The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-01-05
Alaskan CANNES Are vieing
With Auto in Bringing In
Wounded
Animals Prove to Be the Latest
War Material Coming From
America
TheyHave Already ProvenTheir
Worth in The yoges District;
Scale Peaks
HENRY WOOD.

Vosges, December 15.-[By Mail. j
With the return of heavy snow in the
Vosges, Alaskan dog teams today are
vieing with the automobile drivers Of
the American ambulance and the
members of the Norwegian Red Cross
ski corps for the honor of bringing
in the greatest number Of wounded.
The Alaskan sled dogs, gathered in
the United States most northwest
| territory, constitute the latest "war
material being supplied from Ameri-
ca to France, Although the allies,
through their supreme mastery of the
/ seas, are able to gather war supplies
in any and all parts of the world, the
Alaskan dogs are conceded the honor
of coming from the most distant
point, and over the greatest distance,
on which the allies have yet been
obliged to draw.
| The original number of sled dogs
brough to the Vosges from Alaska
mum bered about 500. These have
bred and multiplied so rapidly that
France now has at her disposal over
1000 dogs with all OF the sIedS and
material necessary for performing an
incredible amount of transport ser
vice in the snow clad attitudes of the
Vosges.
l. 1t is principally in the Vosges that
| the members of the American ambu-
lance have been assigned to duty
Their light, speedy cars not only en-.
able them to scale all the peaks on
(which roads have been built, but even
| to leave the roads themselves in the
direction Of the first line trenches for
! the purpose of picking up the wound
ed.
In these Alpine regions, however,
there are hundreds of places which
even the light American cars with
their absolutely fearless collegian
/, drivers cannot reach, and it is in
these districts that the Alaskan dog
teams and the Norwegian Red Cross
ski corps came in for the bulk of the
work. The Norwegian ski corps,
fully equipped for field ambulance
work, Volunteered it's services, to
France, the same as the American
iam,buiance, and has already done
valiant service.
The Alaskan dog service, however,
was thought out and organized By the
French army itself, which sent ex-
lperts to Alaska, Laborador and Cana
da to purchase the dogs. Owing to
| the fact that the Alaska dogs arc
nearly white they are practically in
| visible against the snow and can
therefore approach within a compar-
atively short distance of the German
/ lines for the purpose of picking UP
1.-THE wounded without being fired on.
Seven dogs with one of the-long
Alaskan sleds and q single driver can
pick up wounded man, lay him ct
! length on the sled, and bring him back
| to dressing station with remarkable
! speed. @
Ambulance work, however, is only
a small portion of the duties assigned
| the dogs, and they are a considerable
portion of tho transport service Of the
French army in the Vosges. They
carry munitions, food and water to all
parts of the line with the utmost ease.
| i
cease with the snow in the spring.
The French engineers are famous for
their construction of tiny, narrow
guage railways and all the mountain
peaks and ridges of the Vosges, now
occupied by the French are lined with
these. over them q car runs with
the greatest ease, and eleven dogs
hitched to one Of the narrow -guagc
trucks carrying ton of material dash
along with the same rollicking bois
terousness with which they draw
sleds.
On the sheltered sides of the
Vosges immense kennels have been
built for. the dogs, each capable OF
housing 100. Fifty stalls line each
Iside of the kennel and fifty on the
other side with a food and water
trough running in front of each side
and a narrow passage down the CEN
ter.
Walking down this narrbw aisle
visitor can see in the faces ,cof the
dogs almost every type of human.
character. Only few are surly or
lcross; the majority are uproarously
happy; some are modest and retiring;
some a little sad; few niggardly and
misery with their food; some proud
and supereilious. especially the lead
dogs; while other sedate ones offer
with great dignity to shake their
paw with the chance passer-by.
All of them, however, have one trait
in common and that is wild jealousy
and an uncomfortable rage when any
one of their number happens to get
loose. If dog manages to. slip mis-
collar and starts trotting triumphant
ly down the narrow passage way in
the center of the kennel towards the
door, he is at once greeted on both
sides with wild chorus OF yelps that
makes the wellin ring and that never
fails to warn the keeper, although the
latter may be mile away, that a dog
has gotten loose.
This pandemonium is only equalled
when the keeper, having caught the
culprit. leads him shamefacedly back
between the two rows of dogs whose
vociferous joy at the spectacle must