For us Tahltans, travel was nearly always on foot. This continued to be the main way of traveling for many years. There were no roads in early times, only trails which might be used or not, depending on where the people were going.

Everyone who was able, walked. Only very young children (under 4 years) and the very old or ill were carried. Children would be carried only when it was necessary (such as when they had had a very long walk and were extremely tired).

Snowshoes were used by everyone in the winter time for traveling and hunting. In the early 1900's, they were still in common use. Our ancestors were experts in making snowshoes at that time. The elders say that at one time we did not have snowshoes.

The first snowshoes were said to be flat with a round head. Later, the toe was rounded and bent upward. Then the kind having the head shaped like a duck's breast-bone became popular. These were replaced by the present shovel-nose type. At first sinew was used for filling (webbing) and later babiche (a lacing made from caribou) was used.

Teit collected the following story about the origin of the snowshoe:

Very long ago, when the world was young, people were nearer to animals than they are now. And they did not have the skills or the knowledge to make tools. At this time, they did not know about snowshoes. When the snow was very deep, they could not travel far from their camp.

People wanted to have a way to travel in times of deep snow. So they tried making many different kinds and shapes of shoes for walking on the snow. Some had round frames and some were long. There were many kinds of tails and noses. All the shoes were poorly made and none worked well.

The first ones were flat. Later they made ones with a round nose bent up. They tried different types of noses, and finally tried one made the shape of a duck's breast bone. This was tried and it worked.

At first people did not know what to use for filling or how to put it together. For a long time they used sinew. Later they learned how to make babiche cut from skins of young caribou. Then they learned how to make the foot-filling different. People were busy trying to put in filling properly when willow grouse came along and said, "Let me try."

He put in the first proper filling and made the first good snowshoes. People copied him and after this made good snowshoes.

How Snowshoes Were Made:

Traditionally, men made the frame, then gave the snowshoe to the women who then net the filling. The frame is made of willow, spruce or birch. The willow is the lightest wood, but is not very strong. Spruce is heavier, and more brittle. Birch is best in dry snow, but in wet snow they absorb moisture quickly and then become heavy. The sticks are carefully chosen for toughness, grain and freedom from knots. They are scraped, smoothed and bent into shape when green.

The frames are made in three distinct shapes, each shape made according to how the shoe is to be used and on the choice of the individual. For travel over lakes, rivers and open country the raised oval toe is preferred. The toe of the shoe is raised to keep it from digging in the snow. For hunting in the small woods and over brush lands the raised pointed toe is best. (It is known as the Kaska type since they were the ones who made it first). Children use the flat, rounded toe which is simpler to make.

The frame of all the types is of two equal pieces, spliced and lashed together at the toe, and brought together and secured at the heel. The bending of the toe to make an up ward and rounding curve is done gradually by steaming or soaking in hot water and lashing.

The wood of the frame is heavier or thicker in the middle of the shoe and thinner towards the ends. The sticks are rectangular, the fat or wide sides of the sticks are extended inwards and outwards and the narrow sides upwards and downwards. So that when you look down at the frame, the sticks are flattened and are wider than they are thick. The frames of shoes are generally made a little straighter on one side. That way, when you are using them, the straighter sides are next to each other. No frames are made of wood which is round or natural and unworked.

Three crossbars are used: one in front, one at the back of the foot filling, and the third near the heel where the frame narrows abruptly. The crossbars are of birch wood, willow, or other wood. They are put in flat sides up and down and their ends fitted into notches cut in the frame.

A thong passes through holes in the frame. They form a series of loops on the insides of the frame. The fillings in the front and back spaces of the shoe are woven into the loops. These fillings are very closely netting and are made of fine babiche cut from skins of young caribou, young moose, or mountain sheep.

The filling of the central or foot space of the shoe is of heavier babiche. Thongs were cut from skins of older caribou and moose, or skins of bear and goat. Beaver skin was sometimes used as an extra strong foot filling in the shoes of the leader who broke the trail in heavy snow. This filling is not woven through any loops in the sides of the frame but passes over the frame and also the cross bars. The netting or weaving in all snowshoes is hexagonal (six-sided), excepting the foot filling which is square or quadrilateral in some. It is simply a double cross-line.

The part of the foot filling where the ball of the foot rests is often reinforced with an extra wrapping of thong across the shoe. The foot loops are of coarse hide. The loop was made about four and a half times longer than the width of the foot. For decoration, tufts of red and blue wool are gathered into knots, or loops of the netting thong are wound around the outside of the front and rear spaces.

A brake was made to attach to the snowshoe. It prevented slipping on hard or crusted snow. It was used when traveling over hilly country. The tip of a mountain goat horn was lashed to each side of the frame so that it projected below the snowshoe. It was slanted inward and backward to dig in and prevent slipping.

The brakes were lashed level with the front crossbar and were tied tightly with hide lashing. The lashing passed around the frame and over the notched head of the horn to hold it against the upward pressure from the snow.

This type of brake was used by the people of the interior, back of the Chilkat mountains. It had been adopted by the Chilkat, and was also used by the Nisg'a'a on the upper waters of the Nass River.

The snowshoe staff is often necessary when traveling over soft and deep snow. It is a stick about the thickness of a walking stick, about a meter and a half (5 feet) long. The lower end has a dull point. A groove is carved a few centimeters (inches) above the tip. A small, circular, netted shoe about six inches in diameter is lashed around groove. It is very similar to a modern-day ski pole.

Long ago water travel was not important to our people. One of the reasons for this was that there were monsters in lakes. People tell stories about seeing these large creatures. Today, older Tahltans remember that, as children, they were told stories by those who saw the monsters.

Other reasons may include the fact that hunting and gathering areas were in upland areas, away from navigable water. Water travel was not practical. However, they did have methods for traveling on water when they wanted.

Traditionally, we had no canoes long ago Ñ no "good canoes", that is. Bark canoes were used in a few places where crossings were made. They were also used on some parts of slow-moving streams and on some lakes. These canoes were not important to our people. We have even forgotten ho w they were made. Our canoes were made for temporary use only and were only used for a short time. They were never used more than a single season. The canoes were thrown away when we were through with them just as we did with rafts.

The canoes were roughly made of bark of large trees. Very few large trees having suitable bark for canoe covering are to be found in our country, except those within the coast or Cascade Range. The trees were peeled in the summer and sewed and fastened with spruce roots and light withes. The canoes were so scarce and have been out of use so long that very little is now remembered about them. Canoes similar to these were used by the Kaska. Even the Kaska canoes were not as well-made as the bark and skin canoes made by tribes to the east and north.

Canoeing on Dease Lake

After trade sprang up with the Tlingit, dugout canoes made by the Tlingit were bought occasionally. They were used on the Stikine River for crossing and moving up and down the river.

Good dugout canoes were well-cared for. They were kept in a shady place and protected from the weather. Canoes houses were made for some of them. Such houses were placed above high water mark. The earth was dug and banked up at the sides and then roofed with poles and sheets of bark. Paddles, poles, tow-ropes and in later times, sails, used on dugout canoes were all the same as those used by the Tlingit.

Some of our people claim that long ago even bark canoes were not made and only rafts were used. These were made of poles lashed together with withes. A withe is a flexible, tough stem used for lashing things together. Spruce roots were often used. In some parts of the our country, rafts were the only way of crossing rivers and lakes. Rafts were also used when hunting and fishing. Rafts were temporary and thrown away after using.

There were certain places which were considered to be the best places to cross rivers and lakes. At these spots, trees were ringed. That is, a ring of bark is taken off the tree. Cutting the bark around a tree prevents nutrients from reaching the leaves and the tree dies. It is still standing and dries out. Dry logs are more suitable for using in raft making than green logs. Dry wood is lighter in weight so is easier to handle and also floats better than green wood.

By custom and as our way of helping others, when the ringed trees were cut down to make a raft, an equal number of trees were ringed. In this way there was always dry wood to make a raft.

The discovery of gold by Buck in 1861 was the start of a new form of transportation on the Stikine River. William Moore brought a load of goods and 125 passengers up the river in 1862. From then on, there was a series of steamboats and diesel boats traveled from the ocean to Telegraph Creek.

The Stikine River was the main route in and out of Telegraph Creek and the Stikine district for over a hundred years. Boats continued to run following the opening of road service in 1928. River boat service ended in 1969. Our own Edwin Callbreath was the skipper on the last two boats on the Stikine. They were the Judith Ann and the Margaret Rose.

The Tahltan claim to have had dogs from the earliest days and their origin is lost in time. It is thought that they originated from timber wolves and have been tamed by natives. Possibly the first were litters of pups captured by Tahltans and raised in captivity. The most gentle of these would be kept for breeding. Over time, through selective breeding and constant contact with people, the native dog evolved.The Kaskas, especially, often bred dogs with male wolves. Attempts to breed them with the fox have always failed.

The Tahltan bear dog was a hunting dog. Some families or strains of bear dogs had a stronger talent for hunting certain types of large game than others. This was probably hereditary, although some people might breed two dogs which were known to be especially good beaver hunters, for example. Others developed their dog's capabilities through training and frequent use. Tahltans believe that all of our dogs are one breed, the Tahltan bear dog, in spite of the fact that there is a great variety in size and colour. The dogs had the same shape of face, nose, ears, tail and quality of hair. These resembled those of the wolf.

In size there was a larger dog, smaller than a timber wolf. The smaller size was the size of a terrier (about 50 cm. or 17 inches). There was also a variation in mid-sized dogs ranging in size between these two extremes.

Dogs were also bred for size and colour to suit the taste of the individual. Some women and children liked small dogs and dogs of a particular colour. Most dogs, especially the larger ones, resembled wolves in their general colour and markings. Like wolves, they were more or less white underneath and of different shades of grey, brown, and black on their upper side. Some were almost pure white and others almost totally black. Some were reddish and some spotted.

The smaller Tahltan bear dogs would often be carried in a pouch until bear tracks were spotted. The hunter would then turn loose the dog. The dog would either tree the bear or get the bear to stop running to hit at the dog. This allowed the hunter time to catch up and kill the bear. The Tahltan bear dogs are said to be particularly good at hunting bears. According to one informant, they had a good "nose" for bears. They were skilled at tracking the bear, taking the hunter to it. Or, if they came across a bear, the bear dog would "give tongue" by barking and then worry the bear by snapping at it. Thus the bear was kept at bay until the hunter caught up. Being small and very nimble, the dog always managed to evade the bear when he struck at him or rushed him.

It is believed that the Tahltan bear dog is now extinct as a separate breed. There are still some dogs whose ancestors were Tahltan bear dogs.

These dogs were usually black or dark grey, some quite black except for white patches on the breast, muzzle, and sometimes, on the feet and underneath the belly and flanks. They might have a few grey hairs in the body coat. With extreme age, they take on a distinct grey phase of colour all over the body, sort of salt-and-pepper.

Dogs were plentiful among our people in early days. People whose dogs had pups gave away all the pups except those they wished to keep. Dogs had no price at that time, even the most valuable hunting ones. Also, they were not bought and sold. Anyone who wanted a dog could always get a pup for nothing and, sometimes, also a large dog was given away.

Formerly no particular care was taken of our dogs. They slept just like wolves, inside or outside the camp. No kennels or dog-houses were made for them, nor even brush spread for them to lie on. By 1915, some people made shelters for dogs they value and spread brush for them to lie on. Generally dogs ran loose, but sometimes they were tied up. For instance, when people were afraid of the dog stealing or afraid of the dogs being killed by wolves. Usually, people kept food and skins and other valuables that dogs might eat or tear out of their reach in trees, or on scaffolds. When it was not convenient to do this, they tied up the dogs which were known to steal.

No special halters or ropes were used for tying dogs such as those used among the interior Salish people. Any kind of stout strips of leather or rawhide was used. To give greater strength some of these were braids. No bone toggles were used on the lines, they were simply tied.

Dogs were fed on meat and fish and ate all kinds of scraps around camp. Dried salmon backbones (cut out when preparing the fish for drying) was a staple. Generally speaking, when their owners had plenty of food, the dogs got plenty to eat; when food was scarce, they got very little.

Tahltans claim that our bear dogs could not live at the coast. Many times Tlingit trading parties took dogs home with them, but in all cases these dogs lived only a short time or became very unhealthy. They developed lung problems and soon died or became mangy. Others who have taken them away to different parts of the coast, say that in all cases, these dogs soon became sick and died.

Long ago we used dogs only for hunting. It has been only since the late 1800's that they began to use dogs for packing and hauling.

In fact, it seems packing and driving came in about the time of the Cassiar gold rush, in 1874. Some natives claim that a little packing had been done a few years before this time. However, packing and driving dogs did not become common until about the time of the gold rush.

Wooden sleds and dog harnesses of the common kinds used by whites in the north are used. That is, the dogs are harnessed in a row, rather than each being tied to the sled as the way with the Inuit.

When packing dogs, packbags are used. Some were made of leather, but nowadays, they are made of different kinds of canvas or tent material. They are shaped like the saddle-bags used on horses. Most of them are made of a single strip of canvas tailored to fit the dog. The middle of the canvas strip rests on the dog's back. The ends are doubled up outwards and sewed to form a bag on each side of the dog.

A loose end of material is left on each side to stretch over and cover the mouth of the bags. Sometimes one loose end is longer than the other. The short end covers the bag on that side, while the longer end is extended to cover both bags. Sometimes both are longer and of equhal length. Then one loose end is tucked under the other across the back of the dog, either end being used as a top cover.

When packing the bags, it is important to have each bag about the same weight. There are several slightly different methods of fastening the bags. Basically, the covers of the bags are tied down with a lacing of thongs passed through a series of loops of the same material in the upper sides of the bags. The lacing passes from one bag to the other across the covers and the back of the dog. The bags are kept in place by a single slash rope of leather or canvas about three meters (ten or twelve feet) long which is first passed around the ends of the bags below the sides of the dog. Then it is passed around the bags underneath the dog and back over the top to where it began.

Dogs pack weights of twenty to fifty pounds according to their size and strength. Families might have two or three to six or more dogs. The difficulty of feeding them at certain seasons limits the number of dogs. Large, active dogs good for both packing and driving and with enough haired to withstand severe cold are in demand. By 1915, there was a change in how dogs were valued. There was a demand for large dogs and cash was being offered, so dogs were sold for as high as $40.00 or more.

We saw the first horses in about 1875, when pack trains of horses and mules arrived overland from the southern interior of British Columbia. They were packing supplies during the gold rush. The packers with these trains were whites of various countries and natives from other regions. Mexicans, natives from the Shuswap, Lillooet, Thompson River were among the newcomers.

Most of these pack train hands soon returned south. After a time, our young men took over these jobs. They became skilled in horse packing and horse management, including shoeing horses.

With the gold rush over, most pack trains left by 1884. However, some horses were kept in the country by traders and others, to be used in packing. During the excitement of the Klondike gold rush in 1998, more horses were needed for packing. Later, packing supplies for the Yukon Telegraph Line and the growth of big game hunting resulted in horses being used in the area up to the present day. By 1915, our men and boys did nearly all the pack train work and a number of them had been in constant contact with horses for years. In spite of their skills and the fact that they like horses, few Tahltans owned or raised horses in those days. This is probably not surprising, considering the lifestyle of Tahltans at that time in history.

Horses were used for packing supplies

There were several factors which make owning a horse difficult. Long winters cause problems in feeding and caring for horses. Also, Tahltans were still doing a lot of trapping and hunting in the early 1900's. Because they moved around so much, dogs were more suited to their lifestyle at that time. Now that we live a more settled lifestyle, many people do own horses. Horses are a favourite way of traveling cross country in the summer.

Before dogs were used for packing, everything was transported entirely on the back, except for winter packing. In winter, hand toboggans were used. These were still used in the early 1900's when dog sleds are not available. Camp materials, food, meat, etc., were still transported mainly on the back at that time. If you met a group of our people shifting camp or on the way to hunting and trapping grounds, you would see everyone carrying loads. The load varied according to the strength of the individual, from adults to children of ten and twelve years. Of course, all the dogs had packs as well.

Loads were carried on the head with tump-lines. Occasionally, men carried the load with straps passing over the chest or shoulders. The common tump-line or pack strap used by Tahltans was made from a strip of the leg skin of caribou or moose (usually caribou).

The strip was cut to an even width and dressed with the hair left on. The strip was usually about 60 cm (two feet) long by 10 -12 cm (four or five inches) in width. The narrower sizes were usually used by men and the wider strips by women. A heavy piece of leather 12 - 16 cm (five or six inches) in length was sewn to each end of the strap. It was the same width as the strap and had rounded ends. Some pack straps were made of heavy leather throughout, but these did not differ in size and construction from those of leg skin.

To each end of these a double string of caribou leather or stout thongs about 50 cm (18 inches) or more in length was sewn. These strings were used to attach to the lashings of loads or to the carrying loops of packbags, etc. The strings were never wound around loads like they were among the plateau natives, so no great length was needed.

With many pack straps, bone stretchers were used to keep the band flat. These were sewn across the inside of the band just above or at the junction of the leather ends. Bone stretchers were kept in place by being sewn with thread or by being tied with strings passing through holes bored on their ends. Some were simply placed in position and held by the weight of the load.

Most of them were made from the upper leg bones of caribou or grizzly bear. These were split and smoothed into a flat shape. Many of these bones were ornamented with incised designs on one side. The designs apparently had no special meaning, but were for decoration only. Each person created a design of their choosing.

In 1912-15, Hudson's Bay sacks were sometimes used in place of tump-lines for carrying light loads across the chest or the head. Breast straps attached to bundles for carrying across the chest were made of plaited caribou strings (three or four strands). These straps were widely used. They varied in length. The longer ones were used as dog halters and for various other purposes. For carrying, they were often doubled.

Many loads had breast-straps as well as head-straps attached to them so persons could relieve the strain by using one and then the other. Heavy loads were carried with a head-strap, especially uphill or on difficult ground. Light loads were often carried with the strap across the breast.

Pieces of skin, blanket, clothing, etc., were often used as padding around the shoulders, across the chest, and even on the head. The padding was placed under straps to relieve the pressure with heavy loads. If the material being packed was hard, pads were sometimes placed between the back and the load to act as a cushion.

Bundles and large bags for transportation were lashed in various ways with cords of caribou leather. Some of these lash ropes had toggles made of bones of bear and other animals which were used to hitching the rope around. Toggles were used for easier adjustment and releasing of the rope. Emmons describes some of the methods of attachment [see Emmons, p. 52. For other common methods of lashing and adjustment, see lashings as arranged on woman's pack bag, p. 42, 43. (p. 43 has bear-bone toggles). Ñ these comments are for your info, Trevor.]

Small quantities of meat were carried in game bags, but large loads were done up by lashing with caribou line and carried using a head-strap. Brush was usually put between the meat pack and the back, or sometimes the folded skin of the animal was used instead to keep the meat clean. Meat for carrying was also rolled up and lashed in the skin. No skewers were run through the pieces of meat to keep them in position. Nor were temporary bags made of skins as among other natives, such as the Nishga'a and Shuswap. However, skins were made into temporary toboggans and meat hauled in them on snow, as among the Interior Salish.

As already mentioned, skin toboggans were still used to some extent for hauling on snow in days of dog sleds. Before the wooden dog sled became popular, they were widely used.

Skin toboggans were made from the leg-skins of caribou with the hair left on. The pieces of hide were cut into equal widths and sewn together with sinew to form a bag. The skin was carefully placed so that the hair was all in the same direction. The hair was smooth from the front to the back of the toboggan. This way, the toboggan would slide smoothly over the snow.

The skin bag is closed at the top with a lacing of thong which passes through slits cut in the skin along the edges. The tow line passes through two heavy loops of hide at the head. The skins there is drawn together when in use, making the toboggan pointed and easier to drag in the snow. Women generally hauled these toboggans.

Today, men who hunt in winter hunt moose. The hide is made into two skin toboggans. The moose is skinned and the hide laid out, hair down in the snow. The hide is cut in half, starting at the neck and cut straight down to the rump. Both pieces of hide are cut in a semi-rectangular shape by removing the leg hide. Holes are cut every 20 cm (8 inches) and about 5 cm (2 inches) from the edge.

All meat is usually placed in plastic garbage bags and put into the two skin toboggans. The meat is placed so that when the toboggan is tied up, it will be streamlined and easier to pull.

A heavy rope is used to lace the skin toboggans. The toboggans are then pulled, by a rope, to the road. Often, one person can pull a toboggan along a flat, with a good trail. But it takes a tremendous amount of energy to pull one of these toboggans up a hill.

As we saw earlier, there were no roads into Tahltan country until the 1940's. When miners came to the country, they traveled up the Stikine River to Glenora or to Telegraph Creek. From there they walked the trail to Dease Lake that our people had used for eons. Later, pack trains used this trail to bring goods into the area. (Note that Telegraph Creek became the centre of the area, not Glenora.) This trail, and others, developed into the present road system. In 1928 the pack trail had been upgraded to be a road. This development brought the first motor vehicle into this part of the country. The paved Stewart-Cassiar Highway built in 1972, completely opened the area. Nowadays, any type of vehicle that exists can be seen on and off the roads. Roads mean that Tahltans can travel with ease, inside and outside of Tahltan Country.