 twenty rods in almost any direction
in the old town without climbing. Since
the snowfall of Christmas week the city
has been surrendered on every evening
soon after nightfall TO the coasters.
After dark it has been perilous 10 walk
the streets, and there have been acct
dents to men, women, boys and horses
without number. On the various hills
around Norwich. a spectator counted
one evening last week nearly one thou
sand sleds of every description. from
tine long pickerel double-ripper to .he
small boys tip-up and the homemade
miniature ripper.
In these sliding matches young and
old. male and female participated.
Agedm men and gray-haired matrons were
often seen careering 1T railroad speed
OF the oak plank of the ripper or the
~resplendent upholstered cushion of the
expensive double sled.
The double ripper is a late invention
Of Young America, but is familiar to
country people Its relation to the or
binary sled il that Of the iee-b0at - the
skate in point of speed. 1t is formed
by yoking up two large sheds tandem.
and joining them with 8 narrow Oaken
pl&nk The pilot sits on the Prov OF
the plank. and steers the front sled with
a foot tiller. The ripper is made large
or small TO suit the plan of its proprie-
tor. Norwich and New London have
long We'd in the developmeut AZ double
ripper architecture. and they look upon
the coasting men Of the west of New
England rs simply amateurs. In the
course OF the past Eve wintersthey have
developed ~cossiing into a sport Is dis
tinctive "a that OF Yachting or horse
racing. They have their peculiar mod
els for building and their peculiar terms
to describe features of the sport. They
have undoubtedly attained rates OF speed
~unequaled anywhere else, and fe~arlessly
take risks that would appai tyros. Each
winter New London sends her liveliest
double-ripper and her favorite riders
to Norwich on a January evening
to compete for the championship of the
season. The sieds that are used in
these matches are great structures that
viii seat eighteen to thirty e The
place chosen for the contest is Fox's
Hill, in Preston, a populous suburban
village just cross the Shetucket River.
Its summit is 8 mile distant from the
river. Ii is the highest point of land.
with the exception OF Taunton Hill.
along the Connecticut seaboard. 1t is
8 Titan among the other eminences
around Norwich. The slide is three
quarters of q mile long, and when the
icy track is unusually smooth and solid
the bes. double rippers have gone
across the bridge into. the city. The
usual stopping point is an old watering
trough, n quarter OF mile frum the
bridge.
Fox's Hill has been thronged with
coasters all this season, and some fair
time has been made. On last Wednes-
day evening Charles S. Fiske's double
ripper. which for three years has been
accounted the fastest sled IN Connect
cut. was timed BY two timekeepers. one
At the foot and the other at the top of
the hill, with accurate chronometers-
The track was by no means in 6rst-class
The sled bore twelve men,
with Mr.. Fiske, who is the most expert
in Eastern Connecticut, at the
front The descent to the watering
trough. three-quarters of a. mile. WAS
made in \ fraction less than forty-ive
seconds On the double-ripper no one
is allowed TO move his feet from the
foot supports along the plank; he isen-
joined to keep perfectly still. Is tine
slightest movement of . passenger when
2 sled is making such fearful speed is
likely to result in disaster. Disaster |
means mutilation. and perhaps death.
So perfect Is Mr.. Fiske in the art of
steering that he can run his sled with
8 hairs breadth Of q line, and he
avows that with . single movement he
can upset the sled in an instant Il il
is necessary to avoid collisioc. As
every passenger is IN danger Of being
killed in case Mr.. Fiske upsets his sled
when going nj breakneck speed. he he's
not been able to carry his theory into
practice. One Of the passengers On the
Lrial trip, on Wednesday evening, sid
10 the writer that it was his first ePe-