The great flakes began to drop down, slowly at first, then faster.

Soon all the trees were covered with white, and everything else, too, except the dark surface of the lake, which received the flakes into its bosom as they fell.
It snowed all that day and most of the next, until it lay about two feet on the ground.

After that it turned intensely cold, the surface of the snow froze, and ice, nearly a foot thick, covered the lake.

It was not possible to travel under such circumstances without artificial help, and now Tom Ross, who had once hunted in the far North, came to their help.
He showed them how to make snowshoes, and, although all learned to use them, Henry, with his great strength and peculiar skill, became by far the most expert.
As the snow with its frozen surface lay on the ground for weeks, Henry took many long journeys on the snowshoes.

Sometimes be hunted, but oftener his role was that of scout.