MAMMALS. 237 



during a sledge trip, and at each crack of the wbip lie would turn aud catch tbe leading rope in 

 bis teetb in tbe greatest rage, aud woe to tbe dog tbat came witbiu reacb of bim at sucb times. 

 He was a perfect terror to my guides and before tbe end of tbe journey 1 M'as forced to kill bim. 



Tbey cbange allegiance very quickly, and wboever feeds tbem for a week wins their hearts 

 from all former masters. The instances are extremely rare in which tbey recognize projierty 

 of their master's or make any attempt to guard it. 



When at home in tbe native villages in winter tbey keep about tbe entrances of tbe bouses 

 to enjoy the warmth aud often lill tbe long underground passageway. Going in or out of the 

 house one must, in this case, crawl upon bands and knees over a living carpet, but the dogs never 

 show the slightest sign of ill nature, although an occasional yelp tells when one is crowded too 

 closely. The puppies are usually kept indoors and roll about on the floor with the furclad babies in 

 the most fraternal manner. The women take the pups at frequent intervals and pull their limbs 

 in different directions aud kuead their bodies to render them long-limbed aud sinewy, tbey say. 



There is a peculiar disease, very much akin to the madness of dogs in lower latitudes, which 

 ths Eskimo Dog is subject to from Greenland to Bering Sea. A dog bitten by another afflicted 

 with this disease becomes afdicted in the same manner iu a few days. I made careful inquiry, but 

 could learu of no authentic case where a person had been bitteu, although I heard a vague account 

 of a man having died at Pastolik from tbe effect of such a bite. Tbe natives have the greatest 

 fear of a dog iu this condition, yet appear to have a superstitious dread of killing it. Both young 

 and old dogs have the disease, and I have seen a puppy only a few weeks old afflicted witli it in 

 tbe most aggravated form. As a rule tbe first symptoms appear within four or live days of tbe time 

 tbe bite is received. The dog refuses to eat, becomes restless and irritable, bis head soon becomes 

 swollen, and his vision is affected. He then has alternating periods of stupid quietness and aimless 

 activity. During the latter he runs blindly about, staggering from side to side, but keeping, with 

 apparent difliculty, a nearly straight course until something turns him. AVheu moving about iu 

 this way he bites any dog or other living object in his path aud frequently runs blindly into some 

 obstacle from which he starts off' iu a right angle to his former course. During this time his eyes 

 are fixed aud glaring, and his head bangs down as if overweighted, and is slowly swayed from 

 side to side. Tbey are easily avoided, and if kicked out of the way they rarely' renew the attack, 

 and never with any spirit. The attack is sometimes preceded by a hemorrhage from tbe nose and 

 mouth ; in rare cases a dog recovers, but usually they die in one or two days from the time of the 

 first symptoms. Dui'ing some seasons great numbers of dogs die from this cause. 



In some pai'ts of tbe Territory tbe Eskimo expose their dead close to the village, and the dogs 

 quarrel over the remains, but this disgusting habit is becoming far less common than formerly. 



The amount of cold these animals are capable of enduring is remarkable. During a winter 

 sledge journey up an unexplored tributary of tbe Yukon I was delayed at a village for some days, 

 and during my stay tbe thermometer ranged from 30 to 35 degrees below zero. Tied to an alder 

 sapliug near a hut was a female dog with two i)ups born tbe day I arrived. These pups were lying 

 upon the bare snow iu tbe open air without a sign of any shelter from tbe keen air. One died soon 

 after birth, but the other lived tbe two following days on its icy bed and was shivering and wrig- 

 gling about when I left the village, while tbe parent sat beside it shivering aud lifting her feet 

 alternately to keep warm. The dog figures largely in northern mythology aud is usually endowed 

 with supernatural powers. Tbe Alaskan Eskimo have a firm belief in tbe transmigration of souls 

 from men to dogs, and particularly intelligent auimals are supjiosed to be inhabited by tlie spirit of 

 some person. 



Canis lupus geiseo-albus (Linn.). Gray Wolf (Esk. H^tyhlun-uk). 



This well-known animal is found over all of tbe Alaskan mainland and on some of tbe 

 most accessible adjoining islands. When game is plentiful the wolves are correspondingly numer- 

 ous and bunt in packs, sometimes numbering fifty or more, but usually coutaining from six to ten 

 individuals. 



Formerly, before the Eskimo aud Indians were generally supplied with fire-arms, tbe reindeer 

 were extremely numerous in Alaska and ranged over tbe country iu great herds, always attended 



