Chapter 5 Rivals From then on, it was war between the two dogs.
Spitz, as lead dog and master of the team, worried that this strange southern dog would take his place, and Buck certainly was strange to him.
Spitz had known many southern dogs, and none of them had been strong in the camp or on the trail.
They were all too soft.
They could not take the hard work, the frost, and the starvation.
Buck was different.
He could match the huskies in strength, savagery, and cunning.
He was a great dog, and what made him more dangerous was that his early experience with the man in the red sweater had taught him to save up his anger and to be patient.
He was smart, and he could wait in a way that made him as sneaky as the wildest dogs.
All the dogs knew that Buck and Spitz would fight to be the leader of the team.
Buck wanted it.
He felt a special kind of pride, which all of the dogs that worked on the trail also felt.
It was pride that made them work so hard and not want to give up.
This pride changed Dave and Solex every morning from mean and sullen dogs into eager, ambitious ones.
Pride kept them going every day.
It made Spitz the leader and also made him punish any of the dogs that could not keep up or tried to get out of hard work.
It was this pride that made him afraid of Buck.
Buck threatened Spitz's leadership all the time.
He kept Spitz from punishing the dogs who did not work hard enough.
One night there was a heavy snowfall and in the morning Pike, who never liked to work hard, did not appear.
He was hidden in his nest under a foot of snow.
Francois called him and searched for him.
Spitz was wild with anger.
He raged through the camp, smelling and digging everywhere and snarling so loudly that Pike heard and shivered in his hiding place.
But when Spitz finally found him and tried to punish him, Buck jumped in between them, knocking Spitz backward.
Pike had been shaking with fear, but when he saw this happen, he became happy and jumped on Spitz.
Buck no longer remembered what it meant to fight fairly, and so he also jumped on Spitz.
Francois broke them up quickly, and while he punished Buck, Spitz punished Pike.
As they moved closer and closer to Dawson, Buck continued to come between Spitz and other dogs, but Buck was smart about it.
He waited until Francois was not around.
Many of the other dogs also began to be unruly except for Dave and Solex.
Everything was going wrong.
The dogs were always fighting and getting in trouble.
Buck was always the cause, and he kept Francois very busy.
Francois knew that Buck and Spitz would have a terrible fight one day, and whenever he heard trouble among the dogs, he thought Buck and Spitz were at it again.
But the chance never came and the team pulled into Dawson one dreary afternoon, with a great fight still to come.
Here were many men and countless dogs, and they were all hard at work.
All day the dogs ran up and down the main street in long teams pulling sleds, and at night he could hear the jingling bells on their collars as they ran.
They hauled logs for cabins and firewood up to the mines.
Dogs did all the work that horses did back home in the Santa Clara Valley at Judge Miller's place.
Here and there Buck met other southern dogs, but most of them were huskies and had been bred for this kind of work.
Every night at nine, then at twelve.
And again at three, they sang together.
It was a weird and eerie chant, and Buck loved joining them.
With the northern lights overhead which looked like flames, the stars twinkling and the land frozen under the snow, this song of the huskies sounded very sad, with long cries and half-sobs.
It was an old song, one of the first songs that the huskies ever sang so many years ago.
When Buck sang with them, he felt the fear and mystery of the cold and dark.
Seven days after they pulled into Dawson, they left again.
This time they were on the Yukon Trail, headed back to Daya and Saltwater, which was where they had started.
Peral was carrying letters that were even more important than the ones he had brought in.
He felt as proud of his work as the dogs did, and he decided they were going to make the trip in record time.
He had many reasons to think they could do it.
The week's rest had helped the dogs to recover, and they were filled with energy.
The trail that had been so soft on the way here was now packed down hard from the teams that had come after them.
The Northwest Police had also agreed to leave food and supplies for the men and dogs at two or three places along the way, and now this team was traveling with a lighter load than on their way up.
They traveled fifty miles on the first day, and the second day saw them speeding up the Yukon Trail on their way to a place called Pelly.
But the good run also meant a lot of trouble for Francois.
Buck was causing problems, and the dogs were not pulling together as a team.
The dogs were not afraid of Spitz anymore.
Pike stole half a fish from him one night, and he gleefully ate it under Buck's protection.
Another night, Dub and Joe got into a fight with Spitz, and Spitz had to give up, even though they deserved to be punished.
Buck never came near Spitz without snarling and bristling menacingly.
In fact, Buck behaved just like a bully.
Without a clear leader, the dogs also argued with each other.
Sometimes the camp was filled with barking and howling.
Dave and Solex were the only dogs who were the same as they had been before.
Buck started all the trouble, but the noise made the old dogs angry.
Francois was even more angry and frustrated because he could not control the dogs.
Whenever his back was turned, they were at it again.
Buck would help him control the other dogs, sometimes even though Francois knew Buck was behind all the trouble.
But Buck was too smart to be caught red-handed.
He worked hard in the harness and the work had become enjoyable for him.
But it was even more fun to get the other dogs to fight and tangle everything up.
At the mouth of the Takina River one night after supper, Dub chased a snowshoe rabbit, missing it, and in a second the whole team was chasing with him.
A hundred yards away was a camp of the Northwest Police with fifty husky dogs of their own, which all joined in the chase.
The rabbit ran down the river.
Buck led the pack of sixty dogs, but he could not catch up to the rabbit.
Buck felt like a hunter, and he loved it.
He felt more alive than he had ever felt before.
But Spitz, who was sneaky even in the middle of a chase, left the pack and took a shortcut through the woods.
Buck did not know this, and as he turned the corner the rabbit still ahead of him he saw another figure leap from a hill nearby.
It was Spitz.
The rabbit got past him because Spitz's real target was Buck.
Buck did not cry out.
He did not stop either, but ran into Spitz shoulder to shoulder so hard that they both fell.
They rolled over and over in the powdery snow.
Spitz stood up first, quickly, almost as if he had not been knocked over.
Right away, Buck knew that the time had come for their fight.
As they circled each other, snarling ears laid back, looking for an opening.
This all seemed familiar to Buck.
Everything was quiet in the moonlight.
The snow covered forest and ground.
Nothing moved.
The dog's breath rose slowly in the frosty air.
The other dog stood in a circle around Spitz and Buck.
They, too, were silent, their eyes gleaming and their breath drifting upward.
To Buck, it was nothing new or strange.
It felt like he was supposed to be in this fight.
Spitz was a smart fighter and he had a lot of practice.
From Spitzbergen where he had been born, through the Arctic and across Canada and the Barrens.
He had held his own with every dog he met and had beaten them all.
Buck tried to bite Spitz but could not catch him.
Spitz blocked him each time.
Buck rushed at Spitz many times and he tried to dive his shoulder into Spitz's shoulder and knock him over.
But each time Buck tried, Spitz leaped lightly away and bit at Buck as he passed.
The fight was getting desperate, and the other dogs waited to jump on whichever dog went down first.
Buck was getting tired, and Spitz started to rush at him.
Once.
Buck almost fell over and the whole circle of sixty dogs moved closer.
But he got up quickly and the other dogs sat down again and waited.
Buck had something special about him which he was just beginning to figure out.
He had imagination.
He fought by instinct, but he could also fight with his mind.
He rushed as if trying the shoulder trick that had failed before, but at the last moment crouched down and got close to Spitz.
He grabbed Spitz's front legs and his teeth and almost knocked him over.
Spitz was struggling to keep up.
He saw the silent circle of dogs with gleaming eyes closing in on him, the same way he had seen similar circles close in on other dogs in the past.
Only this time, he was the one who was beaten.
Buck would not stop, and he got in position for a final rush.
The circle had moved closer until he could feel the dog's breath on his back.
He could see them behind Spitz on either side, ready to jump and watching him.
Every animal stood still as if they had turned to stone.
Only Spitz shook and bristled as he staggered on his sore legs.
Then Buck jumped in and finally his shoulder hit against Spitz's shoulder and knocked him over.
The dogs closed in barking loudly and biting spits until he had to run away over the ice and into the darkness.
Buck stood and watched him run away.
He was the champion now, the strongest dog.
He had beaten his enemy and he found that it felt What did I say?
I told you Buck was twice as mean as Spitz.
Francois said the next morning when he saw that Spitz was missing and that Buck had wounds from the fight.
He took Buck to the fire and, in its light, he pointed them out.
That Spitz, he fights hard, said Pearl as he looked at the cuts and bite marks on Buck.
And that Buck fights twice as hard, Francois answered.
And now we will make good time.
No more Spitz, no more trouble.
That's for sure.
While Perrault packed the camp and loaded the sled, Francois began harnessing the dogs.
Buck walked up to the place Spitz used to have, but Francois brought Solex there instead.
Francois thought Solex would be the best leader now because he was the most experienced.
Buck jumped at Solex, pushed him back, and stood in his place.
What's this?
Francois cried, slapping his thighs gleefully.
Look at Buck.
He chased Spitz away, and now he thinks he can take Spitz's job.
Go on, get out of the way, he shouted at Buck.
But the dog refused to budge.
Seeing how stubborn Buck really was only made Francois laugh louder.
Hey, Perrault, he said, pointing to Buck, who now sat as still as a statue.
What kind of dog do we have here?
A good one, Perrault grunted.
Well, you tell him to move then, Francois said.
I don't think he wants to listen to me anymore.
Neither do I, Perot said with a laugh.
Finally, Francois grew tired of waiting.
He took Buck by the scruff of the neck and, even though the dog growled, Francois moved him to one side and put in Solex as the leader.
Solex did not like it, and he showed that he was afraid of Buck.
Francois had made his decision, but when he turned his back, Buck once again chased Solex from the lead position, and Solex was eager to give up his place.
Now Francois was angry.
"'I'll fix you!' he cried, coming back to Buck with a rope in his hand.
Buck remembered the man in the red sweater and retreated slowly.
He did not try to charge in when Francois put Solex in the lead position.
Buck circled just out of Francois' reach and snarled.
While he circled, he watched the rope so he could dodge it if Francois threw it.
Buck was becoming wise to the way of ropes.
Francois continued his work and he called to Buck when he was ready to put him in his old place in front of Dave.
Buck retreated two or three steps.
Francois followed him and Buck retreated again.
After a few more tries, Francois threw down the rope to show Buck that he would not use it, but Buck was not going back to his old position.
He wanted to be the leader.
He had earned it, and he would not be happy with anything less.
Perrault joined in to help Francois.
Between them, they ran around for almost an hour.
They threw ropes at Buck.
He dodged.
They yelled at him.
He barked back and kept out of reach.
He did not try to run away, but retreated around and around the camp, showing that when they would give him what he wanted, he would come in and be good.
Francois sat down and scratched his head.
Perrault looked at his watch and was angry.
Time was flying, and they should have been on the trail an hour ago.
Francois scratched his head again.
He shook it and grinned at Perrault, who shrugged his shoulders.
The men were beaten.
Then Francois went to Solex and called to Buck.
Buck laughed as dogs laugh, but kept his distance.
Francois moved Solex back to his old place.
Once more, Francois called.
And once more, Buck laughed and kept away.
Throw down your rope, Perrault said.
Francois did this, and then Buck trotted in laughing like a champion and took his place at the head of the team.
They attached him to the harness and then broke the sled out of the ice and snow.
Both men ran next to the sled as they pulled out onto the trail.
Buck now proved himself a great leader.
He was even better than Spitz, whom Francois had thought was the best he had ever seen.
Dave and Solex did not mind the change in leadership.
It was none of their business.
All they wanted to do was work and work hard in the harness.
As long as no one bothered their work, they did not care what happened.
The rest of the team however, had grown unruly, and even they were surprised at how quickly Buck got them into shape.
Pike, who pulled behind Buck and who never did more work than he had to, was quickly punished for not working hard enough.
Before the day was over, he was pulling more than he had ever done in his life.
The whole team started to feel better.
They worked as one unit again.
At the Rink Rapids.
Two new huskies, Tink and Kuna, were added, and Buck got them in shape so quickly that it took Francois' breath away.
There's never been a dog like Buck, he cried.
Never.
He's worth at least two thousand dollars, eh?
What do you say, Perrault?
Perrault nodded.
He was ahead of the record then and gaining day by day.
The trail was in excellent condition and there was no fresh snow.
It was not too cold.
The men took turns riding in the sled and running next to it.
The thirty-mile river was covered with ice now, and in one day they'd traveled the same distance.
It had taken them ten days to travel on their way in.
In one run they made a sixty-mile dash from Lake Labarge to the White Horse Rapids.
Across the marsh—
'Tagish and Bennett Lakes?
They ran so fast 'that the man whose turn it was to run 'had to hang on to a rope that was tied to the sled.
'On the last night of the second week?
'they reached White Pass 'and could see the lights of Skagway in the distance.
"'It was a record run.
"'Each day for fourteen days they had averaged forty miles.'
For three days after they arrived in the town of Skagway, Perrault and Francois celebrated in the main street and everyone offered to buy them food and drinks, while the dog team was the center of a crowd of admiring dog drivers.
