Two boards are used, as one of sufficient width could not be obtained
from the forests of that region. Besides, a single board would certainly
split, while two obviate this danger and render the sled less stiff. In
passing over rough places the sled must bend to conform to inequalities
or else it would break. In the construction of this vehicle the Indian
displays much skill and a perfect knowledge of the requirements of the
case. The load is placed so as to dispose the weight on that portion
which will bear chiefly on the ground. The great length of the sled
enables the person to guide it more readily.
[Illustration: FIG. 129.--Nenenot snowshoe, single bar.]
When on a journey the younger women and the men drag it along. When the
men return to the station to trade they alone drag it. A small dog is
sometimes hitched to it by a thong, but as the animal is so small and
light, it affords but little assistance. The animal, however, would
certainly wander off in search of game along the track, and by being
hitched to the sled is kept within bounds.
All the household effects, consisting of tent, cooking utensils,
clothing, and other articles are placed on the sled when the people are
changing camp.
The Nenenot are skilled in the manufacture and use of snowshoes, of
which four styles are used, viz: The "swallow-tail," "beaver-tail,"
"round-end," and "single-bar" (Figs. 128, 129). The frame is of wood,
nearly an inch wide and half an inch thick, usually in two pieces,
joined by long lap splices wrapped with deerskin thongs, either at the
sides or ends of the shoe. In the single-bar shoe the frame is on one
slip, spliced at the toe. Birch is the favorite material for snowshoes,
but is rarely to be had except by those Indians who ascend the Koksoak
to its headwaters, so that spruce and larch are generally used.
The arrangement of the toe and heel bars of the snowshoes will be best
understood from the figures. They are usually placed within the frame,
and set in mortises in the inner side of the frame, before the wrapping
of the ends of the frames has been drawn together; otherwise the bars
could not be placed in the holes to receive them.
The netting is made of deerskin, with the hair removed, and allowed to
dry into a condition usually known as parchment. This is cut into strips
of variable width, depending on the particular use for which it is
wanted.
[Illustration: FIG. 130.--Snowshoe needle, Nenenot.]
A needle of bone, horn, or iron (Fig. 130) is used for netting the
snowshoes. The shape of the implement is flat and rounded at each point,
to enable the needle to be used either backward or forward. The eye
which carries the line is in the middle. Various sizes of needles are
used for the different kinds of netting, of which the meshes differ
greatly in size.
The line is generally 10 to 20 feet in length, and when the netting is
completed it somewhat resembles the seating of a cane-bottomed chair.
Each individual varies his work according to fancy, but as the netting
between the bars is made of coarser line, more compactly woven, there is
less difference there than at the toe or heel.
The netting of the toe is of finer line and meshes than the middle or
between the bars; while that between the heel bar and heel of the
snowshoe is finest of all.
The netting between the bars holds the joints of the frames where they
lap over each other.
The toe and heel spaces of netting are held in place by the line passing
under the threads which are wrapped around the bars from the netting
between them, and again are fastened or slipped through loops of thread
or line which are let through the frame of the snowshoe.
Near the center of the toe-bar is a space left in the netting between
the bars to admit the toes of the wearer and allow them free action
while walking. This space is semicircular and is inclosed by several
strands of line passing over the toe-bar and forming loops, which have
the diagonal lines of the netting passed around them and drawn tight.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLI