EQUIPMENT OF A SLEDGE EXPEDITION 169 



while the leader had one a couple of feet longer. When the 

 team got to know each other, they would pull well together, but 

 if a strange dog was let in, there was much disturbance until the 

 rest got accustomed to him. The harness for a dog is very 

 important in order to obtain good results, and we made our 

 harness for each animal, fitted it on on board, and Hicky, 

 who had charge of that part of the outfit, acquitted himself most 

 satisfactorily. The harness consists of a collar stuffed with 

 hemp, with a piece of manilla rope in the middle to help to 

 resist the strain. This collar is light and flexible and fits well 

 round the dog's neck. To the lower side of it there is fastened 

 a broad piece of webbing, which is passed between the dog's 

 forelegs and up either side of his body, where it is sewn on to 

 another piece of webbing which is fastened to the collar and 

 extends along the animal's back. To the latter the trace is 

 fastened, and if the work is carefully done the dog ought to get 

 the pull on his shoulders. But if it is not well done, it will 

 either choke the dog or pull his head downwards, and it is 

 evident that either way the animal is not able to pull well. 

 This harness, however, has a disadvantage, as the dogs get 

 accustomed to walk and pull at an angle, thereby losing some 

 amount of strength. 



When using such harness as I have described, the driver 

 must be careful that the thin skin between the dog's legs is not 

 worn through, and in case it should show signs of soreness, the 

 harness must be wrapped with a soft piece of fur. 



We unharnessed the dogs every night, as the harness is apt to 

 chafe if it is kept in the same position day after day, but it is also 

 necessary to remove it for another reason : the harness might 

 get caught on a sharp piece of ice while the dog is strolling 

 about over the floes at night. Then, in order to get at liberty 

 again, the dog will chew his harness, and it must be repaired, 

 which is not a pleasant task. 



When we started on our sledge trip we had about 125 Ibs. for 

 each dog, which did not seem too much for them, but, of course, 

 the driver was always in the hauling strap and re'adyto jerk the 

 sledge across a snowdrift or any other obstruction, thus helping 

 the dogs considerably. 



It is not wise to have too many dogs before a sledge, only 

 just the number necessary for pulling it. We used five dogs for 



