Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-08-09

1 ami tying MS forei00t 70 the spue VI h''
/ head so that he cannot progress very
rapidly in bis cspers. A much worse
situation regarding the dogs is to find
them scampering away after q herd OF
reindeer passing in the neighborhood,
| lust when they arc needed to be har-
messed. OF course they have no
moro chance Of catching one than
they have Of catching bird, but this
repeated many scores Of times during
their canine lives does not pre-
vent them from trying il over and over
again, and coming back in the course
Of an hour or two completely tagged
out, their tongues lolling out Of their
mouths. and almost worthless for the
rest Of the day. Occasionally dog
or two is lost in these fruitless chascs,
for there are always few wolves
around to pick up any stray dog that
may wonder too far from his abode oil
security.
The dogs being in harness, the babies
are placed on top Of the load and care
fully wrapped up IL the weather is cold I;
the sledgeman takes his place on the
right forward end Of the vehicle, his
left hand grasping the forward lashing,
while with the right he grasps his
short-handled whip, with its fifteen to
twenty. foot lash, and having gotten all
the dogs aroused from their short maps
by some emphatic and unpronounceable
Esquimaux words, he snaps the whip
among the lot with a sharp word Of
command. The first big dog that
hears the keen crack Of the whip
lash about his ears land there is
no use striking one Of the little
fellows at the start just TO send him
whining and yelping among the rest
makes belligerent spring for his
ncighbor, who in his turn retaliates on
bis nearest comrade, and so on through
the whole team until they are all down
in matted mass Of hair, harness, and
bowls that the sledge-driver proceeds
TO unrayel with vigorous blows from
the butt-end OF his whip. After this
preliminary "free fight" they are per-
fectly willing to obey all farther orders
and walk or trot along the rest OF the
day in manner worthy Of Barnum's
happy family.
The march is now conducted accord
ing to the load. If it is very heavy
the dogs are at a walk and rest ten or
fifteen minutes in every hour or hour
and a half. II light they may be kept
at "dog-trot and rest only once in
every two or three hours. Between
these extremes of loads are many
grades Of time allowance for rests.
Generally every second or third rest
the sledge-driver occupies the inter-
val in disentangling the harness,
traces, or lines, for the dogs
keep constantly INTERVIEWING, pass
ing from one side to the other
to avoid the whip and ill-natured, snap
pish neighbors until the fan-shaped
traces eonverging toward pointat the
front Of the sledge get matted into a
single bundle, the point travelling for
ward until the dogs with the shortest
traces work to a great disadvantage.
The traces are of unequal length, the
longest being that Of the leader Of the
team, who is at the apex Of an inverted
V, and by words Of command he is
sent TO the right or the left, made to
stop or 20 ahead, or slacken or increase
his gait, and ell the other dogs are
regulated by his movements. lie is
generally valued more than two
or three team dogs in barter or sale.
These words Of command are most
toDgue-twisting and fearful. Although
some arctic writers have essayed to
describe them within the limits Of
English written language, shall not
attempt it, for would as soon try to
give the cackle of hen or the rattle
Of wagon over stone pavement.
have never seen a white man who
could initiate them closely enough to
enable the dogs to understand
them. One Of the words is easy
enough to understand, it being our
" whoa-a-a-ah long drawn out, and
simply signifies " Go ahead as you are"
a sort OF vocal encouragement to keep
at their task just as they are doing, and
it sounds funny enough when you first
hear it to see them 60 right along when
it is given instead Of stopping according
to your expectations. Sometimes the
dogs will scent heard Of reindeer
or a passing hare while thus
unhitched from the sledge, and
away they will scamper in the most
aggrayating manner after the game. At
the regular intervals Of rest this is very
seldom done, but when reindeer have
been deserted and the sledge is stopped,
and the driver off hunting them, the
woman or some boy attempts to I'M
rayel the tangle, and shot from the
distant hunter catches him with the
task undone, for the dogs know as well
as the human beings that the shot they
heard means a meal for them if sue
cessful, and they arc perfectly wild to
assist the hunter in making it success
full in their way.
While travelling along up a slight
ridge and the crest is nearly gained, the
driver suddenly utters, " Took-too,
took-too :" (reindeer) and the sledge is
stopped. the gun taken out from under
the top lashing, where it has been placed
conveniently, and with one or two per-
sops or more-the boys and women
left to watch the dogs the men, rifle in
hand, disappear around the hills after
the reindeer that have been sighted. A
sharp series of rihe-shots are heard, and
the dogs jump and strain at the traces,
while a boy or woman with the whip
goes among them and forces them
unwillingly to lie down again. A
sharp lookout is now kept by boy or
woman, standing on the sledge or the
top Of some near hill, and in little
while one Of the hunters is seen in the
distance signalling. lie waves his arm
from a perpendicular till it nearly
touches the ground, bending his body
with it, AND the number of times he
does this indicates the number Of dogs
he wants from the sledge. From this
can be sscertained about the number
Of reindeer he has killed for from