55 
off early, and shot the moose deer. This took place in the very early 
part of October.”^ 
Most Indian tribes employed dogs for bringing to bay their game, 
especially moose, bear, and caribou; they then attacked the quarry 
with spears rather than with bows and arrow's, which often failed to 
take effect. The Eskimo dog was strong and hardy, and, though not 
a match for the Arctic wolf, fierce enough to check the progress of a 
polar bear; but the dogs possessed by the Indians wnre in general 
small and ill-nourished. - 
A buffalo pound. (From Frnnllin, J.: " Xnrrofii'e of n Journey 1o ihe Shores 
of ihe Polar Sea,” p. 113, London, 1S23.) 
Until the natives obtained firearms, however, and even after 
they secured flintlock guns that required reloading after each shot, the 
still-hunt, wdiether with or without dogs, was less effective against 
animals that wandered in herds, such as the deer, caribou, musk-oxen, 
and buffalo, than the community hunt in wdiich a large body of men 
participated, often aided by wnmen and children. This community 
1 Thompson: Op. cit., p. 97. 
~ Cf. Rirhard.son, ,Sir John; “ Arctic Sparchin:i Expedition”; vol. ii, p. 30 (London, 1851): “When 
the fur traders first penetrated to the Elk river the Athabascans (i.e. Chipewyan) had only a small 
breed of dogs useful for the chase, but unfitted for draught; and the women did the laborious work 
of dragging the sledges. Now the cultivation of a stouter race of dogs has in some respects ameliorated 
the lot of the females.” 
86959—5 
