The strap, attached by screws to the middle of the ski, is fastened over the toe part of the foot, leaving the heel free to rise and fall.
Skies are hard to manage going up hill, but on a level of soft snow a great pace can be kept up. But it is in going down hill, and leaping from a "jounce" that the skier is at his best. It is not unusual for experts to jump one hundred and twenty feet from rise to fall.
CHAPTER XXIII
COASTING; SLEDS OF MANY KINDS—THE TOBOGGAN
Long before the strong, light, machine-made sled was put on the market or even thought of, the American boy was his own sled-maker, and if this sled was not so sightly, it certainly got there as effectively as does its modern rival.
The best of the old-time sleds were made by cutting down a small oak, beech, or maple tree that had a promising curve at the root. This was dressed, then sawed down the middle, so as to make the two runners. Through each runner six holes were bored from the top, each pair of holes about two inches apart. Into the holes were driven wooden pegs to hold the three benches. The pegs were long enough to go through the two stringers that ran in line with the runners. Over this the frame was laid. The bottoms of the runners, when the material could be had, were shod with thick hoop iron, the nails being counter-sunk. In the center curve of the runners, holes were bored for the drawing rope, and all was ready for the snow.
A quicker way was to saw out the proper length for runners from an inch, hardwood board, curve the fronts by means of a draw-knife, then connect the runners by braces, and cover with a frame of lighter material. These sleds, when shod at the blacksmith shop with half- curved iron shoes, were things to delight in, and two of them, properly hitched, made a fine "bob."
The bob sled is superior in every way to the old long sled which delighted the grandfathers of the present boys. The old-fashioned sleds were steered by the boy in front kicking with his heels on the frozen snow, or the boy at the stern by dragging one foot behind as a rudder. This answers very well for the common sled, but when the sled is seven, eight, or ten feet long, and loaded underneath with pig iron to give it weight, the boy in front who steers has a difficult and exceedingly dangerous task, especially if the hill is steep and icy; and it is next to impossible to steer such a craft from the stern by dragging one foot behind.
The double-runner is much lighter and very much easier to steer on account of the front sled being arranged so that it can be moved independently of the rear sled, for a turn to the right or the left causes the "bob" to take the direction indicated by the front runners; but double-runners steered with a wheel, lever or yoke in front, are very dangerous, as the steersman, in case of an accident, is thrown against the steering apparatus, usually with serious results.
The safety double-runner does away with serious results, having a bridle with which it is steered. It also does away with the danger of collision by having an automatic brake that will stop it, in times of danger, within the distance of its own length. These are qualities which will be appreciated by all who "slide down hill," as we called it when I was a lad, or who are fond of coasting, as our school- readers called it then, and as every one calls it now.