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