THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



87 



THE OFFSPRING OP A TIMBKR WOI,!' AND COI^hlt DOG 



During the winter of igiy wolf tracks were observed leading from the south shore of 

 Lake Superior across the ice to Grand Island, one of the finest game preserves east of the 

 Mississippi. Several days later some carcasses of deer were found, and a trap was placed 

 near the remains. The next day one of the game protectors found an animal struggling in 

 the trap and he killed it before having a chance to examin'fe the animal. While looking much 

 like a timber wolf, the hair was longer and finer, the legs and tail being feathered much like 

 that of a collie dog. It is the opinion of those examining the mounted specimen that it was 

 a hybrid of dog and wolf. The animal accompanying it was undoubtedly a timber wolf. 

 Photograph and note by George Shiras, 3rd. 



without the dogs of the North. Is an 

 expedition to reach the interior of a bleak 

 region in dead of winter to rescue some 

 hapless explorer or pioneer, or to help an 

 ice-besieged population fight an epidemic 

 of fever or smallpox, then the sleds and 

 the dogs make the trip possible. 



In some parts of the Frozen North 

 dogs are laden with packs instead of 

 hitched to sleds, and it is surprising what 

 burdens they can bear. Stefansson often 

 tised dogs in this way. 



Many a traveler has told of the dread 

 of dogs for rushing waters, and has re- 

 cited how, as they approach the icy tor- 

 rent of a mountain stream, they make the 

 welkin ring with their dismal howling. 



But once across, the dismal howl is 

 succeeded by the joyous bark, and it is 

 said to be one of the striking incidents 

 of the wilderness of frost to hear half a 

 pack on one side of a stream lugubriously 



bemoaning the ordeal ahead and the half 

 pack on the other side gleefully cele- 

 brating a safe passage. 



DOG-RACING IN THE EAR NORTH 



One of the principal sports of the Far 

 North is dog-racing. The annual All- 

 Alaska Dog Race is the classic sporting 

 event of King Frost's dominions. A 412- 

 mile run over snow and ice, from Nome 

 to Candle ^nd return, calls for phenom- 

 enal endurance. Usually it is a contest 

 between the Alaskan malamutes and the 

 Siberian wolf-dogs, and the rivalry is as 

 keen as that displayed in a baseball 

 world's series. Four years out of seven 

 the sweepstakes went to the Siberian 

 wolf-dogs. In a recent year one of these 

 teams made the round-trip in 80 hours 

 and 27 minutes. 



The Red River International Derby is 

 another race that tries the mettle of the 



