1B2 
FOREST AND ' STREAM^ 
[Aug. 32, 1886. 
THE HAULING DOG IN CANADA. 
Dogs are used as draft animals in the northwest of 
Canada, on the Labrador coast, and in the vicinity of Que- 
bec. Dog teams are used during winter in the Northwest 
by the wood Indians and the Hudson Bay Company's 
men. The detachments of the Northwest Mounted Police 
also made use of them in the northernmost divisions of 
the Territory. Butler, in his "Great Lone Land" and 
"Wild North Land," gives an excellent description of the 
huskies (as the dogs are called by the half-breeds and In- 
dians out there) and of the work done by them. 
Along the Labrador coast, where there are few horses, 
dogs are used as draft animals in winter. In summer 
all traveling and freighting is done by water. In the 
former season the mails are carried along the coast by dog 
teams, 
The Labrador dog is really an Esquimau when he is not 
a Newfoundland or a nondescript, and the Esquimau dog 
is almost exactly like the husTcie. It has a pointed nose, 
sharp, upright ears, long hair and a bushy tail, and looks 
the picture of his first cousin, the wolf. These Esquimau 
dogs are very savage, have exceedingly powerful jaws, 
and win eat anything and snap at everything. So fero- 
cious and destructive are they that the people down there, 
who are beginning to devote themselves to agriculture 
more than they did before, under the auspices of the Gov- 
ernment of the Province of Quebec, which has spared no 
pains to promote the development of agricultural inter- 
ests, have petitioned to have all the Esquimau dogs de- 
stroyed which are not required for the mail service, 
because they kill the cattle and sheep. 
I kThey get an immense amount of punishment, but do not 
seem to mind it, and will snap at and bite their masters 
whenever they get a chance. In summer they skirmish 
around for food, eating the offal of the fish and seals 
caught by their masters, gorging themselves on some 
stranded whale or porpoise, or they hunt for themselves 
in the woods. In winter they live on the stores of dried 
caplin and whale or seal flesh which their masters have 
kept for the purpose, with the additional treat of the dish 
water in which the greasy plates have been washed. 
Dogs in Labrador are harnessed differently from those in 
the Northwest. There, where they drive over plains or 
through open woods, they are harnessed tandem fashion, 
one in front of the other, and always retain that position. 
In Labrador each dog is harnessed to the sleigh by a 
separate thong, so that when the team gets on ice, as it 
frequently does, going over the bays from point to point 
to shorten the distance, the dogs spread out like a fan.- 
This does not interfere with the draft, is safer when 
toing over thin ice and a dog can fall out to satisfy the 
emands of nature or to scratch his fleas without stopping 
the remainder of the team. These thongs are of various 
lengths, so that when the team comes to a narrow road 
between trees the dogs can fall into Indian file, one 
behind the other. The leading dog always has the 
longest thong, so as to easily keep ahead of the others. 
This he is always anxious to do for many reasons. In the 
first place he is very proud of the position and is always 
ready to fight all comers for the privilege, and to retain 
the post he must be top dog in all combats. Then he is 
generally petted, made much of, better cared for and 
better fed than the others, and sometimes kept in the 
house while they have to rough it outside, the result being 
that he is proportionately hated by all the others, who, in 
their anxiety to get a snap at him, pull with all their 
might, while he does the same to keep away from them. 
This is pretty much like the idea of holding a carrot on a 
pole in front of a donkey's nogp to induce mm to go fast. 
The harness is all made of sealskin; a broad strap rests 
on the chest, being retained in position by another over 
the neck; a piece over the back joins the top of the breast 
{>iece to another around the body and from this thethong 
eads back to the sleigh. 
The Labrador sleigh is the regular Esquimau sleigh 
described in books of Arctic travel, the kometik, built of 
driftwood, fastened by thongs of sealskin, not a nail or 
piece of iron or steel entering its composition, whereby it 
is much more elastic and can better resist hard shocks. 
The runners are made of whale ribs in pieces about 4ft. 
long by Sin. wide, the total length being about 8ft. These 
are fastened to the woodwork in a very ingenious man- 
ner, small holes are countersunk in the whalebone and 
through these are passed thin but strong thongs of seal- 
skin or seal sinews, which are lashed tightly. The ad- 
vantage of whalebone over iron or steel is that it does not 
get clogged or adhere to wet snow. 
The driver, as a rule, runs behind the sleigh when load- 
ed, but when the snow is soft he puts on his snowshoes 
to beat it down, and the dogs follow in his tracks. When 
the dogs lag the driver uses the Esquimau dog- whip — a 
terrible instrument, the mere erack of which makes every 
dog jump into his collar and settle down to work. It is 
made entirely of sealskin thongs plaited together till they 
reach a sharp point. The handle, made of the same ma- 
terial, is about as thick as a man's wrist and only 18in. 
long, while the lash is from 20 to 30ft. in length. It 
requires a great deal of practice to wield this properly, 
and a novice in trying to snap it is just as likely as not to 
hit himself in the face, generally. It is no wonder that 
the dogs dread it, for an expert can take a piece of skin 
off every time. 
When a dog is in disgrace for some misbehavior, or if 
he will not stop fighting, he is hobbled. A thong is put 
around his neck, the two ends are knotted together, and 
one of his front paws is passed through it so that he can- 
not pull it out; thus hobbled he generally limps off on three 
legs into a corner, where he keeps quiet and shows by the 
expression of his countenance that he feels the disgrace. 
The members of the Laurentides Fish and Game Club, 
to which I belong, had, like myself, many opportunities 
of observing the habits, training, etc., of Labrador dogs. 
One of our guardians, who came from that part of the 
country, had for many years the contract for driving the 
mails along the north shore, and owned a fine team. 
This he was allowed by the club to bring with him, as 
there was a good deal of hauling to be done from the rail- 
way station to the club house, and, moreover, the mem- 
bers proposed to have grand rides over the frozen lakes, 
and also to be able to bring a larger quantity of supplies 
with them when they went to the more distant camps to 
hunt or to fish through the ice, which was allowed in 
those days. They had no end of fun with these dogs for 
a while, but in the end they died off and were not re- 
placed. They were found to be a nuisance in summer 
time, aa they would devour the trout caught by the mem- 
bers unless constantly watched, and their barking, which 
was more like the howling of wolves, frightened the game 
away. They were always in a state of semi-starvation, 
owing to the difficulty of keeping them supplied with food, 
and if anyone was rash enough to hand them a piece of 
bread or meat instead of throwing it to them, he generally 
had some trouble in rescuing his hand. It was wonder- 
ful to see them open cans of preserved meat with their 
strong fangs. Tlie leader was a very fine brute, but a very 
savage one, which no one dared to handle but the guard- 
ian, who ruled it more by fear than love, and who was 
bitten by it pretty badly sometimes. 
We had some very amusing experiences with these 
dogs. On one occasion several of us resolved to go and 
spend a few days up at the club girounds, seventy miles 
north of Quebec, to shake the cobwebs out of our heads 
by walking through the spruce woods on snowshoes, 
breathing the ozone of the mountain air, driving over the 
ice on the lakes with the dog team, winding up the day's 
exertions and amusements by quiet games of cards or 
chess or by spinning yarns, and eating our meals with an 
appetite which would have driven a boardinghouse 
keeper to despair. Charlie B. and I went on the day be- 
fore as an advance guard to get everything ready. On 
our arrival at our station on the Lake St. John Railway, 
we found Hebert, the guardian, with his dog team all 
decorated for the occasion. The dogs wagged their tails 
at us, looking forward evidently to the prospect of having 
some preserved meat cans to open, besides other tid- 
bits. Leaving the guardian and the men we had brought 
with us to bring on the commissariat supplies, we put on 
our snowshoes, crossed the Batiscan River and climbed up 
the gorge leading to the first lake of our main chain, on 
which the club house is built. As we walked on we took 
deep breaths of the bracing air whose exhilarating effect 
it is impossible to describe, and admired the wonderful 
shapes assumed by the snow as it had fallen on trees and 
stumps. Having made all our arrangements, we started 
next day down to the station with the guardian and the 
dogs to meet our friends. Sitting on the kometik, we 
drove quickly over the road on the ice and also the road 
through the woods, but when we began to go down hill 
our troubles began. To keep the sleigh from coming on 
the dogs Hebert turned himself into a brake, digging his 
heels into the snow, and did very well until, at a sharp 
turn, he rolled off and the brake was gone. Of course 
the sleigh came upon the dogs' heels, and they with a 
howl rushed madly on to keep ahead of it. We clung 
on awaiting events, and fairly flew. Suddenly one dog 
made a spring to one side, got his thong across a stump, 
upon which he pulled the sleigh, bringing the 
outfit to an abrupt stop. Charlie and I flew up 
in the air like stones from a catapult, he landing 
head first in a snowdrift, I across a fallen tree, fortunately 
thickly covered with snow, while the dogs, sleigh, stump 
and thongs were all tangled up, and the biggest dog fight 
was going on that I had everseen. Having pulled my friend 
out by the heels, we watched the fight, imable even to bet 
on any one dog, they were so much mixed up, and too 
wise to interfere until the driver came down with his 
whip and separated and disentangled the dogs. We con- 
sidered that we had had enough driving down hill for one 
day, so we walked the remainder of the way, the guardian 
walking also, and, with a thong fastened to the rear of the 
sleigh, kept it from overrunning the dogs. We had a 
very pleasant time, and on the day before we came away 
had quite an adventure. A thaw had been followed by a 
frost and the snow covering the ice on the lakes was 
frozen hard, so four of our party got on the sleigh to have 
a final drive. They started in great glee, and just as they 
rounded the first point they saw a fine young caribou 
buck about SOOyds, ahead. As soon as the do^ saw it they 
gave a yelp like a pack of wolves and started like an arrow 
from a bow after the caribou, which looked round on hear- 
ing the yelp, saw its pursuers and flew over the ice, keep- 
ing in the middle of the lake. When the dogs started 
with a jerk one of the party was thrown off violently and 
slid a long way on the hard snow before he could pull up, 
feeling red hot from the friction and gazing wistfully 
after his fast disappearing comradep, who clung to the 
sleigh like grim death and enjoyed this novel hunt. Of 
course there was not the slightest chance of their catching 
the animal, which, instead of making for the bush on the 
nearest shore, held on in the middle of the lake right up 
to the end, where it took to the woods. The impromptu 
hunters soon found themselves in a difficulty, for it was 
impossible to stop the dogs, who could not realize that 
they had a sleigh with passengers behind them. The 
driver tried in vain to stop them, and there was every 
probability of broken limbs or necks when they would 
strike the bush. However, they soon made up their 
minds and dropped off one by one, rolling over and over 
in the snow or sliding some distance away, with much 
damage to their nether garments and much abrasion of 
the cuticle. Meanwhile the dogs, relieved of the weight, 
rushed after the deer and, entering the woods, got tajigled 
up among the trees and, as usual on such occasions, 
wound up with a free fight among themselves. After ex- 
tricating them the party re-embarked and drove quietly 
back to the house, where they repaired damages, related 
their adventure and wrote it down in the club's log-book. 
These dogs are very hardy and always sleep outside in 
the coldest weather. However, they have no objection to 
heat and always try to get it when they can. Once we 
were in one of the remote camps and were lying on our 
bed of boughs, smoking our evening pipe, when one of 
us got up suddenly with an imprecation, his eyes full of 
earth. Soon we were all threatened with the same thing 
and at the same time heard a sound of scratching. Catch- 
ing up the lantern, we turned out to investigate and found 
that the sleigh had been placed upright against the side 
of the log hut and that the dogs had used it as a ladder to 
climb up into the small space between the sloping roof of 
gouged troughs and the earth-covered ceUing of small, 
round Jogs and birch bark to get near the warm stove- 
pipe, and, in settling down, had caused the earth to fall 
through the interstices. We sent Hebert to dislodge them 
and take their ladder away, and next morning we found 
them all curled up and covered with snow which had 
fallen during the night. Cbawford Lindsay, 
[to be contintjed.] 
Collie Club Specials. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The Toronto premium list contains an error regarding 
he Collie Club specials offered to Canadian members. In 
lace of two, as specified in the premium list, I advised 
Mr. Stone that the Collie Club would, in addition to the 
two medals open to all members, give a silver medal, con- 
fined to Canadian members provided their number was 
increased to five. Mr. Stone announces two medals, 
which is wrong. We now have four Canadian members 
and it will be strange if they do not bestir themselves and 
get another member in in time. 
James Watson, Secretary. 
203 Broadway, New York. 
POINTS AND FLUSHES. 
The matter of the Field Trial Champion Association 
Stake will not be considered till the meeting of the U. S. 
F. T. C. is held at Newton, in November next. 
From the Manitoba Free Press we learn that the regu- 
lar monthly meeting of the Manitoba Dog Osvners' Asso- 
ciation was held on the evening of Aug. 3 at the Manitoba 
Hotel. The meeting was a large and enthusiastic one, 
and several new members were elected. Some cases of 
violations of the game laws were reported and considered 
by the meeting, but as the evidence was not complete 
nothing could be done. The Association will do every- 
thing in its power to see that the game laws are enforced. 
The committee appointed to consider the advisability of 
holding amateur field trials this fall submitted their re- 
port. After considerable discussion it was decided to hold 
trials under the auspices of the Association, and Messrs. 
W. C. Lee, G. B. Borrodaile, R. J. Gallaugher, C. W. 
Graham and Dr. M. C. Clarke were appointed a commit- 
tee to make full arrangements in connection therewith. 
The events will be open only to dogs owned by members 
of the Association. The trials will be held near Winni- 
peg early in September. 
KENNEL MANAGEMENT. 
There is no charge for answering questions under this head. All 
questions relating to ailments of dogs will be answered by Dr. T. 6. 
Sherwood, a mmnber of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons 
Communications referring to other matters connected with Kennel 
Management and dogs will also receive careful attention. 
G. B. W.— I have an English setter who is subject to fits after run- 
ning any short distance. I have been told that splitting his tail would 
cure him of this. Is this so? If not, will you give a cure? Ans. Treat 
for worms. Syringe the ears out well with warm water. Then use 
the following lotion twice a day: Citrine oint., 1 drachm; almond oil, 
loz. Mix together. A little to be poured into the ear twice a day. 
Give lOgrs. of chloral hydra in a tablespoonf ul of water twice a day. 
Communications for this department are requested. Anything on 
the bicycle in its relation to the sportsman is particularly desirable. 
PLOVER SHOOTING WITH THE BICYCLE. 
LoOKPORT, N, Y., Aug. 8. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
As you now have a Wheeling department, I feel at liberty 
to give my sporting experience in that manner. Four 
years ago my sons were anxious that I should ride the 
wheel, so as to be able to get into the country with my 
gun more readily, and easier than by walking. At that 
time I had my doubts about its being easier, although I 
knew it was more speedy, and as I was weU on to the 
three-score line I did not take well to the idea of learning 
to ride, but two years later I changed my mind and have 
since been a devotee of the silent steed, A year ago this 
month I commenced making it my sporting companion. 
My first experience was in plover shooting, and I found 
it was much easier to get to and from the fields where for 
the past thirty years I hdve done nearly all my shooting of 
this erratic game bird. These fields are between two and 
three miles from my home, and I find it an easy matter 
to strap my gun on the wheel between saddle and pedals, 
and get there by the time the sun is high enough to show 
the birds flying over the fields of the newly-sown wheat 
or close-cropped pasture. I had been out a few times with 
more or less success (generally less) in the mornings, when 
I concluded that I would try them toward evening, as 
sometimes a few of the birds remain through the day. 
On my first afternoon visit, after sitting ic the fence 
corner for some time without seeing any birds on the 
wing, I saw something on the further side of the field 
that looked like birds on the ground, and after watching 
a long time I saw a movement, and on going toward 
them saw three plover some distance apart. As I got 
within long shooting distance of the nearest one it got up 
and I shot it, and the others, seeing it drop, also alighted. 
In walking toward them I passed the one I had shot and 
might have picked it up, but thought it would be better 
to leave it until I had flushed the others, though in pass- 
ing it I noticed that it fluttered a short distance from me. 
Just then the other two got up and I shot them. On 
turning to pick up the first bird I was surprised to see it 
flying away seemingly as well as ever, and before I could 
get another shell in the gxm it was a long way out of 
range, and finally disappeared from view in the distance. 
Finding no more birds, I returned home. 
After a few more unsuccessful trips to these fields I 
concluded to leave my gun at home when I next went in 
that direction, which I did on the Saturday following, 
and when four miles out on the same road I saw a flock 
of about thirty plover feeding in a field near the road. 
After watching them for some time in an unpleasant 
frame of mind because I had not brought my gun, I con- 
cluded that I would go and get it and return and get 
some of those birds. 
Before seeing the birds that road did not seem to be 
good wheeling, but after I got started for the gun it 
seemed to be the best road I had ridden for some time, 
and I was not long in getting home and changing my 
wheeling suit for shooting clothes and strapping the gun 
on the wheel. On the return trip the road seemed better 
than ever, and I was soon back to that field, but did not 
find the birds where I had left them. In the further 
corner I saw what I thought were a part of them, and on 
getting nearer them put up a whole flock and got a 
double shot into them, securing five birds. On looking 
at my watch I found it was fifty-five minutes from the 
time I started for the gun, and that I was about halfway 
between the third and fourth mile post, and had made 
pretty good time for a sixty-two-year-old boy. 
In another week shooting time will be on again, and I 
shall again try plover shooting on a bicycle. 
J. L. Davison, 
