XII.] DOG SLEDGES. 469 



thickness by repeatedly pouring water over them.^ The dif- 

 ferent parts of the sledge are not fastened together by nails, but 

 are bound together by strips of skin or strings of whalebone. 

 On the low uncomfortable seat there commonly lies a piece of 

 skin, generally of the Polar bear. The number of dogs that are 

 harnessed to each sledge is variable. I have seen a Chukch 

 riding behind two small lean dogs, who however appeared to 

 draw their heavy load over even hard snow without any extra- 

 ordinary exertion. At other sledges I have seen ten or twelve 

 dogs, and a sledge laden with goods was drawn by a team of 

 twenty-eight. The dogs are generally harnessed one pair before 

 another to a long line common to all,^ sometimes in the case of 

 short excursions more than two abreast, or so irregularly that 

 their position in relation to the sledge appears to have depended 

 merely on the accidental length of the draught-line and the 

 caprice of the driver. The dogs are guided not by reins but by 

 continual crying and shouting, accompanied by lashes from a 

 long whip. There is, besides, in every properly equipped sledge 

 a short and thick staff mounted with iron, with a number 

 of iron rings attached to the upper end. When nothing else 

 will do, this staff is thrown at the offending animal. The staff 

 is so heavy that the animal may readily get its death by such a 

 throw. The dogs know this, and in consequence are so afraid of 

 this grim implement that the rattling of the rings is sufficient 

 to induce them to put forth extreme efforts. During rests the 

 team is tied to the staff, which is driven into the snow. • 



The dog harness is made of inch-wide straps of skin, forming 

 a neck or shoulder band, united on both sides by a strap to a 

 girth, to one side of which the draught strap is fastened. 

 Thanks to the excellent protection against the harness galling 

 which the bushy coat of the dogs affords, little attention is 

 needed for the harness, and I have never seen a single dog that 

 was idle in consequence of sores from the harness. On the 

 other hand, their feet are often hurt by the sharp snow. On 

 this account the equipment of every sledge embraces a number 



^ If the runners are not shod with ice in this waj' the friction between 

 them and the hard snow is very gjeat during severe cold, and the draught 

 accordingly exceedingly heavy. 



2 Nearly all the travellers from a great distance who passed the Vega 

 had their dogs harnessed in this way. On the other hand, Sarytschev says 

 that at St. Lawrence Bay all the dogs were harnessed abreast, and that this 

 was the practice at Moore's winter quarters at Chukotskojnos is shown by 

 the drawing at p. 71 of Hooper's work, already quoted. We ought to 

 remember that at both these places the population were Eskimos who 

 had adopted the Chukch language. The Greenland Eskimo have their 

 dogs harnessed abreast, the Kamchadales in a long row. Naturally dogs 

 harnessed abreast are unsuitable for wooded regions. The different 

 methods of h.amessing dogs mentioned here, therefore, indicate that the 

 Eskimo have lived longer tlian the Chukches norlh of the limit of trees. 



