23S TRAVELS THROUGH LOWER CANADA 5 
The moccasin is made of the skin of the deer, 
elk, or buffalo, which is commonly dressed with¬ 
out the hair,, and rendered of a deep brown co¬ 
lour by being exposed to the smoke of a wood 
lire. It is formed of a single piece of leather, 
with a seam from the toe to the instep, and 
another behind, similar to that in a common 
shoe; by means of a thong it is fastened round 
the instep, just under the ankle-bone, and is 
thus made to sit very close to the foot. Round 
that part where the foot is put in, a flap of the 
depth of an inch or two is left, which hangs 
loosely down over the string by which the 
moccasin is fastened ; and this flap, as also the 
seam, are tastefully ornamented with porcupine 
quills and beads : the flap is edged with tin or 
copper tags filed with scarlet hair, if the moc¬ 
casin be intended for a man, and with ribbands 
if for a woman. An ornamented moccasin of 
this sort is only worn in dress, as the ornaments 
are expensive, and the leather soon wears out; 
one of plain leather answers for ordinary use. 
Many of the white people on the Indian fron¬ 
tier^ wear this kind of shoe ; but a person not 
accustomed to walk in it, or to walk barefoot, 
cannot wear it abroad, on a rough road, with¬ 
out great inconvenience, as every unevenness 
of surface is felt through the leather, which is 
soft a nc pliable: in a house it is the most 
agreeable sort of shoe that can be imagined: 
the Indians wear it universally. - 
