236 NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS IN ALASKA. 



endowed with a well-developed veiu of drollery, wLicli they show in inuumerable odd acts and 

 manners, aflbrding one much amusement when traveling with them; and each one in a team 

 becomes known by some distinctive trail of character which is as marked in its way as the 

 diiferences between human individuals. Many of the writer's lonely bivouacs have been made 

 cheerful by the presence of these companions. 



A solitary camp-fire under the clear, cold sky of a winter night iu the north is made doubly 

 pleasant by the semicircle of bright, intelligent faces of the dogs opposite, inspiring a sense of 

 fellowship not easily expressed. A long residence where the use of these animals is common gives 

 one the i^ower of distinguishing certain traits of character among them by their exi>ression as 

 readily as certain ex^jressions iu the human face can be read. They possess a surprising diversity 

 of character and a great amount of reasoning power. 



In all Alaska, among Indians and Eskimo alike, the only kind of domestic dog known, with 

 the exception of a few recently introduced by the fur traders, is that called the Eskimo Dog. 

 It is commonly used all over the Alaskan mainland and on the islands of Bering Straits. On 

 the Aleutian and Fur Seal Islands dogs are not used. Those kept by the Indians of the interior 

 of the mainland are less abundantly fed, and consequently more dwarfed and scrubby than those 

 found among the Eskimo on the coast. Among the latter people the food of the dogs is rarely cut 

 down except in case of great necessity, as the ability of the dogs to drag the sledge during their 

 hunts is of vital importance. 



A large-sized, intelligent dog commands a good price among the Norton Sound Eskimo, and 

 I have known of from $10 to $15 worth of goods being paid for a single animal. The owners in 

 some cases refused to sell at any price. Ordinary dogs bring from $3 to $4. The winter fur trade 

 of Northern Alaska is carried on entirely by their aid, some of the trading stations having from 

 one to two hundred dogs employed. 



A team of either seven or nine dogs is used. They are harnessed in pairs to a single long 

 leading line, with the most intelligent dog in advance, as a leader. Over average routes along the 

 coast or across country such teams will haul from 350 to 700 pounds on a sledge. In nearly every 

 instance the road must be made through the unbroken snow or over rough ice. Many factors 

 combine to vary the hauling capacity of a team, such as the state of the weather, the condition of 

 the snow, training, etc. During the winter of 1878-'79, with a team of seven dogs, pulling a load 

 of over 300 pounds, the writer made a journey of over 1,200 miles in about two months' time, and 

 the last CO miles of this journey was made, over a bad road, in a continuous pull of twenty-one 

 hours' duration. Such feats as this are by no means rare in the course of the winter's work among 

 the fur traders, and show what powers of endurance these animals possess. 



The moon has great influence over the dogs, and during full moon half the night is passed by them 

 howling in chorus. During the entire winter at Saint Michaels we were invariably given a chorus 

 every moonlight night, and the dogs of two neighboring villages joined in the serenade. Their 

 howl is a long-drawn crj', rising and falling in somewhat regular cadence. The chorus of a hun- 

 dred dogs, slightly softened by the distance, has a wierd, wild harmony in keeping with the sur- 

 roundings, and produces a strange and stirring effect upon the listener. 



The influence of the moon upon the dogs is shown very strikingly also when traveling with them. 

 In many cae|?«, after traveling during the day until at nightfall the dogs were dragging wearily 

 along, I have known them to brighten up when the moon arose, and, pricking up their ears, start 

 off with renewed energy, which did not diminish for many miles. This peculiarity is well known 

 to the fur traders, and they sometimes lie over during the day and travel at night, in order to take 

 advantage of it. 



Several large dogs of mixed descent, from Newfoundland and other blood, were kept at Saint 

 Michaels, and it was amusing to hear their attempts to join in the bowlings of their Eskimo com- 

 panions. For a long time their attempts were most ignominious failures, but after some months 

 they succeeded iu a passable imitation. The Eskimo Dog has no real bark, but rushes to meet a 

 stranger with a harsh growling and broken howl. 



Tbey rarely bite people, except in the case of some unusually surly brutes. Among the thou- 

 sands of them seen I only rememeber some half dozen cross, biting dogs. One of these would seize 

 anything within reach in blind fury, at the least provocation. This dog was in one of my teams 



