The Ballad of Sam
and Ted
Now Sam was the finest Husky
dog that ever broke out a sled
And the only dog who could rival him was a Malamute known as Ted.
They lived in a town of no renown by the banks of the Yukon river
And they were owned by Sue the barkeep's girl, and she fed them both
on liver.
The hounds in town all kept well down when Sam and Ted came by;
For they all knew (and it was true) that those dogs pitched it high.
And there wasn't a dog in the Yukon - no, not in the whole North West,
Could take on either one of them and hope to come off best.
Now these two were much different;
they never behaved the same;
Sam liked sleeping by the fire, but Ted liked playing games.
And while Sam crept out into the woods, to howl at the lonely stars,
Ted put in his time on Main Street, covering bitches and chasing cars.
No-one ever heard Sam bark; but Ted barked all the while
Ted killed rats in stables, but that wasn't Sammie's style.
The local boys all laid on bets as to which would win in a fight;
But Sue would never hear of it, though they asked each Saturday night.
And Sam and Ted were wise enough to know that if they tried
There could be no victor; for both dogs would have died.
So each stayed out of the other's way, and Sam just ignored Ted;
The only time they came together was when harnessed in the sled.
Well, it came to pass one winter
time that Sue's sweetheart, Dusty Bill,
Went prospecting up Crap Hat Creek, and there was took down ill.
His partner Eddie Turpentine didn't know just what to do;
He didn't dare to move poor Bill, so left him to fetch Sue.
Now Sue was quick; her man was sick, and left out in the hills;
She harnessed her dogs to her sled at once, and loaded it full of
pills.
But no sooner had they got out of town than the slow came down real
hard
And every step became a struggle, and getting harder by the yard
Mush! cried Sue, but for all they could do soon they were stuck fast
Sue had to stop, and wait it out, and hope the storm soon passed.
She crawled in under the skin that covered the load on the sled
And in furs deep she fell asleep; and outside were Sam and Ted.
The two dogs stood and braved
the storm, and all might have been well;
When out of the snow came a timber wolf; and he grinned like the jaws
of Hell.
He could smell Sue, and he knew for blood he'd a terrible thirst
But Sam and Ted just looked at him, saying You'll have to get through
us first.
And then Bam! the wolf sprang at Sam, and sank his teeth in his fur
But that didn't suit the Malamute, and Ted stuck to the wolf like
a burr.
And once took hold none dared let go, and all three locked their jaws
on the foe
And all through the night a terrible fight was played to the end in
the snow.
Dawn came; and down from the
town a party came looking for Sue
And when they made where her sled was laid, what a sight came into
their view!
For before the sled lay a great grim wolf, bloodied and battered and
dead;
And either side of the wolf's grey hide were the bodies of Sam and
Ted.
Sue was saved, and the folk were amazed, but what really was strange
in that place
Was that as he died Sam had tried to lick the dying Ted's face.
Dusty Bill, he got his pills, and his illness was quickly quelled;
He married Sue, and had kids too, but that's not in the stories they
tell.
For when folks jaw they talk with awe of the finest that ever pulled
sled;
They speak with pride of how they died, and the courage of Sam and
Ted.
(© Written by
Jon (Sloopjonb) as a tribute to Hudson and another friends Husky)
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