ig6 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITLTE. [VOL. V. 



knives, in order to slide along with facility. Close-grained wood is, on 

 that account, the best ; but theirs are made of the red or swamp spruce- 

 fir tree." 



Hearne writes : " In winter, the Northern Indians tie together skins 

 of cariboo legs, which, in this condition, present the form of long 

 portmanteaus. Stripped of their hair by being dragged over the snow, 

 they become smooth as kid, and serve to transport the baggage of the 

 Indians when they traverse the barren lands; but, in the first wood they 

 meet, they make genuine sledges with planks of spruce. These sledges 

 are of different sizes according to the strength of the persons meant to 

 draw them. I have seen some that were no less than from twelve 

 to fourteen feet long by fifteen to twenty inches broad ; but, generally, 

 they are from eight to nine feet long and from twelve to fourteen inches 

 wide. The boards of which they are made are not more than a quarter 

 of an inch thick, and their width rarely exceeds five or six inches 

 Larger dimensions would not suit the implements of these Indians^ 

 which consist of ordinary knives, a little turned at the point, whence the 

 Northern Indians give them the name base-hoth, and the Southern 

 7)io-co-toggan. These boards are bound to each other by parchment 

 bands of cariboo skin, and crossed above by several bars of wood which 

 serve to strengthen the sledge, and, at the same time, keep the baggage 

 in place, which is fastened to them by smaller leathern thongs. The 

 front of the sledge forms a semi-circle of from, at least, fifteen to twenty 

 inches in diameter. This kind of front has for its object to hinder the 

 sledge sinking in the snow, and, at the same time, to break down 

 the hillocks produced by it on the plains and barren lands. The traces 

 of these vehicles consist of a band of leather, the two ends of which are 

 united and tied firmly together. The person charged with the drawing 

 of the sledge passes it round his shoulders so that it adheres to his breast. 

 Simple as this harness may be, I defy all the saddlers in the world to 

 make a better." Finally, Father Morice says : " Another mode of 

 travelling, proper to the cold season, is by means of light toboggans 

 or sleds drawn by three or four dogs, trotting along in Indian file. 

 These animals (which are now of different breeds), are very serviceable 

 to the natives; for, even during the summer, when families are en route 

 for their hunting grounds, their canine companions are compelled to 

 assist the women in packing part of their master's baggage, firmly 

 secured with lines to their sides." 



The Tungus make extensive use of birch bark for covering their 

 houses, for making various kinds of vessels, and for enwrapping the 

 bodies of their dead. They also employ it in the manufacture of canoes 



