Snowshoe

a contrivance for walking on snow without sinking. The toes of the prairie chicken, the partridge, the rabbit, the lynx, and many other wild animals are provided with spreading, horny flanges, hair, bristles, or thick fur that enables these inhabitants of cold countries to run or leap on soft snow without sinking. Taking a hint from them, the northern woodsman constructs a pair of snowshoes for the same purpose. A strip of strong, flexible wood is bent into the shape of an ellipse, round in front and prolonged somewhat in the rear. Thongs of rawhide, perhaps half an inch in width, are passed back and forth at intervals of two and three inches, care being taken to interweave them in such a way as to form a sort of web, strengthened by a single crosspiece of wood. The entire contrivance is not unlike a large tennis racket with the handle cut off. It is from a foot to a foot and one-half in width and about three feet in length, and is fastened to the foot by a thong passing over the toe of the wearer's moccasin, thus leaving his heel free to rise. In walking, the woodsman lifts the toe of the shoe slightly and slides it along the snow, then advances the other shoe in like manner. With a pair of good shoes one can walk over fresh snow without inconvenience. Those who have become experts in their use can overtake a deer as it flounders along through the deep snow, and can travel with speed and safety across leagues of country through which it would be impossible to pass without aid. In Canada and the northern parts of the United States, snowshoe racing has become a popular form of winter sport. For an account of the wooden snowshoe, see SKI.