, 1889-04-27

4uOCCOS u0 Was d pdOlOA VI OH 0Gut9GlO
sports, and it is largely due 10 his exam
pie that ~tObogganing became popular
throughout the Dominion. The writer of
this article had occasion to visit him at
Rideau Hall, his residence near Ottowa,
in 1876, and it was curious to observe
how the noble statesman unbent from the
cares of his office in order to enjoy among
the people their several diversions. To-
day it would be a game of cricket; to-
morrow a sleighing carnival on the rivers
Ice; the next day a skating carnival In
one of the Kinks, a rife contest, or a curl
ing match on bis own grounds. A feW
rods from the mansion was an artificial
tOboggan slide, that, starting with an
angle of more than forty,fve degrees, end
ed fully half a mile away, with a return
incline, down the gentle slope of which
the coasters could slide without incOnvenl-
ence to the starting point. In Its general
plan it wasnOt unlike some or the marvel
lOuS creations to be found IN Russia, where
one may dart down and up a series
of hills of ice, riding for a mile or
two at almost lightning speed and EN-.
jOying an exhiliratiOn of spirit for which
language has no description. A part of
its history, however, was sad enough. A
year or two before, while a tobOggau load
VA EOutS pCOtsAO OAO ~ SA~
guide lost his control. In an instant the
= conveyance swerved from the track and
was dashed against q tree. One OF the
company, the daughter of a government
minister, was fatally injured, while others
were taken away with broken limbs and
bruised bodies. For a time the accident
caused a suspension Of the paStime, but
during the months of the visit referred to,
there were few pleasant days when Lord
or Lady Dufferin, her brother Captain
Hamilton, or other members OF the house
hold, might not be seen coursing down the
steep hill as if borne on the wings of the
. wind.
In addition to this private slide at Ri.
deau Hall, others are to be found in Mon.
treal, Quebec, Toronto, and the principal
Canadian cities. When our Americans
visited those places, it was but natural
that they should be attracted by, and
adopt the sport. Hence, we have at
Saratoga, St. Paul, on the New York Polo
grounds, at Tuxedo Park, in various cities
OF New England and New York, and in
many private parks, tOboggan slides,
that in their rich appointments are supe.
riOr to anything of the kind that previous.
ly existed.
In the open country, the great difficulty
of ~t0b0gganists is to obtain a decline of
perfect grade and S~mOothneSs, the pecu-
liar tendency of the tObOggan, owing to
it's great elasticity and llghtneSs, being to
take a flying leap whenever a sudden ee-
walton or depression is encountered, and
as a natural result, unless the several
occupants have a firm grasp upon the
hand rails, throw it's burden high in air
These defects in a natural slide are called
Ivy the Canadians CdhOts, and while they
have caused many Imaginable accidents,
others have been so serious as to arouse
prejudice against the pastime. In order
to obviate the danger, the artificial slide
has been devised, which consists simply of
a'scaffolding of heavy TIM ers, the high
est point of which may be forty or fifty
feet from the ground, but possessing a
steep descent, sufficient to give the to-
bogganist a powerful impetus. Indeed,
the first sensation as one leaves the top is
that he has been shot from a cannon.
You seem to fairly jump into the air and
then with a rush and a swiShing sound
are carried downward at a pace that has
frequently exceeded a hundred miles an
hour. To breathe for the moment is
difficult, to speak, impossible. The very
landscape seems to disappear in that ter
rife, burst of speed.
Beginning at the summit or starting
point of the slide, are one, or more broad
chutes or channels in which the toboggan
runs, each being from four to six feet
wide aud protected on the sides by 1aring