ON SNOWSHOES AND DOG-SLEDS. 221 
Woods, where it was decided to camp. Upon the open 
plains we found the snow hard and in good condition 
for travelling, so that the teams trotted along easily 
with their heavy loads. 
Showshoe travel was also comparatively easy for 
those whose legs were sound, but the moment we en- 
tered the woods down sank shoes and dogs into the 
soft, light snow. In soft snow it is necessary for 
the guide or track-breaker to wear very large shoes, 
that he may not sink too deeply, but those who follow 
in his trail get along with the more ordinary size. 
The snowshoes used by Jimmie, the guide, were 
about five feet long and eighteen inches wide, whereas 
those used by the rest of us varied from three to three 
and a half feet in length and froin ten to twelve inches 
in breadth. ‘The guide's large shoes were made some- 
what after the Montreal model, symmetrical on either 
side, framed of one stick and slightly bent up at the 
toe, but those used by the rest were of very different 
make, and more peculiar design. Though we purchased 
them from the Hudson’s Bay Company at Churchill, 
they were made by the Chippewyan Indians. Their 
shoes aré not made symmetrically, but are constructed 
with great bulges upon their outer sides, and are formed 
of two pieces of wood, tied together at both ends and 
held apart in the middle by cross-bars, while the toes 
are turned up with a sharp curve. 
Having reached the shelter of the Eastern Woods, 
and concluded the first day’s march, a camping-place 
was chosen. The drivers of the teams at once proceeded 
to unharness the dogs, make beds for them of spruce 
