The Cordova daily times., 1920-11-30

CARIBOU HAS BUSY TIME TO
 ESCAPE DOGS

was witnessed recently at Dawson. A number of dogs chased a young | caribou down the bluff road to the | ferry landing and into the water. | The animal was seen coming around the bend at the top of the road like streak of ligtning, with the bark | ing and snarling malamutes at his ! heels. It was making sprint, heroic and dramatic with, what | seemed, most of the chances against it. Head thrown back the caribous graceful body hurled down the trail to the waters edge and plunged into | the river. It was safe for the time being. The wolf spirit in the mala mute recoils from water. Frustrated, the dogs ran up and down the beach, yapping and snarling at their prey struggling among the ice cakes. Now began the real fight for life. | Those who witnessed it saw the | working out of the age old law of | the wilds, where endurance and de- l veloped instinct fight it out alone against overwhelming odds. On one side of the river was sure death | from the wolf-dogs; the ice-filled river semed no less dangerous. With the first plunge into the water, the caribou disappeared from view for some minutes and it was 1 thought that it had been carried un- | der But presently it was seen breasting it's way across the river to i the Dawson side through the ice floes. It was in the strongest cur rent; heavy masses of ice were crushing in on the cariboue from all sides, cakes grinding against cake with ominous sound. It seemed i'm possible for that graceful body of energy mere speck of dark against the bluish-white ice field to win out But the eyes of the animal were turned toward the safe ty of the opposite shore and all it's instincts of self-preservation were on the alert
 The caribou worked it's way grad ually out into the river, thrusting through every offering open space with desperation, seizing every ad- vantage. Now breast high out of the water, now down, wedged between cakes of ice, pinched, lost to sight gone. No?
 There he is-see!" an excited and relieved voice cried from the crowd of spectators on the Dawson side.
 "Yes, there he is," responded others, and intent eyes strained.
 Now the scene changed. Exhaust ed, the caribou scrambled onto an ice cake and stood erect, alone and brave in the midst of death. It
 was an heroic and inspiring picture.
 From the west side came the fran tic yelp of the dogs who saw now
 clearly their escaping quarry. The
 caribou looked back. Then all of a
 sudden the cake split and it was
 plunged into the water and lost
 from sight The ice closed. All was
 over.
 Minutes later 2 faint speck was
 obse{ved drifting down river in the
 Jr,A.
 spoken by the spectators. "A good
 sport had lost the battle," was the thought.
 But it hadn't. Up rose the body, out of the mass of ice, and with an effort scrambled onto another cake. Then, instead of standing still, the caribou leaped from cake to cake toward the short. It was opposite the old sawmill, resting for mo- ment, when all individual was seen to raise a rifle. Had he shot the crowd would have lynched him.
 ~ But he got no chance to shoot.
 The caribou made another leap, went through the ice, swan out into
 clear opening of water and strug- gled on toward the shore. It was
 now near St. Mary's hospital. It
 scrambled again onto a cake of ice, and, caught in the strong current below the hospital, whirled on, turning round and round with the
 mass.
 The caribou seemed to be sizing
 up his chances for the big final eff fort. He stood still eyeing the bluff,
 erect, 1.-the and splendid. Then made
 the dash.
 With a leap he crossed an open space, landed squarely on an ice |