CHAPTER LIV 



THE ESKIMO DOG 



HANDY alike for draught purposes or for hunting 

 the bear, the Eskimo Dog is the most valuable 

 possession of his native master, whose wants are 

 few, judged by the ordinary civilised standard. So 

 powerful are they that four suffice to draw a sledge - 

 load weighing from 300 Ib. to 400 Ib. for dis- 

 tances of thirty miles a day, provided the track is 

 not too rough. Some Arctic explorers have had 

 as many as eighteen in a team, but, as Commander, 

 Peary observes, only those who know something of 

 the peculiarities of the Eskimo Dog can understand 

 what the handling of such a team means. In 

 " Northward Over the Great Ice " Mr. Peary tells 

 us much about these dogs. He had with him a 

 pack of nearly ninety, which consumed a maximum 

 sledgeload of meat every other day. If ever there 

 was pandemonium on board ship, it was when he 

 had nearly a hundred of these howling, fighting, 

 restless brutes on board. It was impossible to keep 

 them fastened, and they were over and into every- 

 thing. The life of these poor creatures, however, 

 was sufficiently exacting to excuse all their; short - 



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