CARNIVORES. 
5 l6 
one occasion he had an opportunity of seeing more than two hundred collected 
together. “Most of them are white, with black heads, or entirely of a brown 
black; and their general aspect, owing to the sharp muzzle and prick ears, is 
decidedly wolf-like. The only food they are provided with by their masters is 
salmon of the hump-backed kind; but during the summer they pick up game, 
eggs, and birds in their wanderings about the country. They are usually 
inspanned in teams of eight or ten, but where the sledges are heavy or the roads 
bad, double that number, or even more are occasionally used. When the snow is 
hard and even, they will draw a weight of 360 lbs. a distance of five-and-thirty or 
forty miles with ease in a day’s work; and with an unloaded sledge, with a single 
occupant, a pace of eight versts an hour can be kept up for a considerable time. 
On the road they are given one-third of a fish twice during the day, and a fish and 
a half at night, which they wash down with a few gulps of snow. . . . Each has a 
name, which he answers to when he is driven in the sledge, just in the same 
way as a Cape ox in a waggon team, for no whips are used. If chastisement be 
necessary, the driver throws his stick at the delinquent, or pounds the unfortunate 
creature with any stone that comes handy. There are many ways of tethering 
these animals, all having in view the one object of keeping them apart, as, excepting 
upon the road, they seize every opportunity of lighting. One method is by making 
a large tripod of poles, and tying a dog at the bottom of each; and in many 
villages, owing to the large number of dogs which have to be kept, these tripods 
form a characteristic feature.” 
In another passage Dr. Guillemard comments upon the hardships to which 
these animals have to submit. “No comfortable home is provided for him to 
enable him to withstand the rigours of the Arctic climate, and the poor beast, 
except when actually at work, has, in most cases, to ‘ find himself.’ Long experi¬ 
ence, and the instinct transmitted to him by his ancestors have, however, given 
him all the resources of an old campaigner. Stumbling at night about the 
uncertain paths of the settlements, the traveller is not unfrequently precipitated 
into the huge rabbit-burrows which the animal constructs to avoid the cutting 
winds. His coat, nearly as thick as that of a bear, is composed of fur rather than 
hair. . . . Wonderfully well-trained, cunning, and enduring, he is at the same time 
often obstinate and unmanageable to a degree, and is apparently indifferent to the 
kicks and blows so liberally showered upon him by his master. Excepting in 
settlements where neighbouring stretches of tundra render the use of sledges 
possible in summer, he has a long holiday during that season. During this time 
he wanders over the country at will, sometimes returning at night to his burrow, 
at others being absent for days together. A good hunter and fisherman, he 
supports himself upon the game and salmon he catches, and it is but rarely that 
he deserts his master for good. But the inhabitants have to pay a good price for 
his services. Owing to his rapacity it is impossible to keep sheep, goats, or any of 
the smaller domestic animals, and Kamschatka is one of the few countries in the 
world in which fowls are unknown.” 
Hare Indian As already mentioned, the Hare Indian dog presents the same 
D °g. relationship to the coyote as is borne by the Eskimo dog to the 
common wolf. This breed is found only in the region of the Great Bear Lake and 
