
through my duffle for a length 
of lampwick with which to re- 
place the old lacings on my snowshoes, 
I came upon a notebook in which I 
had recorded all kinds of data pertain- 
ing to woodsman- 
ship that I had 
collected during 
three long win- 
ters in the north 
woods of Canada 
and the States. 
Numerous things 
that one cannot 
‘Tis other day, as I was hunting 
iMTerel olen aeoay tzh aaa 
wipe dic rat 
books, tricks of 
hunting and liv- 
ing in the moun- 
tains that I had 
learned first 
hand from the 
Montagnais, the 
Iroquois and the 
St. Regis Indians. 
Nothing recorded 
that I had not 
previously tried myself, to my utmost 
satisfaction. Amongst these notes I 
found numerous comments on different 
types of snowshoes, and as slesera- 
quettes” literally spell “life” in the 
backwoods, I have decided to incorpo- 
rate these memos into one article 
which I hope will assist my fellow 
sportsmen in selecting “shoes” that 
will most adequately meet their needs 
during the winter. 
My favorites, for every-day use in 
the bush country, are two rather well- 
known models, namely, the ‘Penob- 
scot” (Fig. 1) and the “Bearpaw” 
(Fig. 4), both of which I use accord- 
ing to the quality of the snow and the 
type of country to be traversed. The 
former, long, slender and light, repre- 
sents an excellent “shoe” for the open 
HLLUULIUULUAUVUUIUULTT UT 
Using snowshoes that do not fit 
the country one trails through is 
almost as inefiicient woodsman- 
ship as trying to build a fire with 
green tamarack boughs. The in- 
formation contained in this ar- 
ticle comes indirectly from the 
St. Regis, Montagnais and Iro- 
quois Indians, whose very exis- 
tence during the “big snows” de- 
pends upon “les raquettes.” 
NN 

country, river travel, or treking on a 
long, well-defined trail. The long tail 
keeps the “shoe” pointed forward, and 
with a little practice a graceful, swing- 
ing step can be acquired without lift- 
ing the entire “shoe” off the snow. I 
always pick this 
model when I 
have to make 
time, tor rts is 
well bowed at the 
tip and does not 
sink much in the 
snow. This is an 
excellent model 
for trappers or 
surveyors whose 
daily work takes 
them on long 
trips up rivers, 
beaten trails or 
across lakes. I 
have found that 
the “sandal har- 
ness” illustrated 
in Fig. a is best 
adapted to this 
S1.0.0)7) SetOreart 
permits of easy, comfortable travel at 
a greater speed than is ordinarily re- 
quired. This model is gener- 
ally made with cowhide web- 
bing. 

** Les 
Raquettes”’ 
North Country Snow- 
shoes and Their Use 
By STAG MURRAY 
The “Bearpaw,” on the other hand, 
is most suitable for use in rough, up- 
and-down, bushy country. It is an ex- 
cellent trail-breaker, and the user can 
soon learn to jump upon and over logs, 
rocks and hillocks, climb steep em- 
bankments and travel through dense 
brush on this shoe with greater ease 
than any other models I will comment 
upon. Note that the real “Bearpaw” 
is readily distinguished by the total 
lack of a tail, while the “Montagnais 
Bearpaw” (Fig. 5) is made with a wee 
bit of a tail which serves no particu- 
lar purpose other than to identify it 
as of Montagnais making. On this 
“shoe” I have always used the Mon- 
tagnais hitch (Fig. f), for it gives 
the wearer the most complete control 
of the shoes that is possible, making 
it easy to turn, quickly and without 
effort, and enabling the user to lift the 
shoe entirely at each step, which is 
necessary for the most efficient use of 
this type of shoe. A more detailed 
explanation of the 
manner of adjusting 
(Continued on p. 44) 





