The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-03-26
DOG-sLEDGING IN MICHIGAN.
An Important Method of Winter Loco

AiolAoi III lile 4NOIlHelH L Siiillouib'
Although dog teams are no longer
used in the lower peninsula of Michi-
ployed near the straits of Mackinaw
and in the upper peninsula. Until fif-
teen years ago, when the railroads We're
pushed through the forests as far north
as Marquette, dog trains" were neces-
sary for carrying the United States
mails. They are still an important mo-
tive power in many remote places
where canoes In summer and dog
sledges in winter are the only methods
of travel
In my early life in Saginaw, the COM
ing of the dog train" from Marquette
was one Of the sensational events of a
winter in the pine woods. These trips
were made at intervals of two weeks
from the closing of navigation in No
vember until its opening in April or
May
Saginaw was at one end of the route,
and 1 have often seen the weary dogs
climb the river bank at the close Of
their tedious journey of ten days. For
safety they had to travel near the
shore, and often upon the ice, so that
| the length of their route was estimated
at six hundred miles, though the dis
lance between Saginaw and Marquette
| by rail is only about three hundred and
| seventy-fve miles.
The sledges in use at that time were
| shaped like toboggans, and were each
! ten feet long and about fourteen inches
wide, with the front curved. These
sledges We're the property of the United
| States government, and their chief mis-
| sion was to carry the mail, which was
| packed in close parcels, covered with
waterproof canvas and tightly strapped
| to the sledge, the whole being slashed
with buskskin thongs to a leather
band fastened to the edge of the board.
| The sledges always went in pairs,
each having four dogs and two couriers
these men were haIf-breeds and wore
a costume peculiarly their own. Over
heavy wooden Undertaking they were
a coat made from a Mackinaw blanket,
usually gray with black stripes; a
hood or capot of the same material was
attached to the back of the coats neck
and this hood was drawn over the fur
| cap at night or in very cold weather.
A bright red scarf girded the waist.
! The breaches were of tanned buckskin;
the feet were we'll protected by deer
skin moccasins and several pairs of
heavy stockings, the outer pair of a
bright red. Snow shoes were always
included in the outfit, being necessary
| when the snow was deep.
The dogs Travelled tandem, with har-
| nP S~IJ I. Jc R,,os
Sleigh bells were attached to the col
lars, which were frequently ornament
ed with bead work and gay worsted
I tassels. The best dog was called the
leader, the rear dog was called the
steerer as he often had to display in
genuity in keeping the sled upright in
difficult places,
The regular sledge dogs are peeu-
liar breed, known as "huskies"-sup
posed to be q corruption of the word
Eskimo-and are no doubt derived from
dogs of Eskimo stock. They have
small heads long noses, short but
pointed ears and bushy tails. Their
cry is yelp rather than a bark, and is
thought to resemble the noise made by
a wolf
quarrelsome, and are not generally
treated in manner to develop the bet
ter side of their nature. They are not
guided by the reins, but entirely by the
voice and the whip; hence they are
shouted at and shrieked at in French
Indian and English of shocking profan-
ity.
One courier runs before the team
the other follows the sledge, often aid
ing its progress by means of a long
stick which extends from the rear at an
angle of forty-fve degrees.
When semi-monthly trips by dog
team supplied, for six months each
year, the only means of communication
between the world and the people In
our northern wilds, the sledges return
ing to Saginaw were usually loaded
with accumulated papers and maya
zines. Other parcels were often carried
as freight for a stiff price. Occasional
ly there would be a passenger, If that
word can be applied to a man who paid
from five to fifteen dollars for the priv
ilege of accompanying the sledges.
The route was through a trackless
forest, or over great fields Of ice, with
at least half of the nights to be passed
under no shelter but the pine trees, and
with a snowbank for bed. Provisions
for both men and dogs were always
carried; the food for the dogs consisted
of Indian meal and tallow.
Men and dogs showed great powers OF
endurance, making forty, fifty or sixty
miles a day, and doing the whole jour
ney with much regularity. Nothing
short of a most extraordinary storm re-
tarded the arrival and departure of the
mail trains. In storm, or If bewil-
dered in regard to location. the couriers
trusted entirely to the dogs, who never
failed to keep the right course.
Nowadays, for short journeys, sleds
mounted on runners are used, but they
would not be serviceable in very deer
or soft snow. While dogs are not sc
necessary to the settlers as twenty
years ago, they are still employed in
the northern part of the state The
dog sledges of the government still
transport the Manitou mail weekly
thirty miles across the ice. The fisher