GREATEST FUR COMPANY OF THE WORLD 267 



the horns or with a halter, drawing the load with collar instead 

 of a yoke. The harness was of skin thongs. In place of the ox 

 sometimes was a "shagganippy" pony, raw and unkempt, which 

 the imps lashed without mercy or the slightest inconvenience 

 to the horse. 



A red flag with the letters H. B. C. in white decorated the lead- 

 ing cart. During the Sioux massacres the fur caravans were un- 

 molested, for the Indians recognized the flags and wished to remain 

 on good terms with the fur traders. 



Ox-carts still bring furs to Hudson's Bay Company posts, and 

 screech over the corduroyed swamps of the MacKenzie ; but the 

 railway has replaced the caravan as a carrier of freight. 



The steamers of several companies now ply on the largest of 

 the inland rivers with long lines of fur-laden barges in tow ; but the 

 canoe brigades still bring the winter's hunt to the forts in spring. 

 Five to eight craft make a brigade, each manned by eight paddlers 

 with an experienced steersman, who is usually also guide. But 

 the one ranking first in importance is the bowman, whose quick 

 eye must detect signs of nearing rapids, whose steel-shod pole gives 

 the cue to the other paddlers and steers the craft past foamy reefs. 

 The bowman it is who leaps out first when there is "tracking" — ■ 

 pulling the craft upstream by tow-line — who stands waist high in 

 ice water steadying the rocking bark lest a sudden swirl spill furs 

 to the bottom, who hands out the packs to the others when the 

 waters are too turbulent for "tracking" and there must be a "port- 

 age " and who leads the brigade on a run — half trot, half amble — ■ 

 overland to the calmer currents. "Pipes" are the measure of a 

 portage — that is, the pipes smoked while the voyageurs are on the 

 run. The bowman it is who can thread a network of water-ways 

 by day or dark, past rapids or whirlpools, with the certainty of an 

 arrow to the mark. On all long trips by dog train or canoe, 

 pemmican made of deer meat and marrow put in air-tight bags 

 was the standard food. The pemmican now used is of moose or 

 caribou beef. 



