398 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



bells of the thirty dogs made a noise which could be heard for 

 miles around. We were all riding, and had an old leader 

 ahead who followed the trail in a wonderful way, while the 

 other dogs followed him. And thus we drove into Nulato, 

 where the jingling of the bells, the shouting of the men, and 

 the yelping and barking of the dogs brought people to the doors 

 of every house in the town. To stop the dogs was impossible, 

 so we drove into the midst of the cluster of houses at break- 

 neck speed, each driver standing on the brake, which he 

 pressed down into the snow with all his might, ripping up the 

 trail. At last, when we had reached the place where we wanted 

 to be, we capsized the sledges as the only means of stopping 

 the animals. Helpful hands unhitched our eleven dogs, who 

 were soon running about, poking their noses into every corner, 

 smelling and snuffing for something to eat, and fighting when- 

 ever they came near other dogs. The whole place was in 

 commotion, dogs howled, barked, and fought till the blood ran, 

 and people went about with clubs to beat off the assailants. 

 But soon the stir and the noise subsided ; only now and then 

 the stillness was broken by a snarl, a short fight ; then every- 

 thing would be quiet again, and each dog would stay with his 

 own team, fighting an occasional solitary wanderer of the 

 night. 



Inside the telegraph station the soldiers had spread a splendid 

 repast. We ate it with relish, we talked, we "swopped news," 

 we " spoke trail," and all the while the ticker was busy sending 

 news to Nome or receiving news in return. 



The river makes a large bend at Nulato, and a portage is cut 

 across the country, thus saving the traveller about twenty 

 miles. We started for it on the morning of the 5th and had a 

 fine day. On both sides of the trail were the trees; it was 

 blowing rather hard outside, and their tops were bending and 

 swaying in the gusts of wind. But where we were not a breath 

 was stirring, the air felt warm though the temperature was 

 18 C., and off went our parkeys, mittens were put away on 

 the sledge, while we were flying along warm and comfortable. 

 The portage was hilly, and the weather was such that a hill 

 looked much steeper, flanked by tall pines, than it really was. 

 Going up was slow work, and we often had to help the teams, 

 but downhill we went fast enough. The forest was the most 



