FOREST AND STREAM 
Much less happy, though, is that of the “hus¬ 
kies” owned by the fur-trading companies, and 
even more miserable still his, whose master hap¬ 
pens to be a shiftless, improvident Chippewyan, 
Dog, Rib, or Cree—starved all summer and work¬ 
ed all winter. Hardy though he be, he yet re¬ 
quires a certain amount of food to sustain life in 
his overworked and viciously beaten body. He 
is. therefore, only half starved in wintertime. 
The best type of and truest blood “husky” is 
to be found on northern Labrador and among the 
natives of the Arctic islands. As one journeys 
inland he meets with crosses and mixed breeds, 
while south of the sixtieth parallel the Indians 
and trappers break into harness every type of 
canine that falls into their hands, and so intermix 
the breeds as to produce mongrels of all sizes, 
builds and colours. The weaklings quickly perish 
while the hardy ones grow hardier. Nature some¬ 
what relieves their miseries by lengthening and 
thickening their furry coats, protecting them from 
the severe Northe- n cold. Otherwise they could 
not survive the winter hardships of the trail. I 
traveled with a team in the service of the Hud¬ 
son’s Bay Company, four of which were full- 
blooded huskies, born in the Eskimo igloo; the 
fifth, the leader and most intelligent of the five, 
was an inland dog, only one-quarter “husky.” 
During journeys to the wind-swept sub-Arctic 
shores the inland dog required the shelter of a 
blanket at night, while his four team mates slept 
in the open, unprotected except by their furry 
hides. 
On the hard-packed snow of the barrens of 
the North and about the shores of the great in¬ 
land seas, the more common flat toboggan is re¬ 
placed by the Eskimo “mud-sleigh.” It is a low. 
broad sled, from twelve to fifteen feet in length, 
and thirty inches broad, having two heavy run¬ 
ners, which are shod with a plaster of frozen 
mud and water, from which the sled derives its 
name. These are capable of carrying from eight 
hundred to one thousand pounds, whereas the 
customary load of a flat toboggan does not ex¬ 
ceed five hundred. A “husky” is supposed to draw 
a hundred weight, but except when on a very 
hard, smooth trail, he seldom gets away with 
more than eighty. 
As a rule, when on the trail, the dogs are fed 
but once a day. and that at night time. But often, 
when times are hard and the trip is long, they 
are forced to travel for days at a time and each 
night go to bed supperless. Whitefish, with which 
the Northern lakes and streams abound, is the 
commonest and cheapest food. Upon the barrens, 
where the caribou are plenty, the “husky” dines 
regally on venison, though his summer rations 
are the less palatable whale meat or “blubber.” 
In the more southern districts, where game is 
scarce, dog “pemmican” is a common food—a 
mixture of cornmeal and tallow. However, the 
“husky” is partial to almost any kind of food— 
moccasins, deerskin clothing, even his own har¬ 
ness, often providing a meal for the half-starved 
beast. 
Half wolf though he be, the ‘husky” dog is 
more tractable and less treacherous than the 
sneaking, savage, Indian inland dog. But when 
hungry the blood of a long line of wolfish ances¬ 
tors comes uppermost. In the stress of starva¬ 
tion the wo'f do? does not belie his breed. Es¬ 
pecially is this the case in the summer months, 
when he is allowed to roam about at will. Strange 
as it may seem, the summer seas n more so than 
the winter, is one of privation to the “husky.” 
For then no work is required of him and no 
thought is given by his master to the idea of 
feeding him Consequently he must forage for 
himself, and from m ruing till i ight 1iej is con¬ 
tinually thieving and fighting, or away in the 
hills hunting his food in the primeval manner of 
his sires. It is no wonder then that the wolf 
blood comes uppermost. In Labrador alone, in 
the last four years, no less than fourteen settlers, 
three of them men in their full strength, have 
fallen a prey to packs of these savage, famished 
brutes. The few cattle, horses, and reindeer, 
that have been imported into the more settled 
southern parts of the Labrador coast require 
constant watching to protect them from the at¬ 
tacks of the ravenous dogs. For this reason they 
are so dreaded that in Newfoundland a very 
heavy fine is imposed on any person landing a 
“husky” on its shores. 
NEW JERSEY TROUT DISTRIBUTION. 
Under the direction of State Protector James 
M. Stratton, the New Jersey State Wardens have 
commenced the Autumn distribution of Brook 
and Rainbow trout reared in the State hatchery 
at Hackettstown, and a half million of these 
fish will be put in the inland waters of New 
Jersey before the end of the year. 
