Carbon County news., 1937-12-17

regarded as a joke; he was asked
how he got up the nerve to list
them but Scotty won the classic
| The next year he was defeated BIZ
"Iron Man, John johnson who esl
tablished a record, never duplicaE,
ed over the 408 miles, thanks to al
| exceptional team, his rare skill
and q good break in weather
Johns time was M hours and Ia
minutes the fastest ever made ii
a dog race in the north. = >&.>'~ s..@:'
iScotty Allen. is the only man
who ran in more than four ALL
Alaskan Sweepstakes, in, the first,
second, third and eighth. And he
won the distinction Of always fin
ishing race, irrespective Of wea-
ther or condition Of his dogs.
King of the Artic Trails" Scot
! ty symbolizes the men. who have
put the dog debry on: par with the
best in deeds of valor. Because of
his uncanny knowledge of the ice
and snow, master of the far-flung
forbidden Northern frontier, he
succeeded where others failed or
perished. Miner, musher, railroad
builder, all around sportsman,
friend of Amundsen, Steffanson
and Byrd, Scotty Allen has writ
ten his name into the imperishable
record of the history of Alaska. He
with Walter Gayne, another fam
Gus Inusher, perfected the Alas
kan ''gang hitch" which revolution
lied dog racing and is now stan
dard in dog derbies. ~
The same world conflict that
claimed the service of Allen at
tracted the other men of Alaska
and the ranks of the racers be-
came so depleted that~it was i'm
possible to hold the big race. Dur
ing that winter a company of
sourdoughs met in LIE Pas, Mani
toba. Dog race talk was revived.
It was suggested that LIE Pas hold
such a classic-and the date was
set for late winter over 150-=
mile course from LIE Pas to Film
Flan, mushroom mining town, and.
back. IL
The preparation was cursory
enough; the drivers used ordinary
dogs; they themselves. were un-I
skilled in the art Of racing and fol-
lowed across that trackless snowy
waste in quest of the $500 prize
and the title to the championship.
But it was a singularly exciting
race. The winner became involved
in an accident that STAYED in two
ribs, but he hung on until the
finish. From that. day to this, Lel
Pas has staged each winter one Of
the most thrilling races and has
developed some of the finest men
and teams in the game. M
But this time the imagination
of the snowland had been captur-
ed. A host of dog lovers all the
way from the snow covered Sier-
ras to Maine, from Idaho to- the
Norther infringe of Canada were
making ready to hold similar dog
races. Dog derbies are scheduled
each year in eight or ten different
places at widely separate points.
On Washmgton's Birthday the
American Dog Derby will be run
at Ashton, Idaho. Many famous
men and dogs have entered and
this season promises to witness a
classic of even greater interest
than those of former years. A score
or more men are out in the snow
country training their. dogs. The
icy surface of the Snake river is
a favorite practice trail to deveI-
ope racing team. Secret training
is big factor not the least impor-
tant of which is to teach the ami
mails to buck snow. T. - sse:5
At Prince Albert, Saskatchewan,
where civilization is still close to-
the skirt Of the unknown and UNI
wilderness the faithful
husky dogs occupies the place Of
honor. Here on a huge track, the
largest of it's kind in the world,
has been arranged a course which
permits spectators to follow the
progress of the racers for nearly
every foot of the 160-mile race,
which is run four heats of forty
miles each, their being two laps to
each heat on the 20 mile track. The
junior classic race in which youths
enter their teams, is a training
school for the dog racers of to-
morrow. *@
international Dog Derby at Que-
bee is run the third week in Feb
ruary and is a 120 mile race. Teams
start at intervals of. three minutes
and are given awards for the dog /
that beraks the tape in the best
condition. ..~
Special skill is demanded to
train these canine racers and a
special vocabulary to drive them.
Tho much depends upon the dri-
YER in the derby, the determining
factor is the power Of the dog
team. The husky dog is hardy,
animal of wonderful en-