Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-05

rich. The carts used for dogs cost much
less than wagons suitable for horses The
harness for the smaller animal is a mere
trifie. A dog needs neither shoes nor sta
BILE He requires no care. And he will take
his load of thousand pounds and trudge
along with 1t at a smart gait all the day
long. After we get through with this north
pole business, If we ever do, We think of
taking a shipload of draft dogs to America
and thus teach our countrymen the use OF
a new motive power. So far as that is con-
cerned, the millions of idle dogs in America
should be set to work. A little training
would convert the great majority of them
into useful draft animals 1t is high time
our lazy old dogs were taught few new
tricks.
To Breed for a Purpose.
These Belgian draft dogs are of no special
breed. They are conglomerates. If there
Is any type among them, 1t Is the long
cared foxhound, though a pure pedigree is
almost unknown. Their value consists not
of blood or of breeding, but of the uses to
which they are put, though it must be true
that the employment Of generation after
generation for draft is gradually develop
ing not only mental aptitude for work, so
to speak, but physical adaptability to pull
ing heavy loads. If the thousands of men
who devote their energies to the breeding
of dogs for beauty, ugliness. for the chase
or for pets were to turn their attention for
few decades to the production OF breed
d
could pull 1000 pounds, or as much as an
ordinary horse, and In so doing they would
give the world new power that would
possess almost as great an importance IN
dustrially as electricity. Already the mere
circumstance of use has in western Europe
produced dog with extraordinarily tough
feet heavily muscled legs sinewy Shout
ders-a dog which gets himself down to-
ward the ground ana pulls like q mule. II
this is the result of the chance of mere
use what could not be done with the de-
sign of Skillful interbreeding OF hounds,
nastiffs and bulldogs?
Advantages OF the Belgium Dog.
The special advantages which these dogs
possess for our use in the arctics consists
of their strength. which is greater than
that Of the Eskimo or Siberian dog; Of their
tractability, which is such that one team
will follow another even without a driver;
Of their immunity from the epidemics
which carry of so many of the packs
heretofore used in the arctics and Of their
ability to get along with SO little food. We
have been asked about a million times II
these dogs can Withstand the cold OF the
arctics and about a half million times we
have replied that the summer of the arctics
has no severe cold, and We have further ex-
planned that the two most adaptable an
imals of the world are the two which We
are taking with us-men and dogs. These
are the creatures that are able to pass in
single season from equatorial heat to
arctic cold without suffering Ill effects
from the violent transition. Whatever a
man can endure a dog can withstand, and
not much depends upon the breed in either
case. Payer had with him on his sledge
journeys in Franz-Josef Land four or five
swarthy Italians, and they endured forty
degrees below zero without murmur Nor
are We the first to take European dogs 10
the arctics Payer had with him in Franz
josef Land a number of dogs from Vienna
and he testified that they were of more ser
vice to him, even in extreme cold, than the
Siberian animals which he had with him.
The only trouble with his European dogs
he explained, was that they had not been
trained to draft. In this respect our pack
Is ideal.
Dog shopping Expedition.
We had great sport buying our dogs in
Liege. Besides We gave the lazy Liegois
such a shock of establishment as they had
never before experienced. We arrived there
on Monday morning. To avoid bulling
a market In which We were the only buy
ers We caused the report to be spread that
we wanted a dozen dogs. though to our
friends we confessed that We wanted half
hundred. Moreover, We wanted them
quickly A few dog experts were called
dogs here" they said. but 1t will take you
three weeks to do it," This would not do
Tor our expedition, that Is to make its dash
toward the pole in the space of a single
days and not three weeks would be more In
our line. Impossible. monsieur But we
thought We would try il. That American
confidence In the power of gold and hustle
combined has not yet been beaten out Of US.
We organized our forces for a dog cam
paign that was to be short, sharp and de-
cisive. Consul Smith gave US good advice
and told Kentucky stories which made even
the dogs laugh and coax their masters for
the privilege of staying with US. Young
Horace Greeley developed energy and
shrewdness worthy the great name which
he bears. Mr.. Dodge with Mr.. Winship, a
young English engineer living in Liege, and
who Is now a member of our polar party
opened headquarters at stable. A milk
man was hired to go out and run in dogs.
Half dozen commissionaires, dog dealers
and other agents were hired for the same
| purpose Advertisements were put in the
daily papers, which over here are written
one day. the type set the second and the
| forms put to press on the third, so that our
advertisements appeared about the time we
were ready to leave town.
Dogs by the Score.
There were plenty of dogs to sell. Streams
of dogs ran down all the thoroughfares
leading to our mart. Men, women and chill
dren were the conductors. They came sin
gly. In pairs. triplets and quartets. 1t SEEM
ed that every mothers son and fathers
daughter in Liege had heard we were Ameri-
! cans who wanted to buy dogs, and being
Americans were, Of course full of shekels
and softness. At any rate the price of dogs
took sudden and appalling upward bound.
Dirty brindle pups that ordinarily were
worth % francs were put to us for a hun
dred Really good dogs were priced at hun
dreds of francs and crestfallen were the
countenances of the owners when a 900
franc tender was met with a counter pro-
posal of thirty. Fond expectations of get
ting out of the Americans as the price of
one dog enough of money to maintain
| whole family for twelvemonth were rude
| ly and quickly shattered. though not with
out an almost endless gable and clatter in
French and Walloons, the voices OF the dis
consulate and suspicious dogs swelling the
din. As soon as these notions about fancy
rrices and flowing American gold had been
dispelled the negotiation reached a common
sense level. Almost with tears in their
| eyes owners dropped from a hundred francs
| by easy stages TO half hundred and then
| on down to forty, or even lower accompa-
MED by grimaces and contortions resembling
| the great American process OF pulling
teeth. The average price paid was q little
under forty francs.
q
1ltst>2