Sledge Dogs of the North 
A Missionary’s Tourney in a Blizzard 
Traits of the Dogs 
By the REV. ARTHUR SANTMIER 
D OGS are the beasts of burden ‘of' the 
Northern wilderness. No traveler can 
afford to refuse their services. Snowy 
expanses of forest, dismal quaking bogs and 
wind-swept, icebound lakes and rivers are as 
nothing to the true sled dog. What matters the 
tedious distance, the rough and crooked trail 
and the fiercely raging storm? Patiently he 
preserves his place in the train and plods on¬ 
ward, sustained by visions of frozen whitefish 
at the close of the day’s exertions. Generally 
underfed, overdriven and cruelly beaten in win¬ 
ter, and abandoned and starved in summer, this 
faithful animal commands not only our admira¬ 
tion, but our sympathy as well. 
The Indian dog has become a mongrel. The 
blood of a dozen breeds flows in his veins. No 
Indian camp is without its dogs, often legion 
in numbers, and skeletons in appearance. Of 
late years a few St. Bernards, staghounds, boar- 
hounds and Scotch collies have been imported, 
and as a consequence a difference is observed 
in the general appearance of the younger gener¬ 
ation. A trader of forty years’ experience in 
breeding sled dogs assured me that the finest 
sled dog possible to breed was a mixed Eskimo 
and Scotch collie. This dog would be fast, 
steady, enduring and affectionate. Others have 
tried the St. Bernard and found that the ele¬ 
ment of toughness or endurance was lacking. 
The same is true of the various breeds of hound 
dogs. Here endurance and hauling power are 
sacrificed for speed. Any of these breeds will 
stand the ordinary short trip over good trails 
with a light burden. When, however, a jour¬ 
ney of many days’ duration is undertaken, per¬ 
haps through deep snow, amid absolute’y path¬ 
less wilds and of necessity carrying a heavy 
load, then it is of the utmost importance to 
secure enduring animals—dogs capable of sus¬ 
tained exertion, despite frozen and bleeding 
feet, often on short rations and at times with 
no rations at all. To fulfill these requirements 
no single or mixed breed of dogs has been 
found equal to the husky or dog of the Eskimo. 
The Eskimo dog is very closely re’ated to the 
wolf in nature. Indeed, upon several occasions 
wolves have been harnessed and driven with the 
dogs. John Moar, Jr., a trader for the Hudson 
Bay Company, has several times captured wolves 
and driven them with his dogs. Being securely 
held in the middle of the train by the taut har¬ 
ness and faithful rear dog and leader, they ac¬ 
cepted the inevitable and soon were pulling with 
the steadiness of old sled dogs. The husky is 
by nature vicious and treacherous. If he once 
tastes human blood his death must immediately 
A GOOD HUSKY. 
Kindness of Chas. W. Gilmore. 
follow, for all in the neighborhood will be in 
danger as long as he lives. 
That famous missionary and traveler, the Rev. 
James Evans, once possessed a train of Eskimo 
dogs of remarkable capacity for travel. Tales 
are still told of their marvelous speed and 
powers of endurance. The scattered bands of 
Indians lying between James Bay and the Rocky 
Mountains and extending from the Hudson Bay 
to the American boundary line, were all reached 
by this missionary and his remarkable train of 
dogs during the long Northern winters. Strange 
to say, these faithful animals could be handled 
by no one but Mr.. Evens and his interpreter, 
who constantly traveled with him. In a heavily 
barricaded yard they were confined when not 
being driven. 
One day an old Indian came to see Mr. Evans, 
and not finding him in the house he entered 
the door of the dog yard where Mr. Evans was 
just then engaged in feeding the dogs. Upon 
seeing the old man they left their food and with 
savage yelps leaped upon him, and ere Mr. 
Evans or his companion could call them off he 
was literally torn to pieces. Of course the 
valuable dogs were at once killed, and thus in 
tragedy ended the career of this most famous 
of Northern dog trains. 
The leader of a train should be a dog of un¬ 
usual intelligence and of untiring energy, for 
the movement of the train is usually dependent 
upon that of its leader. Alacrity in starting, 
speed and cheerfulness in traveling, as well as 
faithfulness when footsore, overweary or per¬ 
plexed by whirling snow, the darkness of the 
night or the scent of game—these are attributes 
of the good leader. The train will generally 
follow without hesitation. 
While at Norway House it became necessary 
for me to go to Warren’s Landing, a distance 
of twenty-five miles. As I could not secure an 
Indian guide I harnessed my dogs and started 
alone in the midst of a heavy snowstorm. 1 
had been over the road but once before, and 
that once in a cariole, well covered with rabbit 
robes, and of course had not observed the land¬ 
marks along the way. I was solemnly warned 
by both traders and missionaries not to make 
this trip alone, but men were scarce and cir¬ 
cumstances were pressing, so I heeded not the 
warnings but started. Without difficulty I found 
the trail and reached the landing in a short time. 
The next day the storm became a howling bliz¬ 
zard, and as I headed my dogs for Norway 
House in the teeth of this gale, I saw strong 
doubt and anxiety upon the faces of those I 
left behind, for I had a load of over four hun¬ 
dred pounds and the trails were blown full of 
snow. At i o’clock I shouted, “March, Bob,” 
to my leader, and the four noble brutes tugged 
at their collars. For hours we faced the bliz¬ 
zard, the dogs pulling hard, their tongues hang¬ 
ing from their mouths and their eyes constantly 
blinking as the icy particles struck them in the 
face. I plied my whip continually and shouted 
until I was hoarse, but of no avail. My dogs 
were overloaded and night was upon us with 
fifteen miles of swamp still to be traversed. As 
we entered this region I felt as though the motto 
were engraved upon the dwarfed pine trees, 
“A 1 ! hope abandon, ye who enter here,” 
for not a sign of a road could be seen. All lay 
in dreary sameness before us, as the snow whirl¬ 
ing in mid air formed spectral shapes in the 
darkness. 
To add to the dangers, my dogs began to give 
out and would lie down. This rendered it neces- 
