Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 September 1897 — USEFUL DOGS. [ARTICLE]

USEFUL DOGS.

Perform Many Service, for the Miner* in Frozen Alaska. Dogs liave suddenly become more valuable than horses In this sectloin of the Northwest. This state of affairs results from the great and growing demand for doge to be used Ln hauling sledges In the Yukon country, Alaska. While thousands of horses for which their owners cannot get $3 a head are roaming over the plains of Eastern Washington and Oregon, good-sized dogs are twinging from sls to S3O each In the local market. At Juneau their value Is double what it is here, and on the Yukon River a good dog brings from SIOO to $l5O. To the Yukon miner the dog has become what the reindeer is to the Laplander and the pony to the cowboys of Texas and Mexico—a beast of service and a most valuable one. Every steamer sailing for Alaska for three months past has borne northward several dozen dogs destined for service in front of heavily laden sledges. They are taken by boat to Dyea, at the bead of salt water navigation, and there put Into harness to assist In hauling outfits and supplies over the Ciiilkoot i»ss and down the farther slope to the series of fresh water lakes forming the headwaters of the Yukon’s tributaries. Up to May, when the ice breaks up, dog teams slide over the smooth surface of the lakes with surprising rapidity, considering the loads they liaul. There are portagee to be made around, dangerous rapids, and here again their services are Invaluable. Arriving at the central posts, such as Forty Mlle or Circle City, both men and dogs take a rest. In most cases the dogs are put Into harness again for the trip to the diggings. The sledge dogs are too valuable not to be well taken care of where that is possible. Their owners’ first thought in this respect is to obtain plenty of food for them. Their food consists principally of fish, usually salmon, caught In the Yukon River by the natives. An ordinary dog will eat daily two pounds of dried salmon, which equals seven pounds of fresh fish. At Forty Mlle last winter dried salmon sold at from 20 to 50 cents a pound, and bacon that was fit only for dogs to eat. sold for 37% cents a pound. In some of the larger camps on the Yukon dog boarding-houses have been established, where the animals are properly cared for at from $6 to sls a month, according to tbe season and the price of dog food.—Forest and Stream.