MarcH 3, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
39 
1 Ww 

ada the writer of these notes would be able to 
fill many pages with dog lore, but he has no 
desire to thus tax the patience of those who 
may peruse them. At the same time he thinks 
that a few readers might possibly take a little 
interest in certain traits, as well as in the per- 
formances of a small and rather short-legged 
dog of Eskimo breed, born tailless, which 
formed one of the train or team of a Hudson 
Bay sled of dogs conducted by himself on a 
winter journéy of fully 2,000 miles, from Fort 
Simpson on the Mackenzie to Oak Point near 
the southern end of Lake Manitoba. We left 
the former point on Nov. 30, 1869, and reached 
the latter place on Feb. 22, 1870. We accom- 
panied the old Hudson Bay winter packet, due 
to leave Fort Simpson annually on Dec. 1, Fort 
- 
can not at this late date give details, but I 
firmly believe that the time actually consumed 
in traveling was less than seven out of the 
twelve weeks spent thereon (except at the last 
we always rested on Sundays), and for that time 
we averaged more than 40 miles a day, a 
record probably never before or since attained 
by the same dogs on a trip of equal extent. 
Four of the five haulers were of Eskimo breed, 
and they were engaged thereon from the start 
to finish, A spare dog who lingered behind 
our second day out from Fort Simpson was 
killed by a band of wolves not far from our 
night encampment. Another of the team, which 
suffered severely from sore paws, was replaced 
at Chipewyan. With the exception of one or 
two of the last of the many trade posts between 
portunities of witnessing the admirable qual- 
ities of that fine animal. 
The mother of Keskayoo was barely a month 
old when I bought her from an elderly Eskimo 
woman at Fort Anderson, where she eventu- 
ally developed into a small, but compactly built, 
creature. Her first litter of pups consisted of 
three males (one died of distemper months after- 
ward) and one female, who subsequently became 
the mother of the unfortunate dog eaten up by 
the wolves on Dec. 1, 1869. (The two survivors 
made the long winter journey.) On this oc- 
casion the mother appeared to suffer agonizing 
pain in endeavoring to bring forth her first- 
born pup, but the administration of a dessert- 
spoon full of tincture of lavender acted like a 
charm. The relief given was immediate, and all 

Chipewyan Jan. 2, Isle a4 la Crosse Jan. 20, and 
Carlton House, Saskatchewan, early in Febru- 
ary; but by rapid traveling the party managed 
to arrive at Chipewyan nine or ten days ahead 
of time. After a rest of several days we started 
with my own and another team of fresh 
dogs carrying our baggage and provisions. No 
time was lost on the march; in fact, we got over 
the ground between the different company’s 
posts at a very rapid gait, and always had fresh 
baggage, men, and dogs, while the packet was 
dispatched independently on the usual dates 
from Fort Chipewyan, post to post, to Carlton. 
By this means I was enabled to give frequent 
rests, exclusive of Sundays, to my own team 
and personal servant, and also spend about a 
month in the aggregate with friends and ac- 
quaintances on the way. We never delayed the 
packet; on the contrary, when we finally over- 
took its bearers, our fourth and their seventh 
day out Carlton, the united party made better 
progress, and but for the first Red River re- 
bellion of Louis Riel it would have arrived at 
Fort Garry, if not earlier, certainly not later, 
than the usual date. When we reached the com- 
pany’s post at Touchwood Hills, there were 
orders for the packet to report at Fort Pelly 
instead of proceeding by the direct route by 
way of Fort Ellice. This necessitated the adop- 
tion of a much longer and more tedious course 
by way of Forts Qu’appelle and Pelly, Shoal 
Lake, Waterhen River, Manitoba House, Oak 
Point, and White Horse Plains to Fort Garry, 
which was reached on Feb. 25, 1870. Having 
long lost the brief itinerary of this journey I 
FAR NORTH. 
From “Hunting in Many Lands.” 
SLEDGING IN THE 
Fort Simpson and Oak Point, the team in- 
variably arrived at a rattling fast pace. It was 
the custom in those days, as it still is in some 
parts of the great interior, for winter voyagers 
to stop for a short time within a few miles of 
a post in order to make themselves presentable 
to the inmates. The dogs were also dressed 
with worsted or silk-fringed tapis of fine cloth, 
richly beaded or embroidered, and banded with 
brass or silver-plated round bells. Ribbon- 
adorned iron branched stands of small open 
bells screwed on top of their harness collars, 
having three or four of a larger size stitched to 
the lower part thereof, made a fine display, 
while the jingling of the bells emitted sounds 
of a musical and agreeable nature. From 
previous experience, the dogs knew that they 
were approaching a haven of food, plenty, and 
temporary rest, and once started, they lost no 
time in cantering over the intervening distances. 
In course of upward of forty years’ personal 
knowledge and experience of hauling dogs of 
various breeds in arctic America, British 
Columbia, and the Northwest Territories, the 
already-alluded-to smallest dog in my own team, 
Keskayoo (Cree for tailless dog), was, for his 
size, the very best all-round hauler I ever met, 
drove, or heard of in the country. The very 
nearest approach to him in endurance and other 
good qualities was Cerf-volant, so highly and 
justly commended by Colonel (now General) 
Sir William F. Butler, K. C. B., in his Wild 
North Land. During the winter of 1872-73, 
we traveled together from Carlton House to 
Fort Chipewyan, and I had, therefore, ample op- 
four pups were born without delay.* Her next 
confinement, seven months later, was apparently 
easy. There was but one male (Keskayoo) and 
two females. 
A more devoted and affectionate family of 
dogs I never knew. In corroboration of this 
view I would mention a few traits: The last 
litter was brought forth in a wooden kennel 
within the fort stockades, during the season 
when Indians and Eskimos were frequent 
visitors, and some of their hungry dogs would 
have no hesitation in devouring any stray 
puppies; but for months after their birth one 
or more of the first litter kept guard with the 
mother in protecting the young puppies from 
this or any other danger. In fact, they were 
never left alone during a period of several 
weeks, but were always carefully watched. I 
can not remember any instances of quarreling 
among themselves. On the contrary, they never 
failed to stand by each other when attached by 
strange dogs or when they themselves became 
aggressive. 
At times, long after he became a_ hauler, 
Keskayoo seemed to delight in beginning a fight 
with other dogs. He was himself a living em- 
bodiment of daring, energy, and pluck, quite 
capable of coping successfully with many of a 
much larger size, knowing, as he did, that his 
brothers would rally to his assistance in the 
event of his tackling a more powerful antagon- 

*I may here remark that I have personally known 
several cases in which this medical preparation greatly 
aided both human and canine mothers under similar 
circumstances, 
