Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-03-14
ssTObogganing."

Then there is the tobogggan sliding,
''tobogganing," as it is called-bes'de
which your Boston coasting is simply an
appetizer to q square meal. Whoever
would enjoy one of the most profound
and unspeakable sensations of life must
come to Montreal and take in the long
slide of the Montreal Toboggan Club
grounds. There is nothing in the way
Of speedy motion which will compare
with it except creased lightning, and
there was no feature of the last carnival
more thoroughly enjoyed by the Ameri-
can visitors. For the benefit of those
who have not seen q toboggan. let me
say that it consists of a long strip or
strips of wood about three-sixteenths OF
an inch thick, from fifteen to twenty
four inches wide and from four to eight
feet in length, bent up at the forward
end and strengthened on the top side by
round side and cross bars about an inch
thick. A soft cushion is laid on to min
imize the effect of the ''bumps" if there
happen to be any on the track. On this
cushion the ladies and gentlemen seat
themselves, generally tailor fashion,
the steersman, however, reclining on
his left leg with his right hanging out to
steer by. The load having been nicely
slowed, sometimes as many as half .
dozen persons, the steersman takes his
place, q warning cry of "All ready"
is given, and the toboggan is
gently started down the hill. 1t
soon gains impetus and the sliders
gather themselves more tightly to-
gether, but this must be done
with caution, as any awkward move
ment is attended with danger to the
mover and the safety of the whole load.
When any part of your clothing tries to
blow away on q toboggan slide let it 60;
any desperate or awkward attempt to
save it may cost you nor than the
probable damage to the article. About
a quarter way down the slide your We
locity has increased very perceptibly;
half way down you feel as though you
were flying through the air, and just
before you come to the foot Of the hill
you seem to have taken leave of all idea
of time and distance, and to be making
one grand rush into space with just .
faint kind of conception of the possible
consequences of q sudden stoppage and
a kind of desperate determination to
hold on and be brave about it, any
way.
Hyou are on the long slide, you proba-
bly, lose your breath, and as you are
gasping for it you realize that you have
reached the bottom and are spinning
over the level snow at a somewhat mod
fled rate of speed. Soon your tobog-
gan stops, and you are suddenly reused
from the reverie you have fallen into
during the closing run of your tobog-
gan by the cry: up and out of the
way" and scramble up and out of the
track in a most undignified manner,
just in time to avoid being run over by
a heavily loaded toboggan which flies
past you, having got its superior mo-
mentum in consequence of its greater
weight. So great is the rush on the
slides at times that the toboggans fol-
low close behind each other. When you
begin to take stock of your sensations,
you find your blood tingling at the end
of every toe and finger. Your teeth
chatter possibly. Your eyes sparkle.
You feel as though you had had an ex-
perince worth recording in your diary,
and ten to one you want to climb the
hill and try it again. Some people get
enough in one slide, but they are usual
ly people who have not been able to get
their lives insured or have a fear of dy-
ing before their better halves. All
healthy and properly constituted people
want to try it again. Montreal Cor.
Boston Globe.