time we talked
of all sorts of subjects. Later, when we were alone for a little
while, I found Mr. Thompson a man richly informed on northern travel,
for he had spent his whole life in the service of the Hudson's Bay
Company, and at one time or another had been in charge of the principal
posts on Hudson Bay, Great Slave Lake, and the Peace, the Churchill,
the Athabasca, and the Mackenzie rivers. Among other subjects
discussed were dogs and dog-driving; and when I questioned him as to
the loading of sleds, he answered:

"Usually, in extremely cold weather, the Company allots dogs not more
than seventy-five pounds each, but in milder weather they can handily
haul a hundred pounds, and toward spring, when sleds slide easily, they
often manage more than that." Then dreamily puffing at his pipe he
added: "I remember when six dog-trains of four dogs each hauled from
Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca to Fort Vermillion on the Peace River
loads that averaged six hundred and fifty pounds per sled--not
including the grub for the men and dogs and the men's dunnage. Then,
again, William Irving with Chief Factor Camsell's dogs brought to Fort
Simpson a load of nine hundred pounds. The greatest load hauled by
four dogs that I know of was brought to Fort Good Hope by Gaudet. When
it arrived it weighed a trifle over one thousand pounds. But Factor
Gaudet is one of the best dog-drivers in the country." Then,
re-settling himself more comfortably before the fire, he continued:

"And while I think of it we have had some pretty fine dogs in the
service of the Company. The most famous of all were certainly those
belonging to my good friend Chief Factor Wm. Clark. He bred them from
Scotch stag hounds and "huskies"--the latter, of course, he procured
from the Eskimos. His dogs, however, showed more hound than husky.
Their hair was so short that they had to be blanketed at night. Once
they made a trip from Oak Point on Lake Manitoba to Winnipeg, starting
at four o'clock in the morning, stopping for a second breakfast by the
way, and reaching Winnipeg by one o'clock at noon, the distance being
sixty miles. They were splendid dogs and great pets of his. They used
to love playing tricks and romping with him. Frequently, when nearing
a post, they would purposely dump him out of his carriole and leaving
him behind, go on to the post, where, of course, on their arrival with
the empty sled, they were promptly sent back for Mr. Clark.