ter
campaign it is often an indispensable convenience, and without
it the Indian hunters of the North would find great difficulty in
getting their furs to market. All through the winter season the
various trading posts of Canada are constantly visited by numbers
of Indian trappers, many of whom have travelled hundreds of miles
on their snow-shoes with their heavily laden toboggans. Arrived at
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their market they sell or trade their stock of furs, and likewise
dispose of their toboggans, reserving only their snow-shoes to aid
them in their long tramp homewards.

[Illustration]

In Canada and northward the toboggan is in very extensive use, both
for purposes of traffic and amusement. It is quite commonly met
with in the streets of various Canadian cities, and is especially
appreciated by the youthful population, who are fond of coasting
over the crust of snow. For this purpose there is no other sled
like it, and a toboggan of the size we shall describe will easily
accommodate two or three boys, and will glide over a crust of snow
with great ease and rapidity. To the trapper it is especially valuable
for all purposes of transportation. The flat bottom rests upon
the surface of the snow, and the weight being thus distributed
a load of two or three hundred pounds will often make but little
impression and can be drawn with marvellous ease. Our illustration
gives a very clear idea of the sled, and it can be made in the
following way: the first requisite is a board about eight feet
in length and sixteen or more inches in width. Such a board may
be procured at any saw mill. Oak is the best wood for the purpose,
although hickory, basswood or ash will do excellently. It should
be planed or sawed to a thickness of about a third of an inch,
and should be free from knots. If a single board of the required
width is not easily found, two boards may be used, and secured
side by side by three cleats, one at each end and the other in
the middle, using wrought nails and clinching them deeply into the
board on the under side. The single board is much to be preferred,
if it can be had. The next requisites are seven or eight wooden
cross-pieces of a length equivalent to the width of the board.
Four old broom-sticks, cut in the required lengths, will answer
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this purpose perfectly, and if these are not at hand other sticks
of similar dimensions should be used. Two side pieces are next
needed. These should be about five