ed and laid along the front, making a comfortable seat. That bruin
must have been an enormous creature. The box comes about the middle;
it contains the traveller's traps. Behind it some coats, a gun, a
harpoon (we may see a seal if we go on the ice), some wood (we shall
want a fire for camping out, and I hope matches have not been
forgotten), the coats of the men, a sleeping sack and a pair of
sealskin trousers. Those two oval frames like a large lawn tennis bat
without handle, are a pair of snow-shoes. All these traps are secured
by a sealskin thong passing over the ends of the cross-boards, and
pulled tight. It would not do to lose anything on the way.

Now seat yourself there in front of the box. But the dogs are not
attached to the sledge. _Seat yourself_; they are all harnessed. Each
has a band of sealskin round his neck and another round his body, and
to this simple harness is attached the separate trace or thong by
which he does his share in pulling the sledge. In one moment the
sledge rope will be passed through the loops of all their traces, and
they will be off almost before you can say "Hoo-eet," for they, like
the Eskimoes standing round, seem to enjoy the fun. We are supposed to
start southward for Okak, and to come home, by way of Ramah. I seat
myself and get a good hold, with my back against the box and my feet
well off the ground. "Hoo-eet!" The dogs are directed by the voice,
and that is the word used to start them. Shout "Owk, Owk," and they
will run to the right, or "Ra, Ra, Ra," and you will soon find
yourself going to the left. Say, "Ah, Ah," and your dogs will lie
down. Now you have all your directions so "Hoo-eet," we are off,
gliding easily over the grass, for snow and ice there is none this
warm autumn day after a night when there were two or three degrees of
frost. So it is rather hard for the dogs, when we turn the corner of
the mission enclosure and are going a bit up-hill through the long
grass. Thomas, one of the Eskimoes, is running in front of the dogs in
his sealskin boots with the fur outside--a handsome pair. Enoch is
minding the sledge, now running beside me, now throwing himself down
on it in front of me, or lifting the front end of the runners from
right to left, or _vice versa_ to turn a corner or avoid a stone.
"Owk, Owk," he shouts as we wish to turn the corner to the _right_. A
third Eskimo, who is running between us and the dogs with the whip,
takes up the sound and the dogs ob