73 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 
the vehicles splashing through the holes of water with the velocity and spirit of 
rival stage-coaches. There is something of the spirit of professed whips in these. 
wild races ; for the young men delight in passing each other’s sledge, and jockeying 
the hinder one by crossing the path. In passing on different routes the right hand 
is yielded, and should an unexperienced driver endeavour to take the left, he would 
have some difficulty in persuading his team to do so. The only unpleasant cir- 
cumstance attending these races is, that a poor dog is sometimes entangled and 
thrown down, when the sledge, with perhaps a heavy load, is unavoidably drawn 
over his body. The driver sits on the fore-part of the vehicle, from whence he 
jumps when requisite to pull it clear of any impediments which may lie in the way, 
and he also guides it by pressing either foot on the ice. ‘The voice and long whip 
answer all the purposes of reins, and the dogs can be made to turn a corner as 
dexterously as horses, though not in such an orderly manner, since they are con- 
stantly fighting ; and I do not recollect to have seen one receive a flogging without 
instantly wreaking his passion on the ears of his neighbours. The cries of the men 
are not more melodious than those of the animals; and their wild looks and 
gestures, when animated, give them an appearance of devils driving wolves before 
them. Our dogs had eaten nothing for forty-eight hours, and could not have 
gone over less than seventy miles of ground; yet they returned, to all appearance, 
as fresh and active as when they first set out.” 
The Esquimaux dogs are likewise useful to their masters in discovering, by the 
scent, the winter retreats which the bears make under the snow. 
Canis F. var. B. tacopus. Hare Indian Dog. 
PLATE Vv. 
This variety of Dog is cultivated at present, so far as I know, only by the Hare 
Indians, and other tribes that frequent the borders of Great Bear Lake and the 
banks of the Mackenzie. It is used by them solely in the chase, being too small 
to be useful as a beast of burthen or draught. 
