Carriages. S l
great harm is done; and if it breaks down, or is found to have been badly made, an hour's labour will suffice to construct another. Sledges are very useful where there is an abundance of horse or ox power, but no wagon or packinggear.
North American Travail.-In a North American Indian horse " travail," the crossing of the poles (they are the poles of the wigwams) usually rests on a rough pack-saddle or pad, which a breast-strap keeps from slipping backwards. In a dog travail the cross of the poles rests on the back of the neck, and is kept in place by a breast or rather a neck strap ; the poles are wrapped with pieces of buffalo robe where they press
against the dog. Captain Blakiston-a very accurate authority-considers that a horse will travel 30 miles in the day, dragging on the travail a weight of about 200 lbs., including a child, whose mother sits on the horse's back ; and that a dog, the size of an average retriever, will draw about 80 lbs. for the same distance. (N.B. The North American plains are perfectly level.)
Palanquins, carried like sedan-chairs, between two animals -one going before the other in shafts-are in use in various countries ; but I am not aware that explorers have ever properly tried them. Their advantage would lie in combining the convenience of a cart with much of the independence of pack-horses. For whatever is lashed on a pack-saddle must be securely tied up ; it is therefore severely compressed,
