The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-20
TOB0GGANING IN CANADA
SOMETHING ABOUT THE EXCITING
 SPORT.
How the Runs Are Made Seventy Miles
 an Hour.

l Iobogganfng is one of the staple
 amusements in Canada. Sportsmen are
 not content with the naturally formed ! "chutes" down the side of a hul, but
 construct artificial slides. These are generally wooden .erections with the
 planes fixed at an angle of forty-fve degrees, and with sheer drop of about
 one hundred feet. Water is poured
 over the wooden declivity, which in the
 frosty air is soon transformed into ice, 1 with a surface as slippery as glass.
 When the bottom of the chute is
 reached the trask extends over fields, in
 as straight direction as possible, | though in some cases not particularly level; but in momentum gained by the l toboggan in flying down the chute is 1 sufficient to carry it over any slight up-
 risings of the ground.
 The Canadian toboggan is a light, strong article, about five or six feet in length and about twenty inches in width, composed of number of nar-
 row wooden strips secured longitudinal
 ly together, curling upward at the front.
 A handrail sometimes extends along
 each side of the toboggan, to enable the
 passengers to hold on, but the general
 rule is for one passenger to clasp the
 person seated next in front. the whole
 row of travellers being thus linked to-
 gether for their rapid flight In some
 cases there are five or six occupants on tnh rI xaritH q
 bined weight the sledge flies down the
 chute as if impelled from cannon.
 Both men and women enter into the
 sport with great gusto, for the fun is
 fast and furious. When there is only
 one traveller to the toboggan, he lies
 prone upon it. and in this manner, on
 account of the small amount of resis-
 tance that 1t offers by the atmosphere,
 the maximum of speed Is gained. The
 chutes are properly controlled, in order
 to avoid accidents. One toboggan is
 not permitted to leave the summit of
 the chute until the preceding one has
 cleared the bottom of the slide. Occa-
 sionally, by some mischance incurred
 through faulty manipulation of the to-
 began spill occurs on the chute, and if following toboggan were to dash into the overturned vessel, the result would be relatively quite as disastrous and terrible as collision between ex- press trains.
 The headquarters of European tobog- gaming are in the Swiss Alps, and Is moot question if even the various to- bogganing chutes in Canada can claim popularity equal in extent to that which clings to the runs as they are called, of St. Moritz, Upper Engadine One of the most famous Is the Cresta run, just under one mile in length. As in the case of the Canadian slides, the runs at St. MoritZ are specially prepared. The first heavy fall of snow is anxiously awaited by the committee which control the runs. Unless King Winter is unusually capricious. this generally takes place about November. Workmen then sally forth and opera tions on the run are rapidly in progress. The run Is about five feet in width, formed in the shape of a groove, and the removed snow IS banked up on each side, sometimes making a solid white wall twenty feet in height. The run Is then flooded with water, which under the influence of a sharp frost, is soon transformed into a smooth, slippery surface As it is impossible to make the track in one straight line from post to finish, great care has to be observed in the formation of the banks where corners occur, otherwise the tobogganer will meet with inevitable disaster.
 Common on the Swiss runs are the to- boggans of the Canadian type, but the native toboggans are raised on runners shod with iron or steel. The expert 'ider lies prone upon the toboggan, head foremost, holding on to the vehicle by the framework of each side. The tobog gan is steered to a very large extent by means of the feet Iron spikes are firm ly secured to the toes of the boots, and by trailing either the left or right foot along the ground, as the occasion de- mands, the toboggan can be guided in | any direction. But there is disadvan- tage attached to this method of steer- Ing with the feet, as the speed of the | toboggan is somewhat diminished.
 The most expert tobogganers guide | the machines by slightly transferring | he position of the body from one side to another. When rounding a corner, for instance, one of the precautions is to hrow the weight of the body as far as possible on the rear of the toboggan.
 Most elaborate arrangements are ob- 'erved to insure correct timing even to he tenth of second, in connection with the chief races. Thin electric wires are stretched across the course, ,oth at the starting and winning posts. These wires are so adjusted that when he toboggan comes in contact with the irst of them the electric timing clock is et in motion, while the wire at the win ling post is broken directly the tobog ran strikes it, the electric current sev- red and the clock stopped. Toboggan aces are frequently held and the visi- ors from the hotels assemble in large numbers to witness the competitions The weather in the Alps during the winter, as a rule, is glorious, the sun hining brilliantly and warmly, while he air is crisp and bracing. The speed ttained by the toboggans. in the hands f experts, is tremendous, some parts of he course being traversed at the rate of evenly miles an hour. Although the 'resta run is about a mile in length, - he whole distance is accomplished in evenly seconds, notwithstanding the acts that the run abounds with sharp urves, difficult to negotiate, and that or little distance the course takes an pward grade, which naturally retards