MY FIRST SLEDGE JOURNEY 



thermometer, and I was able to take some notice of 

 the doings of the drivers. There was a full half mile 

 of our procession, and all the drivers seemed to be 

 shouting all the time. It is a habit with them ; they 

 feel that the dogs must be told constantly what they 

 are to do ; and a driver's work consists very largely 

 of an unending repetition of the orders to the dogs. 

 " Ouk-ouk-ouk " (go to the right) they say, or " Ra- 

 ra-ra-ra-ra " (to the left) ; and if it is neither right 

 nor left it is a continual " Huit-huit-huit " (go straight 

 on). The leading dog has a good deal of responsibility 

 on its shoulders ; Geshe, my leader, had a trace about 

 forty feet long, and needed to be on the alert to pick 

 out her driver's voice at that distance. When I 

 shouted to her she looked over her shoulder in a 

 surprised sort of way, as if to say "Julius is in charge 

 of this team : what are you shouting for ? " but when 

 Julius murmured a quiet " Ouk," away she curved to 

 the right with the whole team wheeling after her, 

 until his cry of " Huit " checked her. Some of the 

 men were less favoured than we : I saw one of them 

 shortening his leader's trace, and deposing the dog 

 by this means from its proud position, while the poor 

 brute whined and yelped and whistled as if it were 

 having a flogging ; and not a few of the drivers were 

 shouting themselves hoarse because their leaders were 

 stupid or disobedient or sulky. 



Towards noon a man ahead of us shouted " Ah " 

 at the top of his voice, and every driver took up the 

 cry. All the dogs stopped and lay down with one 

 accord, and all the drivers were busily heaving their 

 sledges on to one side. It was time to ice the runners ! 

 It was a typical Eskimo idea, to do it all together, but 

 there was sense in it. It would have been practically 



