It is not often that one may find a sled shod with bone, as is the custom with the Eskimo farther north, and especially farther west. The only instance where I have seen bone used was by some of the people from the western extremity of Hudson strait. These had only a portion of the curve and a part of the runner shod with bone and pieces of reindeer horn, secured to the runner by means of pegs.
The greatest objection to the use of mud is that a few hours of warmth may cause it to loosen and render it worthless. The polish suffers when traveling over rough ice, and especially where sand has drifted from some exposed bank to the surface of the snow. This causes very hard pulling, and soon roughens the running surface of the sled. To repair such damage the native stops, at a convenient place, to obtain water, which is spirted on the runner and rubbed evenly until it acquires a thickness of one-eighth of an inch. This coating of ice may last for the entire day of travel where the "roads" are good.
The harness for the dogs consists of two large nooses, placed one above the other. These are joined by two perpendicular straps of 4 or 5 inches in length at a sufficient distance from the end to allow the head of the dog to pass through so that one noose will lie along the back and the other between the forelegs. At the rear ends of the nooses is a long thong of the heaviest sealskin of variable length depending on the position or place the dog is to have in the team. The body harness is made of sealskin, with or without the hair on, stout canvas, or other material which may be convenient. Thin undressed sealskin makes the best harness, and is not so liable to chafe the neck of the animal. The trace attached to each dog is generally of stout sealskin thong cut three-eighths of an inch wide, and the corners are carefully pared until the trace in form resembles a hoop for a small keg. The trace varies from 10 to 30 feet in length, and is attached to a longer but much stouter thong of heavier sealskin or walrus hide prepared in the form described for the trace. The thong to which all of the traces of variable lengths are fastened is termed the "bridle." The bridle has, usually, apiece of ivory, called "toggle," at the end farthest from the sled. A few inches back of the toggle is a short piece of stout thong plaited in the bridle end. This thong has a slit cut in the farther end. It is passed through slits cut in the end of each trace and then looped on the toggle. It will now be understood that the traces all start from one place, but their different lengths give different positions to the dogs of the team so that they may move freely among rough pieces of ice without interfering with each other. This has some advantages, but it necessitates watching the traces as they are liable to catch around any projection above the surface.