Page 43 - K9 News Digital - Issue 11 May2020

Mike John
Mt. McKinley
together they got in a tangle so dug a big hole in the
snow among some rocks and were waiting to greet
the rest of their party as they descended.
Coming back down was more tricky. A dangerous
moment occurred between 12,000 and 11,000 ft on
a relay when, with a light load, all 7 dogs harnessed
and insufficient braking, Susan got out of control,
going faster and faster. The sled overtook the team.
She hit a bump, flipped off but managed to cling to
the tug line. Ray Genet, waiting at 11,000 ft, saw
them hurtling towards him, braced himself with his
ice axe, managed to grab the traces and swing the
whole load around.
The trip took 44 days. The dogs reckoned they
could have done it a lot quicker without the humans! to people at those tables across from the food line
A CHRISTMAS TALE OF SANTA, SLED
DOGS AND THE SOMERSET
Special occasions deserve special labours, and
the Programme Chairwoman of the prestigious
Boston Ladies’ Luncheon Club was satisfied that
she had spared no effort (and no expense) to make
the Christmas Gala of 1929 an event that would be
remembered by its elite members. For starters, this
year’s Yuletide Dinner Dance was being held at one
of Boston’s poshest hotels, the Somerset.
The chairwoman had gone all out. The chefs would
prepare an elaborate buffet, the orchestra for the
white-tie affair was one that any Boston debutante
would swoon to dance to, and the elaborate
decorations would transform the Somerset’s
enormous ballroom into a North Pole fantasyland.
As with any production, the best was saved for last.
For this years Gala, the piece de resistance was to
be Santa’s arrival on a dog sled pulled by the famed
team of Chinook dogs. At first the logistics seemed
difficult, but discussions with a charming couple, the
Seeleys of Wonalancet, alleviated the dowager’s
concerns.
Her moment of triumph was at hand on the evening
of the affair as a tuxedoed Milton Seeley excused
himself from the dinner guests to don a parka in
preparation for Santa’s entrance. The chandeliers
were dimmed so that the ballroom was lit only by
the twinkling lights on the gigantic Christmas tree
and the orchestra hushed its cheery renditions of
holiday music. A young Mrs. Seeley, resplendent in
evening attire, directed the attention of the ladies
and their escorts to the main entrance while the
ecstatic chairwoman’s bosom swelled with pride as
her greatest achievement of the evening was about
to unveil.
The celebrants gasped with delight when through
the doorway, with a jingling and tinkling of sleigh
bells, came a matched team of Chinooks pulling a
gaily decorated sled bearing a jolly, red-suited Santa
Claus. Oh, what a glorious and wondrous sight to
behold! It lasted for about a split second!
Santa had just begun to emit his cheery “Ho! Ho!
Ho!” when he was cut off mid-Ho. The dogs had
scented the roast beef, chicken, hams and other
various delicacies laid out on the buffet table across
the room and in the best “Night Before” tradition,
Santa and his team fairly flew!
The chefs who had been hired to serve the food,
not to defend it, hastily retreated to the kitchen and
the orchestra’s first row emptied as the musicians
climbed over their chairs. Someone screamed! The
scream alerted an ever-sociable, extra-hefty Chinook
and he hauled his fellows back across the floor to
investigate their fare. Planting his front paws upon
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