The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-12

sky became overcast, night set in, and we
Travelled over that horrible track in pitch
darkness; but / arrived at the station in
fine form without injuring my feet in the
least.
Moccasins made of deerskin are too thin
for comfort, apd soon wear out. Those Of
moose or caribou hide are excellent Or
binary moccasins absorb water like a
sponge, and in slushy winter weather they
are almost uncomfortable. But a moose OF
caribou Sharks" dipped in the melted
fat of the ANIMAL are nearly waterproof.
A shank is a sort of boot made by strip
ping the skin off the hind leg of a moose
or caribou. so that the hook will fit your
heel. You sew up the toe, and put
draw-string in the top of the leg. Shanks
with the hair on are very dry and warm.
For still hunting in the dry days of au-
tumn, when every leaf and twig under
foot crackles at a touch a moccasin,
nolseless as a panther's paw, is made by
covering the sole with moose or caribou
hide in the thick winter coat, or with a
piece of sheepskin with the wool on it.
For travelling in regions where thorns or
prickly pear abound the soles must be
made of parheche Gawhide). Good moe
casins, tanned by the Indian process, with
brains and smoke, dry soft when leather
would become like horn. Being moro
pliable than leather, they never chafe the
feet, and, as they allow free circulation
of the blood, they are better protection
against intense cold.
Many sportsmen show a surprising lack
of judgment in selecting footwear. AS you
pass the window of a dealer in sporting
goods you will probably see pair of big
laced boots prominently displayed as
special lure. They have thick soles, PEN
tifully studded with hob-nails, like noun
taineers' shoes. presume that thousands
of pairs are sold every year to men who
think they are getting the most servtcea-
BILE boots that money will buy. Now. these
clumsy things weigh seventy-two ounces
while pair of thick moose-hide mecca
sins weigh just eleven ounces, Do You
realize what that difference means? Let
me illustrate. Say that a man in good
training can carry forty pounds ten miles
q day without great fatigue. Now take
that load off his back and put half Of 1t
on each foot-how far win he go? You
see the difference between carrying ana
lifting? Very well; the big, laced boot
outweighs the moccasin by thirty and one
half ounces. In ten miles there are H.
20 average PAGES. 1t follows that ten"
mile tramp in those costly boots means
lifting twenty tons more foot covering
than if one wore moccasins.
When Charles F. LummiS made his
tramp across the continent, from On
cinnati to Los Angeles covering 3,50l miles
light, low shoes. Since learning to cam
paign in the Apache moccasion," he says
Il have always preferred light-footednesS
to perpetual dragging of heavy shoes
There is something to be said, then, IN
praise of the Indians handicraft Perhaps
it even points a moral. 1 am reminded
of passage in Mr.. Warburton Pixies en-
tertaining volume on The Barren Ground
of Northern Canada"
but surely we carry this civilization
too far, and are in danger of Wrapping our
natural instincts by too close observance
of the rules that some mysterious force
oblges us to follow when we herd together
in big cities. Very emblematical of this
warping process are the shiny black boots
into which we squeeze our feet when we
throw away the moccasin of freedom; as
they gall and pinch the unaccustomed
foot, so does the dread of our friends
opinion gall and pinch our minds till they
become narrow, out of shape, and unable
to discriminate between reality and SEM
blance"