230 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



|0tfr. 11, 1888. 



DOGS OF THE C1RCUMPOLAR WORLD. 



WHAT is a dog? Taxonouiically, the dog is a represen- 

 tative of the genmsGanis: but in view of the dif- 

 ficulty among systematic zoologists in determining what the 

 principal stock was, since varieties are so numerous, it may 

 perhaps satisfy the present condition of biological research 

 to assume that the primitive dog was one of the first ani- 

 mals, if not the very first, to be domesticated to the "service 

 of man" (according" to the Scriptures), and that being coeval 

 with Cain the hunter, and his constant assistant and com- 

 panion, he was deferentially and etymologically called Canis. 

 Certainly he is the most widely distributed of all animals, 

 and in fact universal, over the earth. But whatever Ins ori- 

 gin, there is abundant evideuce to make it probable that the 

 primitive dog, like other animals, was not only very di fferent 

 from any of the present canine races, but that it differed 

 structurally and materially from its immediate predecessors, 

 of which possibly the books themselves bear uo testimony. 



Domesticated dogs, when freed from man's control and 

 association, seem at once to begin founding new races of 

 their own, which thus are trying back again, when left to 

 their mutual selection, as it were, to refouud the old primal 

 stock from which they were in remote ages derived. "Will 

 they ever succeed? There are now some sixty distinct arti- 

 ficial varieties of dogs recognized on the bench, not to men- 

 tion feral types, each of them possessing sufficiently marked 

 characteristics to be reckoned as a class, and new varieties 

 are being constantly added. With the multiplication of 

 varieties and species color develops, and a, rich diversity of 

 ground tints, with calico patches, piebalds, ticks, spots and 

 splashes, results, varying most agreeably in their arrange- 

 ment and positiou oh the body. These hues and shades all 

 sprang from a primitive germ of color, just as the dogs 

 themselves have-been evolved from a primitive germ of form 

 and structure. Now, if we turn all of these recognized 

 classes of dogs adrift and exempt them from all restraints of 

 domesticity, they will in a comparatively short time assimi- 

 late one to auother in form and color. Typical identity will 

 be lost. Greyhound, mastiff, spaniel, terrier and collie will 

 all be merged and blended into a repulsive mongrel without 

 trace, of previous characteristics or character. Pendulous 

 ears will shorten and become erect and pointed, slim tails 

 grow thick and bushy, paws enlarge and splay, and bodies 

 become burly, hirsute and bristling. A composite feral 

 race will result, with colors uniformly tawny, gray or 

 brindled, which in North America, for 'lack of more dis- 

 tinctive designation, is kuown as the Indian dog — as worth- 

 less a brute in the rough as can well be iniagiued. These 

 creatures will gang together and howl like wolves, adopt 

 nocturnal habits, become cowardly, voracious and predatory, 

 roving far and wide in a sort of aimless quest, with no fixed 

 limits or methods, such as they were, wont to show. 

 Wolves, foxes and coyotes are singularly attracted 

 toward them. All eagerly affiliate and sometimes inter- 

 breed, and their progeny is fertile, as experimental tests 

 have proven. It is difficult for persons unacquainted with 

 their peculiarities to distinguish a true wolf from some 

 of the gray Indian dogs, the only noticeable difference being 

 that the wolf runs with his head down and his tail between 

 his legs, while dogs carry head erect and tails curled hand- 

 somely over their backs. It is a fact, Lou, worthy of notice, 

 that if a stranger happening to eucouuter a pack of these 

 renegades should chance to fall prone upon the grouud, be 

 is liable to be beset at once by the whole of them, to the 

 imminent danger of life or limb, while so lone as he stands 

 erect, he may with anything which resembles a stick keep 

 the crowd at bay, and by vigorous demonstrations actually 

 drive them out of sight. 



Out of this composite creature, which is altogether ab- 

 normal and typical of nothing unless it be the wolf, it is 

 quite possible in turn to form and establish artificially a 

 strain of serviceable dogs, which in course of time will come 

 to be regarded as a fixed type. By such process, selection, 

 domestication and training, have been obtained what are 

 known in the Northwest as "huskies," much used as sledge 

 dogs for winter transportation; hardy to endure, keen of 

 eye, vicious of disposition and swift of foot; sometimes 

 doing their eighty miles a day with a load of 1501bs. To 

 haul is as natural to them as to point is to a pointer. But 

 so liable are they to deterioration by association with baser 

 dogs that it is almost impossible at the present day to make 

 up a full team of strictly pure huskies in the whole North- 

 west Territory, individuals readily commanding a price of 

 §75 each. There is but one method by which they can be 

 kept intact, and this is but little practiced except by den- 

 izens of the higher latitudes, as related further on. 



Environment, food and climate are of course most potent- 

 ial in modifying race types; hence, in the course of natural 

 adaptation, it is reasonable to look for essential variations 

 throughout such a wide geographical range as the generic 

 husky dog occupies. Now, the dogs of the Polar World are 

 almost the counterpart of the huskies of the adjacent 

 country to the southward, and the hypothesis is plausible 

 that, either from close relationship or "a general resemblance, 

 the latter are called "husky," the same being a colloquial 

 abbreviation of the word Esquimaux. But while the gen- 

 eral cast is maintained, the massive coat, pricked ears, 

 sharp nose, splay feet, bushy tail and sturdy frame beiue 

 steadfast characteristics of the numerous groups found 

 within the Arctic Circle, a thorough investigation discovers 

 that there are marked differences among them in color, size 

 and contour, all of which might be satisfactorily accounted 

 for if the environment were various. But inasmuch as the 

 latitude, food, climate and physical character of the entire 

 circumpolar area are nearly the same, we have only to con- 

 clude that the fundamental type has undergone a change by 

 crossing with the Arctic fox, for instance, which is pure 

 white, or with the coyote, or the. big gray timber wolf, both 

 of which may have ventured across the tundri in summer. 

 When such sub-arctic strains are once fully devoloped and 

 definitely located, they are easily protected by their geo- 

 graphical isolation, while they are jealously kept pure by 

 the intervention of such persons as may have domesticated 

 and subjected them to service, and to whom purity of breed 

 and quality of performance are all important, for the 

 dwellers on the Arctic coast depend in great part upon their 

 dogs for their livelihood. It is doubtful if they could even 

 exist without them. 



White is the dominant color of the Arctic belt and its 

 fauna, such as bear, fox, ermine, reindeer, owl and ptarmi- 

 gan, not to mention wildfowl and marine animals. A great 

 proportion of these dogs are white. The pure Esquimaux 

 dog, so designated, is pure white, and scarcely distinguish- 

 able from the Arctic fox, though there are also browns, yel- 

 lows and duns. White "huskies" are not uncommon in the 

 British Northwest, thus showing indubitable evidence of 

 their hyperborean origin. These come from vulpine, not 

 lupine stock, like their ruder and more numerous brindled 

 congeners. The Esquimaux dog has come to be regarded as 

 a representative Arctic type, but it will be found ohcompari- 

 son that he is by no means conclusively such. He is often 

 confounded with the Spitz (or dog of Spitzbergen) by fan- 

 ciers, both being white and their appearance similar, 

 though their kinship is not close. The dogs of Iceland are 

 white, long-haired, with a thick fur frill around the neck, 

 pointed nose and ears, elevated curled tail, and a restless 

 and irritable temper. They are similar to those of Lapland 

 and Greenland, except that the latter are variable m color. 

 The Lapp dogs are used chiefly for hunting, Tis the -natives 

 use reindeer for draught and not dogs. These fight off the 

 wolves from the settlement in winter, and are most efficient 

 in capturing reindeer. This so-called "reindeer dog" is 

 about the size of a Scotch terrier, but has a wonderful re- 



semblauce to the lynx. His hair is long and shaggy and his 

 color various. 



The dog does not come into such prominence on the polar 

 coasts of Europe and Asia as he does in North America, be- 

 cause his multifarious services are assumed by the rein- 

 deer, or else by the hardy ponies — offspring of the tarpanies 

 of Tartary, which are in use throughout the entire extent 

 of Siberia up to the northern limit where the ice plain 

 meets the forest, and only dogs cau travel. Some of them 

 subsist wholly on fish and seal meat for nine months of the 

 year, and adapt themselves to the rigors and vicissitudes of 

 the climate in a most remarkable way. Nevertheless, the 

 dog is an important factor among many of the Siberian 

 tribes, being described by travelers among the Ostalies on 

 the Obi as a "faithful auimal." He is used by the indigent 

 Jakuts for draught purposes, being the only domestic ani- 

 mal which they possess. The Tomgusi use him for hunting. 

 On the Kolyma River, iu eastern Siberia, they are as exten- 

 sively employed as they are in North America, and are in- 

 dispensable to the domestic economy of the people. They 

 are said to resemble the wolf, having long pointed noses, 

 sharp upright ears and long bushy tails'. Color black, 

 brown, reddish brown, white and spotted. In Siberia wolves 

 are black, not gray, and the result of the canine and lupine 

 miscegenation manifests itself iu the output. These dogs 

 howl like wolves, and dig holes in the ground in summer 

 for coolness, and in the snow iu winter for warmth, where 

 they lie curled up with their noses covered by their bushy 

 tails. They live on frozen fish and on this diet will travel 

 100 miles per day. Sometimes the temperature is so ex- 

 tremely cold that they are obliged to go shod aud blanketed 

 to keep them from freezing. It is customary to keep them 

 tied up all night, to prevent their straying off after the 

 scent of some wild animal. They are very sagacious. Un- 

 fortunately they are subject to a peculiar disease (not speci- 

 fied) which Wrangell says carried off four-fifths of their 

 number in the year 1821. 



Kamsehatkan dogs are probably the most sagacious of all 

 feral types, and are employed and trained in the most care- 



described by Dr. Kane and other Arctic explorers, and 

 especially by Lieut, Schwatka, to whom sportsmen are much 

 indebted for information regarding matters in which they 

 are specially interested. In the Mackenzie "River district 

 there is a variety of dog called Athabaskan, with hair some- 

 what wavy, which, crossed with the Esquimaux, produces a 

 hybrid with hair so long that the eyes are scarcely visible. 

 I have seen but one specimen. It weighed about ?'51bs., and 

 carried a ginger-colored coat studded with yellow and gray. 

 Formerly the Athabaskan dog was small, but subsequently 

 a stouter race was bred, more satisfactory for sledge use. 

 It seems to be a purely artificial breed. The dogs of Smith's 

 Sound are powerful and sagacious brutes. Hall, the Arc- 

 tic explorer, speaks of them seizing a reindeer by the 

 throat and cutting his jugular like a knife. In 

 bunting bears they go in couples, one interesting bruin by 

 feints in front, While the other teases behind, and so they 

 amuse him until the hunters come up with their weapons. 

 They are very keen of nose and scent a seal under the ire, or 

 a deer track m the snow a quarter of a mile before they see 

 it, forthwith starting for it on a run. In addition to doing 

 sledge duty in winter, they carry saddle bags in summer 

 which weigh fully 201bs. , keeping pace with their master ou 

 his journey. They have a thick, furry coat 3 or 4in. long, 

 which is underlaid in winter by a dense fleece of wool, sharp 

 pricked ears, and a tawny or brindled color, with so close a 

 resemblance to a wolf as to be readily mistaken for one. 

 They never bark, but emit a long melancholy howl. The 

 description of these dogs answers .to those of Greenland. 

 In Labrador, excepting on the extreme north coast, this 

 specific type is not so well preserved, the stock resembling 

 the stock of the northwest, which is a little better than a 

 nondescript, as I have already stated. They have a variety 

 of dingy colors, dull yellows and dark browns and gray pre- 

 vailing. The most powerful are so strong and vicious that 

 it is customary to suspend a heavy wooden log by a rope to 

 the neck, which, dangling between their legs, impedes their 

 action, and so gives weaker dogs and men a chance for their 

 lives. The true "Labrador dog," as recognized on the show 



SOME TYPES. 



From Robinson"? "Great Fur 2/«?i(V' by courtesy of the publishers, Messrs. G. P. PutnanVs Sons, NeAO Yorli. 



ful manner for the multitudinous services required of them. 

 Soon after birth they are placed with their dam in a deep pit, 

 that they may see neither man nor beast, and after having 

 been weaned are condemned to solitary confinement for six 

 months, at the end of which time they are put to a sledge 

 with other dogs, and being extremely shy and frightened 

 withal, they ruu as fast as they can until they become blown 

 and cowed. After this trial trip they are remanded to their 

 pit, where they remain, off and on, until they are thoroughly 

 trained and sledge-broken. This severe education sours 

 their temper amazingly, and makes them anything but com- 

 panionable. Drivers are frequently obliged to stun them by 



A HUSKY. 



a blow on the nose before unharnessing them on account of 

 their savage nature. Besides drawing sledges they tow boats 

 up rivers in summer and keep their masters warm in winter 

 nights. They are remarkable weather phophets and dis- 

 count the Signal Service Bureau, for, if wheu resting on a 

 jouurney they dig holes in the snow there is certain to be a 



In winter their ration comprises forty frozen herrings per 

 day. The Tchuktchi dogs of the East Cape of Siberia are 

 similar to those of Katnschatka, and are used for sledges. 



Across the Strait (Behring's) in A laska the breed of dogs 

 is not highly esteemed, though much used for draught 

 purposes. A team of five will draw 5001bs. They live 

 chiefly on fish, but will eat almost anything. Their winter 

 ration is a dried salmon a day. Iu color they are reddish 

 brown. Whymper thinks they arc as much' wolf as dog. 

 From Icy Cape along the eutire north coast to Smith's 

 Sound the Esquimaux type prevails. These have been often 



bench, and chiefly known along the St. Lawrence River, has 

 no place among the dogs of tke~circum polar world, although 

 he belongs to a comparatively high latitude and wilts with 

 the temperature at sixty degrees. He is apparently a com- 

 bination of setter and spaniel, crossed again by the New- 

 foundland, a most efficient water dog and retriever. 



Having thus cursorily pr< sentedsome testimony in respect 

 to feral types of dogs by seeking them in their most natural 

 habitats, the conclusion results that iu mutual selection 

 there is a persjsteut conformity to one general law, but that 

 nothing new is produced. In process of time all escaped 

 dogs adopt the habits and appearance of wolves, jackals, 

 foxes, dholes, jungle dogs, or what-not, which animals are 

 all scientifically classed as Cauidse. Now, which of these 

 is the original? Is it the wolf ? There are several kinds of 

 wolves; which of them is the original? If no answer is 

 found is it preposterous to assume that the whole lot of 

 them are but degenerate offspring of pre-existant superior 

 canine races? Where are the rudiments? 



Dr. Bernard Gilpin, of Nova Scotia, a profound and pains- 

 taking observer, tells us how the wild ponies of Sable 

 Island, which are known to be the descendants of a few 

 head of heavy New England stock, introduced 180 years ago 

 and since increased to many hundreds, have during that 

 comparatively brief period become a race of small, big- 

 headed, low-withered, rough-coated animals, very much re- 

 sembling the tarpany of Tartary, which, according to Col. 

 Hamilton Smith, is the only existing wild stock in the 

 world which has never been tailed. But the tarpany is a 

 much inferior animal to the majestic horse of Job, which 

 flourished 3,000 years ago, and if we are to believe the Scrip- 

 ture, which declares that domestic, animals were made for 

 the service of man, and that man was to have dominion 

 over the beasts of the field, a good serviceable horse must 

 have been contemporaneous with man, an equine to which 

 the anchitheriuni and hipparion of Europe and the other 

 thirty-five tertiary and quaternary species of Marsh and 

 Huxley bore very little resemblance. 



Now. nature provides the feral dog with a monotonous 

 and somber garb, not so much to assist a predisposition 

 toward some suppositious primal color as to protect him in 

 his new departure by considerately assimilating his hues to 

 those of hi* environment. Likewise she modifies his body 

 aud temper for economic reasons; makes him fierce to do 

 battle with his enemies, vigilant to anticipate danger, alert 

 and selfish that he may forage for himself, hardy to endure 

 the unremitting tramp of a nomadic life, lean to facilitate 

 locomotion as well as to promote health under the exigencies 

 of meager diet — conditions diametrically different from the 

 quiet dependency of his previous domestic life. 



There is every evidence, obtainable from monumental 

 photographs and sculptures and from fossil remains, that 

 iiybrids of the domesticated dog must have been as numer- 

 ous thousands of years ago as they are at the present time. 

 It is easiest to believe that their origin must be referred to 

 severa l aboriginal species and not to a siugle primal stock. 

 This is a world of perpetual mutations. Its record is 

 a long succession of fluctuations, of alternate progression 

 and retrogression, of advances and relapses, check and im- 

 pulses. Land and sea have been transposed; the terrestrial 

 surface has teen overturned repeatedly and stirred up like a 

 ploughed field; it has been disintegrated, laid waste and 



