COVER STORY
PLIGHT The POLAR BEAR An excerpt from the book Four Legged Heroes; The Mama Magina Books of the
by MARY VIRGINIA MCCORMICK PITTMAN
O
were anticipating that “magic word”, “Hike”! And we were off like a bullet.… Invigorating.…You feel free! That day we were “making trail”! That means working our way through deep, freshly fallen snow, that has not been packed down by other sleds before us. Non-mushers think that all a musher does is to take a ride on the ski-rungs of a sled, pulled by dogs. It could not be further from the truth! A musher works with the dogs, the entire “run”; encouraging the dogs, praising them, and stepping one foot off the rung of the sled in order to help push the sled on up-hill knolls and rough terrain. The “wheel dogs” mainly pull the weight of the sled, so they must have strong hind-quarters. A helpful push from the musher helps to save the strength of the dogs. Sometimes two dogs may start to squabble in their traces, while on the trail. Then, you shout out, not harshly, but strongly, “cut it out, boys and girls!” They obey! Your voice is their command. Sometimes I would sing to them and other times we would simply enjoy the pleasure of the rhythm of
N ONE OF MY EARLY trips of many, to the Arctic and Sub-Arctic, to do research and gather data on the plight of the
her ears and talking baby-talk to her. She looked into my eyes, studying me intensely, with her kind brown eyes. The following morning, I was greeted with paws upon my shoulders and kisses upon my face. Tiffany was ready to “run” with me! The owner of these dogs said that he had never seen her act this way with anyone before! Harnessing sled-dogs is a “celebration” … excitement and yips abound. The dogs are impatient. They cannot wait to do what they were created to do. It is important for your team to know you, as their “musher”, and to sense who you are and what to expect from you. On the trail, it is only the “musher” and team… in an unpredictable environment! A six foot long, ship- mooring cable, dangles off the back of the sled. Should a musher fall from the ski-rungs of the sled, that saving cable can be quickly grabbed. Otherwise, the dogs will be far down the trail, and a musher alone in severe weather, in a wilderness, with wild animals, can immediately be in serious danger. I stepped upon the sled ski-rungs, and pulled the anchor-stake of the sled. All
Polar Bear and the effects of Global Warming, sometimes, it was necessary to utilize Sled-Dogs and “mush” over the snow and ice. Having learned to “mush Huskies” in the snow covered San Jacinto Mountains, high above the Palm Springs Desert, in California, when I was younger, it was sheer pleasure for me to re-live my “mushing days”, now, in the Sub-zero weather of the Sub-Arctic. I love the Sled Dogs; Huskies, Alaskan Malamute, Indian Dogs, Russian Siberian Samoyed, and sometimes a hybrid Wolf. They are affectionate loyal, protective, and they love to run … their stamina and zeal are to be justifiably admired. On the day I was to select my “mushing” team of dogs, the owner- handler insisted that he had a “special” lead-dog for me … “Tiffany”, a beautiful, half-wolf and half Husky dog, with six weaned pups. Our connection was immediate! She wagged her tail vigorously and enjoyed my scratching
60
EC Magazines | Christmas Edition 2021
Made with FlippingBook Proposal Creator