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Harnessed to the Pole: Sledge Dogs in Service to American Explorers of the Arctic 1853-1909
In the second half of the nineteenth century, an epic race was underway in some of the most brutal stretches on the planet. Explorers from around the world hoped to stake their claim on the Arctic, with the North Pole being the ultimate prize. Those with the greatest success found that the fastest way to travel was on four legs―using a team of hardworking sledge dogs.
Harnessed to the Pole follows the adventures of eight American explorers and their dog teams, starting with Elisha Kent Kane and ending with Robert Peary, controversial claimant of the title of first to reach the North Pole. While history has long forgotten these “little camels of the north,” Sheila Nickerson reveals how critical dogs were to the Arctic conquest. Besides providing transportation in extreme conditions, sledge dogs protected against wolves and polar bears, helped in hunting, found their way through storms, and provided warmth in extreme cold. They also faced rough handling, starvation, and the possibility of being left behind as expeditions plunged ahead. Harnessed to the Pole is an extraordinary―and unflinching―look at the dogs that raced to the top of the world.
Harnessed to the Pole follows the adventures of eight American explorers and their dog teams, starting with Elisha Kent Kane and ending with Robert Peary, controversial claimant of the title of first to reach the North Pole. While history has long forgotten these “little camels of the north,” Sheila Nickerson reveals how critical dogs were to the Arctic conquest. Besides providing transportation in extreme conditions, sledge dogs protected against wolves and polar bears, helped in hunting, found their way through storms, and provided warmth in extreme cold. They also faced rough handling, starvation, and the possibility of being left behind as expeditions plunged ahead. Harnessed to the Pole is an extraordinary―and unflinching―look at the dogs that raced to the top of the world.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2014
10 people want to read
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March 27, 2017
Arctic Sledge Dogs: Their Heroic Story
Sheila Nickerson, Alaska’s Poet Laureate in 1977, has written a graphically gripping account of the men and the sledge dogs they deployed to explore the far northern reaches of the Arctic in the last half of the nineteenth century. These creatures appear to have existed in a different universe than today’s Iditarod champions. Our fleet-footed, athletic animals are adored and treated with the utmost respect. Every conceivable precaution is taken to ensure their safety and comfort. Not so for their noble forefathers.
Neither the men nor the dogs who broached the brutal Arctic conditions had an easy go of it. As bad as it was for explorers, the predicament facing the dogs was even more grisly. “In America, dogs held no mystical power; they were chattel.” This attitude toward animals permeated everything. “While sledge dogs in the Arctic were being subjected to … whipping, starvation, thirst, exposure, and … abusive treatment, dogs in America were being fought in pits, to bait bulls and fight rats… Often these working dogs were not fed but forced to scrounge for food on their own at night. Broken-down horses and mules were abandoned in the streets. Chickens were plucked and boiled alive …”
Not only did dogs suffer from physical abuses, they were also plagued by the Arctic’s darkness. What became known as “Arctic Hysteria” literally killed them. “They were below decks… but there seemed to be no remedy for their mental collapse… They barked at nothing, paced, fawned and pushed against their caregivers, but with no sense of relief.” This condition advanced till eventually they “died of brain disease (arachnoidal effusion) in about six weeks.”
One of the early explorers Nickerson introduces us to is Elisha Kent Kane; though dead by 37, he packed a ton of living into his brief life. He was one of the first Arctic adventurers to rely upon dogs to pull the sledges across the vast frozen tundras. Thanks to his journals, we learned of the incredible bravery exhibited by these hearty animals. Kane reveled in denoting the various ways his mushing dogs earned his admiration and gratitude: when threatened by bears on the trails, without fear for their own safety, they would hurl themselves at these enormous, lumbering menaces, doing whatever to distract them; relying upon their keen instincts, they saved lives by warning the musher upon getting too close to rotten ice; and, on those terrifying, life-ending wrong moves when men, dog and sledge ended up in the frigid waters beneath the soft ice, the dogs did not abandon them – they struggled by their masters’ sides to help them survive.
But, as loyal and heroic as these dogs could be, they possessed an equally dark side. It was a startling revelation to comprehend that many of these dogs liked nothing better than to dine upon their own little puppies. “‘The other day as I was feeding Jenny, and, almost before I could turn, [she] had gobbled down one of her pups. As none of the litter will ever be of sledging use, I have taken the hint, and refreshed Old Yellow with a daily morning puppy.”’
This is an unsettling book to review. Our modern day sensitivities and attachment to our pets makes it taxing to read, knowing how the ancestors of the animals we now so fiercely protect, were abused, beaten and tortured with little, if any afterthought. “Hall’s friends Armou and Ouela of Repulse Bay had beaten several dogs to death with an oar and one with a hatchet. Armou, after starting on one trek, stopped his team and beat each dog, ‘just to warm them up and prepare them for their hard work.’”
At the end of the day, success with these dogs – getting to where you wanted to go, not where they wanted to travel – required the utmost trust in in the man at the helm. “Finally, it was for the dogs to decide who was competent and was not. Their safety and well-being depended upon the answer to the questions, Who was that behind them, lashing the whip and calling out the orders? Do we know him and can we trust him? Do we follow him to the edge of the ice?”
And, it is in that question that I think we get to the heart of Nickerson’s study. A metamorphosis occurred as these men grew more dependent upon their dogs – they intertwined, became reliant upon one another, and in a way, forged a bond that forever changed their relationship.
Originally published in the Anchorage Press on March 23, 2017.
Sheila Nickerson, Alaska’s Poet Laureate in 1977, has written a graphically gripping account of the men and the sledge dogs they deployed to explore the far northern reaches of the Arctic in the last half of the nineteenth century. These creatures appear to have existed in a different universe than today’s Iditarod champions. Our fleet-footed, athletic animals are adored and treated with the utmost respect. Every conceivable precaution is taken to ensure their safety and comfort. Not so for their noble forefathers.
Neither the men nor the dogs who broached the brutal Arctic conditions had an easy go of it. As bad as it was for explorers, the predicament facing the dogs was even more grisly. “In America, dogs held no mystical power; they were chattel.” This attitude toward animals permeated everything. “While sledge dogs in the Arctic were being subjected to … whipping, starvation, thirst, exposure, and … abusive treatment, dogs in America were being fought in pits, to bait bulls and fight rats… Often these working dogs were not fed but forced to scrounge for food on their own at night. Broken-down horses and mules were abandoned in the streets. Chickens were plucked and boiled alive …”
Not only did dogs suffer from physical abuses, they were also plagued by the Arctic’s darkness. What became known as “Arctic Hysteria” literally killed them. “They were below decks… but there seemed to be no remedy for their mental collapse… They barked at nothing, paced, fawned and pushed against their caregivers, but with no sense of relief.” This condition advanced till eventually they “died of brain disease (arachnoidal effusion) in about six weeks.”
One of the early explorers Nickerson introduces us to is Elisha Kent Kane; though dead by 37, he packed a ton of living into his brief life. He was one of the first Arctic adventurers to rely upon dogs to pull the sledges across the vast frozen tundras. Thanks to his journals, we learned of the incredible bravery exhibited by these hearty animals. Kane reveled in denoting the various ways his mushing dogs earned his admiration and gratitude: when threatened by bears on the trails, without fear for their own safety, they would hurl themselves at these enormous, lumbering menaces, doing whatever to distract them; relying upon their keen instincts, they saved lives by warning the musher upon getting too close to rotten ice; and, on those terrifying, life-ending wrong moves when men, dog and sledge ended up in the frigid waters beneath the soft ice, the dogs did not abandon them – they struggled by their masters’ sides to help them survive.
But, as loyal and heroic as these dogs could be, they possessed an equally dark side. It was a startling revelation to comprehend that many of these dogs liked nothing better than to dine upon their own little puppies. “‘The other day as I was feeding Jenny, and, almost before I could turn, [she] had gobbled down one of her pups. As none of the litter will ever be of sledging use, I have taken the hint, and refreshed Old Yellow with a daily morning puppy.”’
This is an unsettling book to review. Our modern day sensitivities and attachment to our pets makes it taxing to read, knowing how the ancestors of the animals we now so fiercely protect, were abused, beaten and tortured with little, if any afterthought. “Hall’s friends Armou and Ouela of Repulse Bay had beaten several dogs to death with an oar and one with a hatchet. Armou, after starting on one trek, stopped his team and beat each dog, ‘just to warm them up and prepare them for their hard work.’”
At the end of the day, success with these dogs – getting to where you wanted to go, not where they wanted to travel – required the utmost trust in in the man at the helm. “Finally, it was for the dogs to decide who was competent and was not. Their safety and well-being depended upon the answer to the questions, Who was that behind them, lashing the whip and calling out the orders? Do we know him and can we trust him? Do we follow him to the edge of the ice?”
And, it is in that question that I think we get to the heart of Nickerson’s study. A metamorphosis occurred as these men grew more dependent upon their dogs – they intertwined, became reliant upon one another, and in a way, forged a bond that forever changed their relationship.
Originally published in the Anchorage Press on March 23, 2017.
March 8, 2015
The race to the North Pole required men and dogs to stretch themselves to the utmost. Facing off against the brutality of climate, where survival is always in question and demands the utmost attention. Nickerson, poured through the historical record to reconstruct what the life and conditions of sledge dogs.
Why I picked up this book: I was offered a copy of this book for my honest review.
Why I finished it: It took me a long time to work my way through it. The history was dense, and while Nickerson's prose is readable, this is not my usual fair. My favorite was the last chapter, when the sledge dog experiences was put into the context of military working dogs.
Who I would recommend this to: Readers who like real life adventure/survival stories, and to those that have read all the libraries books on working dogs and military dogs.
Why I picked up this book: I was offered a copy of this book for my honest review.
Why I finished it: It took me a long time to work my way through it. The history was dense, and while Nickerson's prose is readable, this is not my usual fair. My favorite was the last chapter, when the sledge dog experiences was put into the context of military working dogs.
Who I would recommend this to: Readers who like real life adventure/survival stories, and to those that have read all the libraries books on working dogs and military dogs.
June 16, 2014
Spoiler Alert: Sheila is my brilliant Mother!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews