The opening of I. Shapes of Snowshoes
To the inventive mind of the North American Indian we owe the snowshoe, and its conception was doubtless brought about through that prolific source of invention--necessity. The first models were crude web-footed affairs, but improvements in model and manner of filling the frames were gradually added until the perfected and graceful shoe of the present was finally reached. The first snowshoes were made by the Indians, and the Indians of Maine and Canada continue to fashion the finest models today.
The snowshoe is a necessity for the sportsman and trapper whose pleasure or business leads him out in the open during the winter season, when roads and trails are heavily blanketed by a deep fall of powdery snow. But the use of the web shoe is by no means confined to the dweller in the wilderness, since the charm of wintry wood and plain beckons many lovers of the outdoors to participate in this invigorating sport, and snowshoe tramps are fast growing in popularity in and about our cities and towns.