30 BY ESKIMO DOG-SLED 



a tent that packs up into a neat little bundle, 

 and can be stowed away in the bottom of a 

 boat or can be used to cover the load on a 

 sled without making the pile too high and 

 top-heavy for the passengers, is a grand thing 

 compared with the bulky heap of reindeer skin 

 that takes up so much room. And another 

 great thing that makes calico the favourite 

 stuff for tents is that calico is not particularly 

 tempting to the appetite of the dogs. I can 

 quite well imagine that a tent of dried deer 

 skins might prove a toothsome meal for a 

 pack of famished sled - dogs ; but I have 

 never heard of dogs devouring a calico tent 

 wholesale, though they are not at all averse 

 to an occasional chew at the oil - sodden 

 margins. 



You may see the tents in the summer-time 

 as you pass along the coast by ship lonely 

 tents, and tents in groups and clusters, some 

 white and new, others grey and smoke-be- 

 grimed and rain-soaked pitched by the edge 

 of the sea, just out of reach of the tides. Out- 

 side the tents are the great sled-dogs, idle 

 because it is summer-time and the sleds are 

 put away ; they skulk about and quarrel, 

 while among them the little children are play- 

 ing, building houses with the smooth stones 

 of the beach, or gathering grasses, or dress- 



