216 OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



the neighboring sea furnishes fish in plenty. The 

 dog is the Eskimo's all, in the way of domestic ani- 

 mals." 



"That all is very little," said Jules. 



"Very little, certainly; but still without the dog 

 the Eskimo could not live in his gloomy country. 

 With the help of the dog he chases the wild reindeer, 

 the flesh of which gives him food, and the skin fur- 

 nishing for his hut ; on the ice he attacks the white 

 bear, whose fur will become a warm winter cloak ; he 

 makes himself master of the seal which will give 

 him its intestines for ropes and its oily fat for fuel 

 to feed his ever-burning lamp. In fact, the dog is 

 to him not only a hunting companion, but also a 

 draft animal able to transport him at a good rate 

 of speed whithersoever he wishes to go. 



"The Eskimo dog is about the size of our shep- 

 herd dog, but more robust in build. It has upstand- 

 ing ears, tail coiled in a circle, hair thick and woolly, 

 as it should be to resist the atrocious cold of the 

 country it inhabits. No domestic species leads a 

 harder life. At long intervals a meat-bone or a 

 large fishbone for food, and nothing more; no 'shel- 

 ter except the hole it may dig for itself in the snow; 

 cuffs much of tener than caresses ; after the fatigues 

 of the* chase the still more exhausting labor of draw- 

 ing the sled such is its life of hardship. Harsh 

 treatment and constant hunger are not conducive 

 to gentleness of disposition. So the Eskimo dogs 

 are quarrelsome among themselves, surly toward 

 man, always ready to show their teeth, and espe- 



