18 EXPLORATIONS IN THE FAR NORTH 



The novice in the art of snow-shoeing is fortunate if he 

 escapes the painful mal de racquette or "snow-shoe sickness," 

 caused by the strain on the muscles and tendons of the lower 

 leg, in carrying the unaccustomed burden attached to the ball 

 of the foot. During the two winters spent in the North I was 

 five times afflicted with this malady, but these attacks, except 

 the first, were due to hardships which also affected my com- 

 panions — natives — in a similar manner. At such times it 

 seemed as if my ankle joints grated dry as I scraped along in 

 the torturing dog-trot. Truly, the heavy hunting snow-shoe, 

 or an ill-tied one of any sort "is a weariness to the flesh." 



The snow-shoes used by the natives between the Red River 

 and the Arctic Circle are of a different pattern from either the 

 round framed shoes of lower Canada or the finer meshed 

 snow-shoes used among the Loucheux Indians. They are nar- 

 row, pointed at the ends, and upturned at the front. The 

 smallest, for use in walking on lakes, the Barren Ground, or 

 in the sled track, are barely wide enough for the foot to rest 

 clear of the frames, and are about forty inches in length. The 

 largest hunting snow-shoes are sixteen inches in width by six 

 feet in length. The frames are of birch, shaped and bent while 

 green, dried over an open fire, provided with three to five cross- 

 bars and laced with babiche. 



Tea-Drinkingf. The deep snow prevented the Indians from 

 "making fur." Those at Cedar Lake who relied upon their 

 catch of muskrats and martens for means to purchase flour 

 were reduced to the verge of starvation. When relief was 

 brought to one aged widow', who had been living for months 

 upon the few rabbits which she had been able to snare, she 

 made no complaint of hunger but loudly bewailed the fact that 

 she had been without tea for several days. Tea is considered 

 a necessity by all Northern Indians. They will cheerfully 

 undergo the greatest hardships in the service of a "master" if 

 supplied with tea and tobacco, but when these fail their courage 

 also fails. After an experience of two years, spent in arctic 

 or sub-arctic regions, I can testify to the efficiency of tea as a 

 stimulant in a cold climate. It was wonderfully helpful in 

 cases of extreme fatigue. No depressing effects followed its 

 use though it was often consumed in immoderate quantities. 

 The muscles as well as the nerves were acted upon and its 



