I am excerpting (in italics) parts from an article entitled Winter Travel By Dogs, that appeared in the December 1927 issue of the Hudson’s Bay Company publication The Beaver , the author is Chas. H.M. Gordon who was an H.B.C. employee. This article provides insight into a couple of topics associated with the evolution of the husbandry and care of sled dogs as well as the methods in which they were driven. I will comment on these points below. I note that the author had served with the H.B.C. at Fort Alexander, which was in present-day Manitoba. It is my belief that he may be most familiar with the use of dogs in the Fort Gary area, but this is just my speculation.
During the summer season, the sled dogs of the fur country do nothing for man. They pass their time in robbery and music, if their mournful howl can be dignified by that name. And yet, neglected as are these noisy, dirty animals in their months of idleness, when the winter approaches they are highly prized by their owners, and two well broken dogs become as valuable as a horse, as it is they that perform nearly all of the work of the country.
Except in the far north, these animals are mostly of the Indian kind, with a mixed strain, large, long-legged and wolfish, with sharp muzzles, pricked ears, and thick, straight, wiry hair--white is the usual colour, but brown, blue-grey, red, yellow, and white mixed with black spots are also common. [The author differentiates between dogs of the “Indian kind” and those dogs of the “far north”. Depending on just what part of North America they are located, the former are dogs that we would call Village Dogs or Alaskans or even Mackenzie River Huskies while the latter are obviously those dogs we know as Eskimo Dogs or Inuit Dogs (see below). Then as now, there are distinct differences in the two types of dogs] Many of them are so wolfish in appearance that it is impossible to distinguish the dark grey dogs from the ordinary wolf of the middle-sized variety when seen at a distance; and their tempers match their looks. Indeed, I have seen drivers of such teams, before harnessing or unharnessing them, stun them by a blow on the nose, owing to their savage nature. [The stereotype of the “vicious” and incorrigible nature of the sled dog and the ready comparison with the wolf lives on…I am not saying that these dogs were not aggressive, they no-doubt were, but talk about a vicious circle (pun intended), I think I would be vicious too if someone “stunned” me with a blow to the nose every time I was having my harness put on or off….and remember, these were leather collar harnesses, that can be a big pain to put on and off at the best of times]
It sometimes happens, however, that among this howling pack of mongrels there may be picked out a genuine team of dogs. There is no mistaking them in size or form from leader to hindmost hauler [Now there is a way to describe a wheel dog] They are of Eskimo breed, the bush-tailed, long-furred, clean-legged animals, whose ears, sharp-pointed and erect, spring from a head embedded in thick tufts of woolly hair. These animals have come from the far northern districts. They are of much more equable temper than their wolfish brethren and have a keener appreciation of kindness. [This is a fascinating and very accurate description of the temperament of the Eskimo Dog. They are normally very affectionate with humans, in fact they love affection….and this is what the author is referring to when he says they “have a keener appreciation of kindness”. But when it comes to interacting with one another, especially with other same-sex Eskimo Dogs, the competition is usually on and there is very little “appreciation of kindness” between them] To haul is natural to them. But there are dogs and dogs, and the difference between their mental and physical characteristics is as great as between those of average men.
The vehicles to which dogs are harnessed in the fur country are of two kinds--the passenger sled or cariole, and the freight sled, or Indian toboggan. A cariole consists of a thin board, usually not over half inch thick, fifteen to twenty inches wide and about ten feet long, turned up at one end in the form of a half curve. To this board a light frame is attached about eighteen inches from the rear end. This frame work is then covered over with parchment and painted and decorated according to taste. When travelling, it is lined with robes and blankets, in the midst of which the passenger sits or rather reclines, the sled being prevented from capsizing by the driver, who runs behind on snowshoes, holding on to a line attached to the back of the cariole. The projecting end behind the passenger’s seat is used as a sort of boot upon which to tie baggage, or as a platform upon which the driver may stand to gain a temporary respite when tired of running.
The freight sled is made of two thin birch wood boards, lashed together with deerskins thongs, turned up at the front scarcely a quarter of a circle from nine to twelve feet in length and sixteen inches broad. Along its outer edge, a leather lashing is run through the loops of which a long leather line is passed to tie down the freight. Close to the front in both baggage sled and cariole the traces are attached. [This is a very insightful description of the differences between a cariole and a toboggan. The French word cariole originally referred to a small light-weight two-wheeled cart pulled by one horse, but its meaning was expanded in French Canada to also refer to a small sleigh pulled by either a horse or dogs. The dog mushing term cariole therefore refers to the toboggan when it is equipped with a permanently attached enclosure made of parchment, a vehicle that is used for transporting freight, specifically a passenger or passengers.
The differences in construction between the “cariole” and the “freight sled” are interesting, with the cariole being made of a single piece of thinly planed lumber about 12 feet in length and between 15 and 20 inches wide. I am at a loss to know just where it would be possible to find a suitable tree in the areas where carioles were used that would be large enough to produce a single board 20 inches wide. It is my belief that the preferred wood would be birch, I suppose that there may be birch trees of this size or possibly this type of board might have been obtained from elsewhere but in reality, I believe that the cariole was made of smaller boards, exactly like a "freight sled" of Indian toboggan.
The original toboggan or “freight sled” as referred to in this article, was always made 16 inches wide, to enable it to track easily in the path left by a trailbreaker wearing snowshoes. This was also one of the reasons why dogs were harnessed in tandem (single file) using collar or breast harnesses. It isn’t clear just why the cariole would be up to 20 inches wide, unless it was to make things more comfortable for the passenger…remember that they would be wrapped in “robes and blankets” that would no-doubt take up some of the space. The fact that a wooden framework was constructed and that this in turn was covered in parchment -- which could be either the thin hide of a deer or other animal with the hair scraped off or it could even be the lining of the stomach of a moose or other large mammal-- is quite interesting. This enclosure was permanently attached to the wooden framework and toboggan, providing a snug and dry enclosure for the passenger to sit or “recline” in. It is my belief that once the use of heavy canvas became an integral part of the fur trade, this fabric would have been used in place of the skin or parchment. In reality, canvas revolutionized life in the fur trade and certainly with canoes, it was very quickly used to patch holes in the birchbark and eventually the cedar and canvas canoe replaced the birchbark canoe completely. The fact that this covering was then painted with designs is certainly in keeping with the voyageur tradition of painting their large birch bark canoes with brightly coloured designs….the mushers (or marcheurs) would in fact be the “hivernants” (or over winterers)…those voyageurs who chose to stay in “le pays in haut” (the north country) for the winter, instead of returning to Montreal (Lachine) after they had delivered their cargoes of trade goods to Fort William or Grande Portage, in their large 36 foot Montreal canoes.
The description of the “projecting end” of the cariole as the “boot” is interesting, this was the term used to describe what we call the trunk of an automobile, I wonder if it was apparently also used to describe the storage area at the back of a cart or sleigh? Remember, this article was written in 1927 and the author may simply be using a term with which he was familiar from that era. What is important to note about this is that by this time, provision was made for an area at the back of the cariole where the musher could stand and ride, even if only to gain “temporary respite” but there is no mention made of a backboard that would give the musher something to hold on to. It is also important to note that it would appear that the mushers actually ran beside rather than rode on the toboggan the vast majority of the time. I believe there might be an error in this article and that the line that the musher would hold in his hand was most-likely fastened to the front or hood of the toboggan or cariole (not the back) as this was a very efficient way of gaining some stability when riding on the back of the toboggan, especially if there was no backboard to hang on to, as well of ensuring that the musher always had control over the toboggan or cariole when running along beside it.
The cariole is described as having a “half curve” in the front or hood of the toboggan. I see this as a 180 degree bend in the wood, typical of most toboggans. However, the freight sled is described as being “turned up at the front scarcely a quarter of a circle”. I have seen toboggans of this style, certainly this type of bend is much simpler to make and is generally just as functional as a toboggan with a hood that has a “half curve” or full curl. Because of the way the parchment sides were fastened to the cariole, in order to make the enclosure water tight and to keep the snow out, the “half curve’ was essential. I have seen a cariole where the bend in the front was actually made in two parts. First there was a bend in the toboggan boards of about a quarter of a circle and then additional boards about two feet in length were bent and fastened to the toboggan boards with metal fasteners, giving he very attractive appearance of a full curl or a 180 degree bend. With the “freight sled” however, there was no enclosure or “wrapper”, it would appear that the freight was simply covered by a tarp and lashed to the cord that ran alon the sides of the toboggan so a bend that was only a “quarter of a circle” would be totally functional.
The “freight sled” described in this article consists of two eight inch boards lashed together with babiche or green or rawhide. This was certainly a way in which wooden toboggans were first constructed. Holes were drilled in the edges of the toboggan boards and then grooves were cut into the bottom of the toboggan boards and the babiche ran through the holes and then in these grooves making for a smooth running surface and ensuring that the babiche would not wear or become torn. The babiche would have been applied when wet as when it dried it would shrink and tighten the joint between the two boards. As metal hardware became available, the use of bolts and wire became commonplace and the toboggan boards were then bolted together, using wooden cross pieces about 2 inches square and 16 inches long. The hood of the toboggan was held in place with wire, ensuring that the front curl would retain its shape and functionality.
With time, it became possible to purchase replacement toboggan boards from the trading company. These boards were usually made of oak and were no-doubt brought in from some eastern supplier, where oak is plentiful. This led to a standardization of sizes so that replacement boards could be interchanged with damaged ones. I am searching to find out just which companies were making these replacement toboggan boards. I believe that one manufacturer may have been the Chestnut Canoe Company, they have advertised toboggans in their older catalogues.
It is important to note that this article, from 1927, makes no mention of the use of a wooden backboard and canvas wrapper in conjunction with the wooden toboggan. In my opinion, this development is one of the most ingenious form-follows-function developments in the evolution of sled dog equipment, ranking second only to the creation of the Inuit sealskin harness. It was the development of the wrapper and backboard that allowed the musher to be able to ride on the back of the toboggan and this represented a significant change in dog mushing, as the musher no longer had to run virtually the whole journey. It is my belief that the backboard/canvas wrapper innovation may have taken place in another part of the country, possibly in the Northwest Territories, it would also appear that it may have taken place after this article was written. It would appear that this article was written at a time when the method of mushing dogs was evolving from having the musher running beside the sled to having the musher ride on the back of the toboggan or in the case of an actual sled, riding on the runners.
With regards to the backboard/wrapper, the wrapper is essentially a piece of canvas that has been sewn into the rough shape of a canoe, about one foot shorter than the length of the toboggan, the width of the toboggan and about 20 inches high. The handlebar or backboard is made of two pieces of wood, each about 2 inches by 3 inches by 30 inches long and bent on the end to form a handle that the musher can hold on to. These two pieces of wood are fastened together so that they are the width of the toboggan at the bottom (16 inches apart) and approximately 24 inches apart at the top. This handlebar is fastened to the toboggan by placing it firmly against one of the wooden cross pieces which is placed approximately one foot from the back of the toboggan and then lashing the handlebar in place by running a cord from the top of the hood of the toboggan to the top of the handlebar then down to the cord or rope that runs the length of the edge of the toboggan. This is done at both the front and the back of the handlebar and on both sides of the toboggan. The tension created by these lashings will keep the handlebar firmly in place but will allow it to flex with the movement of the toboggan. The canvas wrapper is then fastened to the hood of the toboggan and to the handlebar, creating a large and dry place similar to the enclosure on the cariole, to carry all manner of goods and freight. The sides of the wrapper are strung over the cord that runs from the handlebar to the hood and then lashed in place with ropes to the cord that runs along the full length of the edge of the toboggan. The musher stands on the back part of the toboggan and steers the toboggan with the help of the handlebar or backboard.]
(to be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment