326 
THE DOG. 
they are unable to walk. They are apt 
to resent greatly any affront offered to 
their charge, especially in the absence of 
the shepherd. Colonel Smith tells of a case 
in which the assault was committed by a 
tailor’s dog, 6 but not unremarked by the 
other, who immediately, seized him, and, 
dragging the delinquent into a puddle, 
while holding his ear, kept dabbing him in 
the mud with exemplary gravity: the cur 
yelled; the tailor came with his goose to the 
rescue, and, having flung it at the sheep-dog 
and missed him, stood by, not daring to fetch 
it back till the castigation was over and the 
dog had followed the flock.’ 
“ The Esquimaux dogs, so useful to the 
dwellers in the Arctic Circle, are placed in 
the same class. They do not seem to be 
remarkably companionable or agreeable; 
but probably their social qualities might 
improve by cultivation. They are the most 
precious possession of the poor Esquimaux, 
whom they assist in the capture of the 
bear and in transporting their goods from 
place to place; and, in return, they are 
treated like members of the family. You 
