At eight o'clock in the morning our whips snapped, the spans of dog teams leaped forward, and we were off.
"My Attainment of the Pole"
Frederick A. Cook
I've known fellows lose three full spans of oxen at a time, through an unexpected fall of snow.
"The Luck of Gerard Ridgeley"
Bertram Mitford
Away on the plain the two spans of oxen were dotted about grazing, in charge of one of the leaders, whose dark form could be seen, a mere speck, squatting among the grass.
"The Luck of Gerard Ridgeley"
Bertram Mitford