The American Boy's Handy Book

by Daniel Carter Beard

  Company Rest.

  The same gentleman who sent the above ingenious device also tells of some funny manœuvres the boys used to go through. For instance, during a lull in the battle, the commander would call out “Company rest!” One man then assumed a stooping position; the next man sat on the right knee of the first man; a third man would sit upon the right knee of the second man and so on until a circle was formed, each fellow sitting in some other fellow’s lap and yet no one sitting upon anything else. “Thus,” says the correspondent, “we all were enabled to sit down without using the damp snow for a camp stool.”

  CHAPTER XXVIII.

  SNOW-HOUSES AND STATUARY.

  IN “THE land of the midnight sun,” the far arctic regions where Jack Frost rules supreme, where the glistening ice and thickly packed snow covers the landscape almost the whole year round, the hardy inhabitants live in huts built of frozen blocks of snow. The interior of these icy dwellings are not, as might be supposed, uncomfortably cold, but, on the contrary, are quite warm and cosey. Boys who are inclined to doubt this may make the experiment for themselves. After the first good old-fashioned snow storm has covered the play-ground, roads, and house-tops, and while the merry jingle of the sleigh-bells tinkles through the wintry air let them busy themselves rolling huge balls of snow after the manner described in the chapter on “Snowball Warfare,” making the foundation of the house exactly in the same way as that described for the snow-fort (page 208).

  The roof is made of boards or planks covered with snow. A barrel placed over a hole in the roof, and surrounded by packed snow properly shaped, will make a very good chimney. A pane of glass can be set in the square hole made for a window; a heavy piece of carpet can be hung from the ceiling over the doorway, so as to act as a curtain; or if the young work-people choose to take trouble enough, they can put up a framework inside of the door-way and hang a wooden door to it by leather or canvas hinges. An old stove, or a fire-place made near the wall under the chimney, adds a finish to the house that will be found quite snug and comfortable as long as the snow lasts. The fire inside, if the weather be cold, will not melt the walls. The pictures of the house (Figs. 169 and 170) show so well how it is constructed, and how it looks when it is done, that very little explanation is necessary.

  The walls are made of large snow-balls properly placed, with snow packed between them to make the surfaces tolerably even, and then the whole shaved down with a spade, outside and inside. It will be found impossible to put one tier of balls upon the top of the others by lifting them in place, but this difficulty may be overcome by sliding the balls up an inclined plane made of a strong plank, one end of which must be placed upon the ground and the other allowed to rest upon the top of the first or foundation row of snowballs.

  Snow Statuary.

  The statuary may be of various kinds. It is very seldom that pigs are sculptured in marble or cast in bronze, and it would be well to make some of snow, so as to have statues not likely to be found elsewhere. An oblong mass of snow forms the body (Fig. 171); the legs, nose, and ears are made of sticks surrounded by snow, and a bit of rope nicely curled will make a very good tail. The various parts can be shaped and carved according to the skill of the young artist. A number of pigs, of different sizes, will give a lively and social air to the yard of a snow-house. Fig. 172 shows a finished pig.

  A statue of a French-man in an ulster is also rather uncommon, and is not hard to make. The foundation of the body, head, and legs consists of several large snow-balls, as seen in Fig. 173, and the arms are made of smaller balls stuck on two sticks, which are inserted in the body at proper angles. When the whole figure has been “blocked out,” as the artists say, it must be carved, with broad wooden knives or shingles, into the proper shape, as shown in Fig. 174. The moustache should be made of icicles, which may be stuck in the face.

  Arctic owls, which are very large and white, can also be made of snow, in the manner shown in the adjoining picture. These figures can be placed on snow pedestals if they are small, but if they are monster owls, like those in the illustrations (Figs. 175 and 176), they must be placed upon the ground. In either position, if they are fashioned properly, they will look very wise and respectable.

  When the snow is too dry to make a snowball it cannot be used to make statuary, but after a slight thaw or a fresh fall of snow it readily adheres upon a slight pressure, and can be formed or fashioned in almost any shape.

  Many curious objects and figures may be carved out of solidly packed balls of snow. A lawn covered with a number of large snow figures presents a most grotesque appearance, and is sure to attract the attention of all passers-by. With practice not a little skill may be acquired by the young sculptor, and if the statuary be made of large proportions, they will sometimes last for weeks after the snow has disappeared from the ground and house-tops.

  CHAPTER XXIX.

  SLEDS, CHAIR-SLEIGHS, AND SNOWSHOES.

  THE construction of one of the simplest sleds is shown by Fig. 177; it consists of nothing more nor less than three pieces of board nailed upon two barrel-staves. The barrel stave sled possesses the advantage of being so simple in design that a child might make one, and although this primitive sled can lay claim to neither grace nor beauty, it will be found useful in a variety of ways; it may be used for coasting, or for transporting loads of snow when building snow houses, forts or figures. If, instead of the long top board, a kitchen chair be fitted on, as shown in Fig. 178,

  A Chair-Sleigh

  will be had. It is necessary to nail on four L-shaped blocks at a proper distance apart on the cross board to hold the chair in place (Fig. 178). Any boy who is fortunate enough to have a mother or sister who takes sufficient interest, and has the time to accompany him on his skating trips, will find a chair-sleigh quite a handy thing to possess, and when he moves from one part of the ice to a distant portion of the pond or river he can skate behind the sleigh with his hands upon the back of the chair, and push his lady friend rapidly over the ice, adding much to her enjoyment as well as his own.

  The cumbersome wooden kitchen chair is heavy to carry if the skating pond be far from home, but a

  Folding Chair-Sleigh

  may be made from a few sticks and pieces of leather for hinges. This chair is made upon the same principle as the one described in the chapter devoted to, “How to Camp Out.” Figs. 179 and 180 show all the parts in detail as they would look before being joined together. The seat may be made of a piece of carpet, canvas, or any strong material, the hinges of leather. Fig. 181 shows the chair after it has been put together. The runners consist of skates, which may be strapped on or taken off at pleasure, without injuring the skates in the least. If the chair is to be carried it can be folded up. When the chair frame is lifted the forked sticks that support it will slip from the notches in the side bars and fall on to: the runner bars; the chair frame can then be let down and the whole frame-work will form a flat, compact mass (Fig. 182), that can be easily carried by quite a small boy. By using light sticks, regular metal hinges, and a prettily worked cloth for the seat, a very light and beautiful chair-sleigh can be made that, with the skates removed, will make an ornamental parlor chair for summer, and when the ice again covers the surface of the water, it will be only necessary to strap on the skates, and the easy chair becomes transformed into a chair-sleigh, to be pushed about over the glittering ice wherever its occupant may direct or the whim of the boy who forms the motive power may take him.

  The Toboggan.

  This sled, familiar to all who visit Canada or the Provinces during the winter months, is more like a mammoth snow-shoe than the ordinary sled, sleigh or jumper that we are accustomed to see. It is suitable for the deep snow and heavy drifts of the northern countries, where the runners of a common sleigh would be liable to break through the crust and bury themselves, thus impeding, if not altogether stopping, the vehicle. The toboggan presents a broad, smooth bottom to the snow, and glides over the crust.

  To make one o
f these sleds you must procure two pieces of quarter-inch pine lumber eight or ten feet long and one foot wide. Place the two boards side by side and join them together by the means of round cross sticks; the latter are bound to the bottom board by thongs; the thongs pass through holes in the bottom boards on each side of the cross stick, and are made fast by a series of “hammock hitches” (see page 66, and Fig. 59, E). Where the thongs pass underneath the bottom board grooves are cut deep enough to prevent the cord from projecting; the grooves are quite necessary, for if the cords were allowed to project beyond the surface of the boards they would not only impede the progress of the toboggan, but the friction would soon wear out the thongs and the sled would come apart. On top of the cross sticks two side bars are lashed; the front ends of the board are then curled over and held in position by two thongs made fast to the ends. Fig. 183 shows a finished toboggan drawn from one manufactured by the Indians in Canada.

  Snow-Shoes or Skates.

  The Norwegian ski is a snow-shoe, or rather a snow-skate, nine feet long, used by the Norwegians to glide down the mountains or hillsides when the latter are covered with snow.

  Great fun can be had with a pair of snow-shoes made on the same principle as the Norwegian skate shoe, and it is little trouble to manufacture a pair from two barrel staves.

  After selecting a couple of straight-grained staves, score one end of each stave with grooves cut in the wood either with your knife or a small gouge, as shown by the lines at A, Fig. 184. Smear the end thickly with grease and hold it near a hot fire until you find that it can be bent into the form shown by the diagram (Fig. 184); bind it in position by a cord and let it remain so until the wood retains the curve imparted. Make two blocks, each one inch broad and high enough to fit under the heels of your shoes; fasten the blocks on to the snow-skates by screws (C, Fig. 184); at a proper distance in front of the block fasten two straps securely (B, Fig. 184). By slipping the toes of your shoes through the straps and allowing the hollow of the foot to rest over the blocks C, C, so that the heels of your shoes bear against the blocks, you can keep the shoes on your feet, and, with the aid of a stick to steer by, go sliding down the coasting hill among the sleds and jumpers, creating as much fun for the others in your first attempts as you do for yourself; but with practice skill can be acquired in the use of snow-skates.

  CHAPTER XXX.

  HOW TO MAKE THE TOM THUMB ICE-BOAT AND LARGER CRAFT.

  ALTHOUGH a full-rigged, delicately balanced ice-yacht looks like a very complicated piece of mechanism, when it is carefully examined the framework will be found to consist of two pieces crossing each other at right angles. The top of the cross is the bowsprit, the bottom of the cross the stern, and the sides the runners. At the intersection of the cross pieces the mast is stepped. The principle is simple enough, and with some sticks, two small pieces of inch lumber, three old skates, and two boards, a real little “Tom Thumb ice-yacht” can be built to hold a crew of one, and to be rigged like a catboat or with a jib and mainsail. The cross board may be made about 3 feet long and 6 inches wide. Make two runner blocks of inch lumber, and let them be each 6 inches long and 3 inches wide. With a bit and brace or a red-hot poker bore holes at proper distances apart for the straps of old-fashioned skates to pass through. One inch from each end of the cross board, fasten on the runner blocks securely with nails or screws (Fig. 185). For the centre plank use a board about 6 inches wide and 5 feet long. Nail the cross plank on to the centre plank in such a manner that a line drawn through the centre of the latter will intersect the cross board exactly at its middle. The planks must be at right angles to each other, forming a cross, the centre piece extending about one foot beyond the cross piece; this end will be the bow of the ice-boat and the opposite end the stern. Bore a large hole in the stern for the rudder-post to pass through. The rudder-post may be made in a variety of forms; a simple and convenient one is shown by Fig. 186. Another hole must be made through the point where the centres of the cross and centre planks intersect for the mast. Fig. 187 shows a leg-of-mutton sail, but the young yachtsman may make a sail of any description that may suit his taste. By referring back to the chapter on “How to Rig and Sail Small Boats,” he can find several simple kinds of sails illustrated. Fig. 188 shows the top view of an ice-boat a trifle larger than the one just described; the braces shown in the diagram are unnecessary on very small craft. To hold the mast more securely in larger yachts, a bench is made after the plan of Fig. 189; this will prevent the mast from being carried away under any ordinary circumstances, and also prevent it from swaying with every puff of wind. Where a seat is made as in Fig. 188, a wooden handle can be substituted for the tiller-ropes (Fig. 190).

  The rudder is made of a skate; the latter is fastened by the screw at the heel and then strapped on a board nailed on to a club, shaped like a potato-masher; the small part of the club runs through a hole in the stern of the centre-board. A forked stick can be used for a tiller and must be fastened on to the rudder-post by running a pin or large wire through holes bored for the purpose in the rudder-post and the prongs of the forked stick. If the top of the rudder-post be squared, a tiller may be made of a stick with a square hole to fit over the end of the rudder-post, as shown in the illustration at the end of this chapter.

  Perhaps some of my readers will invent more ingenious and simple steering apparatus than the ones given here; if not, and the rudder-post and tiller seem to be a little too difficult, they may be omitted, and a stationary runner block substituted in their place. The boat must then be steered by the feet of the crew. To do this he should have on skates. If a long handle be attached to the stern like the back to a sleigh-chair, the steersman with skates on can guide the boat with his feet by standing behind and holding on to the handle at the stern. With this rig, the boat can accommodate a passenger aboard, as the steers man does not occupy the boat itself but tends the sheets and steers while being towed behind. A common sled may be fixed with holes in it so that a cross board can be attached by movable pegs, and with a mast stepped in the bow it will make tolerable speed and may be steered by a boy on skates.

  CHAPTER XXXI.

  THE WINGED SKATERS, AND HOW TO MAKE THE WINGS.

  SKIMMING over the glassy surface of an ice-bound river or pond, propelled by the wintry blast blowing against artificial wings of cloth, is but a degree removed from flying. The friction of your skate runners upon the ice is so slight that it is not difficult to imagine that you have left the earth and are soaring in mid-air.

  Every boy who has had any skating experience knows what hard work it is to skate against a stiff wind, and almost all who ever fastened skates to their feet must have enjoyed the luxury of sailing over the ice before the wind with a spread coat or open umbrella doing duty as a sail.

  For some time back people in widely separated parts of the world have made more or less successful attempts at transforming themselves into animated ice-yachts, and in Canada, Norway, and other cold countries, men with sails rigged on their backs or shoulders have “tacked,” “come about,” and “luffed” themselves in a novel and highly entertaining style, but lately, for some reason or other, this sport has been allowed to almost die out, and we are now indebted to two or three writers for reintroducing skate-sailing to the public with original suggestions and improvements. Mr. Charles L. Norton, editor of The American Canoeist, was, I believe, the first to call the attention of the public in general, and the boys particularly, to this delightful sport. In an article published in the St. Nicholas Magazine, entitled “Every Boy his Own Ice-Boat,” Mr. Norton describes a new and original device, consisting of a double sail, which is so simple in construction, and yet so strong, light, and easy to manage, that it is sure to become a favorite rig with the boys, both large and small.

  In another article entitled “White Wings,” which appeared in Harper’s Weekly, the same author describes a number of queer sails used by different people. Following in the footsteps of Mr. Norton, and adding to our information on this subj
ect, comes T. F. Hammer with an interesting article published in the Century Magazine, in which this gentleman gives some personal experience as a winged skater and a detailed description of the Danish skate-sail.

  Among the many reasons given by skate-sailors why this new and highly exhilarating pastime should come into general favor are these: skate-sailing can be practised and enjoyed on ice too rough for ordinary skating, and a light fall of snow that ruins the ice for the common skater improves it for the winged yachtsman.

  Salt-water ice that is too soft for one to enjoy a skate upon affords a better foothold than smooth, hard, fresh-water ice, and is preferable on that account. Wherever you can skate there you may sail, and when the skating proper is ruined, it often happens that the qualities of the ice are improved for sailing. There is no record of a serious accident happening to any skate-sailor, although one may attain, literally, the speed of the wind, the higher the rate of speed the less danger there appears to be, for in falling a person will strike the ice at such an angle that he is merely sent sliding over the surface, and little or no damage is done.

  Bat Wings.

  After procuring a suitable piece of cloth, spread it out upon the floor and tack it there, then spread yourself out on the cloth with your arms extended at right angles to your body, and your feet spread apart. While in that position, have some one mark on the cloth the points where the crown of your head, your wrists, and ankles come. With a chalk or pencil connect these points by lines, and, allowing for the hem, cut the sail out according to the pattern made.