pockets are filled, the saddle is placed on the dog's 

 back, and tied on with a rope that goes around the 

 pack and across the dog's chest. 



MAN PACKING ^'''" ^ '"''" '' "'™""? '•'r^h 

 an unknown country with a heavy 



pack, he is doing to my mind, by far the hardest 



labor yet devised. 



When a Western man speaks of packing, he 

 does not necessarily mean packing as it is known 

 along the Atlantic Coast, or Canada. 



This packing is usually done on portages, and 

 even a man who is not very strong can carry his 

 hundred pounds a mile or more. In the far North- 

 west, and Alaska, however, there is not much 

 canoeing, and men go far into the wilderness v\ath 

 all their possessions on their backs. In this sort of 

 work, Westem men not only carry what would 

 amount to a good portage load all day, but keep at 

 it day in and day out, for long periods. 



Of course I do not mean that Canadians or 

 Eastem frontiersmen are unable to do the same 

 work; but due to Canada's splendid facilities for 

 canoeing, the need for long-distance packing seldom 

 arises. 



Now among frontiersmen there is an expression 

 that perfectly describes the tender-foot's first attempt 

 at carrying a load. The expression is "fighting a 



97 



