The sun., 1899-02-05

generally comes after big snowstorin. when
the sleighs have had time cnonRh 20 beat the
is not 80 dangerous as on the. sidewalk in some
RESPECTS. and yet in Others I ls, more hazard
sidewalks: but these are factors which add
on the roadway. The speed attained on the
road Is not go great, but It is perhaps more
sST eSmmoniy called % 5Smps" Which the road
master has, rounded up 70 drain the water
into the % di,Ghes alongside In the SUI summer nn,
Ing places for teams. on the hard uphill null,
Constant eleddipe throws the snow from in
esst sresses The Roows thu thus s. formed S IN front
are oitentimes . foot deep. and thus arises
the necessity for braslnR every Joint n sled
or Ave men hits Que Of these jolts, going at
high speed Il e9Ps % into the ar IKE T1nnnr ruG, h
Jyond The bulnn MeasuTements Of some OF
these jumps have been made and a record OF
twcnty.two feet is rretty we'll substantiated..
The coasters have TO exercise certain skill
and promptncss in these JUMPS to save not
! only their sleds but their own anatomics, Just
| the fall is thus borne by the feet and legs OF
advantage OF men and sled. freshmen who
| had not learned this trick have been known to
e"ers davs after aG"e an experence With
bump. Making the turns is much easier on
Rs Sy ssP Be- The on hs aSa
an extent, the road being, wider; 4 good
This accounts for the fact that the record for
the Longest run ever made on the hill was es-
U 10 this present winter college tradition
sad that this record was held by Prof. A. g.
Hopkins nov, occGpyng the chair of Latin II
the college. He was ,gradu ated from Hamil-
ton in tho class of 66. and in his student days
of thp stone bridge the Oriskany For
years the boys tried to duplicate his feat
After every thaw followed by Ire, freeze the
command OF the hest steersmen. but 4 seemed
TO be of no use. They would get to the slight
and this Would steal the last ounce OF momen.
tWm. This winter. however. the feat was
4, Brandt He has been brought up on the
hill and knows every trick OF coastinE; he and
reaching the centre Of the bridge. Twenty
feet further and they would haye struck the
decline on the 2thSr side and run an2hsr
The most serious drawback to road riding
ia the danger, from fractions horses and ugly
ditch, There i, GENERALLY plenty Of snow, to
ground is much better to run up against than
horses ho9fs and heavy, sleiGhs. some of the
opposed to the students using the road, and
there have been times when they have deb
ag 5a tried % m il Gsf ths2d to keeP
Tight and the farmer generally gets the worst
Of it. Years ago. when it was tho custom Of
the college to have evening chape! at 5:3O
O'clock the students would all come down the
use used their iseds. One svenins forty or or dity
i,is sHhs fun starteL 3ps after the other from the
itI SeGH coming ui m the h Wien Wien the st driver. T
Iqrmer; say the line o! swiftly approaching
he h ha @ff i 1ns ns Ffh
for any one TO pass. There he sat and waited
for things to hqppen. When he executed his
50 close to HIM that they had no time to steer
into the ditch There Wls WI no escape from a
vengeance and slowed down considerably. but
the shock Vas, Vas sufficient to smash the first
The other sled was damaged. but no one was
hurt. Those behlnd, seeing thc, situation: be-
gan piRE E int3 the dShes on either side Of the
and bruises. and madder than wet hens They
Just waded into that, farmer. and when, they
Having seu led him personally. they cut his
harness int2 int, mincemeat. lqshed his horses ,.
and continued their way rejoicing. leaving, the
farmer to 3 get himSrlf and and his BELONGINGS
that no teanster troubled the students
:, There are rurprisinsly few accidents on the
h ne he vast st d Of va thh,
fraternity charter houses down the hill. and
most Of those who are in the dormitories on
boarding houses in the village. This necessi-
tatcs much going M and down hill and the
Sled is as much, an essential as street car,
"ah or bicycle 1t may be safely said that not
n day passes without practically every man in
at least. not because he wants to coast: but be-
cause he watts TO get down the hill The fact
that the sled has to be dragged back does not
enter into his calculations.
There have been two men killed in coasting
accidents at Hamilton. but in both case $, the
men were guilty of ErOSs carelessness and had
tempt. The first accident happened about
ton among the students There was thaw
on and the sidewalk YVES bare in spots and very
he obtained until the bare spots were reached.
when there would come the shock Of sudden
stop. \ freshman, against the advice OF older
stuients tried to 20 down and was thrown of
and was killed.
Tho other accident occurred twelve or nf-
teen teen years ,ag ago The victim was again a
a little low affair. with room for but one man.
down the sidewalk "kneebunt" In boys bar
lance this means by trailing one leg behind
Is seated on ore hiH, eanipe W foTSard and md
gGIraSnlng the sides OF his sled with his hands.
m w3 hm eap n0t 2 go IT, Sat he m
he reached the rst turn in ease he thought he
couldn't make il. He started and flew like the
turn Then he tried to leap astride. His sled
tipped over and he plunged head, first into, an
Of the brain. The faculty thereupon decided
to prescribe coasting on the sidewalk The
students uail no attention to tho edict. The
late Dr. Henry Darling. who was then Pr'si-
dent OF the college. vowed that he would make
them. He hired men to scatter ashes on the
walk. The freshman class went out at night
and swept them of. Then he tried salt. and
it showed. He had the snow chopped Off with
axes and II showed again. The elements IA
vored the students and the President finally
gave up his fight.
Every now and then some freshman breaks |
leg. but II s because as n rule no has not
followed the advice OF the upper classmen. II
IL absolutely necessary to steer on College Hill |
with the heels. sitting nstride sled you
have better control over i;s course and speed |
and in case of accident can, better protect
yourself. Only the high sleds aroused. be-
cause they the only ones serviceable. |
The double runners. or bob sleds. have heen
tried. hut they are an utter failure. II has |
beenSfound To be impossible TO get them
around the shoIt turns with anything like the !
ease or swiftness which are possible in the type |
used by the students for 80 many years
While coasting is 4 part OF the students |
cyHry-dny life. IL Is often made the occasion Of
winter festivities, They have three, or, four
"oasting parties every winter, to which the |
students bring their girl friends. These par |
ties have PECULIAR charm. because the young |
women are always frightened half out Of their
wit and invariably throw both arms about tho |
m yh,, &c at la glal ha