ches in diameter was cut out for the bottom. A
ring 7 inches in diameter, made of heavy brass wire, was laid on the
canvas, and the cloth was turned over it and sewed down the inside of
the ring. For the sides of the bucket we cut a piece 14 inches wide and
23 inches long. The upper edge was strengthened by a piece of light rope
held in place by hemming the cloth over it. The lower edge was now sewed
to the bottom, just inside the wire ring and then the ends of the piece
were joined, completing the sides of the bucket. The bail of the bucket
was formed of a piece of rope fastened to the roped upper edge of the
bucket.

[Illustration: Fig. 262. The Canvas Bucket.]

But to return to the current wheel; the day after it was completed, when
I went over to Lumberville for the mail, I was met by old Jim Halliday,
who wanted to know what sort of a rig we had out on the river. I told
him, and after a dint of much persuasion, induced him to take a ride
back in the scow with me. He had never visited our camp and hadn't
realized how handy we were with the tools, because, with the exception
of the current wheel, all our work had been done on the opposite side of
the island. We made him a guest of honor, showing him over the whole
place. The bridges struck him as remarkably clever, but what pleased him
most was our current wheel.

"I swan," he said. "Ef that ain't jest the thing I have been awantin'
for the past twenty year. What'll ye sell me the hull plant fer, boys?"

MR. HALLIDAY'S WATER WHEEL.

[Illustration: Fig. 263. Mr. Halliday's Water Wheel.]

We thought he was fooling at first, but when he had assured us that he
was in earnest, Bill told him that we needed our own plant, but we could
build him a similar and even better current wheel for any amount he
thought it was worth to him. The figure settled on was six dollars (a
dollar apiece) for our work, Mr. Halliday paying for the material. It
was not a large sum, but it seemed a lot to us, and considering the
scarcity of money in that region it was pretty generous pay. We built
Mr. Halliday's current wheel just like our own, except that the paddles
were much broader, and instead of using cans for the buckets Mr.
Halliday supplied us with small dinner pails. The method of fastening on
the pails is shown in Fig. 263. A stick was nailed across the end of
each spoke and the bail of the pail was held by a screw eye threaded
into this stick. The pails would hang straight, hol