524 THE ESQUIMAUX DOG. 
of civilization, even down to the familiar “yellow dog,” of 
whieh variety one or two quite typical specimens were seen 
during my stay in the country; in these instances, most ` 
probably introduced by whalers. The Siberian dogs them- 
selves, as seen in Kamtchatka are not always very different 
from the Esquimaux type, and the dogs of the sedentary 
Tchuktchi, or Asiatic Esquimaux, are, if not the same as 
those of the American coast, a very nearly allied variety. 
From the regular traffic which has been carried on from time 
immemorial across the straits, we may infer that a very con- 
siderable mixture has been made between the dogs of the two 
continents. The natives frequently take their dogs with them 
in their summer trips by water; and a full loaded oomiak 
under sail, with its lading rising a foot or so above the gun- 
wale amidships, and kept from falling overboard by sticks 
stuck up on each side, one or two kayaks carried athwart- 
ships over all, or towing astern, and with its full complement 
. of male Innuits, squaws, papooses and dogs, is rather aston- 
ishing to one's preconceived ideas of Esquimaux navigation. 
The external coating of long hair is underlaid in the 
Esquimaux dog by a denser mat of closely interwoven fibres, 
which, though coarse, seem to have sufficient length and 
toughness to allow of its being spun out into thread. I have 
seen, indeed, a blanket, brought from the Mackenzie's River 
District of the Hudson Bay Territory, which was said to 
have been woven from dog's hair, probably of this, or 4 
closely related variety, the Haw Indian dog. In the sum- 
mer time this wool may be easily pulled off in large ane 
provided the animal is kind enough to allow the » handling 
which is not invariably the case. This, with the dense cover: 
ing of shorter hairs on their legs and feet, appears to make 
them indifferent to almost any eure of cold, as they fre- 
quently and habitually pass the bitterest nights and fiercest 
Storms of the arctic winter, with no other shelter than is 
a afforded by the lee side of a native hut, and sometimes | 
wit even that. Nor do other apparent sources of dis- 
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