Henry Kelsey: On the Trail of Native Friends

Transportation

Man strapping on snowshoes Copyright/Source

Kelsey served in several ships. One was a frigate, a sailing ship with three masts and cannons for fighting the French. His most important voyages, though, were done by canoe, sledge and on foot.

The Native canoe was made with a wooden frame and covered with the bark from a birch tree. It was very light and could be carried easily. Sleds or sledges were made with wood and were usually about 3 metres long and 30 centimetres wide. In winter, Kelsey would have worn snowshoes, which were made of animal skin tied around a wooden frame.

Super Sledding
Sleds or sledges were used by explorers to carry supplies and equipment long distances over snow and ice. They were strong and big enough to carry heavy loads, but light enough to be pulled up slopes by men or dogs. Narrow runners were used for hard ice and wide runners for soft snow.

Taylor, Barbara. Arctic and Antarctic. Toronto: Stoddart, ©1995, p. 58.

Dogs Versus Horses
Dogs have several advantages over horses for sledding:
1) Dogs can run over the snow
2) Dogs only sweat through their tongues, so their bodies don't ice over
3) Dogs will eat dead members of their own dog team, a handy trait when you've run out of dog food