178 BY ESKIMO DOG-SLED 



Out of doors the boys play with full -si zed 

 whips, and it is wonderful to see the way in 

 which they manage the thirty feet of lash. 

 They set an empty tin upon a hummock, and 

 flick it off time after time at the full length 

 of the whip ; or two of them wage a hot 

 battle, each trying to entangle the other's 

 lash. Whips and sleds are the Eskimo boy's 

 chief playthings, usually combined with the 

 useful but very unwilling dog. The boys 

 train the puppies, and teach them how to do 

 dogs' work ; and the training is a training 

 for the boys as well, for they copy all the 

 tricks and mannerisms of the grown-up drivers, 

 and take their toy sleds over cracks and 

 hummocks and smooth sea ice just as they 

 see their fathers do in the real work of the 

 daily life. 



Sometimes a boy can find a puppy, but no 

 sled : then he fastens the pup to a block of 

 ice, and makes him haul that, and if the 

 going is good enough he seats himself upon 

 the block both to give the puppy some weight 

 to pull and to enjoy the ride for himself. 

 One puppy at a time is enough for the ordinary 

 boy ; but I have seen a great lad trying to 

 drive a team of three. You may imagine the 

 tangle they made of it : the three of them 

 were hardly ever all on their legs at the same 



