1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



27 



be removed iu another, and, above all, 

 the runner tracks must be packed firmly 

 and make one continuous line for the 

 whole distance. Every driver guides 

 his team so that his sleigh tracks just 

 as the rutter did, and, as all are of the 

 same gauge, there is soon a hard, smooth 

 pair of ruts on which a team can haul 

 wonderful loads, especially as most of 

 the slopes favor going toward the river. 

 A few men will be kept constantly on 

 road repairs. Where the track shows 

 signs of wear they shovel snow upon it. 

 Where there is a sharp grade, down 

 which heavy loads must pass, they 

 sprinkle the track with sand, as shown 

 in the cut, to prevent the sleds from 

 overrunning the horses. Frequently the 

 ruts are wet down at night. This pro- 

 cess repeated keeps the rut in smooth, 

 perfect condition. 



Excepting only an iron wheel rolling 

 on an iron track, these ice roads oppose 

 less friction to the pull of the horses 

 than any other device for transportation 



which men have yet been able to dis- 

 cover. Unless there are considerable 

 grades to be overcome, a good team 

 can haul from five to twenty tons on 

 such a road after it has attained its best 

 condition. The difficulty lies rather in 

 starting the mass than keeping it in 

 motion. 



In any heavy sledding in very cold 

 weather the steel shoes on the runners 

 freeze fast to the snow if the load is 

 allowed to stand still for a few minutes. 

 It is then that a good team and driver 

 display their qualities. If the horses 

 are poorly trained and handled, they 

 grow nervous after one or two failures 

 to start the load and seesaw on the 

 evener, pulling alternately instead of 

 both at once. In fact, the best of teams 

 would often be unable to start a load 

 once firmly ' ' set ' ' if they pulled straight 

 ahead, relying only on their strength; 

 but the experienced driver pulls the 

 team a few inches to one side, so that 

 the tendency is to wrench the front 



A FAIR-SIZED LOAD. 



