Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-11-27
DOGS AND DEER.
A Mad Fight For Life In the WiIds of
Siberia.

A Mad Fight For Life In the Wlds Of
Siberia.
The strength of heredity both in
wild and in domesticated animals is
brought into clear light by an Incl
dent related in a book, I'm Search of
a Siberian Klondike." The authors
of the book were travelling by dog
team through the wilds of Siberia.
At o'clock in the afternoon the
dogs suddenly broke into swift run,
and we knew they had scented some
thing that interested them. We soon
perceived that we had struck a deer
trail and that we were nearing an en-
campment. We turned bend in the
road. and there a hundred yards
ahead of us we saw the cause of the
dogs excitement.
A team Of reindeer were running
for their lives. Their fungus driver
was lashing them with the whip and
was urging them with all his might,
for he knew as we'll as we that If our
dogs overlook them before the camp
was reached we seven men would be
utterly powerless to prevent the dogs
from tearing the deer to pieces. Our
driver put on the brake with all his
might, but it did not have the least
effect. The fourteen dogs had be-
come wolves in the turn Of hand,
and no brake could stop them. There
were many stumps and other obstruc-
tions along our way, and my driver
had great difficulty in preventing a
Smashup.
For a short time the deer held their
own and, in fact, gained on us, but
before the yurta (village) came in
sight we were gaining rapidly. While
we were still at some distance the peo-
pie Of the village, warned by the cries
of the dogs, comprehended what was
the matter and, arming themselves
with sticks and spears, came running
toward us. AS they came on they
spread out in a fanlike formation
across the trail. When the terrified
deer reached the line the men spread
out and let the team through and in
stantly closed again to dispute the pas
sage of our dogs.
Our driver was nowise minded to
let the natives club his dogs and per-
maps lnJurS the Valuable dlllllldiS, 81
he resorted to the last eXpedient.
Giving a shout of warning to me, he
suddenly by a deft motion turned our
sledge completely over, landing me
in a snow drift on my head. In this
position the sledge was all brake, and
the dogs were forced to stop. They
were leaping in their harness and
yelling like fiends incarnate.
l sat up in the snow bank and
laughed. The other drivers had fol-
lowed our example, and the struggling
tangle of sledges, harness, dogs and
men formed a scene that, to the nov
ice at least was highly ludicrous.
The drivers and the village people
were belaboring the dogs, and the
entire herd of reindeer belonging to
the Village was escaping in all dirce-
tions up the hills.
The reader may well ask how the
natives can use both dogs and REIN
deer if the sight of a deer has such
maddening effect on the dogs. The
explanation is simple. The two new
er go together. There is the dog
country and the deer country, but
they do not overlap. Confusion is Of
ten unavoidably caused by travelling
with dogs through deer country, but
the natives do not take it in i'll part,
knowing that If they themselves have
to travel with deer through a dog
country they will cause quite as much
Inconvenience.