38 (p. 117).--See Cuoq's "Grammaire de la langue algonquine," in _Canad. Roy. Soc. Proc._, vol. ix., sect. 1, p. 85; and vol. x., sect. 1, p. 41. Cf. Pilling's _Bibliog. Algon. Lang._, pp. 6-9. 39 (p. 127).--_Raquettes_: snowshoes. This word is very old; its earlier forms were _rachete_ or _rasquete_. It is derived by Littré (through Low Latin _racha_) from the Arabic _rāha_, "palm of the hand;" by Menage and others, from Latin _reticulata_, "netted." In either case, its present use is traceable to certain ball-games. The earliest of these was that called by the French "paume" (from Latin _palma_), in which the ball was struck with the palm of the hand; it was exceedingly popular in the countries of Western Europe, and was common at least as early as the thirteenth century, afterwards becoming known as "tennis" (a word of uncertain derivation). Of historic interest, in this connection, is the _serment du jeu paume_ (oath of the tennis court), a name given to that session of the Third Estate at Versailles, June 20, 1789, at which the deputies swore not to adjourn till they had given a constitution to France. Heathcote, in _Tennis_ (London, 1890), says: "It is probable that the Italians, when playing _la paume_, found that a glove was a useful protection to the hand; and, when balls were made harder and heavier, that a thicker glove was required. The transition from the thick glove to a network of strings, and the adoption of the leverage afforded by the use of a handle, may have suggested to an ingenious inventor the prototype of the implement we now use." The racket was introduced into France, probably in the fourteenth century. To apply the name of this instrument to the snowshoe, so similar in shape to the former, was an obvious and easy transition. The use of netted snowshoes was universal among the North American tribes, from whom it has been adopted by the white inhabitants of Canada and the mountainous regions of the United States. Lafitau describes snowshoes and their use, in his _Mœurs des Sauvages_, tome ii., pp. 220-223; as does Schoolcraft, in _Ind. Tribes_, vol. iii., p. 68,--several illustrations being given, of specimens from Minnesota, Utah, and Oregon. Among the different tribes, they are of various sizes and shapes; their length varies from fifteen inches to six feet, and the width from thirteen to twenty inches; those used by the Western tribes turn upward at the front end. The snowshoes worn by the women are shorter, often painted and otherwise ornamented. 40 (p. 133).--Concerning the division of labor between men and women, see vol. ii., _note_ 33. Cf. the references given by Carr, in _Mounds of Mississippi Valley_; this paper has also been published separately (Cincinnati, 1883); see pp. 7-35, in that edition. Cf. also Tailhan's _Perrot_, pp. 29, 30, 181.