MURDOCH. ] SNOWSHOES. 345 
wide at the broadest part, and is made of two strips about 1 inch thick 
and 3 wide, joined at the toe by a long lap-splice, held together by 
four short horizontal or slightly oblique stitches of thong. Each strip 
is elliptical in section, with the long axis vertical, and keeled on the 
inner face, except between the bars. Each is 
tapered off considerably from the toe bar to the 
toe, and slightly tapered toward the heel. The / 
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two points are fastened together by a short hori- [ney 
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zoutal stitch of whalebone. The tip is produced vA 
into a slight “tail,” and the inner side of each 
shoe is slightly straighter than the outer—that 
is to say, they are “rights and lefts.” 
The bars are elliptical in section, flattened, 
and have their ends mortised into the rim. They 
are about a foot apart, and of oak, the toe bar 
9-2 inches long and the heel bar 85. Both 
are of the same breadth and thickness, 1 by $ 
inch. There is also an extra bar for strength- 
ening the back part of the shoe 10 inches from 
the point. It is also of oak, 4°8 inches long, 0-5 
wide, and 0-3 thick. The toe and heel nettings 
are put on first. Small equidistant vertical 
holes run round the inside of each space. Those 
in the rim are drilled through the keel already 
mentioned, and joined by a shallow groove 
above and below; those in the bars are about 
4 inch from the edge and joined by a groove on 
the under side of the toe bar only. Into these 
holes is laced a piece of babiche, which is knot- 
ted once into each hole, making a series of 
beckets about ? inch wide round the inside of 
the space. There are no lacing holes in the 
parts spliced at the toe, but the lacing passes 
through a bight of each stitch. At the toe bar 
the lacing is carried straight across from rim to 
rim about three times, the last part being wound 
round the others. 
On the left shoe the end is brought back on 
the left-hand side, passed through the first hole 
in the bar from above, carried along in the 
groove on the underside to the next hole, up 
through this and round the lacing, and back 
through the same hole, the two parts being 
twisted together between the bar and lacing. This is continued, “ stop- 
ping” the lacing in festoons to the bar, to the last hole on the right, 
Fie. 350.—Snowshoe. 
