8o 



The National Geographic Magazine 



Alaska is not behind the times in up-to- 

 date methods and appliances. Her camps 

 are lighted by electricity and her mines 

 are worked by means of machinery of 

 the latest approved type, yet the United 

 States mail is carried from one end to the 

 other by dog teams. 



While men in the freighting business 

 use horses and mules largely, the individ- 

 ual miners and others do not attempt to 

 maintain these animals, but have dog 

 teams with which they do all of the small 

 hauling for their establishments. Wood 

 for fuel is delivered from the mountain 

 side to the cabin door ; frequent trips are 

 made to the nearest trading store for 

 provisions, for the mail, and for the so- 

 ciety of fellowmen, and excursions to 

 distant camps and prospecting trips into 

 the hills are made almost exclusively by 

 dog team. 



The United States military telegraph 

 system, operated by the Signal Corps of 

 the Army, maintains a dog team at each 

 of the stations along its 1,400 miles of 

 land lines. These teams are used by the 

 repairmen in going out on the line to re- 

 pair breaks. They carry, besides tools 

 and materials, a small tent, stove, bed- 

 ding, and food for men and dogs, so that 

 they can take care of themselves if kept 

 out for several days. 



A few years ago different breeds of 

 dogs were used in different sections, but 

 increased travel has brought into service 

 all of the dogs to be had in the country 

 and hundreds in addition that have been 

 brought from the outside. The native 

 malamutes, huskies, and dogs from the 

 Mackenzie and Peel rivers are more 

 hardy and last longer in service than the 

 outside dogs. Newfoundlands, Saint 

 Bernards, setters, and shepherd dogs are 

 superior in intelligence, but they are lack- 

 ing in endurance, require more careful 

 feeding, and their feet are easily frost- 

 bitten, which renders them useless for 

 the time being. 



In the region of Norton Sound it is the 

 custom to hitch dogs in pairs with a 



leader in front, a team usually consisting 

 of seven or nine dogs. The Indian pat- 

 tern harness is used, and the sled is of 

 the basket type, about 10 feet long, with 

 a track 20 inches wide, and capable of 

 carrying from 400 to 600 pounds. This 

 method of hitching is practicable only 

 where the trail is wide, as along the shore 

 ice. 



In the interior the Indians use basket 

 sleds, but with a track about four inches 

 narrower and of lighter construction, and 

 they hitch the dogs in similar harness, 

 but string them along a line with con- 

 siderable interval between dogs. From 

 300 to 400 pounds is the capacity of this 

 sled, and the team usually consists of 

 from 4 to 6 dogs. The native sled is 

 made of spruce, with green birch run- 

 ners, but the white man has built for 

 his own uses a sled of similar pattern, 

 made of hickory and oak and shod with 

 steel. He also uses harness made in the 

 factories outside, consisting of a collar 

 stuffed with hair and traces which snap 

 into rings on the collar of the dog next 

 in rear. 



The pioneers from the northwestern 

 states brought with them to Alaska a 

 type of sled which is now known as the 

 "Yukon sled," a name probably given to 

 it by dealers in San Francisco and Seat- 

 tle. It is used for general knock-about 

 purposes, being very strong and with the 

 bed less than 6 inches from the ground, 

 but short and of small capacity. This 

 sled is a miniature of the one described as 

 being the best type of horse sled. 



Dogs are fed but once a day — in the 

 evening, after the day's work is finished — 

 because they are unable to work after 

 eating. They thrive best upon a feeding 

 of 7 or 8 pounds of corn-meal mush per 

 dog, into which has been cooked a pound 

 of sun-dried salmon (without salt). Of 

 course they will get along on a sufficient 

 quantity of almost anything that can be 

 eaten, and many long journeys have been 

 accomplished on absolutely nothing but 

 dried fish and snow. A day's travel with 



