THE AUTUMN WORK 135 



back and forth the whole time, the trail would con- 

 stantly be kept open, and hunting could be done along 

 the way. The tractive force was, of course, the Eskimo 

 dogs, and sledges were the means of transportation. 

 The sledges were of two types: the Peary sledge, 

 which had never been used before this expedition, and 

 the regular Eskimo sledge, increased somewhat in 

 length for special work. The Peary type of sledge 

 is from twelve to thirteen feet in length, two feet in 

 width, and seven inches in height; the Eskimo type 

 of sledge is nine feet in length, two feet in width, and 

 seven inches in height. Another difference is that 

 the Eskimo sledge is simply two oak runners an inch 

 or an inch and a quarter thick and seven inches wide, 

 shaped at the front to give the easiest curve for pas- 

 sage over the ice, and shod with steel, while the Peary 

 sledge has oak sides rounded, both in front and behind, 

 with two-inch wide bent ash runners attached, the 

 runners being shod with two-inch wide steel shoes. 

 The sides of both are solid, and they are lashed 

 together with sealskin thongs. 



The Peary sledge is the evolution of twenty-three 

 years of experience in arctic work and is believed to 

 be the strongest and easiest running sledge yet used 

 for arctic traveling. On a level surface this sledge 

 will support ten or twelve hundred pounds. 



The Eskimos have used their own type of sledge 

 from time immemorial. When they had no wood, 

 before the advent of the white man, they made their 

 sledges of bone — the shoulder-blades of the walrus, 

 and the ribs of the whale, with deer antlers for 

 up-standers. 



