Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-05-04
An Artic Dog Team.

Arctic regions, entitled the Open Polar Sea, |
RECENTLY published by Hurd & Houghton,
of New York, DIR. Hayes gives lively ac-
count OF days drive with team of
I had to-day a most exhilarating ride,
and very satisfactory days work. Il
drove up the Fiord in the morning. andd
have returned only a short time since. This
Fi0rd lies directly north of the harbor, and j
it forms the termination of Hartstone Bay.
1t is about six miles deep, by from two to
four wide. Jensen was my driver, and L
have superb turn Out-tWelve dogs and a
fine sledge. The animals are in most eX-
ceIIent teondition-every one of them strong
and healthy; and they are very fleet They
whirlsjmy Greenland sledge over the ice
with "a celebrity not calculated for weak
nerves. | have actually ridden be-
hind them over six measured miles
ied twenty. eight minutes !; and With
out stopping TO blowszthe team, have
returned over the track in thirty-three.
Sonntag and l had a race, .and9I beat him 4
by FOUR minutes i should like to have
some of my friends of Saratoga, and Point
Breeze up here, to show them a new style
|. of speeding animals. Our racers do not re-
, Quire any blanketing after the heats, nor
! sponging either. We harness them each
. with single trace, and these traces are of
, length to suit the fancy of the driver
, the longer the, better, for they are then not
so easily tangled, the draft of the outside
dogs is more direct, and if the team comes
. upon thin ice, and breaks through. your
chances of escape from immersion are Gin
proportion to their distance from you.
The traces,are alls of the same length, and
hence the dogs run side by side, and, when
properly barnessed, their heads are in a.
linezo My traces are so measured that the
shoulders of the dogs are just twenty feet
from the forward part OF the runners.
The team is. guided solely by. the whip
aof
on the outside, and the whole team is sway
ed to right and left according as the whip
falls on the snow to the one side or the 9TH
er, oras-it touches the leading dogs, assit is
sure to do if they do not obey the gentle
I hint with alacrity. Thevoice aids the whip,
butt all eniergehcies the whip is the only,
real reliance. Your control over the team
is in exact proportion to your skill in the
use of it. The lash is about four feet longer
than the traces, and is tipped with a
a ''cEackern of hard sinew,, with which, a.
skillful driver can draw blood if so inclin !
! ed; and he can touch either one of his anil
mails on any particular spot that. may suit
s his purpose. Jensen had to-day ~ oung
refractory dog in the team, and, having
had his patience quite exhausted, he resolved
upon extreme measures. You see dat
beast ?n said he.sg Il takes piece out of his
ear;p and sure enough, crack went the
whip. the hard sinew wound round the tip
], of the ear, and snipped it off as nicely as
: with knife. .sgH
: This long lash, which is but a, thin taper
s ing strip of raw seal-hide, is swung with a
whip-stock only Two and half feet long.
1t is very light and is consequently hard to
handle.s The peculiar turn of the wrist
necessary to get it rolled out to its destina-
tion, is a most difficult undertaking. It re-.
quiresi long and patient practice, have
perseVered, and my perseverance, has been
rewarded; and ii / am obliged to- turn
Il ,o1 TO
!, task but i fervently hope that the enlerg-
i ency may not arise which requires me to
exhibit nay skilleravr-a rw -Eat-Fn
Its the'yery hardest kind of hard work.
That merciless lash must be going on con-
Z tinually; and it must be merciless orit is of
no avail. The dogs are quick to detect the
least weakness of the driver, and measure
2 him on the instant. If not thoroughly con-
vinced that the soundness OF their skins is
- quite at his mercy, they go where they
please. If they see a fox, cross the ice,
or come upon be9r track, or "Wind" a
. seal, or sight a bird, away they dash over
the snoWdrifts and hummocks, pricking up
their short ears and curling up their long
btlshy tails for wild wolfish race after the
game If ewhiplash goes out with fierce
p snap, the ears and the tails drop, and they
90 on about their proper business; but woe
be unto youfif they get tbecontrol. i have
seen my own driver, only to-day sorely put
+ to his metal, and not until he had brought
ayell ofipaii1 from almost every dog in the
team, did he conquer their obstiuacy. They
were running alter a fox, and were taking
us toward what, appeared TO be unsafe ice.
The wind was blowing hard, and the lash
was sometimes driven back into the drivers
face-hence the difficulty. The whip how
ever, finally brought them to reason, and
in full view of the game, and within few
yards of the treacherous ice, they came first
down into limping trot, and then stopped,
most nnwillingly. Of course this made
l. them very cross and a general fight
fierce and angry-noW followed, which was
l. notquieted until the driver had sailed in
among them and knocked them to right
/. and left with his hard hickory whip-stock.
have had an adventure with the same
team, and know to my OstWhat an unruly
set they are, and how hard it is to get the
mastery of them; b1t once mastered, like
spirited horse, they are obedient enough
but also, like that noble animal, they re-
quire now and then to have positive re-
minder as to whom the obedience is OWNS
f. Wishing to try my hand, set out to take
turn round the harbor. The wind was
blowing at my back, and when had gone
far enough, and wanted to wheel round and
return, the dogs were not so minded. There
is nothing they dislike so much as to face
the wind; and feeling very fresh, they
were. evidently ready for some sport.
+ Moreover, they may, perhaps, have wanted
to see what manner of man this new driver
+ was, They were very familiar with him
personally, for he had petted them often
enough; but they had not before felt the
4 After much difficulty brought them at
last up to the course, but / could keen
them there only by constant use of the lash:
land since this was three times out lof
four blown back @ into my face. e If
liiwas evident. that zIde0uld not long hold