Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1867-04-27
NEWS AND MISCELLANY.
Apog Team.

f.eg ADOg Team.
From DR.. Hays New work ''Tho Open Polar Sea.
I havea superb turn Out, twelve dogs
and fine sledge. The animals are il
most excellent condition, every one OF
them strong and healthy, and they are
very fleet. They whirl my Greenland
sledge over the ice with a CELEBRITY cot
calculated for weak nerves. have act.
ually ridden behind them over six mea-
sured miles in 80 minutes; and without
stopping to blow the team have return
ed over the track in thirty-three. Son
utag and i had race, and beat him
by four minutes. / 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 require any blanketing
after the heats, or sponging either. We
harness them each with a single trace,
and these traces are of a length to suit
the fancy of the driverAthe longer the
better, for they are not so easily tam
gled, 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 in proportion to their distance from
you. The traces are all of the same
length, hence the dogs run side by side,
and, when properly harnessed their
heads are In line. My traces are so
measured that the shoulders of the dogs
aie just twenty feet from the forward
part of the runners. s s
The team is guided solely by the
whip and voice, The strongest dogs
are placed on the outside, and the whole
team is swayed to right and left accord
| ing as the whip falls to the one side or
other, or as it touches the leading dogs,
as it is sure to do If they do not obey
the gentle hint with sufficient alacrity.
The voice aids the whip, but in all en-
ergencies the whip is the only real reli-
ance. Your control over your team is
exactly In proportion to your skill In
the use of it. The lash is about four
feet longer than the traces, and is tip
ped with a cracker" of hard sinew,
with which a skillful driver can draw
blood if SO inclined; and he can touch
either of his animals on any particular
spot that may suit his purpose. Jen-
sen had to day young refractory dog
in thelteam, and having had his patti
ence quite exhausted, he resolved upon
extreme measures. E'You see dat beast, -
said he, Il takes piece out of his ear, :"
and sure enough, crack went the whip,
tile hard sinew wound round the tip of
the ear and shipped it off as nicely as
with kuife. The long lash, which is
but thin. tapering strip of raw seal
skin, is swung with whip stock only
two and half feet long. 1t is very
light and consequently hard TO handle.
The peculiar turn OF the wrist neces-
sary to get it rolled out to its destina-
ton, is a most difficult undertaking. 1t
requires long and patient practice /
have persevered and my perseverance
has been rewarded; and if am Obliged
to turn driver on emergency, feel
equal to the task; but fervently hope
that the emergency may not arise which
requires me to exhibit my skill.
| 1t is the very hardest kind of hard
work. That merciless lash must be
merciless or it is of no avail. The dogs
are quick to detect the least weakness
of the driver and measure him on the
instant. III not thoroughly convinced
that the soundness OF their skins is
quite at his mercy, they go where they
please. If they see a fox crossing the
ice, or come upon a bear track, or
'swind" a seal, or sight bird, away
they dash over snow drift and hum
mock, prickiug up their long bushy
tails for a wild, wolfish race after the
game. If the whip lash goes ont with
a fierce snap, the ears and tail drop and
they go on about their proper business;
but woe be unto you if they get the
| control. L have seen my own driver
sorely put TO his metal, and not until
he had brought yell of pain from al
most every dog in the team, did he con-
quer their obstinacy. They were run.
ming after fox, and were taking us
/ toward what was unsafe ice. The wind
was blowing hard, and the lash was
sometimes driven back into the drivers
face, hence the difficulty. The whip
however, finally brought them to rea
son; and in full view OF the game, and
within few yards of the treacherous
ice, they came first down into limpinc
trot and then stopped, most unwilling
| ly. OF course this made them very
cross, and a general fight-ferce anC
angry--now followed, which was no
quieted until the driver had sailed il
among them and knocked then to RICH
and left with his hard hickory whip
| afnak rpeu.. ..H d.