94 ASSINNIBOINE AND SASKATCHEWAN EXPEDITION. 



certain dexterity at the terrified animals. All the dogs 

 give a simultaneous jump on one side as the missile flies 

 past them, when directed at the leader of the train ; and 

 not unfrequently would the cariole be overturned if it 

 were not for the strength and skill of the driver in holding 

 the loop with which he steers it. When this occurrence 

 takes place and the dogs are at full speed, the only plan 

 left for the helpless traveller is to draw his arms close to 

 his sides, and wait until the cariole is righted by the driver; 

 but any attempt to right the cariole by putting out an 

 arm is a dangerous operation, which might occasion a 

 broken limb. In descending steep hills, it is always 

 advisable to walk or run, which all would prefer for the 

 sake of exercise, except when the road is very good, and 

 the trains can proceed for many miles at a gallop without 

 fatigue. 



A heavy snow storm is a serious matter in the prairie. 

 It is then absolutely necessary for all the trains to keep 

 close together; the drifting snow soon obliterates the 

 road ; and, although the dogs, by means of their sensitive 

 noses, will follow the tracks of the leading cariole even 

 when completely hidden from view by a light fall, yet 

 when drifts accumulate they are at fault. 



Preparing to camp in a snow storm is not an agreeable 

 operation, or suggestive of that comfort and safety which 

 a camp almost always presents. When the fire is well 

 lighted, supper cooked and eaten, and the party " turned 

 in," then it does not matter much how heavily it snows, 

 the trouble being reserved for the following day. After 

 a heavy fall during the night, men, dogs, carioles and 

 sledges are all covered with a thick mantle of pure white ; 

 a sudden shout from the guide enlivens many of the ap- 

 parently lifeless forms, recognized only by their outline ; 

 but some of the sagacious dogs take advantage of the 



