The dogs were not less than
fifty or sixty in number, and had nothing about them different
from those on the eastern coast of Baffin's Bay, except they do
not stand near so high as those of the latitude of 76 deg. They are
very shy and wild, and the natives had great difficulty in
catching them while we were by, as well as holding them in when
caught. Some of them have much more of the wolf in their
appearance than others, having very long heads and sharp noses,
with a brushy tail, almost always carried between the legs; while
the bodies of others are less lank, as well as their noses less
sharp, and they carry their tails handsomely curled over their
backs: their colour varied from quite dark to brindled. The
ravenous manner in which they devour their food is almost
incredible. Both the old and young ones, when a bird is given
them, generally swallow feathers and all; and an old dog that I
purchased, though regularly fed while on board by a person
appointed for that purpose, ate up, with great avidity, a large
piece of canvass, a cotton handkerchief, which one of the men had
just washed and laid down by his side, and a part of a check
shirt. The young dogs will at any time kill themselves by
over-eating if permitted.
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