anything you have ever seen; nor could you imagine it possible to travel
in them if you had a pair now before you. The racket is a machine
consisting of a sort of net-work stretched upon ledges made of very hard
wood. They are about two feet and a half long, and fourteen inches
broad; and in the middle is fitted a kind of shoe, lined with wool or
hair, which is tied on to the ankle. By means of these strange snow-
shoes, the feet are prevented from sinking into the soft, deep snow.
Even the Indians, shod in this fashion, occasionally meet with heavy
falls, especially when descending very steep hills; and a foreigner
feels terribly awkward and at a loss when first he attempts to use them.
They are exceedingly fatiguing, too, as they become very heavy when wet;
and the wearer is compelled to walk with long and rapid strides, in
order to prevent the rackets from striking against each other.
Sometimes, when the day's journey was a long one, the faithful terrier
which accompanied your grandfather throughout the whole route would howl
for very exhaustion; and whenever his master stopped to look about him,
or to set his compass, the poor brute would scratch about and make
himself a bed for a few minutes' rest in the soft snow."

"Poor Doggy!" said George, "I can pity him for I remember once when I
walked some miles through the snow, and my shoes got clogged up, I was
so tired, what Uncle Tom called 'dead beat,' that I could not help
crying the last mile before I reached home."

"Imagine, then, your grandfather starting and making the best of his way
over the snow-clad country until the afternoon began to warn him that he
must make a halt. At about four o'clock the traveller has to begin his
preparation for the night's lodging, and this he does by clearing away
the snow (which is sometimes ten feet deep) from a square space; for
which purpose he makes a rude shovel, cut out of the side of some