Winter Reconnaissance in California. 561 



survey lines up steep slopes or across rough and broken ground, 

 or to pace accurately — except possibly on level ground. It is 

 almost impossible to work with them when the snow is wet and 

 sticky in the middle of the day, and they require constant 

 "doping." 



Webs can be used in rough country or in smooth. Accurate 

 pacing can be done on them. You can work with them whether 

 the snow is dry or whether it is wet and sticky. If they break 

 it is comparatively easy to fix them up. The only thing needed 

 is a couple of extra rawhide thongs in your pocket. Last but not 

 least — no learning is required with webs. Anyone can walk all 

 day and every day, provided he is physically sound. 



We tried webs from three different firms, and webs of various 

 sizes and shapes. The poor webbing in the New York shoes 

 makes them worse than useless for work under California condi- 

 tions. The Alaska Trapper shoe from Tacoma, Washington, — a 

 shoe 60x12 inches — at $8.00 per pair, is a very fair shoe, although 

 the toe is a little too large and full and the webbing stretches too 

 much. The best all round shoe — and one which is extremely sat- 

 isfactory — is obtained from A. M. Dunham, Norway, Maine. 

 This is a hand-made shoe throughout, and has a coarse webbing 

 which resists wear extremely well, and which absolutely will not 

 stretch or sag under any conditions. Mr. Dunham guarantees the 

 webbing in this respect and everyone of his shoes (eight pairs) 

 have stood up perfectly. Of Dimham's shoes we got four pairs, 

 14x48 inches, model four ($5.50) and four pairs 12x60 inches, 

 Peary Model ($8.00), both with toe clips. Of the two I believe 

 the 14x48 inch shoe is the best, because it has more surface and 

 will support a man better in loose snow and because it is a little 

 easier to handle in rough country and particularly in heavy timber 

 and thickets of young growth. If, however, it is known that most 

 of the work is to be in light powdery snow, I believe Model No. 2 

 — 15x54 inches would be best; while if hard snow is to be ex- 

 pected for most of the time a shoe 12 inches wide would be 

 best. The Dunham webbing and toe clips make these shoes far 

 superior to any I have seen — although even with them, extra 

 webbing should be ordered, or a rawhide bought, for repair work. 



A very good sled can be bought of the Seattle Hardware Com- 

 pany — the Yukon Sled — for $6.50 at Seattle. This sled has one 

 and three-quarter inch steel shod runners. For the work in Cal- 



