Mushing is a sport or transport method powered by dogs. It includes carting, pulka, dog scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled, most commonly a specialized type of dog sled on snow, or a rig on dry land. History The practice of using dogs to pull sleds dates back to at least 6000 BC. Remnants of sleds and harnesses has been found with canine remains in Siberia which carbon-dated to 7800–8000 years ago. Native American cultures also used dogs to pull loads. In 1534, Jacques Cartier discovered the Gaspé Peninsula and claimed the land in the name of Francis I of France. For the better part of a century the Iroquois and French clashed in a series of attacks and reprisals. For this reason, Samuel de Champlain arranged to have young French men live with the natives, to learn their language and customs and help the French adapt to life in North America. These men, known as (runners of the woods), were the first European mushers in North America, extended French influence south and west and in 1609, New France controlled all the Canadian Shield. In 1680, the intendant of New France, Jacques Duchesneau de la Doussinière et d'Ambault, estimated that there was not one family in New France who did not have a "son, brother, uncle or nephew" among the . During the winter, sled became the ordinary transportation in the north of New France. In 1760, the British Army completed the conquest of Canada and gained control of the Canadian Shield. Many accepted British rule and continued to use the sled dog. The French term became Mush! in English. During the Klondike Gold Rush, many prospectors came in the Yukon with sled dogs. This "Last Great Gold Rush" has been immortalized by American author Jack London in The Call of the Wild. Sled-dog became the common mode of transportation in Yukon and in the new US Territory of Alaska. In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen used sled dogs in a race to become the first person to reach the South Pole. He succeeded, while his competitor Robert Falcon Scott, who had instead used Siberian ponies, tragically perished. By the time of the First World War, mushing had spread to European countries such as Norway, where dog sleds were used for nature