MAMMALS. 51 



of their masters. After these dogs ^vere disabled they wandered about 

 the settlement staggering and howling, and were to all appearance bona 

 fide victims of hydrophobia ; but on dissection it was only too plain what 

 the matter was. ^Nlany of the dogs are so overworked and so illy treated 

 that they could not survive the repeated injuries intlicted iipon them if 

 they were as strong again. 



The Eskimo have the habit of putting a slut in heat on ahefld as 

 leader, as by this method they considerably accelerate the movements 

 of the rest of the team, and save themselves some extra labor; but these 

 dogs often prove themselves too eager, and rupture blood-vessels. I 

 have seen such cases where the dog vomited clear blood, and also dis- 

 charged it copiously through the anus ; such cases survive but a few days 

 generally. Again, many young dogs are taken from the mother long 

 before they are prepared by nature to shift for themselves. I have posi- 

 tive evidence of this being a prolific cause of so many young dogs dying. 

 Of all the dogs that died at ^Vnnanactook, at least four-fifths of the adults 

 were males, and the greater number of these died about the time the 

 females were in heat. 



I was very much interested to see if the theory that hydrophobia is 

 prevalent only in countries where the females are subjected to indis- 

 criminate slaughter, or animal instinct thwarted or perverted under the 

 ban of an ignorant and false modesty, would work here, instances being 

 cited of Turkey and other countries, where the dog is held sacred and 

 allowed to run at large, that hydrophobia is unknown. According to 

 the theory, then, that its origin is always the result of unrequited affec- 

 tion, we should not find this disease among the Eskimo dogs, where it 

 may reasonably be expected that nsiturc has allowed the proper propor- 

 tion of the sexes and man does not interfere; but here is the point: 

 Has the Eskimo dog unrestrained freedom to follow the instincts of 

 his animal nature ? Wc answer, By no means. To be sure, there are 

 plenty of females, but they are appropriated by such dogs as possess the 

 greatest strength; the females go to them, and the weaker dogs are given 

 the cold shoulder. As a general tiling, the possession of a slut is a dis- 

 puted point, which ends in a hard fight between the dogs ; but there is 

 no further question after the battle, and the vanquished dog has to bear 

 a double disappointment; this he seems unable to do, and worries him- 

 self into a melancholy that soon takes the form of the so-called hydro- 

 phobia. 



I carefully watched a team of three dogs that I often went sealing 

 vlth; one was a female and two were males; the slut seemed to be ap- 



