. Ski-running . t, as it were,and proceed over depths of snow that would otlierwise burythem, or cross tracts of treacherous ice which would give way* , :s WrcU;/, p. 226, Feb., 1904. 4 Ski-]\inniui(/. luulor tlio tread ot a liuiuan toot. In this connection one neednot refer solely to inhabitants of wintry countries, for it will befound that the natives of other regions, who have fco tiaverseyielding surfaces, such as the great mud flats of Hampshire andelsewhere, wear pattens on their feet, and are thus able towander in safety over a substance too soft to bear them other-wise. Such pat
. Ski-running . t, as it were,and proceed over depths of snow that would otlierwise burythem, or cross tracts of treacherous ice which would give way* , :s WrcU;/, p. 226, Feb., 1904. 4 Ski-]\inniui(/. luulor tlio tread ot a liuiuan toot. In this connection one neednot refer solely to inhabitants of wintry countries, for it will befound that the natives of other regions, who have fco tiaverseyielding surfaces, such as the great mud flats of Hampshire andelsewhere, wear pattens on their feet, and are thus able towander in safety over a substance too soft to bear them other-wise. Such pattens are almost identical with those employedelsewhere for~travelling over snow, and consist of slabs of wood,some IGin. to 18in. long, by 12in. or so in width, which areattached to the feet by toe straps and thongs. In these pattens,no matter whether they be made of withes or solid wood, weundoubtedly find the earliest form of snowshoes or ski, a formwhich, however, exists to the piesent day, and is met with iu. Fig. 1.—An early form of a Sketch by Laurentius Urdahl. the north-eastern and northern portions of Asia, Thibet, theCaucasus, Armenia, Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, and, ina modified form, in North America, the principle of constructionthere being identical, viz., a ring or framework of wood support-ing a net work of withes or sinews. There are, however, variousmodifications of the original round pattern; some of the shoes,possibly to prevent stx-addling, are more or less elongated, thelength being increased as the breadth is diminished, while some,thus shaped, have occasionally leather stretched between theframes to allow of their wearer gliding, instead of walking, overthe snow, and thus become veritable ski; for while the originalobject of the snowshoe or patten and the ski are identical, viz., The Orif/in and History of Ski. to support a weight on yielding, surfaces, the patten remains ashoe for walking purposes, while the ski becomes a blade o
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