The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1891-11-21
SEARCH FOR A LOST MAN. .
A Bold Dash with Dogs and sledge 4
Life or Death

1
| Life or Death.
Many Eskimos were looking for the
nan, but very few of them had take
their dogs and sledges, as it was easier to
| follow trail on foot; and, as conse-
| quence, nearly all the dogs were scattered
! around through the snow-village near the
ships, and the best sledges were leaning
against the snow-hou.es. N half an hour
| it would be so dark that they could do
little, and the missing man must be reach
ed before that time. Instantly orders
were given to bring together all the best
dogs of the village with their harness on,
while four or five men hastily iced the
runners of one OF the best sledges. Twen-
ty dogs to a single sledge is about the
greatest number ever used by these ma
tlves, and this large number is uncommon,
eight or nine being the usual team.
This team. however, increased to a score
OF oogs before it was really known how
strong 1T bad grown, and there were vet
some twenty in harness in the hands Of
the men, women. and boys who had sour
ried around and picked them no, and
we're now waiting to have them htched to
the sledge.
Fortunately, the very best dog driver Of
the village was present, and, having made
"A long leading line of strong sle1ge lash
ing, reaching from the sledge ten or twelve
feet beyond the team already hitched, he
fastened on new ana secohd team of
twenty dogs. This doubling of teams"
Is not very unusual whenever two or more
sedges are together on a journey and
short hard pull has to be made, but never
in the history of that region had double
team OF perhaps forty fine dogs been
known, and especially TO draw only an un-
| loaded sIedge!
II seems impossible to foretell how
rapidly the swift dogs would go with that
III -e feather of light sedge fastened be-
hind them. 1t would be like fastening
two huge locomotives TO a hand. car and
turning on all steam. The sledge was
kept turned upside-down TO prevent the
dogs from making boit forward, which
they are prone to do when first hitched,
whenever anything ahead attracts 'he,r
attention; aad. to assist the drivers in this
restraint of their animals, great circle of
sailors, and Eskimo men, women, and
children formed In front of the teams.
| The best driver of the village turned the
iced sledge over carefully and took his
position on the right side of the stats,
about the middle of the sledge's length,
stretched out with his feet to the rear.
His companion driver took a similar POI
>itlol on the left side.
The best drivers can use the whip as
we'll in the left as in the right hand.
These whips are very lorg, the lash often
being fifteen TO twenty feet in length. A
strong Iashing of seal thongs, woven di-
agonally across the Stats. gave the dog
drivers something to hold on by IN their
perilous flight across the ice fields and
hummocks TO the Other side of the bay.
bn p, Nf . hu pt f,,- IS
the drivers with u sharp knife IN his
hand. Ii was his duty to cut the trace of
any dog that should fall, or of any whose
harness was entangled in projecting
hummock Of ice, for In such wild flight
there would be no ime TO unharness IL,
and il would be dragged to death before
the sedge could be stopped. In fact it
| vas very doubtful whether such team GO
ing at Il wild, excited gait could be stop
ped at all until 1T had run FIVE or six miles,
enough to take some of the ardor out of
the high-spirlted animals.
When all was ready. the principal dog
driver gave signal TO the crowd IN front
of his team, and from the center they
parted in both ways to the sides, the dogs
jumped on their feet at the we'll. known
warming sound, and started at trot,
which, with few cuts from the gauntlet
of whips they had to run, aided by those
of the driver soon broke into a run, and
then he rellet-party whIsked out of sight
like rocket
Its further movements could be seen aud
reported only from the masthead. TIE
race FIR life or death Was now begun, aud
the enemy to contend against was the ap-
pr oaching darkness. Away went the
>ledge. bounding from the crest of one
snow-ridee to that of another. with not n
sign of sledge-track between. except on a
few long, alnosH level stretches. In few
seconds more it has gone so far, that,
even from the masthead, only its general
movements could be noted. Meanwhile
the drivers were alert to avoid striking
mall projacting bummo,ks of ice. which
would have ripped tn" covering, or saJe Of
ice, from the sledge-runners, and nate
rally Iessened their rapid gait
AnX ously the return Of the party was
awaited, for it was a long distance 70 90
in the short time before darkness. II was
nearly two hours before they returned and
. great WAS the rel )iclng Of the crew at See
ing the lost sailor with them-a rejoicing
only exceeded 10y his own.
The return had been made very leisure
| iy compared with the splendl d dash of ten
miles out.
The width OF the channel was well
| known from "ccurrte surveys. Ot course
, there was much curiosity 70 ascertain what
, ptrt OF the time had been consumed in
! reaching the lost man. and fortunately he
, had noted the time 10y MS watch when he
tirst head The ciamor and clatter of theap-
preaching team and urging driyers-for
In his terrible arxi ty ae was constantly
. counting the rapidly receding minutes as
darkness approached. Careful cdcuia-
;ions showed that the dash cf ten miles was
made In twenty-five minutes and halt -
, the IA test recorded long run with dogs and
seige in the polar regions. Frederick
/ Schwatka, in November ST. Nicholas.
WANTS TO FIGHT SLAvIN.