Question 4 Norwegian immigrant Herman Smith-Johannsen, earned his nickname of Jackrabbit from the Cree Indians who admired his ability to hunt rabbits. slalom at high speeds down heavily-wooded slopes in the Canadian Laurentians. False. Herman Jackrabbit Smith-Johannsen is the acknowledged father of Canadian skiing. He was born at Horten, Norway, in 1875 and learned to ski at the same time that he learned to walk, at the age of two. Eventually he came to Quebec where he became an outdoorsman of the Laurentians. Johannsen was named to the Order of Canada in 1972, at the age of 97, for his contribution to Canadian skiing. The Cree Indians admired his ability to slalom at high speeds down heavily-wooded slopes.