The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-12-11
1 SLEIGH RACE FOR LIFE.
Tho Fast Run Made by an Esqui-
maux Sledge and Dog
Team.
Tcn Miles In the Remarkably Short
Timo Of Twenty-Five
Minutes.
Al EMBARRASSING Story OF nm Exciting
Adventure In the Arctic Lanos Told
by schwatka.

lost man, but very few OF them had takel
thsir dogs End aledges, a. it was easier t
follow q trail on foot; and as y consequence
nearly all the dogs were scattered aroun,
through the snow village near the ships
and tho bast sledgeS we're leaning agaiAs
the snow houses, sa;a Frederick Schwatk'
in ST. Nicholas.
lii half an hour IL would be 80 dark tina
they could do little, and the missing ma,
must DO reached before that time. In
stantly orders wore given to bring together
AL the best dogs CT the village with theil
harness on. whils four or five men hastil,
iced tho runners of one of the best sledges,
Twenty dogs to a single slsago is about the
greatest number ever used by these natives,
and this large number ia uncommon, eight
or nine being the usual team.
This team, however. increased to a score
of dogs before it WAS really known how
strong it hal grown, n there were yet
some twenty in harness in tho hands Of the
men, women and boys who had scurried
around and picked them up, and were now
wanting to have them hitched to the
.rasssNaaeiy, the very best dog driver of
the village was present, and having made Il
long leading line OF strong sledge flashing,
reaching from the sledge ten or twelve feet
beyond the team already hitohed, he fast
ened on a new and second team of twenty
dogs. This doubling of teams is not
very unusual whenever two or more
sledges are together On journey
and a short hard pull has to be made, but
never in the history of that region had a
double team of perhaps forty fine dogs
been known, end especially to draw only
an unloaded siedge.
1T seemed impossible to foretell how rap
idly the swift dogs would 80 with the mere
feather of a light sleGge fastened behind
them. IT would BIO like fastening two huge
locomotives to a handcar and turning on
all tho steam.
The sladge was kept TUNED upside down
TO prevent the dogs from making a bolt
forward. which they are prone to do when
first hitched, whenever anythlng ahead at
tracts their attention, and, to assist the
drivers in this restraint of their animals, a
great circle of sailors and Esquimaux men,
women and children, formed in front of
the teams, The best driver of the village
turned the Ice sledge over carefully and
stats, about the middle of the sledgs's
length, sire 'ched ous with his feet to the
rear. His companion drive. took q similar
position On the left side,
The best drivers can use the whip an we'll
IN the left as in the right hand. These
whips ara very long, the lash often being
fifteen to twenty feet in length.
Al strong laHhing Of seal thongs, woven
diagonaliy across tina stats, gave the dog
drivers something to hold on by in their
perilous flight across the icy fields and
~hummocks to thu oth9r side of the bay.
Over the front Of tho sledge lay ons of
the drivers with q sharp knife in his hand.
II was his duty to cut this trace OF any
dog that should fall, or OF any whose har-
ness WAS %entangled in a projecting hum
mock of ice, for in such a wild flight there
would be no time to unharness it, and it
would be dragged to death before the
sledge could be stopped. /
In fact, it was very doubtful whether
such . team going at q wild, excited gait
could be stopped at all until it had run
some five or six miles-enough to take
some Of the ardoE out of the high-spirited
When all was ready the principal dog
Of his team. and from the center they parted
in both ways o N the sides. The dogs
jumped on their feet at tina well-known
warning sound and started at a trot, which,
with a few cuts from the gauntlet of whips
they had to run, aided by those of the driv-
ers, they sosn broke into a run, and then
the relief party whisked ont of sight like q
rocket.
Its further movements could be seen and
reported only from the masthead. Tho
race for life or death was begun, and the
enemy to be commended against was the ap-
preaching darkness.
Away went tho sledoe. bounding from the
crest OF one snow ridge to thar of another,
with not a sign Of sledga track batwsen ex-
cept on a few long, almost level stretches.
In a few seconds more it had gone 30 far
that, even from the masthead, only its ger-
eral movements could be noted.
Meanwhile the drivers were alert to avoid
striking small projecting hummocks of ice,
which would have ripped the covering. or
shoe of ice, from the sledge runners and
materially lesaened their rapid gait.
Anxlously the return of this party was
awaited, Tor 1t was u long distance to go in
the short Tina before darkness. 1t was
great was the rejoicing Of the crew al See
the lost sailor with them--a rejoicing
only exceeded BIZ his own.
The return had been madn very leisnreIv
ccmpared with the splendid dash of ten
miles out.
The width OF tho channel WAS we'll known
actual surveys. OF course, there was
mucn curiosity to ascertain what part of
Inc tlIno mad been consumed iE reaching
tfe lost man, and fortunately he had noted
the time by HIS watch when hs had first
leard the clamor and chatter of the an
sroaching team and urging drivers, for in
terrible anxiety he was constantly
counting the rapidly receding minutes az
darkness approached.
Careful calculations showed that the dash
II ten miles was made in 22L minutes, the
Fastest recorded long run with dogs and