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184 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN
our heavy weekly losses. The distemper d i d not much abate
u n t i l May, when it ceased almost as suddenly as it had
appeared; but d u r i n g the three and one- half months of its
prevalence, the Company lost no less than sixty- five sleigh
dogs at Eort Anderson, w h i l e the total native losses must
have been very considerable. It was remarked at the time
that bloodless fights between healthy and affected animals
resulted i n no i n j u r y to the former, but when the fight was
h a r d and bloody the disease was thereby communicated and
the bitten dog soon f e l l a v i c t im to it. Comparatively few
ever recovered. Most of the attacked animals became very
quarrelsome, and some quite ferocious, while a few fled and
died quietly i n the neighbouring woods, or after t r a v e l l i ng
a distance of f r om 5 to 15 miles. I n course of a residence
of over t h i r t y years i n the districts of Mackenzie R i v e r and
Athabaska, I have known distemper to occur on different
occasions at several trading- posts i n both, and always w i th
f a t a l results to the dogs, but this Anderson epidemic was,
I think, one of the very worst ever experienced i n the far
north. I find that S i r George Nares, when on his polar
expedition of 1875- 76, long after the foregoing was written,
lost quite a number of his E s k i m o dogs by distemper i n his
winter quarters i n latitude 82° north. He writes that the
" first observed symtoms thereof i n an animal was his f a l l i
n g to the ground i n a fit, soon followed by a r u s h i n g about
i n a f r a n t i c manner as i f w h o l l y deprived of a l l sense of feeli
n g . On some occasions one would r u s h into the water and
get drowned. At other times a few would wander away
f r om the ship and be seen no more. Sometimes their sufferings
would terminate i n death. Several appeared to suffer
so very much that they were shot to relieve the poor things
f r om their p a i n . " M a r k h a m also remarks " that nearly a ll
A r c t i c expeditions have experienced the same k i n d of disease
and mortality among their dogs, and for which there
has hitherto been no remedy. Hydrophobia is unknown
among the E s k i m o or I n d i a n dogs, as no one bitten b y a
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| Title | Page 207 |
| OCR | 184 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN our heavy weekly losses. The distemper d i d not much abate u n t i l May, when it ceased almost as suddenly as it had appeared; but d u r i n g the three and one- half months of its prevalence, the Company lost no less than sixty- five sleigh dogs at Eort Anderson, w h i l e the total native losses must have been very considerable. It was remarked at the time that bloodless fights between healthy and affected animals resulted i n no i n j u r y to the former, but when the fight was h a r d and bloody the disease was thereby communicated and the bitten dog soon f e l l a v i c t im to it. Comparatively few ever recovered. Most of the attacked animals became very quarrelsome, and some quite ferocious, while a few fled and died quietly i n the neighbouring woods, or after t r a v e l l i ng a distance of f r om 5 to 15 miles. I n course of a residence of over t h i r t y years i n the districts of Mackenzie R i v e r and Athabaska, I have known distemper to occur on different occasions at several trading- posts i n both, and always w i th f a t a l results to the dogs, but this Anderson epidemic was, I think, one of the very worst ever experienced i n the far north. I find that S i r George Nares, when on his polar expedition of 1875- 76, long after the foregoing was written, lost quite a number of his E s k i m o dogs by distemper i n his winter quarters i n latitude 82° north. He writes that the " first observed symtoms thereof i n an animal was his f a l l i n g to the ground i n a fit, soon followed by a r u s h i n g about i n a f r a n t i c manner as i f w h o l l y deprived of a l l sense of feeli n g . On some occasions one would r u s h into the water and get drowned. At other times a few would wander away f r om the ship and be seen no more. Sometimes their sufferings would terminate i n death. Several appeared to suffer so very much that they were shot to relieve the poor things f r om their p a i n . " M a r k h a m also remarks " that nearly a ll A r c t i c expeditions have experienced the same k i n d of disease and mortality among their dogs, and for which there has hitherto been no remedy. Hydrophobia is unknown among the E s k i m o or I n d i a n dogs, as no one bitten b y a |
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