The sun., 1909-02-14
JOYS OF BODSLED RACING
WINTER SPORT THAT HAS An
ELEMENT or DANGER.

1
Dsuhle nunners Manned by Regular
Crews and Designed 20 Sheet Over
an Iced Course IN necsrd Time-Ac-
cidents Many-vsriations sf the Sled.
In an earlier day, some time after the
landing Of the Pilgrim Fathers but be-
fore ones waistband grew permanently
great, there was q simple outdoor ssnuse-
ment known as "slidln' down hill.' The
equipment was simple and the rules Of
the sport were limited. In fact there
was practically no law Of the game except
the law Of gravitation. by which n kind
Providence has ordained that sled once
started shall keep on to the bottom.
At that day sleds were roughly OF two
kinds. high sleds for girls and molly
ooddles. who sat tremulously on the seat
whilo some one started them with q gentle
push, and low sleds for boys who took
the hill with n run and flung themselves
down on the sled. Belly bumper was
one word to describe this method Of de-
scent. though to start face down was
not the height Of etiquette. Rather one
should land on ones side. thus permitting
q calm survey Of rival sliders.
There were Of course variations Of the
simple sled. Take for example the
scooter. beloved of the small boy Of north
ern Vermont. In It's origin it was made
OF barrel stave to which was nailed an
upright. which in turn supported q small
board at right angles to the barrel stave
and serving as q seat. The scooter was
designed chiefly for use on . crust. a
Ia L. SL
degenerate climate Of New York. A
crust is the result Of a thaw which half
melts the snow ana Is followed by a sharp
freeze. leaving all the outdoor world
glare Of snow Ice.
The combination Of hillside crust and
scooter no well regulated boy could resist
In fact 1t was far from asimple sport, was
soootering. No small skill was needed
to balance on that trivial barrel stave
while shooting down q glare Of ice. A
later development Of the scooter called
for the services Of blacksmith and the
single runner and support were made
Of steel. wood being used only for the
bright colored seat, on which was painted
in flowing letters the name OF the scooter
or the scooter's owner.
All this, however, belongs to the dark
ages Of -sleddin' down hill What really
elevated it from mild amusement TO the
dignity Of sport was the bobsled.
What genius first got the idea Of con-
Meeting two small sleds by long plank
history does not record. A reference TO
the Century Dictionary adds nothing to
our information on this point
We are told that a bobsled IL "a sled
consisting of body resting on two short
sleds called bobs, one behind the other.
The information is added that the bob
sled 10 used for hauling lumber and in
lighter form for ooasting. Also We learn
that when used for the latter purpose ii
Ia sometimes called double runner.
The Standard Dictionary. however.
leads us to believe that the completed
whole that goes down hill is q bobsleleh
and that the two chief parts are bobsleds.
Also we find that when used for coastlng
q bobsleigh is sometimes called a double
ripper.
That might lead an intellectual Sher-
lock Holmes to deduoe that the sled editor |
Of the Century came from northern
New England and that the man who did
the same work on the Standard came |
from up State. It's certain that in many |
parts Of New England the bobsled ia |
known as a double runner and that in |
some parts OF this State double ripper is !
the favored term.
In Its early stages the bobsled was
still crude. often it was made from two
old sleds and an ordinary board and the
OF the plank was regarded as
bordering on the efeminate. Even with
these crude materials the simple sport Of
sleddin' down hill becomes exciting and
even dangerous.
A New Yorker approaching middle age.
who was condemned to spend a winter in
darkest New England teaching school.
recalls still his one venture on q bobsled
II was at the noon recess and a venture
some pupil ask ed him IL he wouldn't like
A ride on the bobsled which one Of the
Older boys had dragged to school. He
didn't dare refuse and mounted patiently
to the top Of long, steep hill.
As it happened the school was at
with one road running at
right angles straight uphill from the