Snow and Winter Sport
Pictures from Photos by
The Bee Staff Artist
L8M
NOW brings certain problems to
the city that are not In anywise
experienced in ' the country;
rather, maybe, the problem that
must bo faced In the country la
Hmpllfied In the city to a degree unknown
In the country, A snow blockade Is serious
enough, wherever encountered, but what
would be only an Inconvenience In a rural
district, in the urban amounts to a costly
proposition, owing to the immense traffic
that must- be kH' moving without cessa
tion, no matter what the weather is. Peo
ple in the, big cities have come to depend
on receiving their daily supplies each day,
carrying nothing along unless it bo fuel,
nd even this muFt be moved rapidly dur
ing the' sfertfiist weather, for it is Impos
sible that alt should have ample stock on
band all the time. This Is but one of sev
eral phases of the mow problem In a city.
In other winters The Hep has shown by
pictures how the downtown thoroughfares
are kept open when the snow drifts hlch
and fills all open places with Its fleecy idles.
These pictures will be well remembered as
showing the street railway sweepers, the
enowplows sent out by the city authorities,
the gangs of men shoveling awny the no
cumulations, the wagons loaded with th
soiled and trampled mass and similar inci
dents In the fght to keep traffic moving.
But the snowstorm In the city has another
side. . ,
When the bare and frozen hillsides are
covered to a sufficient depth, thousands of
merry, healthy sons and daughters of the
metropolis appear with their sleds, and the
air is 11 1 led with the shoutings of the glee
ful coasters. It Is one sport in which all
can participate, for It requires no especial
skill and affords an amount of enjoyment
and genuine pleasure for the effort put
forth that exceeds probably any other out
door sport. Given a good sled with steel
shod runners and the boy or girl who can
not have fun Is hopeless. Omaha is par
ticularly adapted to the enjoyment of
coasting, being built among the hills, with
declivities of all degrees of descent run
ning in every direction. Many of the best
hills for coasting are paved with asphalt or
brick, thus affording a basis for a track of
a quality unknown in the country. Some
hills are grass-covered slopes In the sum
mer, but these make splendid ways In the
winter down which to tear with speed like
that of the wind, and all are well patron
ized whenever there is enough snow to
make coasting possible.
In sleds, as In all things, great advance
has been made in the last few years. Some
of us whose minds go back a generation
can easily recall how proud we were to
have a "Jumper" made of hickory sap
lings, bent and pinned together with tenons
and dowel-pins of the same material. Un
wieldy they were, but strong and staunch,
and if they did not possess beauty, -they
had at least the merit of speed and dur
ability. These gave way in time as our
prosperity grew, until we had sleds that
In a measure approached the light and
elegant models of the present time. Once
an effort was made to plant the toboggan
In this latitude, but it didn't take well.
One season was enough, and the return
to the good old Yankee model was spoa-
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it h il MVS
MAKING "BUTTERFMKS" IN THE NEW FAM.EN SNOW.
chanlcs has come to the aid of the plo i
sure seeker, and the "traveler" of to.lay
Is an far ahead of the "b;ihs" of yesterday
as the steel-shod runner Is ahead of th'j
hickory "Jumper." The traveler Is fre
quently a mo-.t gorgeous and luxurious
affair, upholstered nnd e'eeorated until It
is a thing of beauty as well us u'.lity. It
is built as solidly as a locimotlve, N
equlped with brukes, steering gear, and
all appliances for safety thut experience
can suggest. But one may doubt If It
patrons ever experience anything like the
thrill of pleasure that was born of the old
time "bobs," which added to the other
exhilarating features of the sport the de
lightfully uncertain spice of danger. But
coasting accidents are rare nowadays.
No one who has ever experienced the
keen delight of the rush downhill through
the crisp winter air, with the snow-spume
flying sharp against the face, will ever
forget It. It exhllerates as nothing else
can, and sends the blood dancing and
tingling all through the body, bringing a
sensation of enjoyment nnd buoyancy that
is a certain precursor of good h?alth. The
merry youngster or the child of a larger
growth and more sedate ways, can tug his
sled to the top of the long incline, one of
a throng bent on making the trip. Then
with a whoop he pushes off, and away ho
goes. Eyes glued to the track, one foot
stuck out behind to serve as a rudder,
body bent forward and closely crouched on
the narrow sled top, he makes a ride ap
parently through the air. Faster and faster
moves the sled, until it fairly uttalns a
speed, that takes the breath. The track is
but a blur ahead, and the eyes grow dizzy
.?..' (..-. .-. r-'ll&jllS ft I
8L.ED RIDE JTOR BABT BIST ER.
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Ul .'' Mjl'm- J lk ' - . . ... ,
READT TO START AT THE PROP OF THE CAP.
with the rush. Maybe there Is a Jump In
the hill; here the coaster braces himself on
his hands, and lets the rest of his lndy He
limp. Over the Jump d its lies the sled, and
with a swoop like a gigantic bird it covers
the space below, settling on the track.
This Is the supreme test of skill as a
counter. If the rider be able, nnd under
stand his business, he has risen above the
sled when at the top of his flight and Is
holding only by his hands; when the sled
alights, bis arms act as springs, and lie
gently lowers himself without a Jar onto
t lie top once more, and Is away for the
finish without unpleuHantness. If he does
not know how . to do this, he not only
makes a poor jump, but comes down with
an awful bump, and maybe a spill when
the sled, strikes ground aguin.' .The "trav
eler" Isn't built for taking the Jumps, and
only the foolhardy undertake to negotiate
the hurdles with one. .
taneous. That the Yankee Idea is the
correct one baa been demonstrated by the
fact that it hus been adopted by the ex
pert coasters of the land of the north
from whence the toboggan came, and
while it has not entirely supplanted the
broad, flat-bottomed Canadian contrap
tion, it is used whenever anyone wants to
make a speed record or to do a big Jump
on the track. On one of the courses near
Montreal, where, coasting has been re
duced to a science, a Jump of sixty feet
1b recorded. A fine hand sled may now
be bought for 95 cents, whereas not so
many years ago the Irons for the runners .
could not have been purchased for that
amount. This is another evidence of our
progress as a people.
But the children do not monopolize the
fun of coasting in the city. Qrownupa
have still a considerable capacity for its
enjoyment, and they go at it with as
much seal and enthusiasm aa the young
Ura. In this, too, the advance In me- .
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TUB RACE FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE IUU
