the ensuing day.

From ten to fifteen dogs are employed on a long journey. They are
harnessed separately by a collar and a single trace passing over their
back, and fastened to the fore-part of the sledge. The traces are
so arranged that the dogs generally follow in a line, conducted by a
leader, who is trained to obey the word of command in an instant; the
least hesitation on his part brings the merciless whip about his ears.
The lash is about fifteen feet in length, the handle eighteen inches;
continual practice enables the Esquimaux to wield this instrument
of torture with great dexterity. The sledges are about five feet in
length and two in breadth; the runners generally shod with whalebone
or ivory, and coated over with a plaster of earth and water, which
becomes very smooth, and is renewed as often as it is worn out.

The Esquimaux _caiak_, or canoe, is about twelve feet in length, and
two feet in breadth, and tapers off from the centre to the bow and
stern, almost to a mere point. The frame is of wood covered with
seal-skin, having an aperture in the centre which barely admits of
the stowage of the nether man. These canoes are calculated for the
accommodation of one person only; yet it is possible for a passenger
to embark upon them, if he can submit to the inconvenience--and
risk--of lying at full length on his belly, without ever stirring
hand or foot, as the least motion would upset the canoe. Instances,
however, have been known of persons conveyed hundreds of miles in this
manner. These canoes are used solely for hunting; and, by means of the
double paddle, are propelled through the water with the velocity
of the dolphin; no land animal can possibly escape when seen in the
water; the least exertion is sufficient to keep up with the rein-deer
when swimming at its utmost speed. When the animal is overtaken, it is
driven towards the spot where the huntsman wishes to land, and there
despatched by a thrust of the spear.

The Esquimaux of this quarter have not the art of recovering their
position, when they upset. An accident of this kind is, therefore,
sure to prove fatal, unless aid be at hand. It is seldom, however,
that aid is wanting, for these accidents never happen except in the
excitement of the sport, especially harpooning whales, when there
are always a number present. The _ouimiack_, or skin-boat, is a
clumsy-looking contrivance, but not to be despised on that account;
from the buoyancy of the materia