344 ESQUIMAUX DOGS. 



and covered their noses with the shaggy fur of their 

 tails. At these times, they never rose even to shake 

 off the accumulating wreaths of falling snow ; if their 

 masters called them, they answered by turning their 

 eyes, but without removing their natural respirators 

 from their nostrils, and no demonstration, short of a 

 determined kick, could make them shift their quarters ; 

 but, at other times, they lay stretched out at full length, 

 and were on their legs in obedience to the first tone of 

 a familiar voice. 



The young dogs had to learn some painful expe- 

 riences. The first time they were taken to the open 

 water, they mistook it for ice, coolly walked into it, 

 and were nearly drowned. One poor fellow undertook 

 to lick a tempting morsel of flit from an iron shovel, 

 when, greatly to his surprise, the cold metal stuck fast 

 to his tongue, and he dragged the shovel along for some 

 distance, at last only extricating himself from it by a 

 strong effort, and at the expense of leaving some inches 

 of mucous membrane behind him. When the dogs 

 were employed in sledging-work, it was no uncommon 

 thing for them to start off with their loads in full pur- 

 suit of bears. In the spring, two carrier-pigeons were 

 despatched in the car of a small balloon. The balloon 

 fell upon the ice, while still in sight, and dragged along 

 for some distance. An object that was so full of interest 

 to their masters could not, by any means, be slighted 

 by the dogs ; in a moment they were all off after it, the 

 men following them pell-mell to save the pigeons. The 

 four-footed animals had by far the best of the race ; but 

 the balloon, fortunately for its freight, cleared the edge 

 of the ice just as they came up with it. When the ice 

 around the ships broke up, the dogs understood the 

 indication, and galloped about in mad joy, leaping from 

 piece to piece, and whining restlessly, or swimming 



