Complex sentence: In the winter of 1867, though, the deep snows made it difficult for him to get the food he needed and he boiled the leather from a chair and supposedly from a pair of shoes for sustenance.
Split into simpler sentences: In the winter of 1867, though, the deep snows made it difficult for him to get the food he needed. He boiled the leather from a chair and supposedly from a pair of shoes for sustenance.