HABITS OF DOGS. 110 



and I have directed that their rations shall not be 

 quite as heavy as they were. They are lively enough 

 still, but not so hard to keep in hand. 



My teams greatly interest me, and no proprietor of 

 a stud of horses ever took greater satisfaction in the 

 occupants of his stables than I do in those of my ken- 

 nels. Mine, however, are not housed very grandly, 

 said kennels being nothing more than certain walls 

 of hard snow built up alongside the vessel, into which 

 the teams, however, rarely choose to go, preferring the 

 open ice-plain, where they sleep, wound up in a knot 

 like worms in a fish-basket, and are often almost 

 buried out of sight by the drifting snow. It is only 

 when the temperature is very low and the wind unu- 

 sually fierce that they seek the protection of the 

 snow-walls. 



These dogs are singular animals, and are a curious 

 study. They have their leader and their sub-leaders 

 — the rulers and the ruled — like any other commu- 

 nity desiring good government. The governed get 

 what rights they can, and the governors bully them 

 continually in order that they may enjoy security 

 against rebellion, and live in peace. And a commu- 

 nity of dogs is really organized on the basis of correct 

 principles. As an illustration, — my teams are under 

 the control of a big aggressive brute, who sports a 

 dirty red uniform with snuff-colored facings, and has 

 sharp teeth. He possesses immense strength, and his 

 every movement shows that he is perfectly conscious 

 of it. In the twinkling of an eye he can trounce any 

 dog in the whole herd ; and he seems to possess the 

 faculty of destroying conspiracies, cabals, and all evil 

 designings against his stern rule. None of the other 

 dogs like him, but they cannot help themselves ; they 



