that holds the two together.

STILTS

are as old and as world-wide in their use as marbles, tops and kites.
These are the things that set the boy up in the world without making
him too proud. The first stilts I ever used--I was brought up on a
farm--I cut "with my little hatchet." They were made from two beech
saplings, with the section of a branch retained at the same height on
each for foot rests, and the length sufficient to come under the arms
and be easily grasped. These were rude makeshifts, but they did to
start with, and on them I learned to balance.

Much better stilts can be made from sticks or board strips, of
sufficient length for grasping with the hands, and with foot rests
nailed at any required height from the ground part. In the "Gadabout"
stilt you will notice that the stilt above the foot rest is strapped
to the leg, just below the knee, which leaves both hands free. Any boy
with tools, timber and leather for straps can make "Gadabouts," and
the arm stilt is still simpler. The natives of the Marquesas Islands
use very high stilts, and they become so expert in their use as to
dance with them and to wear them in wrestling matches. The shepherds
on the flat plains in the south of France use stilts to enable them to
look over a wide stretch of country, and they become so expert in
their use that they can travel twice as fast as an ordinary walker on
foot. They carry a long pole for balancing purposes and to take
soundings when wading through bog or water.

SPANISH STILTS