James Mooney - Native Americans - 22 Books on History, Mythology, Culture & Linguistic Studies

Traveling with a light sledge and strong dogs is quite different. Then the team is almost unmanageable and as soon as it is hitched up it is off at full speed. The driver sits down on the fore part and lets the whip trail along, always ready for use. Now the dogs have time enough for playing and quarreling with one another. Though they generally keep their proper place in the team, some will occasionally jump over the traces of their neighbors or crawl underneath them; thus the lines become quickly entangled, and it is necessary to clear them almost every hour.

If any dog of the team is lazy the driver calls out his name and he is lashed, but it is necessary to hit the dog called, for if another is struck he feels wronged and will turn upon the dog whose name has been called; the leader enters into the quarrel, and soon the whole pack is huddled up in one howling and biting mass, and no amount of lashing and beating will separate the fighting team. The only thing one can do is to wait until their wrath has abated and to clear the traces. It is necessary, however, to lay the mittens and the whip carefully upon the sledge, for the leader, being on the lookout for the traces to be strung, may give a start when the driver is scarcely ready, and off the team will go again before the driver can fairly get hold of the sledge. If anything has dropped from it he must drive in a wide circle to the same place before he can stop the team and pick it up. On an old track it is very difficult to stop them at all. When attempting to do so the driver digs his heels into the snow to obstruct their progress and eventually comes to a stop. Then he stands in front of the sled and makes the dogs lie down by lashing their heads gently. Should the dogs start off he would be thrown upon the sledge instead of being left behind, which might easily happen should he stand alongside.

The sledge is steered with the legs, usually with the right foot of the driver, or, if it must be pulled aside from a large hummock, by pulling the head aside or by means of the deer’s antlers. If two persons are on the sledge—and usually two join for a long drive—they must not speak to each other, for as soon as the dogs hear them they will stop, turn around, sit down, and listen to the conversation. It has frequently been said that the method of harnessing is inconvenient, as the dogs cannot use their strength to the best advantage; but whoever has driven a sledge himself will understand that any other method would be even more troublesome and less effective. On smooth ice and hard snow any method of harnessing could be used; but, on rough ice, by any other method every cross piece would quickly break on attempting to cross the hummocks. Frequently the traces catch a projecting point and the dogs are then pulled back and thrown against the ice or under the sledge if the trace does not break. If for any reason a dog should hang back and the trace should trail over the snow the driver must lift it up to prevent it from being caught by the sledge runner, else the dog will be dragged in the same way as if the trace were caught by a hummock. Many dogs are able in such cases to strip off their harnesses and thus escape being dragged along, as the team cannot be stopped quickly enough to prevent this. Besides the driver must see to it that the dogs do not step across their traces, which in such cases would run between their hind legs, for should this happen the skin might be severely chafed. If the driver sees a trace in this position he runs forward and puts it back without stopping the team. Particular attention must be paid to this matter when the dogs rise just before starting.

The sledges are not used until the ice is well covered with snow, as the salt crystals formed on the top of the ice in the autumn hurt the dogs’ feet and cause sores that heal slowly. Late in the spring, when the snow has melted and sharp ice needles project everywhere, the feet of the dogs are covered with small pieces of leather, with holes for the nails, which are tied to the leg. As they are frequently lost and the putting on of these shoes takes a long time, their use is very inconvenient.

At this season numerous cracks run through the floe. They are either crossed on narrow snow bridges which join the edges at convenient places or on a drifting piece of ice by floating across.

A few more words in conclusion concerning the training of the dogs. The Eskimo rarely brings up more than three or four dogs at the same time. If the litter is larger than this number the rest are sold or given away. The young dogs are carefully nursed and in winter they are even allowed to lie on the couch or are hung up over the lamp in a piece of skin. When about four months old they are first put to the sledge and gradually become accustomed to pull along with the others. They undergo a good deal of lashing and whipping before they are as useful as the old ones.

If food is plentiful the dogs are fed every other day, and then their share is by no means a large one. In winter they are fed with the heads, entrails, bones, and skins of seals, and they are so voracious at this time of the year that nothing is secure from their appetite. Any kind of leather, particularly boots, harnesses, and thongs, is eaten whenever they can get at it. In the spring they are better fed and in the early part of summer they grow quite fat. In traveling, however, it sometimes happens at this time of the year, as well as in winter, that they have no food for five or six days. In Cumberland Sound, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay, where the rise and fall of the tide are considerable, they are carried in summer to small islands where they live upon what they can find upon the beach, clams, codfish, &c. If at liberty they are entirely able to provide for themselves. I remember two runaway dogs which had lived on their own account from April until August and then returned quite fat.

The Eskimo of all these regions are very much troubled with the well known dog’s disease of the Arctic regions. The only places where it seems to be unknown are Davis Strait and Aggo. Here every man has a team of from six to twelve dogs, while in Cumberland Sound, in some winters, scarcely any have been left. (See Appendix, Note 2.)

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The houses of the Eskimo differ according to the season. All the tribes from Smith Sound to Labrador and from Davis Strait to Victoria Land are in the habit of building snow houses in winter. Though they erect another more durable kind of winter house, these are more frequently in use. The principles of construction are the same everywhere. A level place is selected for erecting the snow house. To be suitable for cutting into blocks the snowbank must have been formed by a single storm, for blocks which are cut from drifts composed of several layers break when cut. It must be very fine grained, but not so hard that it cannot be readily cut with the saw or the snow knife. The whole building is constructed of blocks of about three feet or four feet in length, two feet in height, and from six inches to eight inches in thickness. They are cut with snow knives or dovetail saws, which for this reason are much in demand. The old snow knife (sulung) was made of ivory and had a slight curve (Fig. 490). The blocks are cut either vertically or horizontally, the former way being more convenient if the snowdrift is deep. Two parallel cuts of the breadth and the depth of the blocks are made through the drift, and after having removed a small block the Eskimo go on cutting or sawing parallel to the surface. A cross cut is then made and the block is loosened with the point of the foot and lifted out of the bank. Vertical blocks are more easily detached from the snowdrift than horizontal ones.