Eskimo drivers are exceedingly
expert in handling the long whip, and in the hands of a cruel driver
it is an instrument of torture. In southeastern and southern Labrador
and in Newfoundland the dog whip is used much less freely than in the
north, and the people are less expert in its manipulation than are the
Eskimos. The different species of dogs renders the use of the whip
less necessary.
Dog travel is seldom over smooth unobstructed ice fields. Sometimes it
is over frozen bays where the tide has thrown up rough hummocks and
ridges. I have been, under such conditions, nearly half a day crossing
the mouth of a river one mile wide. Often the trail leads over high
hills, with long hard steep climbs to be made and sometimes dangerous
descents. In traveling over sea ice, especially in the late winter and
spring, and always when an off shore wind prevails, there is danger of
encountering bad ice, and breaking through, or having the ice "go
abroad," and cutting you off from shore. When the tide has smashed the
ice, it is often necessary to drive the team on the "ballicaders," or
ice barricade, a narrow strip of ice clinging to the rocky shore.
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