B ALD Y OF NOME 



some delay in which dogs were checked 

 off and identification papers signed. 

 Even the least responsive dog must then 

 have felt the thrill of the famous race, for 

 never a whip, hardly a word, was neces- 

 sary to spur them x>n. Soon the stiffness 

 from the rest and the heaviness from the 

 food were forgotten, and there existed just 

 one dominating, resistless impulse in man 

 and dog the impulse to win. 



Now with flying feet they sped along 

 the edge of deep gorges, up steep slopes, 

 and over the slippery ice of streams, rivers 

 and lakes. There was even no hesitation 

 when after crossing the level floor of 

 Death Valley they chose a narrow defile 

 from the many that led out of that dreary, 

 desolate stretch of country whose appal- 

 ling silence is only broken by the wailing 

 and shrieking of the wind in those sudden 

 and terrific storms that sweep down from 

 the towering peaks that surround it. 



[52] 



