Evening star., 1943-07-06

ing carts In Ire
MenRy MeLensrs. II you have
never ridden in an Irish jaunting
cart with q "jarvie" at the reins.
then you'll have to take my word
for it that it is one Of the most
heart stopping adventures a man
can experience.
The jaunting carts are now used
for taxicabs and shared one witt
four other intrepid souls on cross
town journey. A jaunting cart Is
the only conveyance I have ever
seen in my travels that was designed
with but one purpose in view-to
make 1t impossible for a passenger
or passengers to stay aboard It.
1t is 4 two-wheeled vehicle about
eight or nine feet high that has
seats on either side and the passen-
gers face outwards. The seats are
very narrow and slope toward the
street. think they have creased
cushions, too. for let the car list.
even the slightest bit and extreme
agility Is required to prevent those
seated on them from being cata-
pulled onto the street.
Hills Present Dif1cultv.
When going uphill the passenger
slides backward and as there IS
nothing to check his descent he
either has to roll OF the end or
clutch the driver around the waist
or neck. This annoys the driver.
who, through years Of experience,
has learned to balance himself as
does q sailor on a pitching deck, and
to show his annoyance he Invariably
cracks the horse with the whip.
forcing him into gallop. Anything
can happen to those on = jsunting
cart drawn by a galloping horse.
The wisest thing to do is to cast
uncertainty to the winds and make
jump for it. 1t did this twice
right in the middle OF Belfast and
no one paid the slightest bit of at
tention to 1t. Belfastians long ago
became bored with the spectacle Of
Americans clutching their luggage
and leaping onto the cobblestones
from carts.
Given Another Chance.
The natural courtesy and graci-
BUSINESS OF the Irish always causes
the driver to turn around and come
back to pick up his lost fares This
is unfortunate and saw one Ameri-
can threaten to sue his driver If ne
tried to make him climb back.
Having watched champions In all
lines Of sport perform for many
years did get thrill out Of watch
ing my Jarvie handle his cart He
was as good in his line as Babe
Ruth, Tilden, Hoppe and Jones were
in theirs.
The jarvie has an even more pre-
carious perch than the passengers
and when his cart is fully loaded he
must sit on practically nothing and
he must be man OF iron, too. He
must not be tender hearted and
worry about little things such a'
having q fare land on the curb when
thrown Of
Robes rs Parachutes.
NV jarvie never even looked
around as We fell of like over-ripe
fruit His sensitive ears heard the
thud OF our bodies and his sensitive
hands told him that his load had
been lightened. He would drive un-
concernedly on for half block or
so and then just as If he were coll
lecting a robe that had been blown
of. ne would wheel about and COL
lect US
The lap robes are a great help to
those who ride quite a bit in the
carts. They have learned to use
them as improvised parachutes and
some of the veteran passengers can
make a landing as gracefully as
paratrooper. tried this on my third
jump but became entangled in 1t
and almost had to be cut free to
prevent the wind that was rather
high from blowing me under the
wheels OF another cart.
Before l travel in a cart again
am going to the Red Gross sports
department and get myself a COM
plete football suit that along with
the emergency first-aid kit that has
been issued to me should enable me
to reach my destination with
fighting chance of survival.
distributed by McNsusht Syndicate, IneD