complaining because there was snow on the ground? Here were new
difficulties to overcome, new problems to solve, and new sports provided
for our amusement. There was no disappointment shown by any of the members
of the S. S. I. E. E. of W. C. I., as they met in the woodshed
immediately after breakfast to discuss proceedings for the day. There
seemed to be but one way of reaching the island, and that was by means of
snow shoes. Bill had only a vague idea of how snow shoes were made.



Chair Seat Snow Shoe.

The first pair was made from a couple of thin wooden chair seats which we
found in the shed. They proved quite serviceable, being very light and
offering a fairly large bearing surface. The chair seats were trimmed off
at each side to make the shoes less clumsy, and a loop of leather was
fastened near the center of each shoe, in which the toe could be slipped.
This shoe possessed the disadvantage of being too flat and of picking up
too much snow when used.

[Illustration: Fig. 22. Chair Seat Snow Shoe.]



Barrel Stave Snow Shoe.

Another pair of shoes was made from barrel staves. At first one stave
was made to serve for a shoe, but we found that two staves fastened
together with a pair of wooden cleats were much better. Jack was the
proud inventor of these shoes and insisted that they were far more