Nov. 6, 1909.] 
729 
sary to ply the whip even more cruelly. How 
hard it seemed to thus whip the poor dogs when 
I knew that they were doing their very best, and 
it was with almost tearful eyes and despairing 
heart that I rained blow after blow upon the 
quivering sides of my Eskimo sled dog. He 
was only ten months old and was tired. He had 
yet to learn that sled dogs must pull hard, even 
when ready to drop with exhaustion. Time after 
time I whipped him up when he had fallen in 
the snow. It was only by dint of laborious ef¬ 
fort that I was able to keep on my feet, for I 
was tired and sleepy. How inviting the freshly 
fallen snow appeared, and how I longed to 
throw myself upon its bosom and rest—sleep 
and dream of flowery fields and breezes laden 
with the scent of new mown hay. But still the 
snow drifted and the wind moaned among the 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
trail leading to a house, and are not to be re¬ 
lied upon in a region of diverging roads. 
Vehicles drawn by dogs are ordinarily of two 
types—the flatsled or toboggan, and the sled 
with runners, called a jumper. A flatsled is 
composed of two boards eight or nine inches 
in width and eleven or twelve feet in length, 
carefully cleated together by screws or bolts, 
or better still by buckskin thongs. In the in¬ 
tense cold of that country nails, screws and 
bolts are quite liable to break. The front end 
of the sled is steamed and curved upward to 
enable it to jump over obstructions and to push 
soft snow from before it. Ropes are attached 
at intervals along each side and the load is 
lashed to these side loops by means of a strong 
lashing line. A canvas cover is used to protect 
the load from injury and the sled is controlled 
making descents, and it must be handled in a 
hundred ways to prevent collisions with trees, 
logs and roots in the forest and to avoid hum¬ 
mocks, cracks and weak spots on the ice. Our 
course lay down the surface of Lake Winnipeg. 
Upon the southern end of the lake the ice was 
found to be covered to the depth of nearly a 
foot with water. A flatsled was no longer feasi¬ 
ble and mine was exchanged for a boxsled with 
runners that elevated the passenger above the 
water s surface. For two days so terrific was 
the force of the wind that only a strong effort 
would keep the sled from upsetting, as it was 
swung around at right angles to the trail, carry¬ 
ing dogs and driver with it in its mad flight. 
At night a coat of ice would form on the sur¬ 
face water and in the morning our moccasined 
feet would break through this sharp-edged ice 
ESKIMO DOG TEAM EXPRESSING ITS FEELINGS. 
Kindness of Chas. W. Gilmore. 
reetops. My dogs had ceased to cry out at 
he cruel lashing, and the dull blows of the 
vhip and the hoarse words of command seemed 
•ut of harmony with the weird sounds of nature. 
Abandoning all hope of keeping the trail by 
iy own knowledge of it, I depended solely upon 
he sagacity of my leader, a magnificent black 
og of more than ordinary intelligence. At 10 
’clock we slowly toiled up the hill to the mis- 
ion gate and Brother Lonsley appeared, bring- 
ig a lantern. We unhitched and fed the dogs, 
nd bidding farewell to all out of doors, we 
ntered the house. 
For miles that noble leader had kept the trail 
) the darkness and storm. And when the lights 
rom Indian wigwams flashed from both sides 
f the river, and when freshly made trails led 
ff to the right and to the left, he had kept 
eadily on. Mr. McTavish, the Hudson Bay 
ompany’s factor, told me afterward that I had 
epended entirely too much on my leader, and 
lat he was an exceptionally faithful dog, for 
/en the best leaders will turn off on the first 
by means of a strong line attached to the curve 
of the sled. 
The cariole is a flatsled of shorter and wider 
build upon which parchment sides and a wooden 
back have been erected. It is used for the ac¬ 
commodation of passengers. In this coffin-like 
structure, well wrapped in robes, with baggage 
strapped upon the rear of the sled, one is drawn, 
roughly or smoothly as the case may be, feet 
foremost toward his destination. 
During the spring of 1908 Mrs. Santmier rode 
in a roughly improvised cariole a distance of 
over 400 miles without suffering more than the 
discomfort arising from a shortage of food, 
intensely cold weather, a cramped position and 
other trifling inconveniences. As driver it be¬ 
came my duty not only to run and drive the 
dogs, but to control the movement of the heavily 
loaded sled. A cariole containing a human 
being is not managed so easily as is a flat sled 
with a heavy load if it is securely tied. It must 
at all times be kept from overturning; it must 
be pushed in going up hill and restrained in 
into the cold water. At times the form of the 
guide could not be seen amid the blinding snow, 
and this constitutes the chief danger of sled 
travel upon the great northern lakes. In a 
blizzard it is easy to lose oneself and freeze to 
death. The 400 miles of this trip occupied ten 
days, with but eight days of actual travel. It 
must be explained, however, that the swiftly 
melting ice compelled us to travel for two days 
and two nights without pausing for sleep or 
scarcely for eating. 
The jumper or sled with runners is much 
used by the Eskimo not only on the shores of 
the Hudson Bay, but in Labrador and elsewhere. 
We use it on the frozen surface of the larger 
lakes and whenever it is found to be more prac¬ 
ticable than the flatsled. On the great plains, 
when the snow is heavily crusted, the jumper 
may be used to great advantage. In the forest 
and swampy regions it is seldom used. 
The question of dog harness depends largely 
upon circumstances. The best dog harness is 
composed of moose skin collar, back pad an 4 
