196 AN EPIDEMIC AMONG THE DOGS. 



to be a sufficient cause. Being almost wholly with- 

 out fresh food of any kind, he was compelled to sub- 

 sist his teams upon salt meats, which, giving scurvy 

 to his men, could hardly be expected to act otherwise 

 than injuriously upon the dogs, which had always be- 

 fore been used to a fresh diet of seal meat. 



My hopeful anticipations were, however, not real- 

 ized. One day early in December Jensen reported to 

 me that one of the finest animals had been attacked 

 with the disease, and recommended that it should be 

 shot, to prevent the disease spreading ; and this w\as 

 accordingly done. A few hours afterwards another 

 one was seized in the same manner. The symptoms 

 were at first those of great restlessness. The animal 

 ran several times around the ship, first one way and 

 then the other, with a vague uncertainty in its gait, 

 and with an alternate raising and lowering of the 

 head and tail, every movement indicative of great 

 nervous excitement. After a while it started off 

 toward the mouth of tlie harbor, barking all the while 

 and seeming to be in mortal dread of some imaginary 

 object from which it was endeavoring to fly. In a 

 little while it came back, still more excited than be- 

 fore. These symptoms rajjidly increased in violence, 

 the eyes became bloodshot, froth ran from the mouth, 

 and the dog became possessed of an apparently uncon- 

 trollable desire to snap at every thing which came in 

 its waj^ 



The disease ran its course in a few hours. Weak- 

 ness and prostration followed the excitement, and the 

 poor animal staggered around the vessel, apparently 

 unable to see its way, and finally fell over in a fit. 

 After struggling for a little while in the snow, con- 

 Bciousness returned, and it got again upon its feet. 



