NELSON] SLEDS—DOG HARNESS 209 
inch wide; they have a flange-like projecting edge along the outside 
of the upper border, and are held together by three rounded wooden 
crossbars 14 inches long, with two grooves in their ends, held in posi- 
tion by strong rawhide lashings that pass through two hoies in the 
upper edges of the runners. The front ends of the runners are curved 
upward and have a large slot in them for attaching the cord by which 
the sled is hauled. In the rear end of each runner are two holes, in 
which are inserted stout rawhide loops, and a hole just in front of the 
second crossbar serves for another rawhide loop; these loops receive 
the lashings with which the load is held in place. 
DOG HARNESS AND ACCOUTERMENTS 
The ordinary style of harness used for dogs is made of rawhide 
straps. It consists of a collar with a strap extending down from the 
back of the neck to the middle of the back, where it meets a strap 
which passes from the lower part of the collar between the fore-legs 
and up on each side over the ribs, to be attached to the back strap; at 
this point is made fast the leading line, which is from three to five 
feet long, and is attached either directly to the front of the sled or to a 
single straight leading line fastened to the sled and extending forward 
to a distance sufficient for the attachment of all the dogs belonging to 
the team. When the team consists of more than three dogs, they are 
attached to the main leading line in pairs, with the most intelligent 
dog in front as a leader. 
When the load is very heavy, or the dogs are too numerous to work 
well in a single team, they may be attached to the forward stanchions, 
sometimes one or eyen two on each side, in addition to the team in 
front. 
On the islands of Bering strait and along the Asiatic coast, long- 
handle whips are used for driving dogs; specimens of these were 
obtained on Sledge, King, and St Lawrence islands. The handles of 
the whips from King and St Lawrence islands are round rods of spruce, 
a little over forty inches in length, and have rawhide lashes fastened 
to them with sinew cord. 
One of these whips from St Lawrence island (figure 15, plate Lxxvr) 
has alash made from a piece of sealskin, with the edges sewed together, 
forming a round cord, with a slender strip of sealskin at the tip for a 
cracker. On the handle is a ferule of walrus ivory, rudely represent- 
ing the head of a white bear; the end of the handleis wedged into the 
ferule, which projects spur-like on one side. 
A King island whip (number 45407) has a stout lash made of a piece 
of walrus hide, with a small rawhide cracker at the tip. At the butt 
of the handle is a round ivory ferule, sloping to a flaring rim, which 
extends around it. The use of these whips also extends to the main- 
land of the American coast at Cape Prince of Wales, and thence north- 
ward to Point Hope on the Arctic coast. 
18 ETH——14 
