"_M-a-r-r-che_!" (start) shouted the guide--as the head dog-driver is
called. Every driver repeated the word; whips cracked; dogs howled,
and the brigade moved forward in single file. At the head went the
Factor's train of four powerful-looking and handsomely harnessed dogs
hauling a decorated carriole in which the Factor rode and behind which
trotted a picturesque half-breed driver. Next in order went the teams
of the Church of England clergyman and the Roman Catholic priest, both
of whom happened to be going out to the railroad. Behind these
followed twelve sleds or toboggans, laden with furs, which the Hudson's
Bay Company was shipping to its Department Headquarters. When one
remembers that black or silver fox skins are frequently sold for over a
thousand dollars each, one may surmise the great value of a cargo of
furs weighing nearly four thousand pounds, such as the Dog Brigade was
hauling. No wonder the Company was using all haste to place those furs
on the London market before the then high prices fell.

The brigade formed an interesting sight, as the Indians, half-breeds,
and white men were garbed most curiously; and in strong contrast to the
brilliant colours worn by the members of the brigade, the clergymen
trotted along in their sombre black--the priest's cassock flowing to
his snowshoes, and his crucifix thrust, daggerlike, in his girdle.

The four dogs comprising each of the fur-trains hauled three hundred
pounds of fur besides the camp outfit and grub for both driver and
dogs--in all, about five hundred pounds to the sled. When the
sleighing grew heavy, the drivers used long pushing-poles against the
ends of the sleds to help the dogs.