Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1886-02-13
Clara Bell Cots Herself In @ Ludic-
rCus Plight.

Snowshoes, says Clara Belle, were
made to buoy a person on top of deep
snow, but the fashionable thing in this
age of muscle culture is to ace in
them on the slightest excuse on On
inch of snow or the surface of a frozen
pond. Girls who 60 in for the thing
wear moccasins, tennis stockings,
blanket knee breeches, a blanket skirt
ard a blanket ulster and worsted toque
or liberty cap. That is all they put
the s~nowshoes on ut all for-just to
wear that picturesque dress, in which,
by the way, the slab-sidest rail Of q
girl looks quite plump and picturesque.
Unfortunately | was dressed as l
always am out Of doors, IL r-ccentable
walking attire. l stood on a rock
while my lady friend strapped the
frames to my toes. All around me was
a sea of snow-deop snow. There were
two or three gentlemen at a distance
waiting tor 8 run. had a temporary
engagement with a refractory stocking
suspender, SO !! whispered to my friend.
Run on, Alice, dear, and get those
men away while l fix something. I'll
follow presently" Like a good girl,
she gave a shout and flip-fopped along,
the men taking the signal and leading
the way. Alas! 1t was not 80 easy to
follow with your first steps in snow
shoes. l could not get off the rock to
save me. l was unable in my tight
skirts to step far enough to make the
sticks clear the rock, and when | tried
sitting on my heels and sliding l
pitched forward and went off the rock
sure enough, but head first, and with
my hands in the deep, soft snow. Think
Of it! My snowshoes were four feet in
the air, on the rock, while I
was in the snow to my shoul-
ders, with my face buried, and suffoca-
ton only a question OF moments. /
knew that if I stirred matters up in the
air it would be worse. The gentlemen
came speedily and put me en- my feet,
burning with modification. 1--WE saw
your sIgra ais Of Distress" my girl
friend whispered, tantalizingly. II
would rather have died than been res
cued," was all / said; and / meant it.
II l do say it myself, / am always
! plucky. l stuck to those shoes and
tried to master them. But it was too
ridiculous. You know a practiced
snowshoer rather slides than lifts his
feet. and gets along with whatever
grace al possibly attach to such q
fiip-flopping motion; but a beginner
cannot help liftizg his or her feet very
nigh, and the higher you lift them the
higher you must so as to keep the
tail sticks from digging in. Well, I
went about the end of the procession
hinging my feet wildly in air; until I
saw my companion fall IN the snow
and roll about, shaking with some vio-
lent emotion. l asked her what on
earth allied her. ''Oh, shall die"
she said. Il cannot help laughing.
You cannot imagine how funny you
l~ook-exactly like a clumsy ballet
dancer trying to kick over her own
head. For mercy's sake keep your
feet down and glide along" bit my
teeth with vexation, and, stumbling to
the club house. got a boy to unlace
my frames. To-day l am paying for
my fun, ever LOT 1ac~lv than while
it lasted. The simple truth is that I
am paralyzed from the waist down. l
have used a bottle of liniment, the room
smells like a chemical works, and l Am
prone upon a lounge by tho stove in
my friends bedroom. Yesterday l
thought of buying a pair of snowshoes.
To-day l wouldn't take a snowshoe
factory as a gift if it was paying 20 per
cent. profit. l hate the word SNOW
shoe"