22 



DOGS. 



Chap. 1 



practised ear of the Indian fails at times to discriminate them.'' 

 He adds that the more northern Esquimaux dogs are not only 

 extremely like the grey wolves of the Arctic circle in form 

 and colour, but also nearly equal them in size. Dr. Kane 

 has often seen in his teams of sledge- dogs the oblique eye 

 (a character on which some naturalists lay great stress), the 

 drooping tail, and scared look of the wolf. In disposition 

 the Esquimaux dogs differ little from wolves, and, according 

 to Dr. Hayes, they are capable of no attachment to man, and 

 are so savage that when hungry they will attack even their 

 masters. According to Kane they readily become feral. 

 Their affinity is so close with wolves that they frequently 

 cross with them, and the Indians take the whelps of wolves 

 " to improve the breed of their dogs." The half-bred wolves 

 sometimes (Lamare-Picquot) cannot be tamed, " though this 

 case is rare ;" but they do not become thoroughly well broken 

 in till the second or third generation. These facts show that 

 there can be but little, if any, sterility between the Esqui- 

 maux dog and the wolf, for otherwise they would not be used 

 to improve the breed. As Dr. Hayes says of these dogs, 

 " reclaimed wolves they doubtless are." 14 



North America is inhabited by a second kind of wolf, the 

 prairie-wolf (Ca?iis latrans), which is now looked at by all 

 naturalists as specifically distinct from the common wolf; and 

 is, according to Mr. J. K. Lord, in some respects intermediate 

 in habits between a wolf and a fox. Sir J. Eichardson, after 

 describing the Hare Indian dog, which differs in many respects 

 from the Esquimaux dog, says, " It bears the same relation to 

 the prairie-wolf that the Esquimaux dog does to the great 



14 The authorities for the foregoing 

 statements are as follow : — Richard- 

 son, in ' Fauna Boreali-Americana,' 

 1829, pp. 64, 75; Dr. Kane, 'Arctic 

 Explorations,' 1856, vol. i. pp. 398, 

 455 ; Dr. Hayes, ' Arctic Boat Jour- 

 ney,' 1860, p. 167. Franklin's 

 ' Narrative,' vol. i. p. 269, gives the 

 case of three whelps of a black wolf 

 being carried away by the Indians. 

 Parry, Richardson, and others, give 

 accounts of wdves and dogs naturally 



crossing in the eastern parts of North 

 America. Seeman, in his ' Voyage of 

 H.M.S. Herald, 1853, vol. ii. pi 26, 

 says the wolf is often caught by the 

 Esquimaux for the purpose of crossing 

 with their dogs, and thus adding to 

 their size and strength. M. Lamare- 

 Picquot, in 'Bull, de la Soc. d'Accli- 

 mat.' torn, vii., 1860, p. 148, gives a 

 good account of the half-bred Esqui- 

 maux dogs. 



