DOG-SLEIGHS. 69 



with parchment sides, making a very snug place to take a nap 

 in, the motion of the sleigh being very smooth and noiseless. 



Sometimes on a steep slope the driver has to hold a cord in 

 his hand to prevent the sleigh going down too rapidly, and 

 should he slip or let go his hold the result is disastrous. On 

 one occasion we were passing along the side of a hill, and 

 Badger was holding a line attached to the end of the sleigh, 

 when from some unknown cause he let go, and as I was on the 

 sleigh at the time away I went down the hill, winding the dogs 

 (who are harnessed singly, one in front of another) round the 

 sleigh, thus tying me up and preventing my getting out when 

 we reached the bottom. The dogs used for sleighing are 

 always savage animals, one remove from wolves, and very few 

 of them will allow anyone but their driver to touch them ; so 

 on reaching level ground they all began to fight on the top of 

 me, and my chances of being bitten were very good indeed, and 

 the situation not at all pleasant. The unwinding took some 

 time, and was accompanied by a great deal of beating. 



When Hearing a fort you generally strike a firmly pressed 

 snow road, made by hauling in firewood ; and the dogs 

 knowing where they are, always start off at a furious rate, which 

 is kept up to the fort, perhaps some eight or ten miles or even 

 more ; and should there be any sudden turn in the road, 

 round some stump or tree, the sleigh is upset, and then you 

 must walk the rest of the distance, as nothing will stop them 

 but the sleigh becoming jammed between two trees, and the 

 chances of this happening are very small. 



