FAMOUS DOG'S FATE

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 March 1929, Page 8

FAMOUS DOG'S FATE

DISAPPEARANCE OS’ CHINOOK. THe fate of Chinook, Mr. Arthur T. Walden’s famous “lead” dog which ’went to the Antarctic, regions with Commander Byrd’s expedition last year is the subject of a special. wireless message sent to the New York ■Times from the Bay of Whales on iJaguary 23 by Mr. Russell Owen. He writeis:—. ... L , ... .. .. . , “Chinook went off bn his 12th birthday, Walked into tile white wilderness’ arid lias.,hot returned We hiay never knbW whethe? lie Went off to die as 'dogs sometiriies will 61; whether he : ’feh dbwjti a creirdissri. Chiribok Was proUhbiy trio riibst intelligent of ttie lead dogs beihg driven 32 miles a day river !tho trail. He led .pi&ht- of his sons arid grandsons, powerful brown dogs like hiniSblf, all half-brbd Eskimo hiiskies. Th’eftri are b&er dogs here jlist as fttrong,. but tljey Are of differ exit 'breeds, and Wrii'driri’s teani is distinctive because of the ,colour arid fririn of the dogs. , “Before the houses were erected at the base Chindbk slept in Mr Waldrih’s 'tent and kept watch of his master afe Walden cared for .hifil. if the oldtime dog driver walked albrig a Uariger'ous .crevasse ; near the cainp Chinook wriuid .watch him silently arid anxiously until he retuih'ed. On the trail Cliiii'ribk trotted ahead or behind, keei>iiig fin eyp on his children, until his niaster called tb him to get into harness.

“Criiliobk did hot lead all the time, becatiso Mr. Walderi Wished to save him fatigue as inlich its possible because of his age. Blit when there was soriie difficult leading to dp or wheii a little extra wbight, backed by intelligence, was needed old Cliinobk was put irito the teani. Everyone sympathises with Mr. Walden because the boild between him and Chinook was so close that both were lonesome if the .other was not around. “With Chinook iri the lead Mr. Walden b'qiild deperid on his team moving but off the trail Sb as to hold tlie sled steady arid then swinging babk at the proper tiiri'e. Chiriobk seemed to know instinctively whfit to do. And When the load trirhed over spmetiines, as happ'eris to fill the drivers, Mr. Walden could hitch up Chinook, attach the tefim ,tb a side of tlie heavy sled arid right it again, “There are niahy tales told of Chinook’s intelligence, Such as the time in a dog racp when, a hian pointed out the route tri Mr. Walden as he cariie along and Chidpok tui-ned without waiting .for ivbrd fi;bm, his driver; pr the time jn Poi’tlarid, Maine, wheri Mr. Walden was driving through a street in the >vinter and a traffic policeman held up his hahd, a signal which Chinook instantly obeyed.

LINK WlTrf PEARY’S FEAT. Chinook is said to be a grandson of the Jeac| do'g Used by Peai-y on his trip > to the' North Pole, and he was lead dog of the team which won the first international race, in New Hampshire in 1922. He also led it team up Mount Washington in a blizzard. Muskeag hnd Quimbo, leaders of teams here, are sons of Chinook. Mr. Walden had been .breaking in a new leader just before Chinook disappeared, and had planned in a few days to let his old dog rest for the remainder of the time here. January 17 was Chinook’s birthday, and he followed' Mr. Walden and the team out of camp toward the ship. He was lagging, and somewhere soon after leaving camp he dropped behind, and when Mr. Walden looked around he was nowhere to be seen. There is a bare possibility that he may come back, for dogs have gone away down here for mariy days and returned; but Chinook’s age and training •and his fondness for Mr. Walden make this seem unlikely. It is more probable that a deep crevasse or a mound of .show out on the Barrier hides Chinook, and that he died, as Mr. Walden said, “with his boots on,” working until he could work no more, and then quietly slipped away alone. Chinook was the hero of many a hard-fought sledge race and was rated .as a champion by the dog experts of Northern New England and Canada. It is common for Arctic and Antarctic explorers to dispose of their dogs once their mission has been accomplished, but Chinook was taken tb Antarctica by his master on an agree-: ment with Commander Byrd that the animal was to be brought back if he survived.

Two years-ago in January, Chinook led Mr. Waideri’s team to victory in the New England Sled Dbg Club Derby, wlien the team established an unofficial world’s record of 4 hours 1 minute and 55 seconds for forty miles of racing. In that race Chinook saved his own son’, Koltag, one of the team, from being strangled to death. The dogs were resting overnight and in some manner Koltag became involved in his chain arid was being strangled when Chinook swept the blankets off Mr. Walden. The latter awoke and released Koltag. ■