The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-04-18
ART|C DOGS HAVE CONCERT
Amusing Experience Of Capt. .Amund.
sens Dash to the Pole Is
Told hy Him..

If it hadn't been for the dogs that
Capt. Amundsen used In his dash to
the South pole the chances are that
the pole would never have been dis
covered. They were absolutely essen
tial. Capt. Amundsen took the very
best care of his dogs and delights to
tell about them.
A bad habit that Esquimau dogs
have fallen into in the course of ages,
and of which the explorers tried to
break them, at all events during the
sea voyage, is their tendency to hold
bowling concerts.
Says Capt. Amundsen: What the
real meaning of these performances
may be, whether they are a pastime
or an expression of qualification or the
reverse, we could never decide to our
and without warning. The whole pack
might be lying perfectly still and quiz
ct, when u single individual, who for
that occasion had taken upon himself
the part of leader of the chorus, would
set up a long. blood-curdling yowl. If
they were left to themselves, it was
not long before the whole pack Joined
in, and this Internal din was kept go
ing at full steam for two or three
minutes.
From Concert to Fighting.
THE only amusing thing about the
entertainment was its conclusion.
They all stopped short at the same in
slant, just as a we'll trained chorus
obeys the baton of it's conductor.
Those Of us. however, who happened
to be in our hunks, found nothing at
all amusing in these concerts, either
in the finale or anything else, for they
were calculated to tear the soundest
sleeper from his slumbers. But if one
1,1H. t0.,I InS na IN atnN tho loo dor In
his efforts the whole affair was nip
ped in the bud. and we usually sue
ceeded in doing this"
For six weeks the dogs were chain
ed up in the places assigned to them
when they mi on board and most of
them had become so tame and tract
able hat it was thought they might
be let loose.
Every one Of them was provided
with a strong muzzle: then we let
them loose and waited to see what
would happen. At first it looked as
IL they had abandoned once for all the
thought OF ever moving from the spot
they had occupied so long. At last n
solitary individual had the bright idea
of attempting to walk along the deck.
But he should not have done SO: 1t
was dangerous to o about there.
The unaccustomed sight Of o loose dog
at once aroused his nearest neighbors.
A dozen of them flung themselves up
on the unfortunate animal who had
been the first to leave his place. re-
joicing in the thought Of planting
their teeth in his sinful body. But to
their disappointment the enjoyment
was not 40 great a. they expected. The
confOunded strap around their Jaws
made 1t impossible to get hold Of the
skin: the utInos they could do was to
pull q few tufts Of hair out Of the OBJ
ject Of their violent onslaught.
This affair Of outposts gave the
signal for II general engagement all
along the line. What an unholy row
there was for the next couple OF
hours! The hair flew. but skins re-
manned intact. The muzzles saved a
good many lives that AFTERNOON. These
fights are the chief amuscments of the
Esquimau dogs; they follow the sport
with genuine passion"