MAMMALS. 51

oftheirmasters. After these dogswere disabledthey

wandered

about the settlement staggering

and

howling,

and

weretoall appearance bona fidevictims ofhydrophobia^; butondissectionit

was

onlytoo plain

what

thematter was.

Many

ofthe dogsaresooverworked

and

soillytreated thattheycould not survive the repeated injuries inflictedupon

them

if

theywere as strongagain.

The Eskimo

have the habit of putting a slut in heat on aheadas leader,as

by

^this

method

theyconsiderably accelerate the

movements

of therestof the team,

and

savethemselves

some

extralabor; butthese dogs often prove themselves too eager,

and

rupture blood-vessels. I haveseen such cases

where

the

dog

vomitedclear blood,

and

also dis-

charged^itcopiouslythroughtheanus; suchcasessurvivebutafew days generally. Again,

many young

dogs are taken from the mother long beforethey areprepared

by

^naturetoshiftforthemselves. Ihaveposi- tive evidence ofthis being a^prolificcause ofso

many

youngdogsdying.

Of

allthedogsthat diedatAnnanactook,at leastfour-fifthsofthe adults were males,

and

the greater

number

of these died aboutthe time the femaleswere inheat.

I

was

very

much

interested to seeif the theory that hydrophobia is

prevalent onlyin countries where the females are subjected to indis- criminate slaughter, oranimalinstinctthwartedorperverted underthe

ban

ofanignorant

and

falsemodesty,

would work

here, instancesbeing cited of

Turkey and

other countries, wherethe

dog

is held sacred

and

allowedto run at large, that hydrophobia is

unknown.

According to thetheory, then, thatitsoriginisalwaystheresultofunrequitedaffec- tion,

we

shouldnot find this disease

among

the

Eskimo

dogs, where it

may

reasonablybe expectedthatnaturehasallowed theproper propor- tion of the sexes

and man

does not interfere; but here is the point:

Has

the

Eskimo dog

unrestrained freedom to follow the instincts of his animal nature?

We

^answer,

By ^no

means.

To

be sure^there are plenty offemales,but theyare appropriated

by

suchdogs aspossess the greateststrength; the femalesgotothem,

and

theweaker dogsaregiven the coldshoulder.

As

a generalthing, the possession of aslutisa dis-

putedpoint,

which

endsin a hardfightbetween thedogs; but thereis

no

further questionafterthebattle,

and

the vanquished

dog

hastobear adouble disappointment; this

he

seems unable to do,

and

worries him- self into amelancholythat soon takes theform of theso-called hydro- phobia.

I carefidlywatched a

team

ofthree dogs that I often

went

sealing vrith; one

was

a female

and two

were males; the slut seemed tobeap-

propriated

by

one of thedogs withoutquestion, till one

day

a strange dog'from another settlement

was added

totheteam.

The

possession of the slut

now became

thecause of aseriesof severefights,which ended infavor ofthe strange dog,

which

immediately

became

theguardianof the slut.

The

beaten

dog began

tolag

and

droop,

and

in 2bfeivdayswas dead, having gone through allthe stages of hydrophobiatoallappear- ance.

This

was

not the only instance of a similar nature that

came

under

my

observation; stillIdo not wish to be understood that Iplaceun- shakenfaithin thistheory. I

had

too short atimeforobservation,

and

toofew examples to warrant

me

in

making

generalizations on these data; but Ithinkitwellworth the timefor

any

one

who

does get the opportunitynotto overlook these facts. I dissected a

number

of the male dogs thatdiedfromtherabies, butInevercoidd detect

any

ofthe organs diseasedexcept the penis, testicles,

and

sometimesthe kidneys.

Why

this shouldbe the case I

am

^ataloss to say. There is oneother theory that

may

throw

some

lightonthe subject,viz,the constantinter-

breedingof the dogs. I

have known

^oif instances

where

a

dog had

possession of themother

and

her yearling whelps, all,motherincluded, of

which

he

was

father to. Itis certain that the i)rogeny resulting from such connections areveryinferior,

and

tend towarddegenerating therace. Itoften

happens

that female dogs cohabit withwolves, the

dog

beingdriven off

by

the superior strength of thewolf. This prog- enyagain is characterized

by

superior strength

and

great i)owers of endurance,

and

islessaptto suffer fromdisease.

It sometimes happens,the

Eskimo

tellme,that afamily goesinto the interior

and

remains fora yearor more, but seldom loses

any

dogs

by

disease; theyhave

an

idea that the salt-waterhas somethingto do with their dogs dying, for they say they do not die

when

^theylive

away

from it. It does not

seem

x^robable, however,that the disease

would

provecontagious, assigningeither of theabove causesforits origin.

Again, is itpositively

known

that the disorder isnot communicable

by

^bite? I

am by

no

means

sure of this.

The Eskimo

alwayscarefully get out of the

way

of dogs afflicted in this manner,

and

they told

me

thatifoneofthesick dogsbit

me

I

would

get the

same

disorder. This information

may

have been impartedto

them by

whalemen, however.

4. Canisoccidentalis,var. griseo-alba,Btl.

"Amarook"(?),CumberlaudEskimo.

Wolves

arefrequentlyseenduringthe winter

months

on both shores of

Cumberland;

their in-incipal resorls, however, are further inland,

MAMMALS. 53 where

the reindeer herds abound. It often happens that the

Eskimo

dogs

and

wolves interbreed_; the female

dog

is especiallyliabletoco- habitwith awolf,

and

the progenyare considered

much

superiorbeasts, but arevery hard to manage. I have seen

Eskimo

dogs that corre- spondedhair forhairwith the Arcticwolf.

The Eskimo

say there are packs of dogs

now

in

some

localities that

have

run wild,

and

inallprobabilityreturnedto the original wolftype.

Therearestoriesof

some

kindof animal,thatfrom thedescrijitiongiven

by some may

bea Gulo,butothers sayitis only the

common dog

; such animals arealways reportedfromtheinterior.

Itis saidthatthe female wolf is considerably fleeter than the male, beinglonger-bodied.

The

females,the

Eskimo

say,always distancethe malesinthe chaseafter the reindeer,

and

generallysucceed in killing the deer before the male comesuj).

5. Mustela erminea, Liimd.

Two

specimens, procuredinthe Kingnite Fjord, one in the

summer and

one in thewinter fur. Ai)pears to follow the

lemming

in their migTations; is

nowhere abundant

inCumberland,

and

even

unknown

to

some

of the Eskimo. Saidto beabletocapture the hare

and

ptarmi-

gan by

attaching itself to

some

vital part

and

not loosening its hold

till thevictim isdead. I

am

rather skeptical on this, however. Still,

the

Eskimo

saythey

have

seen

them

doit,

and

it reallypuzzles

me

to tell

what

elsetheyshouldliveui)on duringwinter, as theydonot hiber- nate.

6.

Myodes

torquatus, (Pall.)Keys.

&

Bias.

"Awiiigak,"CumberlandEskimo.

Iprocured but a single specimen of the

lemming

^; this

was

caught near

Cape

Mercy.

They may

yet be

common somewhere

along the sound, as I

saw

traces in different places

where we

stopped. According to the Eskimo, theyaregetting less

common

everyyear.

Whalemen have

told

me

that twentyyears ago

some

ships procured as

many

as four

hundred

skins at Niantilic, inthe spring, from the

young

Eskimo,

who

killed

them

with

bows and

arrows.

From what

Icouldlearnof the Eskimo, the

lemming

isvery irregular in its migrations, appearing in great

numbers

atoneplace,

and

then disappearingfor

many

^years.

7. Lepusglacialis,Leach.

"Okoodlook," CumberlandEskimo.

Common

inallsuitable localities. ]\Iany do not undergo

any

change of colorduring

summer, and

Idoubtif itbe

more

than partial change

54

witli any. I liave seen pure white specimens during all tlie

summer

niontlis,

and

occasionally one about half-gray.

The Eskimo

firmly T)elie^'c thatthe lungs of the hare appliedfresh to a boilorsore of

any

li^ind isa sure cure.

The

specimens I examined in

Cumberland

were

much

smallerthanGreenland specimens.

8. Rangifer tarandus, (Liuii6)Btl.

"Tuktoo," CumberlandEskimo.

The

reindeer are foundinconsiderable

numbers

on bothsidesof

Cum-

berland Sound, but

by

^far the greater

number on

the westernshore. It isno rareinstanceto find

them dimng

the

summer months

on the sea- coast; they

seem

to delight in feeding

upon

the fuci exposedatlow

tide. Inwinter theyretire to the largervalleys

and

gofarther inland, being seldom seen onthe coast at thisseason of theyear.

The Eskimo

goreindeer-huntingevery

summer, commonly

duringthe

months

of July,August,

and

September.

At

^{this season they}

make

quite extensive excursions inland,

where

thedeer are

more abundant and

niuch

more

easily i)rocured.

Within

the lastfewyears they are reported asless

common

onthe

Penny

Peninsula;butIhearof

no

ajipar- entdiminution in their

numbers

^to thewest

and

southwest, especially toward

Lake Kennedy,

where they are reported as very abundant.

Before the introduction of firearms

among

the

Eskimo by

the whale- men, they took advantage of the habits of the deer in

coming down

to the coast,

and

drove

them

intothe water, where they were easily cap- tui-edwith a kyack.

The Eskimo

bring the skins

back

with

them

to their winter

encampment,

having cached the

meat

^{for theostensible} purposeof retiu-ning for it in winter. This seldom happens, however,

and

the wolvesgenerally

make way

withit. Itissaidthat

when

aherd

isfirstai)proached

by

ahunting party that has been living on thesea- coast,they scent

them

along

way

^off",but thattheysoonlosethispower;

thefactbeing, I takeit, that the peculiarodorofthe salt-waterhasleft theEskimo.

During

thewintertheyherdtogetherinlarge drbves,

and when

a suitable valley is found

paw up

the

snow

for a considerable extent,till it looksas ifaherd of swine

had

been rooting inthe snow.

Thesedroves are continually beset

by

i^acksof wolves,which keepavig- ilant

watch

for

any

that unluckily stray out of the herd, forsuch aone

is immediatelyattacked

and

run down. Itis seldom,however, thatthe wolves can do nnich

damage

to the herd

when

they keep ^together, as theyform aciicle, -with,the

weaker

onesinthecentre,

and

canthuskeep the wolvesatbay.