DOGS. 75 



vras thrown over them. The fondness of the Esqui- 

 maux dogs for oil never ceases, and they do not like 

 to drink water unless it tastes of this substance. Two 

 of them are said to have stood hour after hour before 

 a candlemaker's workshop, evidently sniffing the fumes 

 of the melted tallow with great enjoyment. Their scent 

 is particularly delicate, which renders them invaluable 

 in the chase of the reindeer. Nor are they, from their 

 resolution and ferocity, less useful in attacking the bear, 

 the very name of which beast, pronounced in their hear- 

 ing, excites their ardour. Even in the sledge they 

 dash after their prey, out of the track, dragging their 

 owner into the pursuit. 



In order to test the strength of the Esquimaux dogs, 

 several experiments have been made, among others by 

 Captain Lyon, who found that three of them could 

 drag him on a sledge weighing one hundred pounds, at 

 the rate of a mile in six minutes. With heavy loads 

 they are often induced to exert themselves by a woman 

 walking before them with a mitten in her hand. Having 

 been accustomed to receive food from her, they believe 

 that in this way she offers them meat. They are par- 

 ticularly obedient and affectionate to women, because 

 it is from them that they receive the only kindnesses 

 bestowed upon them ; and a word from a female will 

 excite them to exertion, when the blows and threats of 

 the men only make them obstinate. 



The dog of the Hare Indians, or Mackenzie River, 

 was first described by Dr. Richardson, and is of a 

 smaller size than the Esquimaux breed, but with broad 

 feet, which prevent them from sinking into the snow. 

 One of them, only seven months old, ran beside this 

 gentleman's sledge for nine hundred miles* frequently 



