an oblong shape--
something like what the figure of a boat turned on its mouth would make
in snow--and if he will also fancy the netting to consist of thongs of
twisted deer-hide woven somewhat closely together, he will get a very
good idea of an Indian snow-shoe. It is usually from three to four feet
long, by about a foot wide at the middle part, from which it tapers
gently to a point, both at the heel and toe. The frame, as I have said,
is like the hoop of a boy's bird-snare. It is made of light, tough
wood, and, of course, carefully bent and polished with the knife. The
slender branches of the "scrub-pine" (_Pinus Banksiana_) are esteemed
excellent for this purpose, as their wood is light, flexible and tough
in its fibres. This is also a favourite tree, where it grows, to make
tent-poles, canoe-timbers, and other implements required by the Indians;
and these people use so much of it for their arrows, that it has
received from the Canadian voyageurs the name of _bois de fleche_
(arrow-wood).

Well, then, the frame of the snow-shoes being bent to its proper shape,
two transverse bars are placed across near the middle, and several
inches from each other. They are for the foot to rest upon, as well as
to give strength to the whole structure. These being made fast, the
netting is woven on, and extends over the whole frame, with the
exception of a little space in front of the bars where the ball of the
foot is to rest. This space is left free of netting, in order to allow
play to the toes while walking. The mesh-work is made of thongs usually
cut from the parchment-skin of a deer, and twisted. Sometimes twisted
intestines are used, and the netting exactly resembles that seen in
"racquets" for ball play.

The snow-shoe, when finished, is simply fastened upon the foot by means
of straps or thongs; and a pair of them thus placed, will present a
surface to the snow of nearly six square feet--more, if required, by
making them larger. But this is enough to sustain the heaviest man upon
the softest snow, and an Indian thus "shod" will skim over the surface
like a skater.

The shoes used by all tribes of Indians are not alike in shape. There
are fashions and fancies in this respect. Some are made--as among the
Chippewa Indians--with one side of the frame nearly straight; and these,
of course, will not do for either foot, but are "rights and lefts."
Generally, however, the shape is such that the snow-shoe will fit e