THE MINUTE-MAN IN A SNOWDRIFT. 



IT is not often that snow-shoes are useful in 

 this part of Massachusetts, but as about sixteen 

 inches of a recent fall remained on the hills 

 when I took my walk on Saturday, March 7, I 

 found snow-shoes not only useful but neces- 

 sary for cross-country travel. My shoes were 

 made by a neat-fingered farmer in the White 

 Mountains, and are more durable than many of 

 the fancy shoes for sale among athletic goods. 

 A fish-shaped frame of ash with two cross 

 braces is filled with a coarse mesh of rawhide. 

 The foot is secured to this light framework by a 

 leather toe-cap from which straps extend across 

 the top of the instep and around the ankle. 

 The heel is free to rise and fall in walking, while 

 the heel of the snow-shoe is loaded to make it 

 trail upon the snow, thus keeping the toe up 

 and away from snags. 



I spent most of Saturday afternoon on the 

 crest of a high hill not far from the Belmont 

 mineral spring. The air was warm and clear, 

 the sunlight intensely bright, and the sky won- 

 derfully blue. Birds were few and far between, 



