Dog Puncher and Chinook Breeder Arthur Walden

Arthur Walden’s experience during the Yukon Gold Rush gave him a lifelong passion. He loved working with dog teams, and he soon saw that hauling freight to the miners by dog sled was more lucrative and interesting than hunting for gold. 

During this time, Walden developed definite ideas of what qualities made the best sledge dog for hauling materials. When he returned to his home in New Hampshire, Walden wanted to develop a dog that was both powerful enough to pull heavy loads and gentle enough to be approached by children.

In 1917, the first puppies were born, and they are now known as the Chinook breed. The AKC approved it in 2013. It is one of thew few breeds created in America.

Walden went on to make a name for himself and his Chinook sledge team by being chosen by Admiral Byrd as the best person (and dog team) to haul men and supplies when Byrd undertook his first land exploration of Antarctica in 1928.

About Arthur Walden

Arthur Treadwell Walden was born in 1871 in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father was an Episcopal clergyman, Reverand Treadwell Walden, and the family was often expected to relocate. When Arthur was of school-age, Reverand Walden was at a church in central Minnesota. Arthur attended the Chattuck Military School in Faribault, about 50 miles south of Minneapolis.

The next family assignment was to Boston, but Arthur quickly found he didn’t like the feel of a city. He was old enough to live on his own. The family had a small home in Tamworth, New Hampshire, and he went there to live.

Wanted More Excitement

As a young man, Walden liked the rural life but also wanted to travel. Some hardy adventurers were going to Alaska, and in early 1896, he decided that was a worthy trip. Six months later, gold was discovered in the Yukon, making the region a destination for would-be miners.

Walden briefly considered hunting for gold, but he needed a job that provided a weekly income. He took a position working for a freighter that carried supplies and mail down the Yukon River. While there, he also gained experience taking loads overland by sledge using dog teams.

After the gold rush slowed, Walden returned to New Hampshire, and in 1902, he married Katherine Sleeper, a young woman he met before he left for the Yukon. Her family was well-to-do, and she had health problems.  When a doctor recommended that living in the country would be better for her well-being, she bought the 1300-acre Wonalancet Farm just outside the village of Tamworth, New Hampshire.  

Arthur Walden was a perfect partner for her ownership of the property. He was happy to manage the farm, but the farm gave him the space and the time to set up a kennel for the dogs he wanted to raise.

Favorite Dog

In addition to managing the farm, Walden wanted to breed a dog like those he met in Alaska. One of them, Chinook, was his ideal. He was strong and fast with great endurance. He was also a gentle dog to be around.

With his return to New Hampshire, Arthur Walden began assessing what dogs would give him the right qualities. His first choice was a mastiff-type dog named Kim. Kim was a good-sized mixed breed that was powerful and sweet-tempered. Walden’s choice for the female was Ningo, a dog that was a direct descendant of Admiral Peary’s Greenland Huskies. These dogs were much like wolves with intelligence and an innate understanding of the wild.

In some accounts, writers note that Ningo descended from Polaris from Admiral Byrd’s breeding stock. The dogs may have shared blood lines, but Polaris came to New Hampshire as a puppy in 1914, so perhaps Ningo was part of one of his first litters of dogs. (Polaris was an amazing bundle of energy. To read his story, click here.)

The First Litter

With Ningo and Kim’s first litter in 1917, there were seven pups. Three of the dogs were larger than the others, so Walden kept a close eye on the bigger puppies, assuming they would be the best for future breeding.

Walden’s wife, Katherine, named them Rikki, Tikki and Tavi (after the characters in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book). “Rikki” was the pup that showed more of the qualities that Walden was looking for, so he renamed the dog Chinook and declared him the foundation dog of this new breed.

When Chinook was fully grown, he was said to be 100 pounds and an excellent lead dog. Walden bred him with various females, experimenting with Belgian Malinois, huskies, and German shepherds to see what brought the best results.

Walden Introduces the Breed

Each year Gorham, New Hampshire, held a winter carnival that attacted huge crowds. In 1921, Arthur Walden decided to introduce his new breed at the carnival. With affection and admiration, Walden referred to his dogs as “husky half-breeds.” He pointed out that the dogs raced well, were strong enough for hauling, and yet, gentle enough to be around people of all ages. 

Walden was eager to establish sled dog racing in New England. In 1922, he gained the support of a local paper company to sponsor the first Eastern International Dog Derby. As planned by Walden, the Derby was 123 miles. Only 4 teams entered the race that first year. Walden’s team easily won, and in 1924, he founded the New England Sled Dog Club, which took over sponsorship of the Derby.

Walden’s dogs did well for the first few years. Then in 1927, Leonhard Seppala, the dog team driver whose dogs included Balto and Togo, came to New Hampshire to visit. Though Seppala was not familiar with the route and encountered difficulties on the trail, his dogs still won handily over the Chinook teams. (That would have been one of Seppala’s last races with these dogs. When he returned to Alaska, he determined that the group of dogs was too old to return to the trail.)

Making a Name for Himself

In the meantime, Walden continued to promote dog sledding, both as a sport and also as a useful tool for logging businesses. He reminded woodsmen that dogs with sleds offered the perfect conveyance for hauling wood out of dense wooded areas. The dogs could also bring all types of supplies for the loggers.

Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the Eastern part of the United States (6,288 feet) is located in the White Mountains of Vermont. It had never been climbed by anyone using a dog team. Arthur Walden knew he could make a name for his new breed by attempting the ascent. In the winter of 1926, Walden attempted the climb but was turned back by a blizzard. But next time—with Chinook in the lead—they traveled eight miles to the summit in eight hours time.

In the process, he made a name for himself and for the new Chinook breed.

Admiral Byrd’s Planned Exploration of the Antarctic

Later that year, word filtered through “dog circles” that Admiral Richard Byrd was planning a major Antarctic land exploration. This would require at least two ships, three airplanes and several teams of sled dogs for hauling goods to a camp, and later for exploring the area.

Though he was almost 56 years old when Admiral Richard Byrd began planning for his first land exploration of the Antarctic, Walden put in his name to be the chief dog handler for the expedition.

After interviewing others, Admiral Byrd clearly saw wisdom in adding Arthur Walden to his team. Arthur Walden became lead driver and dog trainer for Byrd’s 1928-9 Antarctic Expedition. He was in charge of recruiting other drivers and their teams and managing training and all supplies. Among men already committed to the expedition were three Harvard students who were so eager to accompany Admiral Byrd that they volunteered for whatever jobs would be helpful. Byrd put Norman Vaughan, Freddie Crockett, and Eddie Goodale under Arthur Walden to help with the dogs.

In late 1927 and early 1928, Walden put out the word on what types and dogs he was looking for. Walden found that seven-dog teams were best with his Chinooks. He would need 8-10 dog teams for the trip. Some of the dogs needed to come in well-trained by their drivers, but supplemental dogs could be added from the Eskimos. Because the Eskimos guided the dogs by running alongside the team themselves, the dogs were not lead dog material, but they were strong.  They were perfect when added to the back of the pack.

The selected group assembled at Wonalancet Farm for training. They also reviewed everything from survival gear to tents and supplies.

The Expedition

In September of 1928, Walden, his drivers, and 97 dogs (16 of them his own Chinooks)  boarded the ships Byrd booked for the trip to Antarctica. Once there, Walden’s job was hauling supplies from the water’s edge to the base camp, “Little America.”  It was late in the season, and Walden was well aware that they had very little time to haul everything to camp.

Walden and nine other drivers hauled 650 tons of gear from the ships to the base camp nine miles inland.

Darkness would descend sometime in March, and then there would be no daylight until September. The ships were said to be carrying 500 tons of supplies. Walden and his teams had to work fast and hard to get men, supplies, dogs, and teams settled.

Later Admiral Byrd wrote: “Walden’s team was the backbone of our transport.”

Personal Loss

At the time that Walden was hired for the Byrd assignment, his beloved dog Chinook was 12 years old. He was too old to be in the harness full time, but he was extraordinary at leading the team if the going got particularly rough.

One day Chinook had a run-in with another dog. Walden and some of the other men had to stop the dog fight (dogs fight for dominance.) That night, Chinook was bedded down near Walden. It was reported that he came and pawed Walden’s shoulder once or twice. Walden said he reassured the dog and thought the dog had gone back to sleep.

The next morning Walden got up to assemble the team and discovered that Chinook was gone. Walden searched as much as he could, but there was no sign of the beloved dog. Some on the expedition thought Chinook had some type of terrible accident; others felt Chinook knew he couldn’t go on as before and went off to die.

No matter what the explanation, the men on the trip said that it aged Walden considerably. 

Trip Concludes

The Antarctic expedition ended in 1930, and Walden returned to New Hampshire.

Admiral Byrd later wrote about how grateful he was for Walden and the dogs. “On January 17^th, Walden’s single team of thirteen dogs moves 3500 pounds of supplies from ship to base, a distance of 16 miles each trip, in two journeys. … Seeing him rush his heavy loads along the trail, outstripping the younger men, it was difficult to believe he was an old man. He was 58 years old but had the determination and strength of youth.”

In 1931, Arthur Walden received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor available to a civilian, for his part in Admiral Richard Byrd’s Antarctic Expedition.

Return to New Hampshire

When the expedition concluded in 1930, the men returned to a difficult time in the United States. Most parts of the country were struggling through the Great Depression. And thought Katherine’s family had been well off, and Walden had prudently banked most of his earnings from his work in the Yukon, Wonalancet Farm was in poor shape financially.

Katherine’s health had deteriorated, so Walden’s partners took advantage of her, moving her out of main farmhouse—her home–and placing her in a cottage on the property. The farm and farmhouse were leased out. When Walden returned, he was denied the right to go into his barn to retrieve tools that were clearly his.

Walden was beside himself with grief. He opted to sell the remainder of the kennel to his partner so that he could start again.

Starting Over

Fortunately, Walden had taken protective measures to maintain the bloodline. In 1922-23, distemper almost wiped out the Chinooks. At that time, there was no cure for the disease and no vaccine. Many of Arthur Walden’s dogs came down with the illness and died from it.

This lesson taught Walden to protect himself. From that time forward, he began a new practice. Each time a litter was born from his dogs, he gave one or two pups Julie Lombard, a local woman who also bred dogs.

When he needed to start again, he and Lombard agreed to call the new kennel, Wonalancet-Hubbard Kennels.

New Arrangement

Julie Lombard and her business partner Ed Moody were happy to tend to most of the kennel work. Walden also took over the care of Kate, who was no longer able to care for herself.

Writing was Walden’s other pursuit. Because he was older and the outdoor work was more difficult, Walden began telling his story. He knew he had lived through fascinating experiences that others couldn’t even imagine. His first book, A Dog Puncher on the Yukon, met with success. He tells a harrowing tale of what it was like for the first adventurers to travel to Alaska and the Yukon. (The book is quite interesting. There is very little about dogs in it, but Walden provides an incredible picture of how difficult it was to travel through Alaska and the Yukon at that time.)

Arthur Walden Died Saving Wife

In 1947, a household fire broke out when Kate Walden was in the kitchen. Walden heard her screams and ran to save her. He carried Kate to safety and then began drawing buckets of water from a well to try to save the house.

When the fire was finally extinguished, the neighbors went in to look for Arthur Walden. Waden’s body was found on the floor of the kitchen. He died while trying to rescue what was theirs.

Breed Eventually Dwindled

Due to Julie Lombard and her partner, the Chinook breed continued to do well. Then in 1939, Perry Greene and his wife Honey took over the work of Julie Lombard and devoted the rest of their lives to the breed.

Other breeders, Nell and Marra Wollpert from Ohio, Kathy Adams (from Maine, Peter Abrahams came in from California to take dogs. By spreading out the breeding stock, they increased the odd of the Chinook breed continuing on.

But by the early 1980s, there were only 11 breedable dogs. When the breeders realized what happened, they worked together to trade dogs and improve the numbers.

State Dog of New Hampshire

In 2009, Jennifer Wells, a Chinook owner and a teacher at a middle school in Bedford, suggested a project to her class: New Hampshire had no state dog. Why not encourage the governor to name the Chinook? It was unusual to create a new breed, and the Chinook was a native to the state through and through.

A bill was eventually passed in the New Hampshire legislature stating that the Chinook would be the state dog. The students and their teacher were elated to have brought this about. 

Remembering Walden’s Chinooks

In South Bend, Indiana, the Tribune ran an article about Arthur Walden. In it, he was quoted as saying, “Say what you will, there is no more faithful friend in the world than dog. No matter what your physical or financial condition may be, you may depend on your dog to stand by. If you go hungry, he goes hungry with you. If the road be long and dark and the elements assail you, he is ever by your side. Be you up or be you down, he is unchangeable. He is not a fair-weather friend who vanishes when the storm clouds race upon you. He asks but little and unstintingly gives all that he has—yes, even his life.” (South Bend Tribune, September 18, 1927.)

But perhaps the best way to remember the Chinook dogs is by quoting from Time Magazine from January 15, 1945 regarding the dogs in the Antarctic.

“To All Noble Dogs whose lives were given [in] Little America … to further science and discovery.”

***Another dog on the Antarctic Expedition was Igloo, a terrier. His story remarkable.

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