The Alaska citizen., 1917-02-19
TRANSPORTATION EQUIP PM{NT FROM
 AMERICA USED

! NASSOCldlei IItSS 'OIItSpOilutil'tj i IN THE vOSGES MOUNTAINS. i hisaJr. iGac The extent tn which | the resources of America have been called upon during this war is, per i haps, nowhere more In evidence than ! in the roconquered mountain districts | of the former German province of ! AlsaCe While making a trip through | that portion of the province now oc- ! Cupied by French troops The Asso- | ciated Press correspondent came into contact at many points with signs l of the wide range of AmeriCas re 1 sources.
 1 Immediately after crossing the for mer frontier between Alsace and ! France the correspondent passed a mule train, most of the animals ! composing which had been imported ! from Algeria, but many from Mis- | souri, Louisiana and other states and had served in transport col umns ever since the early days of | hOStiities with great satisfaction to i the army authorities. The sure-foot- i edness Of these mules and their re liability have been great factors in | keeping the men entrenched on the slopes and summits of the Vosges l supplied with food and munitions during the long winter months when other road traffic is next 10 impos- sible
 Another method of transport ema- mating from across the Atlantic is 1 composed of teams of dogs from Alaska and Labrador When snow puts out of the question any other means of conveying supplies to the troops, these animals are harnessed to sleds in teams of eight with d leader or guide chosen from the most intelligent among them, and they make rapid progress with heavy loads over the snowfields. On the day of the cores spondents visit one completed four successive days work after heavy fall of snow and had
 in that period conveyed ilOm the valley to the front line upwards of fifty tons of food and other sup plies Besides the dogs Iom Alaska and Labrador there are many breeds of animals kept in the kennels usu- ally dug into the rock at three or They comprise sheep dogs from Al sace. Scottish collies, mastiffs, and cross breeds. All of them appar- ently enjoy the work, and they are of inestimable service to the troops The cores DOndent had the opportuni ty of seeing their training at a ken nel on one of the high peaks of the Vosges When a team was chosen and the dogs composing it released from their leashes. all their com panions with one accord leaped and parked in jealousy. The team select ed was harnessed to sled capable of carrying several hundred pounds on which two soldiers took their seats. No guiding reins were used the men in charge relying on the perfect training of the animals, who in answer to the drivers voice went one way or another with absolute precision and at high rate of speed The Transatlantic dogs have become so well accustomed to their new sur, roundings that many of them have started family life, and several strings of puppies play about the vicinity of the kennel
 In the transport of the wounded from the summit to the hospitals be- low many American motorcars are used. They have been chosen for this work owing to their lightness and the facility with which they surmount the inequalities of the mountain roads, over which the cars of the French and British ambulanc- es cannot go. In nearly every in stance these cars are driven by Am erican boys, some of them straight from college or university. The As sociated Press correspondent met young men from nearly every State of America on duty at almost inac- cessible spots on many of the peaks of the Vosges. They were taking their turn in the risky work of con veying the wounded from the most advanced positions of the front. Ev- cry French surgeon who has seen them at their work is full of praise for their spirit of selfsacrifice.