Maritime Peoples
Winter Travel
People wore
snowshoes
to travel through the deep snows of winter, to hunt or to gather firewood.
A special type of
snowshoe, which the Maliseet made from wooden
planks, made travel on thin ice easier. People walked, and
carried young infants in
cradleboards.
They used sleds to haul
heavier loads, such as a moose carcass, or to move their
belongings. They had two types of sled: a light,
hand-pulled toboggan, and dog-pulled sleds on runners. Dog-pulled sleds
allowed for relatively rapid, long-distance travel along
ice-covered rivers and lakes.
Because travel was limited in winter, there was comparatively
little intertribal trade and communication with distant
communities.