Northwest History. Alaska. Dogs, Dog Races & Mushers.

• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1933
• Subjects: scenic highway trail; North American continent; Slim Williams; Alaskan sleigh dogs; Spokane; Copper Center; Alaska; Chicago; Washington; Yukon country; International Highway association; Outdoor association of the Yukon; the old Heinz warehouse; Boy Scouts; moccasins; sledge dog; wolf; husky; Canada country; Century of Progress fair; Northwest; Pacific > History > 20th century; Canada; Pacific; Parka; Yukon; Huskies
• Online Access: http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/clipping/id/90505

Alaskan Blazes Trail From Northland Here. ALASKAN BLAZES TRAIL FROM NORTHLAND HERE Blazing a new Scenic highway trail through what he describes as the last frontier of the North American continent, "Slim" Williams and his team of Alaskan sleigh dogs are spending this week in Spokane, en route from Copper Center, Alaska, to Chicago and Washington. More than 2700 miles of the most wildly scenic country in the western hemisphere were traversed by Williams and his dogs in their long "mush" out from Alaska, a trip which started last November and continued through the bitterest winter the northwest has seen in years. "Slim" is on his way to Washington to speak for the proposed International highway from western Washington up to the Yukon country. He declares his trip the first made by a white man with sleigh and dogs over the new trail. He is the official representative of the International Highway association and the Outdoor association of the Yukon. Make Boots For Dogs. Spokane was chosen as a resting point, in order to allow his dogs' feet to heal and harden after the wear of a few hundred miles of gravel roads. New "boots" for the feet of all eight huskies will be made here, in anticipation of the wearing effect of paved and oiled highways from hers to the east. The animals, while resting here, will be on display at W433 Dean, the old Heinz warehouse. Boy Scouts will be admitted free on presentaion of their scout cards. Others will pay a small admission charge. "The movies have given an erroneous impression of the methods and equipment used in Alaskan winter travel by sledge and snowshoe," Mr. Williams relates. "We carried no bales of fur, and most of our clothing was of a very ordinary type. For deep snow travel, the snow up there being dry, I have a pair of moccasins with high fur tops, fur outside. "I wore heavy underclothing in all winter weather, and on the trail wore a fairly heavy wool shirt and light wool trousers, with a pair of cotton or drill trousers over them and a cotton drill parka over the shirt, both cotton articles to act as windbreakers. Wolves Kill Sledge Dogs. "My dogs are of four different graduations of breeding between the wolf and the husky. The best and most efficient, I have found, is the halfwolf, half-husky type. One of our three-quarter wolf breeds ran with a pack of wolves one night and was killed. "We averaged 13 1/2 miles per day for the first 1700 miles of our trip. For four days of the time we remained stationary, while I was recovering from snowblindness. We saw from 20 to 60 moose every day in the upper Canada country. We traveled in weather 52 degrees below zero. "On To Washington." "When we leave Spokane we will travel with a truck ahead of us, to protext the dogs from traffic. Our sleigh has been equipped with a set of light auto wheels. The outfit will b on exhibition at the Century of Progress fair in Chicago, and later we will move on to Washington to do what we can to arouse interest in the International highway project."