Baldy of Nome | Page 8

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.
Occasionally there was, for some valid reason, an exception to his
disapproval; as in the case, for instance, of Jack McMillan. For while
he could not but deplore Jack's headstrong ways, and his intolerance of
authority in the past, he nevertheless felt a certain admiration for the
big tawny dog who moved with the lithe ease of the panther, and held
himself with the imposing dignity of the lion. An admiration for the
dog whose reputation for wickedness extended even to the point of
being called a "man-eater," and was the source, far and near, of a
respect largely tempered with fear.
There was always an air of repressed pride about Jack when he listened
to the thrilling accounts of his crimes told with dramatic inspiration to
horrified audiences; a pride which is not seemly save for great worth
and good deeds. Yet in spite of these grave faults of character Dubby
accorded McMillan the recognition due his wonderful strength and
keen intelligence; for Dubby, while intolerant of mere speed, was ever
alert to find the sterner and more rugged qualities in his associates.
Perhaps it was partly because Baldy possessed no trivial graces and
manifested no disdain for the homely virtues of the work dogs whose
faithfulness has won for them an honorable place in the community,
that Dubby had soon given unmistakable signs of friendliness that
helped to make Baldy's new home endurable.
While Dubby's championship was a great comfort, there were many
things of every-day occurrence that surprised and annoyed Baldy. Out
of the bewilderment that had at first overwhelmed him he had finally
evolved two Great Rules of Conduct, which he observed implicitly--to
Pull as Hard as he Could, and to Obey his Driver. This code of ethics is
perfect for a trail dog of Alaska, but it was in the minor things that he

was constantly perplexed--things in which it was difficult to distinguish
between right and wrong, or at least between folly and wisdom. To tell
where frankness of action became tactlessness, and the renunciation of
passing pleasures a pose. It was particularly disconcerting to see that
virtue often remained unnoticed, and that vice just as often escaped
retribution; and what he saw might have undermined Baldy's whole
moral nature, but for the simple sincerity that was the key-note to his
character. As an artless dog of nature he was accustomed, when the
world did not seem just and right to him, to show it plainly--an attitude
not conducive to popularity; and it often made him seem surly when as
a matter of fact he was only puzzled or depressed. He could not feign
an amiability to hide hatred and vindictiveness as did the Tolmans, and
it was a constant shock to him to note how the hypocrisy of Tom and
his brothers deluded their friends into a deep-seated belief in their
integrity. Even after such depravity as chasing the Allan girl's pet cat,
stealing a neighbor's dog-salmon, or attacking an inoffensive Cocker
Spaniel, he had seen Tom so meek and pensive that no one could
suspect him of wrong-doing who had not actually witnessed it; and he
had seen the Woman, when she had actually witnessed it, become a
sort of accessory after the fact, and shield Tom from "Scotty's" just
wrath, which was extraordinary and confusing.
The confinement of a Kennel, too, no matter how commodious, was
most trying. Even the vigorous daily exercise was "personally
conducted" by Matt; and Baldy longed for the freedom that had been
his when alone, or preferably with the boy, he had roamed through the
far