368 BRITISH DOGS 



ardent globe-trotter, were a terra incognita. The Arctic dogs them- 

 selves form a most interesting group. Though the Esquimaux was 

 the first to become at all common, it looks as if the Samoyede 

 (pronounced Samo-yad) Sledge-dog will outstrip him in the race 

 for popularity. This latter variety, associated with those hardy 

 dwellers in North-East Russia and Western Siberia, has evidently 

 come to stay, and those enthusiasts in this country who first espoused 

 the cause of this sturdy denizen of the far North have just reason 

 to be proud of the headway the variety has made. At the head of 

 the list of those who have interested themselves stand His Majesty 

 the King and his esteemed Consort, the latter of whom has accepted 

 from Mrs. Kilburn Scott a typical white puppy. Her Majesty's 

 Samoyede dog Jacko has been shown with much success. Then, 

 too, we have the Hon. Mrs. Maclaren Morrison (a lady who probably 

 has done more for the introduction of little-known breeds in this 

 country than any one living), Lady Sitwell, Mrs. Everitt Everitt, 

 Mrs. White (Guernsey), and Mrs. Kilburn Scott (Farningham). 



In this country the Samoyede dog is of course kept purely as 

 a companion, and a delightful companion he is too, and one as full of 

 intelligence as his most expressive eyes denote. In its native land 

 the dog is employed as a draught-animal, harnessed to a sledge, or 

 it may be as a tower of boats, or yet again as a protector of the 

 tents (ehooms) from wolves and bears, or to " round up " the herds 

 of reindeer in much the same way as a Sheepdog works a flock of 

 sheep in this country. In the sledges from six to a dozen are 

 harnessed, the driver relying upon the leaders, his voice, and a 

 long pole, to safely guide them in their rapid progress over the 

 limitless tundras. Their strength is remarkable, and their powers 

 of endurance and pluck are no less surprising. This is abundantly 

 testified by those who have lived in the countries, as well as by 

 those famous explorers who have utilised the Samoyede dogs on 

 their expeditions to the far North. In Russian literature the 

 Samoyede dog is often referred to ; while the praise accorded the 

 dogs by Nansen, Jackson, and others, who used them for the arduous 

 duties incidental to their expeditions, is unstinted. In Nansen's 

 great work, "Farthest North," the Samoyede dog figures largely, 

 and that famous explorer recounts with a vividness and a realism 

 many incidents that tend to show of what material the Samoyede 

 dog is composed. 



In one passage in his book Nansen thus describes the dogs used 

 in his expedition : " Many of them appeared to be well-bred animals, 

 long-haired, snow-white, with up-standing ears and pointed muzzles. 

 With their gentle, good-natured, good-looking faces they at once 

 ingratiated themselves in our affections. Some of them more 

 resembled a fox, and had shorter coats ; while others were black or 

 spotted." Mr. Trevor-Battye, in " Icebound on Kolguev," gives 



