5P,8 THE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



not step across their traces, which in such cases W(.>ukl run between 

 their hind legs, for should this happen the skin might be severely 

 chafed. If tlie driver sees a trace in this position he runs forward 

 and puts it back without stopping the team. Particular attention 

 must be i^aid to this matter when the dogs rise just before starting. 



The sledges are not used until the ice is well covered with snow, as 

 the salt crystals formed on the top of the ice in the autumn hurt the 

 dogs' feet and cause sores that heal slowly. Late in the spring, when 

 the snow has nii'lti'd and sharp ice nerdli's ]ii-(iji_-rt (•voi'ywhen'. the 

 feet of thedo.us arc .■..vcivd with si.iall ],ic.Ts..r lcatli,-i-.' wit h ludos 

 for the nails, Avhidi an- tied t.i the leg. As tlicy arc rrc(|uciitly lost 

 and the putting on of these shoes takes a long time, their use is very 

 inconvenient. 



At this season numerous cracks run through the floe. They are 

 either crossed on narrow snow bridges which join the edges at con- 

 venient places or on a drifting piece of ice by floating across. 



A few more words in conclusion concerning the training of the 

 dogs. The Eskimo rarely brings up more than three or four dogs at 

 the same time. If the litter is larger than this number the rest are 

 sold or given away. The young dogs are carefully nursed and in 

 winter they are even allowed to lie on the couch or are hung up over 

 the lamp in a piece of skin. When about four months old they are 

 first put to the sledge and gradually become accustomed to pull along 

 with the others. They undergo a good deal of lashing and whijjjiing 

 before they are as useful as the old ones. 



If food is plentiful the dogs are fed every other day, and then their 

 share is by no means a large one. In winter they are fed with the 

 heads, entrails, bones, and skins of seals, and they are so vora- 

 cious at this time of the year that nothing is secure from their 

 appetite. Any kind of leather, particularly boots, harnesses, and 

 thongs, is eaten whenever they can get at it. In the spring they are 

 better fed and in the early part of summer they grow quite fat. In 

 traveling, however, it sometimes happens at this time of the year, 

 as well as in winter, that they have no food for live or six days. In 

 Cumberland Sound, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay, where the rise 

 and fall of the tide are considerable, they are carried in summer to 

 small islands where they live upon what they can find upon the 

 beach, clams, codfish, &c. If at liberty they are entirely able to 

 provide for themselves. I remember two runaway dogs which had 

 lived on their own account from April until August and then re- 

 turned quite fat. 



The Eskimo of all these regions are very much troubled with the 

 well known dog's disease of the Arctic regions. The only places 

 where it seems to be unknown are Davis Strait and Aggo. Here 

 every man has a team of from six to twelve dogs, while in Cumber- 

 land Sound, in some winters, scarcely any have been left. (See 

 Appendix, Note 2.) 



