And Nome, once famed for her eager, reckless treasure-seekers in that
great rush of 1900; famed once for being the "widest open" camp in all
Alaska, now in her days of peace and quiet still claims recognition. Not
only because of the millions taken out annually by her huge dredgers and
hydraulics; not only because she is an important trading station that
supplies whalers and explorers with all necessary equipment for their
voyages in the Arctic; not only because of her picturesque history; but
because she possesses the best sled dogs to be found, and originated and
maintains the most thrilling and most difficult sport the world has ever
known--Long Distance Dog Racing.
Previous to the advent of these races any dog that could stand on four
legs, and had strength enough to pull, was apt to be pressed into
service; but since they have become a recognized feature of the life
there, a certain pride has manifested itself in the dog-drivers, and
dog-owners, who aim now to use only the dogs really fitted for the work.
Even the Eskimos, who were notorious for their indifferent handling of
their ill-fed, overburdened beasts, have joined in the "better dog"
movement, which is a popular and growing one.
According to Dubby's stern law, however, most of the Racers--the
long-legged, supple-bodied Tolmans, the delicately built Irish Setters,
Irish and Rover, and numberless others of the same type, would have been
condemned to the ignominy of being mere pets; useless canine adjuncts to
human beings--creatures that were allowed in the house, and were given
strangely repulsive bits of food in return for degrading antics, such as
sitting on one's hind legs or playing dead.
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