Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/312

the front ends of the board are then curled over and held in position by two thongs made fast to the ends. Fig. 183 shows a finished toboggan drawn from one manufactured by the Indians in Canada.

The Norwegian ski is a snow-shoe, or rather a snow-skate, nine feet long, used by the Norwegians to glide down the mountains or hillsides when the latter are covered with snow.

Great fun can be had with a pair of snow-shoes made on the same principle as the Norwegian skate shoe, and it is little trouble to manufacture a pair from two barrel staves.

After selecting a couple of straight-grained staves, score one end of each stave with grooves cut in the wood either with your knife or a small gouge, as shown by the lines at A, Fig. 184. Smear the end thickly with grease and hold it near a hot fire until you find that it can be bent into the form shown by the diagram (Fig. 184); bind it in position by a cord and let it remain so until the wood retains the curve imparted. Make two blocks, each one inch broad and high enough to fit under the heels of your shoes; fasten the blocks on to the snow-skates by screws (C, Fig. 184); at a proper distance in front of the block fasten two straps securely (B, Fig. 184). By slipping the toes of your shoes through the straps and allowing the hollow of the foot to rest over the blocks C, C, so that the