weight must be balanced or the saddle would not remain on the animal's back. Accordingly, I was put into another sack and made to keep the saddle and the girl in position! I did not object at all, for I had a very pleasant game of peek-a- boo with the little girl, until we came to a big snow-drift, where the poor beast was stuck fast and began to lie down. Then it was not so nice! This was the convenient and primitive way in which some mothers packed their children for winter journeys. However cold the weather might be, the inmate of the fur-lined sack was usually very comfortable--at least I used to think so. I believe I was accustomed to all the pre- carious Indian conveyances, and, as a boy, I en- joyed the dog-travaux ride as much as any. The travaux consisted of a set of rawhide strips secure- ly lashed to the tent-poles, which were harnessed to the sides of the animal as if he stood between shafts, while the free ends were allowed to drag on the ground. Both ponies and large dogs were used as beasts of burden, and they carried in this way the smaller children as well as the baggage. This mode of travelling for children was possi- ble only in the summer, and as the dogs were some- times unreliable, the little ones were exposed to a -12- |