Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 59, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 March 1910 — PLOWING WITH DOGS. [ARTICLE]

PLOWING WITH DOGS.

The present rapid taking up of land for agricultural purposes in the Canadian Northwest makes interesting reading of Rev. Egerton R. Yonug’s book, “The Battle of the Bears.” Mr. Young was missionary to the Indians on the west side of Hudson Bay at a time when no farming was done in all that territory. His station was set -Norway House, and it was there that he began the raising of wheat and vegetables. There were no draft-animals except dogs. They were his team. With the dogs the summer was generally one long, restful holiday. My Indian fisherman with his nets kept them well supplied with the daintiest of whitefish. So I felt perfectly justified in breaking in a little on that holiday fey giving them tire opportunity of helping me in my summer work. With the help of my little son, who loved the dogs and was loved by them, I harnessed up eight of the biggest and strongest fellows, and arranging them in four teams, we attached them to the plow as a farmer would his horses.

Then the work, or rather, at first, the fun began. The dogs had been trained to go on the jump, and so our greatest difficulty was to make them go slowly. When the word "Marche!” —“Go!”—was shouted, they sprang together In such unison and with such strength that the weight of the heavy steel plow In the stiff soil was as nothing to them, I prided myself on being, for a missionary, a fairly good amateur plowman; but in spite of all my skill and efforts, those eager dogs wojuld sometimes get the points of the plow up, and before I could get it down Into the soil again, they, with the pressure off, were away with a rush, and there was no stopping them until we were at the fence on the oposite side of the field. Sometimes w T e did fairly well by having my little son walk ahead, or rather between the two dog? of the first team. It was hard work for the little fellow, as he frequently tumbled down, and then two or three pairs of dogs would run over him before they were stopped. But not a. whit discouraged, he w’ould scramble up out of the furrow and from among the dogs and traces, and beg to be allowed to try again. Thus we experimented until we got the intelligent dogs to understand what was required of them. Then the work, although of course laborious, was a great delight. I plowed up my garden and the few little fields which I had, and after Sowing my grain, harrowed it in with the dogs. They liked dragging the harrow better thair the plow because I could let them go faster with it.