That portion of the lash near the handle strikes the ground first, and
then the long seal-skin thong unwinds, gaining rapidity and strength as
the end is reached, and this strikes with such force as to make the
snow fly, and with a report like a pistol. It is not a handy implement,
for it requires time to get in position to swing the long lash. First
it is thrown back, and then forward--this time for execution; and it is
no unusual thing to see a dog with an eye gone or a piece of ear
missing--a witness to the power of the ip-er-ow-ter in the practised
hand of the Esquimau dog driver. Even the boys are quite skilful in the
use of the whip, and dog driving is taught them almost from infancy.
The driver sits on the front part of the sled or runs alongside, the
long lash of the whip trailing behind him on the snow, so that when
occasion occurs calling for the administering of punishment it is
already in the proper position for delivering the blow.
The first effect of the whip is to retard the sled. The dog that is
struck invariably draws back, and then usually pitches upon his
neighbor, and for a while there is a row that threatens the sled with
stoppage. The driver usually takes advantage of this occasion to
administer a general chastisement, each dog receiving a share of the
punishment, whether guilty of insubordination or not.
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