CHAPTER XXI. 



THE CARE OF BLISTERED FEET. 



Much suffering and discomfort are experi- 

 enced by the novice on snowshoe tramps by the 

 want of knowledge as to how to care for and 

 protect the feet from blistering. 



The toes are the parts that suffer most from 

 the friction of the cross snowshoe strings that 

 are continually see-sawing the front part of the 

 moccasin, and many, from an erroneous idea of 

 cause and effect, pile on extra socks, thinking 

 thereby to prevent the blistering by the thick- 

 ness of their foot padding. 



During my first years in the Hudson Bay 

 service I suffered like any other new "hitter" of 

 the long trail, but once started on the tramp 

 there was no giving in. Places being hundreds 

 of miles apart, there were no houses nor any 

 place to stop and say, "I can go no further." 

 On a journey of seven, eight or ten days, \ve took 

 probably one day's extra provisions, but no 

 more, therefore be the back lame through the 

 heavy bundle it had to support day after day, 

 or our every toe blistered to the bone, walk on 



167 



