At the Grand National Exhibition of dogs at Chelsea in 1863, the first prize for dogs of his race was worthily carried off by Etah, an Esquimaux dog, the sole survivor brought home by Dr. Kane, and believed to be fourteen years old. He was a very fine specimen, being a noble, handsome, powerful, and well proportioned animal; compact, with remarkably good legs, and standing very erect. His tail was full, round, and not unlike the brush of a fine fox; carried high and forward over the back somewhat in the style of a foxhound. In height he about equalled that dog, but his colour was white, with his head a pale yellow; and having two blackish spots, one on his side and the other at the root of his tail. To the skulking wolf his commanding presence was totally opposed. No one but a very superficial observer would have imagined any similarity between them, except the sharp muzzle and pointed ears. His head bore the scars of combat, and was nearly smooth; but his body bore a thick coat of long, spiky looking hairs, standing out erect from the skin, particularly about the neck and shoulders. When first brought to America, Etah was much petted and caressed by the ladies of New York; but he afterwards fell into the hands of Barnum, by whom he was exhibited in that city, and after some time presented to Lieutenant Hugh Stewart, R. N., who carried him to England (together with the rifle and furs worn by Dr. Kane), and gave him to Mr. E. W. Nunn, of Ryde. The dog was very savage when he first came into the possession of that gentleman, and would eat nothing but raw meat; but in time he became quite quiet, and even playful with his children, the youngest of whom was not a year old. One could not but regard this creature with considerable attention, and reflect on the toils, privations, and adventures he had gone through and partaken with his gallant master and comrades in their search for Franklin, and in which his services had so much contributed to carry them safely. It was with regret that one saw this veteran exposed for sale, after having well earned a pension from the English nation. Kane, in his first Arctic Voyage, remarks, that "the training of these animals by the natives is of the most ungracious sort. I never heard a kind accent from the Esquimaux to his dog. The driver's whip of walrus hide, some twenty feet long; a stone, or a lump of ice skilfully directed; an imprecation loud and sharp, made emphatic by the fist or foot; and a grudged ration of seal's meat, make up the winter's entertainment of an Esquimaux team. In the summer the dogs run at large and cater for themselves. "I remarked that there were comparatively few of them at Holsteinberg, and was told a melancholy story to account for it. It seems that the governor, and priest, and fishermen keep goats; veritable goats, housed in a fire-warmed apartment in winter, and allowed the rest of the year to crop the grasses of the snow valleys. Now the half-tutored, unfed Esquimaux dog would eat a goat, bones, skin, and, for aught I know, horns. The diet was too expensive. It became a grave question, therefore, how to reconcile the incompatibilities of dog and goat. The matter was settled very summarily. When the green season of sunshine and plenty came, the dogs were sent to a rocky islet, a sort of St. Helena establishment, about a mile from the main, with permission to live by their wits; and the goats remained to browse and grow fat at large. The results were tragical. The dogs were afflicted with sore famine. Great life battles began; the strong keeping themselves alive by eating the weak. "By this terrible process of gradual reduction, the colony was resolved into some four or five scarred veterans, whose nightly combats disturbed even the milk drinkers at the settlement, until the remnant at last took to the water in desperation, and succeeded in reaching the shore. From these came the 'parvum pecus' that we saw." 'O Man! tyrannic lord! how long, how long "At Pröven and Upernavik the dogs are exceedingly numerous, and large numbers throng the outskirts like their Pariah brethern of Constantinople and the Nile. They do not bark, but howl. And they have not the intelligent movement of the tail, which, like the fan of a Spanish señorita, I hold to be the most expressive and graceful of all the substitutes for voice." This was not the case with Etah, who, on the contrary, acknowledged any little kindness by a wave of his fine tail. Dr. Kane's second narrative gives many descriptions of the native dog, to which in some instances, his medical acquirements add additional value:-" We have," says he, "more than fifty dogs on board, the majority of whom might be characterised as 'ravening wolves.' To feed this family, upon whose strength our success depends, is a difficult matter. Corn-meal or beans, which Penny's dogs fed on, they disdain to touch, and salt junk would kill them." It appears they sometimes relapse into a wild state, for there is an island near VOL. I. |