58 
ESQUIMAUX DOG. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Length from point of nose to root of tail, - 
“ “ of tail (vertebrae), - 
“ “ including hair, 
Height of ear, inside, 
Width between the eyes, - 
Feet. Inche* 
- 4 3 
- 1 2 
- 1 5 
3 
2i 
4* 
HABITS. 
So much has been written about the admirable qualities of the dog, that 
it would be quite useless for us to enter upon the subject ; we shall also 
avoid the question of the origin of the various races, which in fact have 
been so intermixed that it would be an almost Quixotic task to endeavour 
to trace the genealogy of even the “ noblest” of them. Those, however, 
that have, like the Esquimaux Dog, for centuries retained their general 
characters, and have not been exposed to any chance of “ amalgamation” 
with other races, exhibit habits as well as forms and colours sufficiently 
permanent to warrant the naturalist in describing them, and in many 
cases their history is exceedingly interesting. 
The Esquimaux Dogs are most useful animals to the savages of our 
Arctic regions, and when hitched to a sled many couples together, will 
travel with their master over the ice and snow at great speed for many 
miles without much fatigue, or draw heavy burthens to the huts of their 
owners. When on the coast of Labrador we had the . following account of 
the mode in which these dogs subsist, from a man who had resided in that 
part of the world for upwards of ten years. During spring and summer 
they ramble along the shores, where they meet with abundance of dead 
fish, and in winter they eat the flesh of the seals which are killed and salted 
in the spring or late in the autumn when these animals return from the 
north. This man informed us also that when hard pushed he could relish 
the fare he thus provided for his Dogs just as much as they did themselves. 
We found several families inhabiting the coast of Labrador, all of whom 
depended entirely on their Dogs to convey them when visiting their neigh- 
bours, and some of whom had packs of at least forty of these animals. On 
some parts of the coast of Labrador the fish were so abundant during our 
visit that we could scoop them out of the edge of the water with a pocket- 
handkerchief : at such times the Esquimaux Dogs catch them, wading in 
and snapping at them with considerable dexterity as the surf retires ; 
when caught they eat them at once while they are still alive. 
