followed by a cold spell caused a thick crust to form on the snow which
would nearly hold us up without the aid of our snowshoes. We were rather
awkward with those shoes for a while, trying to keep them clear of each
other, and we found it particularly hard to turn sharply without causing
one shoe to run foul of the other. But with a little practice we soon felt
quite at home on them. In order to prevent cutting the web with our heels,
we found it necessary to wear rubbers.

Our vacation came to an end before we were prepared for the expedition to
Willow Clump Island. But before leaving the subject on snow shoes, two
more shoes remain to be described, namely the Swiss snow shoe and the
Norwegian ski. The Swiss shoe was made during the summer and the ski
during the following winter.



The Norwegian Ski.

[Illustration: Fig. 33. The Norwegian Ski.]

[Illustration: Fig. 34. Bending the Ski.]

The Norwegian ski was made of close-grained wood, 1 inch thick, 3-1/2
inches wide and 6 feet long. About 18 inches from the forward end the wood
was planed down to a thickness of 1/4 of an inch. This end was placed in
the dish-pan of boiling water, and in a short time it was pliable enough
to permit of bending. It was secured in the proper bent position by
slipping the toe end of the shoe between the banisters on the back porch
and nailing a cleat back of the heel end. When the ski was perfectly dry
the toe strap was nailed on just back of the balancing point, and also