Soldiers & Sled Dogs

A History of Military Dog Mushing

By Charles L. Dean

Reading about working dogs, especially in the military, is such a treat. You cannot help but admire the brave, strong dogs that risk their lives in rescue and military operations just doing their job! This book is unique as it chronicles an art almost lost in the annals of military history. These teams were never fully understood or utilized during war and were slowly phased out as helicopters became more adept at rescue.

But this little book ensures that they will not be forgotten. In that regard, it meets the objectives laid out. There is a lot of technical information in the book about sled design and dog control but it is all for the purpose of remembering. Many of the people he interviewed were the last of the original crews.

"Less than two months after leaving Nome, dog teams with French drivers were hauling supplies and ammunition to areas that previously could not be reached. One group of these dogs delivered ninety tons of ammunition to an artillery battery in only four days. It had taken up to two weeks for a combination of men, horses and mules to accomplish the same thing." Pg 4

"John Eslick, a trainer at Camp Rimini, had a standard orientation spiel: 'A dog is not just a dumb animal. You need to be much smarter than the dog to be a dog driver. Few men are smarter than these dogs.' Army doctrine stated that experienced drivers should use whips only to break up dogfights. Many new drivers were inclined to believe they should crack the whip to ake the dogs run harder, in the romantic Hollywood image of a dog musher. Eslick would provide his own team for a new recruit's first overnight run. Eslick would warn the soldier driver not to use a whip, since his dogs would not respond to it. As soon as the team was out of sight, a new driver would give in to the temptation and crack his whip over the team. Immediately the team woud do a 180 degree turn, spilling the sled contents and the drive along the trail. Then the dogs would race back to main camp, where Eslick would be waiting. When the trainee finally caught up with the team, Eslick would dress him down and he would then have to drive the team back to recover the sled load scattered all along the trail and then catch up to the rest of his group." Page 31

Book 49