The Nome daily nugget., 1917-04-16


 bed into bed secure in their thought that none could come up with them, just as Hartman swung into Dalton. But three dogs were m the traces where there should have been four; the lead dog, wrapped in blankets, was riding.
 Early in the day, the leader had gone lame and was unable to continue Hartman could have deserted him and made better time with three dogs, but he remembered the many times his leader had carried him through. So the dog became the passenger.
 It was [ o'clock in the evening when Hartman, helping his dogs along with the gee string, hit Dalton. He was tired and hungry; his first act was to carry his leader into the warm hotel , office and place him near the tire. 1 Then he hustled out and tended to the wants of the other dogs. After that he satisfied his own hunger. l Suppose you're going to stop with us tonight" offered the hotel man. l Not bit of it," answered Hartman. { "N here's the night control for the leaders? Fergus Falls? Twenty miles : I'm going to sleep in Fergus Falls to- nlght." And he did.
 | is l >.'y that no one but Hartm n will ever lrow the full terror of Uh u nlght. 1he mercury stood 30 degrees below zero and the wind cut to the bone But along about o'clock in the morning a fourth Cog team came down .he almost deserted main sutct ot Fergus Falls.
 True Sporting Spirit
 The dogs Were hardly able to pull oac foot after another; the sturdy fig urc at the gee string swayed as a drunken man. You have to give those three who had hitherto kept the lead, fuli credit for sportsmanship They 1 heard Hartman coming down the street urging his tired dogs on. They saw him come to a stop in front of their hotel and stand swaying, almost falling to the snow.
 In d few moments their clothes Were on and they were in the street. l Quickly they carried Hartman into the 1 hotel and the next moment were out again looking to the comfort of the dogs. They seemed just as glad that Hartman had caught them as he was. l The next morning he left among the | leaders.
 1 It's long, tough trall, this one from Winnipeg to St. Paul. True, the temperatures are not as low as those in the Arctics, but during the first stages of the trip the mercury was at 40 below and mea of the open country maintain that this is just as hard to bear as 20 degrees lower. The distance is 522 miles.
 Had to Break Trail. 1 Most of the distance they have had to take turns breaking trail, hammer ing down the snow by the tread of ] their snow shoes so that the dogs may gain foothold instead of floundering That is the reason why, if the period is stormy, there Is generally a close finish to such contests. The leaders must keep together and help each other in the breaking of the trail. But when they hit the travelled ways near the finish, then 1t is every man for himself and may the best man-and 1 dogs-wn.
 Fred Hartman, whom Boston is proud to call her own. was an o,d trail partner of Tommy King, the champion dog musher of Alaska. But Tommy will never hit the long trail again once he was the strongest, nerviest most nearly tireless driver in all the frozen North. Day after day, death had camped on his trail and scratch ed toward him the hand icier than the blast itself. But never was death able to grasp him.
 He had come unscathed through trips terrible beyond descriptionl an accident in a Fairbanks storehouse drove him from the trial forever. He fell down an elevator shaft and his hip was broken. Last summer King came outside to see a noted specialist m Chicago and the specialist told him that he would never again have full use of the injured leg.
 Remember the winter of 1910 and | ssuassMzEp0EzeEEauunnz1 uuEsrUzpxuvvgx<uuu ~u