178 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



It made hard hauling for the dogs. From a distance, the 

 closely following trains reminded one of a great serpent passing 

 over the country, that — when it encountered a hummocky 

 section requiring the trains to turn from side to side, and to 

 glide up and down — seemed to be writhing in pain. Near 

 the end of the swamp an open hillside rose before us, and upon 

 its snowy slopes the sun showed thousands of rabbit-runs 

 intersecting one another in a maze of tracks that made one 

 think of a vast gray net cast over the hill. 



Passing into a "bent-pole" district we encountered an 

 endless number of httle spruce trees, the tops of which had 

 become so laden with snow that their slender stems, no longer 

 able to sustain the weight, had bent almost double as they 

 let their white-capped heads rest in the snow upon the ground. 

 Later, we entered a park-hke forest where pine trees stood 

 apart with seldom any brushwood between. Fresh marten 

 tracks were noticed in the snow. A little farther on, two timber- 

 wolves were seen slinking along like shadows among the distant 

 trees as they paralleled our trail on the right. The dogs noticed 

 them, too, but they, hke their masters, were too busy to pay 

 much attention. The wolves were big handsome creatures 

 with thick fluffy coats that waved like tall grasses in a strong 

 breeze as they bounded along. 



Coming to a steep hill everyone helped the dogs in their 

 climb. When at last the brigade, puffing and panting, reached 

 the summit, pipes were at once in evidence and then another 

 rest followed. When the descent began, the drivers — ^most 

 of them having removed their snowshoes that their feet might 

 sink deeper into the snow — seized their trail-lines, and, acting 

 as anchors behind the sleds, allowed themselves to be hauled 

 stiff-legged through the deep snow in their effort to keep the 

 sleds from over-running the dogs. It was exciting work. The 

 men throwing their utmost weight upon the lines sought every 

 obstruction, swerving against trees, bracing against roots, 



