MISCELLANEOUS. 249 



society spelling-bees that were the rage three or four years 

 ago in the towns but genuine old-fashioned contests in 

 orthography. 



To the east and west of the schoolhouse are steep hills. 

 Here in winter time we used to coast on sleds and Norwegian 

 snow-shoes. We would go spinning down these hills, through 

 the thick woods, at a speed that makes my head swim now to 

 think of it. It is strange that some of us were not killed. I 

 remember once two of the boys, Harry Barrett and Mark 

 Ridenour, were sent to the spring at the foot of one of those 

 hills for water. They each took a tin pail, both mounted one 

 sled, and let go. Away they flew with the speed of the wind. 

 When halfway down, Mark lost his hold, and fell off, rolling 

 some distance in the hard-crusted snow. The sled struck a 

 tree and threw Harry past a large stump, so close to it that 

 one side of his face was scratched, and his shoulder badly 

 bruised. Had his head struck the stump fairly it would 

 undoubtedly have killed him. His water-pail was smashed 

 flat in the melee. 



I was riding down one of these hills on my snow-shoes 

 one day, and when I had reached a speed of about nine miles 

 in three minutes, one of my shoes struck a grub, and went 

 out from under me. I don't know how many somersaults I 

 turned, nor how much of the distance I slid on my back, on 

 all- fours, or otherwise, but I didn't stop until I reached the 

 foot of the hill. I was badly cut and scratched by the heavy 

 crust on the snow, and by contact with the brush, etc., but 

 fortunately had received no more serious injuries. 



We played " town-ball " and "bull-pen" in those days. 

 Town -ball resembles our modern base-ball in some respects, but 

 was much more severe, as in order to put a man out we must 

 hit him with the ball, instead of crossing him out or hitting 

 the base as in base-ball. We used a hard ball, and occasion- 



