The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1918-01-03


4 lis q peculiar fact that very few Of
them will pull on dead load--ihat /:
pull hard TO start a sled. Once start
il, and they will strain 10 the last
but they won't start.
The general impression is that dogs
are fed entirely on salmon. II they
were they would not live long. Sal.
mon alone for a steady ration will kill
them. With the FISH Is alternated oat
meal, fresh bacon and mush. Raw
animal food is most relishcd by the
dogs, but il Is not often this Is plenti-
full,
The price Of dogs range from $50
up, and how far up depends alto
gether how badly buyer needs them.
II there is stampede they go up
faster than the price of shoes since
the war opened. And they rent from
so cents per day up, the limit Of the
"up" based the sam ems above.
The dogs are wonderful in their
trail intelligence. They will follow a
snow-covered trail that their driver
could not, and in many ways they ex-
hibit almost human reasoning. Like
the men who mush with them, they
are not all alike. Some are just ours,
who have little instinct and they know
little but to be hind dogs and pull. But
in almost every team there are dogs
who would rather die than be set back
from the lead and dogs who will die in
fight To finish il they are put be-
hind.
New dogs are constantly being rails
ed and broken in on the sleds, and an
experienced musher will watch them
as a jockey does his runner. A dog
behind will snap at the heels of one
who is soldering on the job, then the
dog beater begins to take an interest
in that purp. IL he knows dogs he
knows that this one is budding an am
bition, like a politician, to get up to
the front, and he must encourage this
ambition, at the same time he must
not arouse the jealousy of those
ahead, for once he gets something
started he is going to lose one or more
dogs, for some day they are going to
fight it out.
About the most dreaded calamity
is a free-for-all fight in harness on an
emergency trip, and these quite often
occur. A good teamster can smell
coming family fight days in advance.
He cant understand their language
but he can sense something is wrong,
and he will use every expedient known
TO dog training to settle the differen-
ces. However, sometimes they will
stop without warning and go in for a
general fight, tangling up the harness,
overturning the sled and becoming a
living bunch of maddened beasts, and
The trail follower who can stop this
fight and save all the dogs is eligible
TO a place on the League TO Enforce
Democracy and Peace.
A lead dog taken out Of the team is
a dangerous dog. Often bacause of
sore feet or an accident one has to be
cut out, and it is an act Of mercy to
shoot it. They have an almost human
pride and ambition to lead, and they
are heartbroken when set back.
Their are storms in she North Land
that dogs will refuse to face. An in
stinct tells them they cannot make it,
the whole team will refuse to go on
and beating will not persuade them.
Then the driver must find what shell
ter he can and wait until the storm is |
over If he has plenty of provisions,
can find wood, and can get some kind
Of shelter from the wind, he can live it
out, but if he is short on dog food
and the animals famished--well, many
an Alaskan story Of a musher having
been found frozen TO death and eaten
by his dogs, doesn't tell the real story.
The driver was torn TO pieces by his
Iamished dogs. That is the true story.
When camp Is made for the night
about all the care the dogs need is
heir supper, unless they are crippled
,r have sore feet The trained husky
will dig hole in the snow, roll UP in
/ and the wind will soon drift COW
ring over him, and only the depres-
ion in the surface, caused by their
bodies thawing the snow will indi-
ate there Is a dog around the outfit.
I is very seldom a dog will desert,
md when one does it will usually come
,ack, follow the team at distance
md finally surrender.
Last winter young fellow mushed
rom point near Circle City across
o Fairbanks. Two weeks later he
tarted back, but never got through.
diners found some Of the dogs with
emnants Of the harness on them and
search over the trail found his
zones picked clean of all flesh, and
here wes every indication that his ,