The Worthington advance., 1901-03-22
DOGS no LONGER NEEDED.
They Have Bees SupersedeA ~ Ha1l-
.@ reaAs = Alaskan Routes
Of Travel.

q big, strapping, broad-shou1dered.
man strolled into the lobby of the
Butler hotel one day lately, leading
To thoroughbred Malamoot dog by the
chain. The man was 8 picturesque
figure. His type was frequently seen
on the streets Of Seattle sat this sea-
son Of the year II 1898 and 1899, and
even as late as thst winter. The man
and the dogs 1Hto6Mever, belong to IN
era which is practically = part Of the
history Of Alaska, says the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer. s4
L. Few people in the lobby looked at
the man, who was : s,Kondike miner
Of the conventional type. The. dog,
however, attracted. ell eyes. He was
a beauty. OF more than ordinary
size, broad-chested and broad.backed,
the Malamoot tugged restlessly at his
chain, painting the while as if in pain
from the warmth Of the steam-hest-
ed room.
"He's worth 500 of any mans
money" said the miner, answering an
interrogatory. "Of course, can't
get that for him outside, but it's his
| true value. I would take $50 for him
and no less" -
''Three years ago a dog like this
would have sold for from $3.50 to $500
in Skaguay," continued the miner.
''That was before the day of the rail-
roads and when roadhouses on tho
Upper Yukon were mighty few and
far between. In those days a win
ter's trip over the river from Skaguay
to Dawson earned many a fortune Of
from $4,000 to 100000. Then claims
were sold on the outside in the form
I Of options, while the miners on the
inside were digging the gold out of
the crevices of the. bedrock by the
tablespoonful and dumping It in coal
| oil cans.
"There was only one way of quick
communication between Seattle and
Dawson possible in the winter three
years ago. This was by means of
dog teams and the Malamoot, of all
animals in the frozen north, was
most valuable. Shepherds, Newfound-
lands and St. Bernards, fullbloods and
scrubs, brought good prices, but the
thoroughbred Malamoot carried the
banner for money value. have seen
them sold readily for $500 each in
Dawson when a party was made up
to come out over the ice in the early
days of the camp.
."But this is all changed now. It
is true that the old-timers scorn tho
| steam locomotives and the trains in
winter time and 60 over the trail in
little groups with dog sleds to this
city,: They have made better time
than the trains, too, during the late
snow blockade. But where a miner
used to have his team of four or
eight dogs he only has two now and
prices have dropped accordingly.
| 1T is easy now for a man to travel
by dog team from Skaguay to Daw-
son with a light sled, a fly and 200
| pounds of food for himself and his
animals. This is because the road
houses are frequent and new supplies
can be obtained at any point. In
the old days the miner had no road
houses to depend on-he started with
q full outfit of from 1000 to 1900
pounds. One Malainoot to $50 pounds
Of freight was the ordinary reckon
ing. AS the necessity for the dogs
has grown less and less every year
their value has decreased"
The Malamoot lay painting and
whining while his master talked, as
if bewailing the fate of his kind.
The dog was fine specimen of his
breed, with thick undercoating of
soft, downy wool and rough outer
coat of gray hair, almost spiky, with
the ends tipped with black.
The Malamoot was bred in the
Mackenzie river country originally
and was started from the mating Of
Scotch collies with native wolves.
1.-THE Malamoot pups take as kind
ly to the collar and traces on a dog
sled as a duck does to water" con-
! cluded the miner. "Some breeders
of Malamoots have made fortunes
from them. I know of one of these
who has a native Siberian she wolf
which is the mother of a tribe of
Malamoots that have netted the own
er a fortune of $4,000"