24 HUNTERS OF THE GREAT NORTH 



easy to reconcile with his insistence that the dogs shall 

 jump every time he makes a noise or a move and espe- 

 cially when he cracks a whip. To this end he beats them 

 unmercifully. I have often seen Indians hitch up their 

 dog teams in the early morning, tie them to a tree and 

 with a whip that cracks like pistol shots beat one dog 

 after the other as they lie tied and helpless in the harness 

 until each one of them is mad with fear and pain. Then 

 they untie them and the sleigh dashes off at full speed. 



The mind of a dog has the same power over his body 

 that our minds have over our bodies. Most Indian dogs, 

 therefore, have a cringing attitude which the Indian does 

 not really like, for he wants a proud appearance. To 

 gain that, he lavishes all his ingenuity and a large part of 

 his money upon decorations. There are ribbons and all 

 sorts of adornments, and there are bells of every size and 

 liquid note that tinkle and chime with the slightest move- 

 ment of the dogs. The bells are on the collars of the 

 harness and sometimes on vertical rods that stand high 

 above the collars and wag from side to side as the dogs 

 move. Then there are bells along the backs of the dogs 

 and in whatever place is most likely to tremble or shake 

 as the animals move. 



If the Indian is particular about what he considers 

 good form in starting out in the morning, he is far more 

 particular about the style in which he arrives at a village. 

 For that reason it has been the custom, in the lower Mac- 

 kenzie at least, that the Indians who are coming into the 

 fur trading posts will camp the evening before five or ten 

 miles away, so as to give their dogs a good night's rest. 

 In the morning they are hitched up, beaten and otherwise 

 thrown into a high excitement, and then the cavalcade 

 dashes at top speed into the trading post just at the 



