Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1913-11-12
INDIAN INVENTIONS.
CANOE, ToBoGGAN AND SNOW
SHOE AMONG THEM.
raE Last THE GREATEST or ALL =
SOME TRICKS or sNowsHoEING-
METHODS OF TYING.


lasting debt OF gratitude for three imple-
,,,snts of his invention, says Dillon Wal
ta,s. an arctic explorer and an authority
!, the subject OF snowshoes, in an article
IA Youths Compaaion. They have been
=, inestimable value to the explorers OF
onr northern wilderness, have played no
.mall part in the spread of American
ciy,lfsation, and have opened 20 us wide
aids OF recreation and pleasure OF the
mos, invigorat:ng sort. The three impic-
r,suts are the canoe, the toboggan and the
snow shoe.
rhe canoe has taken its place as chief
among the smaller pleasure craft OF our
inland waterways. In the United States
we have not yet learned TO appreciate the
,oborgan. Although in tho eastern
Tinted states the snowshoe has not yet
recei we'd the recognition ii deserves, 1t is
growing in popularity wherever snow
talls deep enough TO permit the use of it.
Besides It's usefulness, 1t has almost I'M
limited possibilities as an implement for
health giving winter sport.
THE INDIAN INVENTION.
In referring to the snowshoe as an
Indian invention. l have left out of con-
alteration the skce, for although 1t ans
wers the same parpose, We do not speak
Of 1t or think of IL as q snowshoe. More
over. have not considered eontrivances
for walking on snow that have long been
In use on the tsbleiands OF Asia and in
other parts OF the world. These eontri-
rsnees originated in prehistoric timesi the
skes developed with civilization.
Bat the smowshor a. we know 1t to-day
the webbse racket WAS 40 independent
invention Of the North American Indian,
aud had reached the height OF perfection
10 design and workmanship before the
white man discovered America. So per-
feet. indeed, was il, that the white man
has never been able either to invent an
equally useful Substitute or to Improve
on the Indians patterns. Indeed, the
best snnwshos made to-day by the skilled
artisans OF civilization falls considerably
shor, OF the Indian product in workmac-
ship and efficiency.
The indian designed his snowshoe to
salt she region ia which hs lived. Thus
tbs Crees OF the barren grounds west of
Hudson Bay, with vide, open stretches of
country, sometimes make snowshoes as
mach as eight feet long ana correspond
ingly narrow. The Ojibways, who also
live in a comparatively open country, use
snogshoes generally about six feet long.
Obviously, the wearer would find IL
s.sF3,E.t, saxv,a,,penx fr,r.s,aathia--fn man
age these very long snowshoes in a thiekly-
wooded country In which windiails often
ocoar and brush is thick. He could not
make quick turns, and he could not plant
bis saowshocs between fallen trees,
Whenever he found himself with the ends
OF bis snowshoe resting on hard dies, like
logs or rocks, and his weight in the
center, the frame would probably break.
For th,s reason the Indians farther east
prefer shorter, wider snowshocs. In the
rugged and broken wilderness OF Labrador
the models are In the shArpest contrast
with the extremely long models of the
Crses In the region between lake
Superior aud Quebec, some OF the shoes
have slightly turned-up toes. Personally,
/ never coald see the advantage OF that,
slthough perhaps when the snow is SO
hard that the snowshoe sinks only the
thickness of the rim, the turned-up toe
may prevent the shoe from catching under
The crust, as the Hat kind tends to do.
afcxAc MODEL.
For ordinary purposes the Micmae
model Is an excellent one. 1t is from two
ard half to three feet long, broader than
the very long shoes, bat not 30 broad as
those OF Labrador.
On the Labrador peninsula, the Indians
that Is, the mountaineers, sometimes
called the Montagnais, OF the south, the
NAsoaupees fSenenots) OF the north and
the Crees OF the west-hsve four styles IN
common use-the 'egg-tsii," or "round-
end" the ..beayer- tall" the swallow
tail" and the .bear's-paw." Although
the besr's-paw style is often made Win
only the toe-bar, most Of the Labrador
snowshoes have two cross bars.
The largest pair OF Mountaineer snow
shoes ever saw was pair of oesyer-taiis
thirty inches wide. They were made by
SS1hS oueNf ahA hNpAS7~ -
OF fashion. The largest Sascsnpee snow
shoes met with were a pair oil swallow
tails thirty i've inches long and twenty
eight inches wide. a grown man can
use snowshoe from twenty to twenty
four inches wide without having TO
'straddle" uncomfortably, for the snow
shoes overlap one another when he walks
and the feet are only about ten or eleven
inches apart.
When beech was to be had, rs 1t once
was In the Maritime Provinces, 1t was
much used for frames. Now, however,
Indians use mostly birch or spruce, ana
make the erossbars OF tamaracK. spruce
Is light, springy, easily worked, ana goes
not check easily. Tsmarack is iight' hin
and strong. With the AK the indian cuts
the timber and roughly shapes nj win
the crooked knife he dresses ana nhishes