THE ESQUIMAUX SLEDGE DOG. 
81 
theless should you have a reindeer cutlet or a hear steak to offer 
him, he v'ill not refuse it. 
Adieus exchanged, the liberated pack retraces its steps. They 
hunt on their return if they are not too tired, especially if they 
have been already fasting some days. On their return they gently 
scratch at their master^s door ; not to ask a place at the hearth, 
(these huts are so small) ; not to beg for a part of the feast, (vic- 
tuals are so scarce) ; they scratch, simply, to announce that they 
are there. Give yourself no trouble, we are home, all has gone 
right. Then the pack unharnessed, every one coils himself up in 
the hole he has dug under the snow, stomach empty, but con- 
science calm. 
I do not know that the human race swarms with devoted serv- 
ants of this character, who give their labor free, and find food 
and lodging at their own expense. 
However tough, alas ! the constitution of these beasts, hunger 
often makes an end of them ; when winter, for example, is pro- 
longed beyond its limits, and takes ten months in the year instead 
of nine ; then famine rages over the unhappy species, and threat- 
ens it with complete destruction. Many a time in these painful 
seasons poor women have been seen re'Scuing orphans of the ca- 
nine race, and sharing the milk of their breasts between these and 
their own babes. I have it from trustworthy sources, that grate- 
ful travelers have offered fabulous sums to some of these polar 
coursers without being able to determine them to leave their coun- 
try. Yainly has the attempt been made to seduce them by paint- 
ing the delights of other climates, by the perspective of sinecure 
offices in serener latitudes. Faithful to their mission of charity, 
these noble beasts have always declined the presents of Artax- 
erxes. Ah ! what would become of this poor people without us, 
they seemed to say to those who sought to bribe them. 
Dentatus and Cincinnatus, whose heroism Homan historians 
have boasted, were not continually in danger of perishing with 
hunger like the dogs of the northern deserts, when they refused 
the presents of the Samnites. They had turnips at discretion. 
Every day men are witnesses to these acts of devotion, of re- 
nunciation, and of sublime sacrifice on the part of the canine race. 
