The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1934-02-17
Heading Entrants Is Emil st
GODDARD. True Champion in
Winter Sport
Ry JIMMY DONAHuE

snow whipped by an icy gale out Of
the north line Of dogs plunging
through drifts In front OF a swaying
sled and behind 1t. gasping
frigid air into his painting lungs, and
his face covered with frost, runs the
dogsled racer in the most grilling
Of all sports.
Such is dogsled racing, which will
get under way with the running Of the
international Dogsled Derby at Que
bee, Feb. 23-24-25. and The Pas clas-
sic which follows in March.
Sled drivers assert this type OF rae.
ing taxes the human body to its ut
most. and the score or more drivers
who will take part In the Quebec race
have been in training for months.
\ X \
Heading the list Of entrants this
years Is Emil st. GODDARD, 27-year-old
Manitoba boy who swept out Of the
north in 1925 and, at the age Of Is,
breezed past veteran racers to win the
eastern international derby. Then he
rushed back west to cop the 200-mile
classic at The Pas.
A true champion of this winter
sport is young GODDARD. He has won
the eastern meet five times, and The
Pas an equal number OF times. defeat
ing the pick Of Canadian and U. s..
team drivers. including Shorty Rus
sick, Leonhard Seppala. Earl Bridges,
and Frank Dupis.
X + \
The story of st. Godard's rise to
leadership among the mushers Is .
gripping tale Of the northumberland
Of mission he set for himself to fill.
Walter Goyne. an Alaskan racer,
brought his dog team to The Pas and
settled down in 1919. There he in
troduced q new hitch, Harvesting
dogs tandem style, in place Of the
old single style. He became the in
spiration Of st. GODDARD after he had
won q big race with his new hitch.
The youngster copied, his style.
One day Goyne started off on q
training trip with his dogs. When he
failed to return for days, . searching
party set out to find him. They dis
covered he had crashed into lake
with dog team and had become frozen
solidly in the Ice.
After his death st. GODDARD vowed
he'd some day sit on the throne Of
North Alnerica-and there he isl
\ \ \
A dogsled racer not only must look
to his own condition but that of his
dogs. Huskies, the result Of breeding
the North Greenland Eskimo dog,
which is not more than tame wolf,
with Danes. Newfoundlands or Shep-
herds. grow fat and lazy when not
working, and they must exercise con-
stantly.
Young GODDARD has been training
his dogs by hitching them to light
automobile chassis. With this to pull
around, they train down to good run
ming weight and there they are kept
until the race.
Most races are three laps, 40 miles
each. Elapsed time. Of course. In
making these laps is the basis on
which the winner is determined. The
driver rides on the sled-r1lnners on
level ground, flicking his long whip
to break up any squabbles among his
ever-arguing dogs He runs when the
sled goes uphill.
+ + =
The number of dogs In q team va
ries from seven to twelve. The aver
age is nine dogs. Too many huskies
often are disadvantage. While they
pull bit faster than smaller team
they also are harder to handle.
One of the rules Of dogsled racing
Is that If any dog is incapacitated, the
driver must put him on the sled and
bring him In ct the finish Of the race
With a large team, the likelihood Of
accident to the dogs is greater. art
the handicap Of carrying one or twt
dogs back on the sled is too much.
So far the only Yankee entered II
the race Is Mose]ey Taylor Of Boston
who will drive a team of Siberians
But St. GODDARD will add additiona
United States color to the race wher
he drives team owned by Mat A
Erland doyette Of Peterboro, N. H.