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Dogs played a minor, although at
times critical role in the life of a trapper. Dogs were a ubiquitous
part of Indian village life. Numerous descriptions (Kurz, Garrard)
of these Dogs filled many roles in the Indian village, including guard, scavenger, beast of burden and source of food, however, the role of "Pet" was minor. During good times, dogs acted as scavengers to remove scraps and waste food. Dog was considered a delicacy and was not infrequently on the menu for feasts and other special occasions. Garrard describes preparation of dog in his journal. When the village was on the move,
dogs would be used to assist in hauling household When
winter travel was necessary, the dog sled was often used in place of
horses. Dogs were often able to
more easily move over deep snow in which a horse might be only be able to move
with great difficulty and would soon be exhausted by the
effort. Furthermore,
with a sled, a couple of dogs could easily haul up to 150 pounds of goods
and supplies, approximately three-quarters of the weight that could be
packed by a horse or mule with solid footing
There are two basic designs of dog
sleds, the sledge and the cariole, both
If there were multiple sleds and
men traveling together, the sleds would move as a “train.”
One or two men in snowshoes would lead the way, beating a track
which the dogs would naturally follow, as opposed to breaking their own
trail. Under certain conditions of loose or soft snow, dogs might be unable to pull the sleds. In late winter or early spring, dog trains would often travel through the night when the snow was firm and frozen, and would rest during the days when soft, melting snows would easily tire the dogs. In
1827 William Sublette and Moses "Black" Harris made an
incredible journey of 1,200 miles on foot with a dog in the dead of
winter, through deep snow, fierce storms and numbing cold. Each man
carried a pack of dried buffalo meat, and the dog was loaded with a 50 pound pack of
food. Often the men hiked through the night to avoid freezing.
Somewhere along the trail, the dog-pack pulled free and it's contents were
lost. Game was scarce, and gradually the men were reduced to
starvation fare. The starving dog, weakened began to struggle into
camp later and later each night. When they were still In the winter of 1833-34 Prince Maximilian records (Reference) the use of dogs to pull sleds as follows: "These dogs, if they are not broken in, are quite unfit for the sledge; when, however, they are accustomed to the work, they draw a sledge over the snow more easily than the best horse. If the snow is froze, they run over it, where the horse sinks in, and they can hold out much longer. They can perform a journey of thirty miles in one day, and if they have rested an hour on the snow, and had some food, they are ready to set out again. A horse must have sufficient food, frequent rest, and a good watering place, and when it is once tired it cannot be induced to proceed. I have long been assured by some persons that they had made long journeys, for eight successive days, with dogs, during which time the animals did not taste any food."
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animals indicates that they bore a strong resemblance to wolves, both in
appearance and behaviour. Rudolph Kurz describes these dogs as
follows: "Indian dogs differ very slightly from wolves, howl
like them, do not bark, and not infrequently mate with them. Dogs of
another type are 
brought
here from the Rocky Mountains - small, lop-eared canines, covered
from head to toes and tail with long shaggy hair." Although
most of the Indian dogs may have resembled wolves, line drawings made by
Kurz depict at least some blunt-muzzle, relatively shorter haired dogs
while he was employed at Fort Union. These drawings are from Kurz’
They look
queerly, trotting industriously under their burdens; and judging from a
small stock of canine physiological information, not a little of the wolf
was in their composition." The image to the right is
modified from a drawing made by 
goods.
Small travois or packs were fitted to dogs as shown in this drawing by
Kurz. Dogs were also put to use pulling lodgepoles.
200 miles from
the nearest civilization, Harris suggested that they eat their dog.
Sublette resisted at first, but was then persuaded. When finally the
dog staggered into camp, the men were so weak that at first they were
unable to kill the dog. Eventually the dog was killed and roasted
over a fire. By morning the men were slightly revived and continued
their trek.