Horses Wearing Snowshoes

by Anita Mae Draper

Woodcut from Historia Delle Genti, by Olaus Magnus, 1565 edition. Library of Congress 

While researching my Lapp & Finn heritage, I happened upon the above image of a woodcut from a book published in 1565 about the history of northern people. Intrigued, I soon discovered that North Americans also put snowshoes, and even mudshoes, on their horses when needed to distribute their weight over a larger area to keep them from sinking into the snow or mud.

In 1888, James Mason Hutchings wrote In the Heart of the Sierras, a comprehensive work of natural and human history of Yosemite. On the topic of traveling through snow, he experimented with wooden snowshoes on horses and came to a successful conclusion which he describes in his book in detail, including this next illustration which shows the underside of the wooden snowshoe.

In the Heart of the Sierras by James M. Hutchings (1888). Public Domain

Concerning the snowshoes, Hutchings wrote that, "...Each animal seems to have an intuitive knowledge of what they are for, as of the duties expected of them; for, carefully lifting the foot higher than he would under normal circumstances, with a somewhat rotary and semi-oscillary movement, he throws his foot forward, and one shoe over the other, with such intelligent dexterity that they rarely touch each other...There is no confusion or even awkwardness in their use, although there is in appearances when seeing horses in such ungainly-looking appendages."

Similar horse snowshoes were used in the British Columbia goldfields as shown in this next image from the book, Prospectors, Promoters and Hard Rock Miners by Ian McLeod (with Holly McNeil). 

Bill Stewart with a horse on wooden snowshoes in Stewart, B.C.; Courtesy of Stewart Historical Society Museum

In 1891, Edward James Glave led an unoffical exploration from Seattle to Alaska with the purpose of finding a transportation route with adequate forage for horses. Such a route would enable Alaska to receive food and goods as well as send furs and gold south without depending on water routes. Instead of staying close to shore, Glave headed inland and then north, following the valleys where his animals had no problem finding nourishment. Glave's horses had been trained to walk the narrow paths on mountainsides when they needed to find a pass through, but when he encountered deep snow, he taught them how to walk on snowshoes...human snowshoes...

In the article, Alaskan Exploration in 1891 by John Bonner, published in The Californian Illustrated Magazine Oct 1891 to May 1892, Glave said, "They were the ordinary Canadian snowshoes, oval in shape, and rather small. At first the horses were awkward with them; but after a time they learned the trick of spreading their feet apart, and seemed to understand the purpose of the unusual hoof gear."

Around 1881, Edward Whymper engraved a winter scene showing a horse with a different type of snowshoe pulling a cutter in Eastern Canada. More open than the solid wood type, these round snowshoes were crafted of wood, metal and leather, based more on the traditional look than the wooden type.

Horse in Snowshoes, Pulling Cutter, Eastern Canada, ca.1881; Courtesy of Glenbow Archives

A close-up of the above snowshoe style is on display online through the digital website, of the Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History) where they are called hestetruger (horse snowshoe). 

Similar to the underside of the solid wooden snowshoes, the metal chains and leather straps help to keep the snowshoes from slipping on ice and snow. Here's an image from the McCord Museum in Montreal that shows the underside of the snowshoe as a man puts one on the horse.

Putting Snowshoes on Horse, about 1900; Courtesy of the McCord Museum

Although this next image looks like a line of mounted antique baby shoes, what you're looking at are ca.1900 horse snowshoes displayed at the Canadian Museum of History. This type of horse snowshoe isn't as common as the others, probably due to the expense of crafting the leather "boots". I wonder if they were made for a particular horse, or could they be adjusted to fit different sizes?

Horse snowshoes, circa 1900. Canadian Museum of History

The history timeline of Bradford, Ontario, Canada, states that in 1872, "Bradford prospered with businesses such as lumber and mattress making using Marsh hay. Horses used in the harvesting of the hay used wooden snowshoes like clogs strapped to their front feet to prevent them from sinking into the marsh."

Using the Library of Congress Chronicling America website, I found numerous newspaper articles that mention snowshoes on horses including these topics:
- Idaho County Free Press (Grangeville, Idaho), January 2, 1902 (Horses on Snowshoes common in the Buffalo Hump District)
- Mountain Home Republican (Mountain Home, Idaho) April 8, 1922 (Horse on snowshoes to take the mail and supplies through)
- The Owyhee Nugget (Silver City, Idaho) December 7, 1911 (The shoes the horse wears are round, similar in construction to those worn by men)
- Wood River Times (Hailey, Idaho) April 11, 1887 (If the breaking team were provided with horse snowshoes, such as have been used in the mountains of California)

Although the above newspapers are from Idaho, you can see that snowshoes were used in other mountain regions when the path became treacherous due to the weather. They weren't only used in the west, either. I've mentioned that they were used in Eastern Canada, but did you know they were used in New England as well? Check out the article, Collector's Antique Tools, Gadgets in Good Hands, about the Sheffield Historical Society in Sheffield, Massachusetts, and how it's preserving the past, including a photo of the actual size of a wooden horse snowshoe. 

Did you know that horses wore snowshoes? What do you think? 

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Anita Mae Draper is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces who served twenty years on Air bases with her eyes on the skies. She uses her experience and love of history to pepper her stories of yesteryear's romance with hardship, faith, and joy. Anita Mae Draper's published stories appear in Barbour Publishing, WhiteFire Publishing, and Guideposts Books. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking out Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Snowshoe Thompson: Mail Carrier Extraordinaire

by Keli Gwyn

Do you smile when you receive an honest-to-goodness handwritten letter delivered by snail mail? Although that happens less and less in these days of email, texts and instant messages, nothing makes my day like finding a card or note from a friend in my mailbox.

In the early days of California when my story featured in A Cup of Christmas Cheer: Volume 3, Heartwarming Tales of Christmas Past takes place, mail from back home was a rarity. The arrival of a letter was often cause for celebration.

Soon after I moved to the Sierra Foothills’ town of Placerville, I learned about a mail carrier who had made a difference in many people’s lives. John “Snowshoe” Thompson heard that the U. S. Postal Service was seeking someone to take mail over the mountains during the winter months and applied for the position.

This rugged Norwegian-American got the job. Snowshoe Thompson, as he was called, strapped a pair of handmade twelve-foot wooden skis on his feet and set off from Placerville to Genoa, Nevada. He could make the ninety-mile trek in three days.
 

I’ve lived in Placerville over twenty years and have driven by my town’s monuments to Showshoe Thompson hundreds of time. I’ve seen his skis on display in our county’s historical museum and heard tales about his travels.

However, it wasn’t until a trip to Genoa, Nevada in the summer of 2013 that I became fascinated by this local legend. I visited Thompson’s gravesite and spent a delightful hour in the Genoa Courthouse Museum, which is home to an enlightening display honoring this famous mailman.

When Thompson set off from Placerville, he would heft a sixty- to one-hundred-pound mail sack on his back. The only personal items he took, other than food, were matches and his Bible. 

Thompson delivered letters, magazines and newspapers, but that wasn’t all. On several occasions, he carried much-needed medicine. He would purchase items in Placerville at the request of people in Genoa, such as sewing needles, a glass chimney for a lantern and a fiddle string, and deliver them to grateful recipients.

For twenty winters, beginning in 1856, Thompson made two to four trips a month. Although he was hired by the Postal Service, he never received any wages. The only money he earned was the one-dollar-per-item fee he was allowed to charge for his labor. There were some who couldn’t afford to pay him, but that didn’t keep Thompson from delivering their letters or packages.

One year Thompson was asked to vary his route. The winter of 1866-67 was the worst on record, leaving the mining town of Meadow Lake high in the Sierra buried beneath up to thirty feet of snow. Thompson was asked to take mail to the isolated town.

When I set out to write my story, “A Father’s Gift,” I wanted to showcase Snowshoe Thompson. This remarkable man exemplified a generous, godly nature.

I set my story in Meadow Lake during that record-breaking winter. The main character receives an unexpected package delivered by a much-loved mail carrier: Snowshoe Thompson.
While my character’s story ended happily, Thompson’s did not. In May of 1876, at the age of forty-nine, he died of appendicitis that developed into pneumonia. Because he had never signed a contract with the Postal Service, when he went to Washington D.C. to attempt to receive his back pay, his claim was denied. When the Smithsonian Institute created an exhibit chronicling the history of the Postal Service in the 1990s, they failed to include Thompson for the same reason.

Although Snowshoe Thompson didn’t receive payment or official recognition in his lifetime or even posthumously, he left quite a legacy. Monuments to this beloved legend abound throughout the Sierras and beyond. Whenever I see one, I’m inspired by this kind soul who put the needs of his fellow man above his own.
 

 

Snowshoe Thompson mural in downtown Placerville, California

Keli Gwyn writes stories that transport readers to the 1800s, where she brings historic towns to life, peoples them with colorful characters and adds a hint of humor. A California native, she lives in the Gold Rush-era town of Placerville at the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains.

When Keli's fingers aren't hovering over the keyboard of her newfangled laptop, she enjoys strolling past stately Victorian houses in her historic town, burying her nose in reference books as she unearths interesting facts to include in her stories and interacting with other romance readers. Her favorite places to visit are her fictional worlds, historical museums and other Gold Rush-era towns.