Arctic Snr viral
Courageous Dog Battles Blizzard to Bring Eskimo Woman Home
if By Howard Rock
'' Times Editor
‘ He didn't seem to pay any at
tention to my commands anymore
So I gave up and let him lead the
team his own way,” recalled Ke
Bhorna. my mother. She had just
lived through a treacherous ordeal
cf driving a dog team in one of the
Arctic's most severe blizzards. It
happened many years ago near the
cliffs of Cape Thompson in North
western Alaska. Her statement was
regarding "Spot." the leader of our
dog team.
Spot was a dog of questionable
erigin. My brother. Eebrulik, had
taken him as a gift from his friends
sit Kotzebue, while the dog was
Btill a pup. The novelty of seeing a
puppy that didn't look like a husky
dust have caught Eebrulik's eye.
j Strange Looking Dog
f When Spot became full grown,
he was a far cry from looking like
a husky or a malemute. He had
Short but powerful legs and a thick,
long body. He was mostly white
with patches of black on his body.
He was named, "Spot,” on account
of that. He also barked where husk
ies and malemutes sing-songed when
excited.
spot aid nave sometmng or a
llusky face. It was black with white j
patches over his eyes. But his re
semblance to a husky ended there.
He had large black ears that flop-;
ped down on each side of his head.
In spite of his physical make-up.
Spot was a formidable dog. He was
powerful. Big malemutes came to
know better than to pick a fight
with him. He was intelligent with
cut being too friendly. This became !
apparent early in his life and he
Was destined to be a leader.
Short legs? That was no problem
lor Spot. It was amazing to see him
perform as leader. While the team
was at full gallop Spot would trot,
his short legs moving so fast that
they were almost a blur of motion.
There was never a slack on his
trace.
. Fate Sealed
Spot's fate was sealed as soon as
he came to our family. He was hat- j
ed by most all the dogs in our team, j
This peculiar hatred existed all
through his life. If it hadn't been
lor us. he would have perished even
8s a puppy. As a full grown dog. j
he was more than equal to any j
dog. He could give terrible pun- j
ishment.
Other dogs in our team would I
fang fight him every opportunity
they got. He was always equal to
the occasion by being powerful and
lightening fast. It was fortunate j
lor us that we managed to stop
these fights, because even he could !
not keep fighting against odds like
that. Huskies or malemutes are vi
cious and destructive fighters. Giv
en an inch, they can literally tear
Iheir opponent to pieces.
Died fighting
Alas, Spot met his death while
fighting off two huge malemutes
that had gotten loose while the fa
mily was attending church one Sun
day. The intrepid leader could not
hold out against the two while be
ing hampered with a chain snapped
on his collar fastened to a whale
jawbone stuck into the ground.
Thus ended the life of a great lead
er. He will not be forgotten as
long as our family tree exists.
Encampment
In 1924, my parents, along with
Iny oldest sister, young brother,
Snd baby sister, had gone to our
trapping camp 22 miles south of
Point Hope toward Cape Thompson
to trap foxes. There my father had
kept up a small sod igloo where we
Stayed during fox hunting seasons.
I had remained at Point Hope with
Uncle Nayukuk and Aunt Muman
geena to go to school. The family
had made the trip with a 9-dog
team with Spot the leader as us
Hsual. I
While there, father would set his
traps for white foxes, red foxes,
and for occasional silver foxes, up
on the hills back of the camp and
at Cape Thompson itself. In be
tween times he would go out to the
ice to hunt seals and polar bears.
The hunting period usually lasted
about two months and the family
would come back to Point Hope in
time for Christmas.
Unusual Weather
The time of the year was around
the latter part of November. The
weather had been beautiful. It was
not cold. One day the skies clouded
up briefly and big snowflakes began
to fall almost straight down. There
was hardly any wind that day. The
temperatures was around three be
low. The flakes settled on the wind
packed snow and remained un
driven by wind.
There were three more days of
this type of weather. The skies
would clear up and the sun would
shine beautifully. The flakes fell
until the layer was four inches
thick. It was featherlike and fluffy.
When one walked in it. the slight
whiff of wind from one’s footstep
would blow the feathery snow from
all sides of the footprint and made
an ordinary man’s tracks look like
tracks of a massive polar bear.
Feathery Snow
As youngsters, my young friends
and I loved to play in the snow of
this type. We would run and stamp
hard with each step to see which
one of us could make the biggest
tracks. The winner's tracks wound
up measuring about the size of a
tub.
On the fourth day, the sun came
out. It shone on the virgin snow
creating myriads of diamond points
of light. There was not a breath of
air. The temperature had warmed
to about six above zero.
"A beautiful day to hitch up the
dogs and get some wood,” thought
Keshorna.
Shortly before, father had gone
up into the hills that morning to
look after some of his traps. I’ll
go to the ones nearby and I’ll be
back around midday,” he said. We
found out later that he had been
wary of the weather conditions.
The family camp was located a
mile and a half from the shores of
the Chukochi Sea. There is a fresh
water lake, oval shaped, between
the camp and the sea. The little
sod igloo was located on the north
bank of the lake on a slope about
50 feet from the lake shore.
Fateful Decision
There was still about two or three
days of wood fuel to last the fami
ly, but mother made a snap deci
sion to hitch up the dogs to go af
ter drift wood on the beach some
five miles down toward Cape
Thompson. There was no sign of
inclemency in the weather. It was
a beautiful day.
The dogs had not been worked for
several days. They showed their en
thusiasm by galloping vigorously
when Keshorna got underway. She
noticed that Spot was acting rather
peculiarly. “He seemed morose but
led the dogs as usual,” mother re
called.
Keshorna traveled the five miles
in comparatively short time. The
dogs as they galloped made little
puffs of drift on the fluffy snow.
The sun shone on and the weather
was beautiful, quiet, serene.
Ominous Cloud
When Keshorna reached her de
stination she started at once to load
it with wood. When she was about
ready to start on her return trip,
she felt a whisper of breeze from
the south. She looked south auto
matically and was startled to see
an ominous gray cloud on the sur
face of the ice on the Chucki Sea.
Birth Of A Storm
Knowing what was coming, she
quickly unloaded some of the wood.
She “mushed” her dogs toward the
camp. The breeze gained momen
tum each moment. Soon tiny drifts
of snow began to form on the sur
face of the feathery snow. The
drifts increased visibly by the mo
ment. The ground drifts became
heavier and heavier. In a very short
time a full-fleged blizzard formed.
The wind turned into a gale in an
incredibly short time!
With the increase of the velocity
of the wind the blizzard worsened
and visibility became difficult. Ke
shorna could now see the leader.
Spot, a blur in the wind driven
snow forty feet at the head of the
team. She began to try to calculate
the direction she was going. It was
largely by her imagination but she
thought she was heading in the
right direction. She directed Spot
accordingly by alternately shout
ing, •‘Gee,” and “Haw."
"Spot seemed to obey my com
mands at first. He didn't seem to
listen to me anymore as we moved
forward," Keshorna recalled.
The wind began to scream around
her and the blizzard increased with
the velocity of it. She could no
longer see Spot in the lead. Pre
sently, the wheel dogs next to the
sled were becoming indistinct in
the swirl of snow.
Incredible Storm
The blizzard, fed by the feathery
snow on the surface worsened. Ke
shorna could no longer see the
wheel dogs. The front of the sled
was becoming a blur in the den
sity of the blizzard. The flying
snow whipped into her eyes, her
face, and down her neck through
the narrow space around her hood.
“The weather is not too cold.
What a blessing!” she thought.
The angry gale increased. It was
incredible! The force of it began
to blow the sled sideways only to
be stopped with a jerk as the sled
runners hit a packed snow dirft.
One of these times, Keshorna al
most lost her grip on the sled. “I
must hold on to the sled very hard!”
she said aloud. She was lost now
but she would be utterly lost if the
team got away from her.
Sled Buffetted
A great gust of wind hit the team
and the sled careened sideways,
jerked, and overturned, whipping
Keshorna to the snow. She held on
grimly. Some of her small load
spilled out.
The fury of the storm had slow
ed the team to a crawl and the fury
of it had clouded her thinking. When
the sled overturned and dumped
some of her load, she suddenly rea
lized what she should have done —
unload the sled, at least part of it.
She got to her feet holding on to
the sled and then righted it. “Mush,
Spot, Mush!” she shouted to the
leader and the team she could not
see. She was utterly lost and the
only thing she could think of was
to keep going. The team responded
and moved forward at a walking
pace. She pushed to help the team
fighting the gale at the same time.
“Spot kept the team going, I
knew that. I think the other dogs
were ready to stop and curl up in
the storm. I could hear them
whimpering now and then,” Ke
shorna said.
Wary Hunter
As father had said that morning,
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he went a short distance to attend
to the scries of traps that were not
far away from the camp. He start
ed back early being wary of the
weather. He was in a ravine out
of sight of the camp. He was about
a quarter of a mile away on a rise
when he noticed a telltale surface
cloud to the south. Almost imme
diately he felt a wisp of breeze
from the south. He knew what it
meant and started to run toward
the camp. By the time he reached
home, a full-fledged storm was in
the making.
Despair
In his haste, he had failed to see
the missing sled and dogs as he en
tered the sod igloo. He saw the
children and looked around for Ke
shorna.
“Where is your mother?” he ask
ed. He was appalled at hearing the
answer, "She went to get some
wood.”
“Ahlaqaa! Sumahva imna?" <Alas!
What has she done?) he despaired.
The despairing exclamation alarm
ed the children and they broke
into sobs. Father comforted them
as best he could and then went out
the door into a small hallway and
out the other door.
Helplessness
The storm was now raging in full
fury. There was nothing he could
see beyond the door. It was all a
mad swirl of gray whiteness that
obliterated everything. He couldn't
leave the children. There was no
thing he could do!
“Keshorna! Keshorna!” he shout
ed helplessly. It was the only
thing he could think of doing. He
might as well have done nothing
at all. How could Keshorna hear
him in the midst of the screaming
fury of the storm? To venture out,
even a few feet, in that storm was
extremely dangerous. One can lose
his sense of direction in a matter
of moments. He shouted for his
wife — the only thing he could do.
Father came in and out of the
little sod ogloo. He comforted the
elder children who, by now, had
realized the full gravity of the
situation — mother was lost in the
storm!
Despairing Vigil
Father’s anxiety for Keshorna
gripped him and he couldn't stay
still. To him the inadequacy of his
vigil was appalling. He was help
less to do anything except to go
out and shout hoping his wife would
hear him. She was somewhere out
there in the swirling maelstrom of
a terrible Arctic storm. To try to
look for her was out of the ques
tion. All he must do was wait —
but long must he wait?
The relentless storm! Each time
he went out. the fury of it had in
creased. This was the Arctic, un
compromising. merciless. When its
mood was terrible, it worsened. It
was now venting forth its terrible
fury, giving no quarter to any liv
ing thing — and Keshorna was out
there in the middle of its sternest
storm!
Trust
After righting the overturned
sled. Keshorna edged forward. Her
progress was a little better because
of the lighter load, but then, the
gusts of wind were now buffeting
it more frequently. Her mittened
hands were getting stiff from grip
ping the sled but she did not dare
to let go. Her face was getting
numb from constant contact with
flying snow.
Somewhere up ahead of her were
the dogs. Through the wild rush of
the gale, she could hear one of the
dogs yipping and barking. It was
Spot. There was no question about
it. Reassured, Keshorna thought,
“Spot, you are a great dog.” >
The leader seemed to be encour
aging the team behind him. In
spite of her numbing surroundings,
she pictured Spot digging his pow
erful short legs into the snow pull
ing with every ounce of strength
he had. She tried to encourage him,
•'Mush, Spot, mush!”
Keshorna didn’t really know why
she was doing it but she kept it
up. She had no idea where she was
or what direction she was going.
One thing she knew — she had
the urge to keep going. Was Spot
inspiring her to push on? She
didn't know.
Near Exhaustion
She struggled on and on. The ex
ertion and the terrible elements
were beginning to tell on her
strength. She began to think con
stantly of, "My children, my hus
band.” It seemed to give her re
newed energy. She struggled on.
Snow swirled on her face. It work
ed down her neck, around her
waist. It worked down over the
top of her mukluks to her ankles.
Up ahead, she could faintly hear
Spot yipping and barking. He
seemed more insistent. Although she
was near exhaustion, and not know
ing where she was going, Keshorna
encouraged her leader, "Go ahead
Spot, Mush!”
And then — the team stopped?
Keshorna shouted for Spot to go
ahead, but the team did not budge.
She strained against the sled and
pushed but the front end of the sled
seemed to be up against an ob
struction. She could hear Spot
barking insistently. His bark seem
ed to come from an elevation.
“I must get to Spot and see what
is wrong!” Keshorna decided. She
edged along the sled and came to
the wheel dogs. She was startled
when she saw them curled up for
protection against the storm. They
hardly noticed her. She labored on
using the dog traces as guides. Spot
was barking continuosly up ahead.
She could sense that she was going
up an incline.
Saved!
And then with great suddenness,
she heard, “Keshorna!” She was
startled beyond words. She recog
nized the voice — her husband’s
voice!
Father met her two tandems of
dogs back from Spot. Keshorna
didn't see father until he was about
three feet from her; the density of
the driven snow was so great. He
helped her. using the traces to guide
them. The leader kept barking all
the while. A great gust of wind hit
and toppled them. They held on
to the traces as they fell dragging
the two-dogs nearest them.
When they reached Spot, he was
right at the door of the little sod
igloo!
Courageous Leader
Spot, as dogs go. would never
have won a popularity contest.
There was nothing beautiful about
him. He was hated by the dogs he
led, but he was a dog among dogs.
His looks did not matter. His great
heart, his courage, intelligence,
strength, were the qualities that
counted in the Arctic country in
which he lived.
Keshorna was one of the human
beings Spot saved during his great
career as a leader. He saved Eebru
lik, Keshorna’s eldest son, through
another one of the great blizzards.
Spot was not killed by the fangs
of the two huge malemutes. He was
killed by the chain around his neck.
There is little doubt that he would
have survived if it hadn’t been for
the awful hindrance. This was
bourne out by the terrible marks
he left on his attackers.
Spot had to fight all the way
through his life. He didn't shrink
from his enemies — vicious dogs
and the treacherous north country.
Yes, Spot, a mere mongrel, had
an unmistakable niche in the
scheme of things in the north. A
courageous heart in a strong body
is a necessary facet of survival of
man in the Arctic.