76 
RECREATION. 
February, i g i i . 
An Indian crossing Lake ^X'innipeg by dog team. 
for him. This he repays by caring for them in many ways ; he 
provides them with food in comparative abundance during the 
winter months ; he is constantly on the watch that there may be 
no loss of life or severe injuries inflicted while participating in their 
sanguinary skirmishes with each other ; he is mindful not to expose 
them to unnecessary dangers or to overwork them on the trail ; he 
is ever ready to assist in hauling or guiding the sled or holding back 
on it when going down hill, and in many little ways he is of much 
aid to his team. 
The distance it is possible to make depends on the load and the 
going. When loaded, they average about four miles an hour, go- 
ing at a dog-trot. There are many tales in the Xorth of phenomenal 
journeys made by the Indians with their dog teams. A servant of 
the Hudson's Bay Company covered once over 2.000 miles in forty- 
six days of travel with the same dogs. One hundred and eighty 
miles of continuous traveling without stopping, except for the man 
and dogs to eat. has been made in twenty-four hours with dogs 
lightly loaded. In a competition in hauling, four dogs were able 
to draw 1,000 pounds on hard snow. A fair day's work for a good 
dog under favorable conditions is forty or fifty miles with a load 
of 100 pounds. Thus a team of five dogs can transport 500 pounds 
fifty miles. Twelve hours is considered a day's work. There 
is one case on record in the region north of James' Bay where both 
team and driver, one winter, went eight days without food or fire. 
A band of Hudson's Bay sled dogs in the summertime. 
Some of the dogs have a great dislike for their work and have 
to be literally dragged to the sled to be harnessed. Others, on the 
contrary, seem to have a certain fondness for it and evince their 
feelings by a noisy, unrestrained excitement as they await the com- 
mand to be ofif. The tinkling of the bells about their harness seems 
to act as a stimulus to them, urging them onward. I am credibly 
informed that in the absence of these sounds a diflference in their 
pace is noticeable. If the sled will not draw readily the dogs will 
not start until it has been lightened. Some of the dogs are so 
high-spirited, or neurotic, that they never make good sled dogs. 
They overwork during the day's haul and so wear themselves out 
for the work of the next day. 
The gaits used in teaming are the walk, trot and the lope, or 
gallop. The last is entered upon when approaching a camp. At 
this time both man and animal instinctively seem to desire to im- 
press their new audience with their superiority of style and condi- 
tion. In the bush, or on a new and soft trail, the walk is often the 
onlv possible pace. In the open, the common speed is the trot. 
The driver follows behind the sleigh bv a kind' of running walk. It 
is sometimes necessary, however, for him to break into a run in 
order to keep up. W hen the trail is level and the load does not 
require balancing, he often goes ahead of the dogs and sets the 
pace. Occasionally, the head dog catches the scent of some animal 
that has crossed the trail and he is at once off on the scent, pulling 
the rest of the team with him. It is often with difficulty that the 
driver gets under headwa>' again. Sometimes the dogs resort to 
tricks to avoid their work and their strategy is so very cute that 
it takes an experienced eye to note whether they are lagging. 
The number of animals driven by the Indians ordinarily is five or 
si.x to a team. The Eskimos usually drive more. 
On account of the trails in the timber regions being necessarily 
narrow, the Indians always drive their canines tandem, while the 
Eskimos, because of the open nature of their country, are able to 
harness their animals abreast or in packs. From among the most 
intelligent dogs, the leader, or "foregoer." of the team is chosen. He 
sets tlie pace and keei)s the direction, and upon him depends the 
easy and continuous going of the entire team. The animal next to 
the sled is known as the steer or ""sled" dog. He is the heaviest and 
is trained to swing the head of the drag away from obstacles. The 
intermediate dogs are the ones that steady the outfit. .\ ^teani 
trained together is obviously many times better than a picked-up 
one. as it has uniform gait, fights are less apt to occur among the 
dogs, and they will combine against any foe. The dogs once 
given their places in the team, always keep the same location, be- 
cause in this way they accustom themselves to tbe pulling in that 
position. When not "mushing" { traveling ) the dogs usually lie down 
on the trail. Thev are not ordinarily unharnessed until the end 
of the day, unless they have become very tired. They are rested, 
or "spelled", en route four times every day and at the same hour 
everv dav. If thev trv of their own volition to take other times. 
