The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-02-01
SROD WITH SNOWSHOES.
Horses Of the Sierras That Wear
Strange Footgear.
They Are Compelled to Pull Heavy Loads
Across the 3iountains-A Travellers
Interesting Description of
bis Trip.

horses 5hdIe, DuU We seen L1eH 10 Tue
next thing to it-use snowshoes and do
their work with them on just as well as
| if they didn't have them on, or nearly
! So said a gentleman from California
! the other evening to New York Herald
man.
This is the way it was: About the
middle of April year ago, had bust
ness up in Plumas county, California.
and went by stage running from Oro-
vile to Quincy, the central point in
Plumas county. We left Oroville at
| seven in the morning in four-horse
'jerky,' q sort of stage wagon specially
built for rough mountain work. For
the first six hours the road was as dry
as board, but after the noon change
Of teams we struck patches of snow
which soon merged into solid and deep
snow going. Tom, our driver, had
called my attention TO the new team as
it was being hitched up, saying:
'Thern's our snow horses. Wen soon
have to leave the wheel and take the
''sledders" when we get further up the
road
Though I had ridden behind and
upon many kinds of horses in the west,
yet had never been introduced to the
snow breed before, and l looked at
them very closely.
e"They were all four white or gray,
whether from age or natural disposition
/ couldn't tell, but I was much I'M
pressed by their tremendous self-con-
seriousness, their extremely slow mo-
tons, the deliberate way in which they
stepped, straddiing their legs as far
apart as possible, and their reluctance
to raise more than one hoof OF the
ground at time. Every one Of the lot
was old enough to vote, and at a rough
estimate twenty dollars a head would
have been about fifteen dollars over
their value. At the end of the trip l
thought twenty dollars apiece was fully
nine hundred and eighty dollars less
than they were really worth.
Don't think much of 'em, do your
asked the driver of me as he started
them up with click. No. he eontin-
ued. they're not much to look at. them
four old hide packers, but the company
wouldn't trade that lot for the best
eight flyers in the crackest livery stable
in Sacramento But for those invalua-
BILE critters the mails wouldn't get
through six months in the year on this
route. They're snow horses, they are,
and when they strike the snow higher no
they'll put their snow moccasins on and
show you valley people how they earn
their oats
THAT old gray quartette ploddedand
worked its way along very YEARLY to
us until we got into the deeper snow
and drew up to large sleigh standing
alongside the road.
"'Change cars called ont the driver,
and gents will please shift their own
traps or they'll get left Unhitching
his team from the 'jerky,' Tom lined up
his horses in pairs in front of the
sleigh and then took out of it a couple
of gunny sacks, from which he pro-
duced sixteen pieces of wood having the
appearance of fat dishes, which he said
were the snoWshoes used by the four
horses. / examined the shoes with
much curiosity.
THE shoe was made Of stout. sea-
soned, one-inch plank of tough hickory
wood, fourteen inches square, strength
ened on one side by a covering of oil
cloth and two one-inch wide strips of
hickory wood screwed on to the main
plate. So situated that when adjust
ed d horses foot would be right in the
center of the shoe were three holes
clear through the wood and oilcLoth
of
large enough to let the heavy and very
high toe calk of the horses shoe pass
through, while the two other holes as
readily permitted the two hind callzs of
the shoe to enter and come out as did
the toe call1 Then a wrought iron
band, separated in the center, swung
on hook and eye on either side Of the
horses hoof after he had been fitted
with the snowshoc, by passing the
call1s through, was brought together in |
front Of the hoof an inch below the cor /
onet, and then tightly joined by screw !
and nut passed through holes bored in !
the projecting ends of the band. Ev- |
erything fitted as snug as possible. and /
when the screw was tightened up no !
amount Of scr2pirg or kicking could /
loosen it from horses foot. The snow |
team understood the business perfectly /
and took it as matter of course that /
they should be thus decorated.
They actually seemed to know a !
little more about it even than Tom did /
Indeed, one old plug held up his of hind |
foot and knocked Tom on the arm with /
his shoe as hint to have the nut .
a little tighter on the iron
band. Though I never before saw .
horses SO queerly shod and apparently /
anchored with these strange gearings,
the animals seemed TO consider it quite /
the proper thing to have the shoes on.
The passengers having by this time F.
piled al their traps into the sleigh we
made another start for Quincy. but q:
4 snails pace as far as speed was CON
cerned After we got under way we
found the snow getting deeper every
yard, until IN places, Judging by the
trees. 1t mus have been at least fifteen
feet deep ! became quite interested
in the sagacity Of the four horses and
their singular cleverress in handling
themselves on their unusual footing. /
found out why they were 50 slow in
moving and why they straddled 50
wide. Their slowness was TO prevent
sinking too deep in the snow from the
heavy treading and the straddling to
keep them from skinning their legs or
cutting a tendon with the edges of the
'snowshoes.'
- month later, on my return. when
the roads were clear Of snow, it only
took twelve hours to make the trip from