St Nicholas [serial] . intense rivalry betweenthe crews has made the practice of running a bobvery scientific. Every bob is furnished with apair of handles manipulated by the last rider,and the big six-crew bobs have sometimes asecond brake in the center. These handles act bylevers on very large steel-toothed rakes. Thesteerer is the main man, like the cockswain of acollege eight. The brakes are manipulated in ac-cordance with his stentorian cries, and the crewhas also to lean simultaneously toward theinside curve in taking a corner. If for any rea-son the machine has lost way, the crew rocksi
St Nicholas [serial] . intense rivalry betweenthe crews has made the practice of running a bobvery scientific. Every bob is furnished with apair of handles manipulated by the last rider,and the big six-crew bobs have sometimes asecond brake in the center. These handles act bylevers on very large steel-toothed rakes. Thesteerer is the main man, like the cockswain of acollege eight. The brakes are manipulated in ac-cordance with his stentorian cries, and the crewhas also to lean simultaneously toward theinside curve in taking a corner. If for any rea-son the machine has lost way, the crew rocksin unison to the steerers shouts, the action help-ing to force the pace. Thus the sport affordsplenty of exercise as well as fresh air, for thelongest course is over a mile, and a steep climbhas to be made between successive runs. Ahorse in attendance usually drags the unwieldymachines back to the top of the hill. The racesare started by flag—a sort of improvised blocksignal—and no crew race is allowed to start un-. BOB-SLEIGHING IN ENGLEBERG. ROUNDING A SHARP CURVE. six riders. For racing purposes ballast is carriedin the form of heavy pieces of sheet-lead screwedto the under side of the frame. The front ridersteers by means of two cords and a pulley, and til the previous machine is signaled as safe atthe bottom. Davos boasts a run or course formed entirelyof ice, and there are smaller ones here and there 1910.] WINTER SPORTS IN THE ALPS 421 in Switzerland—the Village Run at St. Moritzamong them. The great run is, however, theCresta at St. Moritz, so called since it leads downfrom the village of Cresta into the valley run is about four thousand feet long, witha total fall of nearly four hundred feet from topto bottom. At its swiftest portions, speeds havebeen timed which averaged over sixty-eight milesan hour. Eighty seconds for a certain fourteenhundred yards of the course is no record. Therehave been races where the winner has actuallygone from end to end of
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