The Morning herald., 1877-07-27
" m t,fEYFs,.
LIFE n HUDSON nay,

Led thither by the prospect of securing
alivelihood, if not a competency, through
the fur trade, the emigrAnts to this inhos.
oitable part Of our continent find them
selves compelled to encounter such hard.
ships and difficulties that after short ex.
perience they usually take wing for the
South. There are few, if any instances of
families remaining for any length of time,
and if it were not for the trading interests
tits likely that these cold and dreary wastes
of the North would soon be left to the abo-
rigiros. tt.-s ...
Perhaps the greatest ahnoyances to which
settlers in this part of the world are ex-
posed come from the Indians. Between
their thieIfng propensities and the suspi-
eion and jealousy with which they regard
he whites, the latter are kept in constant
Tread lest by some oversight or supposed
insult to their copper-colored neighbors
hey may be made to pay with the loss of
their property, if not their lives.
Another manner in which an unoffen-
ling white settler may be sacrificed Is
Trough the stupid superstitions of the red
iIjns. who believe that all physical ailments
and also death, are the result of some secret
Vaccinations on the part of an enemy. II
the victim Of the supposed incantation be
man of distinction in his tribe, the friends
Of the deceased usually pitch upon the last
stranger@generally white man--with
whom he has been in contact. Nothing
but the blood of this individual will satisfy
their thirst for revenge, and in this way
several of the employees of the Hudson Bay
Company have been known to lose their
lives.
The dogs are the only beasts Of burden,
and the vehicles which they draw are adap-
ted to the snow fields over which they must
travel. A dog sled is simple contrivance
of two thin oak or birch wood boards lashed
together and turned up in front like Nor
wegian snow shoe. When very lightly
loaded, it runs over hard snow or ice with
great ease. It's length is about nine feet,
and its breadth sixteen inches. Along the
outer edge runs leather lashing, through
the loops of which long leather line Is
passed to hold in its place whatever may be
placed upon it. To the front Of the sled
long leather traces are attached. The dogs,
usually four in number, stand in tandem
fashion, one before the other, the best dog
being placed in front. This animal is
called the "foregoer." The next best dog
is placed in the rear, as "steer dog" It is
the business of the foregoer to keep the
track, no matter how faint it may be, on
lake or river. The steer dog guides the
sled to keep it from striking or catching in
tree or root
The ordinary load for four dogs weighs
from two hundred to four hundred pounds.
They will travel on anything like a
good track, from thirty to thirty-five miles
a. day. In deep Or soft snow, the pace is Of
necessity slow, and twenty to twenty-five
miles will form a fair days work.
Such difficulties in the way of living as
these are more than enough to deter even
the most hardy emigrants from seeking
home in the North. Thus it is not remark
able that efforts at colonizing these regions
have signally failed, and that the few who
have had the courage to stay should be al
most without exception in some way con-
nected with the service of the Hudson Bay
Company.-Hapers Weekly.