GEIPPENUVANAT OT BEACK VLAKE. 51 
bay, the Roman Catholic Mission church, and various 
buildings connected therewith, are situated. This mis- 
sion is a large and flourishing one, and is the see of the 
Roman Catholic Diocese of Athabasca. All the build- 
ings of Chippewyan are neatly whitewashed, so that, 
particularly from the front, it presents a most striking 
appearance. At the back of the Fort, between the 
rocky hills, plenty of small timber for house-building 
and firewood is found, and over at the Catholic Mission 
a little farm is cultivated, and many luxuries in the way 
of root vegetables obtained from it. 
The staple food, however, for both man and dogs 
(which latter are important members of the community) 
is fish, several varieties of which are caught in abund- 
ance in the lake close at hand. One or two whitefish, 
according to size, is the usual daily allowance for a dog. 
In the north the dog takes the place which the horse 
occupies in the south, and it is a very interesting sight 
to see the canine population of the town, perhaps thirty 
or forty in all, receiving their daily meal. They are 
called together by the ringing of a large bell, erected for 
the purpose at all Hudson’s Bay Company posts. At 
the first stroke all dogs within reach of the sound spring 
to their feet and scamper off to the feeding place, where 
they find a man in charge of their rations. Forming 
round in a circle, each dog waits for the portion thrown 
to him, which he at once trots away with to enjoy in 
some quiet retreat. Occasional snarls and fights take 
place, but it is astonishing to see how orderly Chippe- 
wyan dogs are able to conduct themselves at a common 
mess. 
The day after our arrival at the Fort being Sunday, we 
