HEBERT, IGNACE, SON
Ignace Hébert, son, is a trainer and driver of dog sleds in the city of Quebec, Quebec. The North West Police hired him to find good dogs and to care for them during their long trip from the coast of Labrador up to the Yukon.
During the winter of 1898-1899, there were not enough dogs in the Yukon to serve the demand made by the increasing population. The use of dog sleds for the transportation of merchandise and for the mail delivery was becoming more and more frequent. They needed dogs capable of resisting the climatic conditions of the North. Therefore, they thought of the black Labrador dogs.
Agent J.U. Gregory requested the services of Hébert and offered him salary of $2.00 a day plus all expenses paid. Hébert left Quebec on the Maggie H boat and reached the Strait of Belle Isle where he bought 142 Labrador dogs. Eight of them died on the return trip to Quebec. After a one -week stop in Quebec, the dogs travelled to Vancouver by train from October 31 to November 13, 1898. From there, a steamship brought them to Skagway in Alaska. Sixteen died on the way. Once in Skagway, the dogs died at an alarming rate. In January 1899, only 21 dogs were left alive.
According to a study, 400 to 500 other Labrador dogs had done the same. These deaths were explained thus: the animals had been shut-in too long during the trip, they were packed in too small a space, had been fed too well and exposed to extreme changes in temperature.
Ignace Hébert remained working as a driver of dog sleds in the Yukon for a few years.
Ref. Empreinte, vol. 11, page 64.
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