5 ! 6 CARNIVORES. 



one occasion he had an opportunity of seeing more than two hundred collected 

 together. "Most of them are white, with black heads, or entirely of a brown 

 black; and their general aspect, owing to the sharp muzzle and prick ears, is 

 decidedly wolf-like. The only food they are provided with by their masters is 

 salmon of the hump-backed kind; but during the summer they pick up game, 

 eggs, and birds in their wanderings about the country. They are usually 

 inspanned in teams of eight or ten, but where the sledges are heavy or the roads 

 bad, double that number, or even more are occasionally used. When the snow is 

 hard and even, they will draw a weight of 360 Ibs. a distance of five-and-thirty or 

 forty miles with ease in a day's work ; and with an unloaded sledge, with a single 

 occupant, a pace of eight versts an hour can be kept up for a considerable time. 

 On the road they are given one-third of a fish twice during the day, and a fish and 

 a half at night, which they wash down with a few gulps of snow. . . . Each has a 

 name, which he answers to when he is driven in the sledge, just in the same 

 way as a Cape ox in a waggon team, for no whips are used. If chastisement be 

 necessary, the driver throws his stick at the delinquent, or pounds the unfortunate 

 creature with any stone that comes handy. There are many ways of tethering 

 these animals, all having in view the one object of keeping them apart, as, excepting 

 upon the road, they seize every opportunity of fighting. One method is by making 

 a large tripod of poles, and tying a dog at the bottom of each ; and in many 

 villages, owing to the large number of dogs which have to be kept, these tripods 

 form a characteristic feature." 



In another passage Dr. Guillemard comments upon the hardships to which 

 these animals have to submit. " No comfortable home is provided for him to 

 enable him to withstand the rigours of the Arctic climate, and the poor beast, 

 except when actually at work, has, in most cases, to ' find himself.' Long experi- 

 ence, and the instinct transmitted to him by his ancestors have, however, given 

 him all the resources of an old campaigner. Stumbling at night about the 

 uncertain paths of the settlements, the traveller is not unfrequently precipitated 

 into the huge rabbit-burrows which the animal constructs to avoid the cutting 

 winds. His coat, nearly as thick as that of a bear, is composed of fur rather than 

 hair. . . . Wonderfully well-trained, cunning, and enduring, he is at the same time 

 often obstinate and unmanageable to a degree, and is apparently indifferent to the 

 kicks and blows so liberally showered upon him by his master. Excepting in 

 settlements where neighbouring stretches of tundra render the use of sledges 

 possible in summer, he has a long holiday during that season. During this time 

 he wanders over the country at will, sometimes returning at night to his burrow, 

 at others being absent for days together. A good hunter and fisherman, he 

 supports himself upon the game and salmon he catches, and it is but rarely that 

 he deserts his master for good. But the inhabitants have to pay a good price for 

 his services. Owing to his rapacity it is impossible to keep sheep, goats, or any of 

 the smaller domestic animals, and Kamschatka is one of the few countries in the 

 world in which fowls are unknown." 



Hare Indian As already mentioned, the Hare Indian dog presents the same 



D - relationship to the coyote as is borne by the Eskimo dog to the 



common wolf. This breed is found only in the region of the Great Bear Lake and 



