214 THE 'TRAVAILLE.' 



air, sounds as cheery and welcome as the song of 

 the first migrant. 



Other tribes in the Saskatchewan district (the 

 Prairie Crees, for instance), instead of packing 

 their dogs, use the ' travaille,' which is a triangle 

 formed of two poles ; the two smaller ends, 

 fastened together, rest on the dog's shoulders, 

 being kept in place by a leather strap fastened 

 round the neck ; a cross pole or two at the other 

 end stretches them open and serves to make fust 

 the load. This strange contrivance hauled along 

 is better than packing, and available in the sum- 

 mer when there are not sleighs, but inferior to 

 sleighing in winter, as dogs always work more 

 cheerily when six or eight are harnessed together, 

 than when each has its labour to perform singly. 



This ' travaille ' is also used by the Crees for 

 their horses, when moving their lodges and camp 

 equipment. It often happens that an old squaw 

 and two or three naked little savages are perched 

 along upon the back of a horse, with its ' travaille ' 

 and load, like birds upon a roost, the horse 

 nearly hid by the poles and savages; the load 

 and animal's head appear joined by a body 

 composed of a clump of grotesque figures, 

 their legs lost on the horse's sides. Coming 

 suddenly upon such an apparition, amidst the 



