Smyrna times., 1885-02-11

THE TOBOGGAN
is a thin slip of hickory or cedar, say /
six or eight feet in length, and Il quar- |
ter of an inch in thickness, with a (
width of sixteen or eighteen inches. /
One end is curved upward into a semi |
circle, and bound back with slender |
thongs OF soaked deer-hide. Across !
the sled are placed two or three small |
bars of light, tough wood, and along
its sides couple of bars or rods, Of the
same material. There is the toboggan,
or Indian sled, in its most natural
form, SO light that the pressure of Il
finger will draw it, and presenting so
broad a surface to the snow that with
a heavy load superintendent it rides
lightly over the drifts Lightutss,
elasticity, great carrying pOwer-all
these are met in the simplest form of
sleigh that has been devised-the
blending of two runners into one.
TobOgganing has become some
thing of an artificial amusement, in
that it is enjoyed upon made slides and
by torches, whereas, in its perfection,
it tneeds the white side of virgin hill
and the steely glitter OF the cold moon
and stars. AS things now are nearly
twenty tracks are in operation. The
| hOspitable MOntrealers, in blanket
uniform, offer an endless succession OF
! tOboggans to their visitors, and sled
after sled whizZes down the icy track,
a mile minute, with, in the front, a
sallow American solemnly intent on
experiencing a new sensation, or a rosy
Yankee girl, who is deaf and blind to
! everything of it except its delight. As
between the experienced Canadian
girl and the Yankee lass serving her
nOvitiate upon a tObOggan, the differ
ence to the steerer is that between a
pine plank and q lancewOod fishing
tip.
For the great mass Of our visitors
this week tObOgganing is clambering
slowly to the summit of slope tha'
looks like a sheet of ruled paper, and
then slipping down it at lightning
speed, between two long rows of cram
ing necks and staring faces, with at
every half second, fiaring torch
above all sky so blue that it seems
almost black, pierced by an apparent
infnity of steely stars. But little
further to the west there still are slope;
that stop the breath with rapture, and
would blind the eye of anything but al
eagle.
"Given such a night as we have
been having here all week, the air ful
of drv electric needles and the frost st
keen that you hear the sidewalks anC
the walls of the houses cracking will
reports like rine-shOus as you walk
I II =,
yourself at the summit of a slope, 6O'
feet in height. and set at an angle o
sixty degrees. For long distance i
falls sheer as a nightmare, daZZlingl!
white, each little grain Of the snow
scintillating like diamond; thel
struggling and stunted trees break tn
! cascade of snow, while far below lies
white plain, broken with trees am
thickets and bounded by IA belt q
twinkling lights. How far below it Is
, and how still!
t You straighten your tOboggan'
head, and your lady companion be
slows herselfin the bow, tucking he
skirts tightly round her dainty feet
and drawing her nubia down to shiel
a her ewes and face. You ensconc
0 Yourself behind her; on one hip,
a YOU will, with the other foot trailin
q as rudder, though my eXperienC
teaches me to prefer for Edwin
square seat, with his toes in the nea
= neighborhOod of the the rearward bu
J, tons of Angelinas sacque, one han
g trailing on each side, by whose pre-:
q sure Ia small section of a broomstick
= to be commended "in this cOnnet
. ! 10, Il xvorCfl i- rrtYiHAI
p All being in readiness, you gentl
70 push your tOboggan to the edge of tn
1t precipice. Another world is lying b.
le meath you-hOw far beneath you yo
r do not, perhaps, care to fancy. III
slender wood creaks, rustlcs and BEND
from level the sled assumes an almO
3 perpendicular position, and the nethC
IS world seems to rise up and smile yc
in the face. Nothing in the univer
resembles this first dizzy swOOp.
low is the sled and so light its fabri
and so tremendous the impetus i
stantly attained, that the impression
one of sitting still while the Univer
ve flies up at you. The sharp edges
IL the straining-bOard cut rainbows
m snOw-spray that hiss at you, and GOV
:, your beard with chilly diamonds AT
~ Angelina's hair with priceless jewel
90 from either side the grinding crysta
lg fly behind you like sparks from
oy grindstone. You have hardly sw'
1i, lowed your heart again when you a
n at the foot of the slope, and with {
s bound of shark touched with t
~ steel the sled, striking the lev
er springs q dozen feet into the air al
ee landing on the level snOw-crust spec
is onward with scarcely lessening spe
ws till at last it stops more than a IN
ms away from the hill whence you start
,.+ and where now the great pines 10
- like scrubby bushes. In minute y
sH have gone mile and a quarter, a
ny realized the dizzy plunge of a mig
ng mare and the long, unsuppOrt'
is breathless swOOp of the eagle"
o. The New York Tribune proposes
% novel plan of restricting the number
no licensed places in that city VIII
liquor is sold so that there shall be c
groggery where now there are ten, a
-, k1,o vDrixyilanr of a ri