Dog sleds and dog thefts : "Dogs ! Dogs ! Dogs !"

During the Klondike Gold Rush, many type of transportation had been used, the most common was obvisouly on foot, for must of the stampeders were not wealthy. But ways had been found to help these prospector transporting their supplies to the gold field, such as sledge or pack animals. However, the most efficient way was using dogs, and the high demand for a particular type of dogs lead to the creation of a real traffic.

This extract from the movie The Call of the Wild (1967) corresponds more or less to the very beggining of London's novel. Judge Miller discusses here the various ways of transportation during the Yukon Gold Rush as it had been reported in the newspapers. Some of them are very peculiar and seemed foolish - a feeling that is reinforced by the way the two characters are talking about it and laughing. This leads to the Judge's speech about the importance of dog during that time. 

We know that surviving in the Klondike is not an easy thing, the climate is cold and harsh, and the area is not really what we can call a flat region. The man had to rely on dogs in order to travel faster on the snow and carry their load of supply, which mean that not any dog was made for the journey. Men were looking for heavy dog, capable a running for a long time, and resisting the cold and the snow. These special characteristics had decrease the number of dogs fitting the adventure, and therefore made these type of dogs more rare, and valuable.

In this scene, it is also interesting to note how Buck is represented, and compared it to the rest of the film, as well as its description in the book. In the background, we can see Buck with the two girls, standing still as they wrapped rubbons around him and place a hat on its head. This attitude, and the way Buck is treated draw an easy and comfortable life for the dog, which appears more as a pet than an actual sledge dog. He is not the fierce and hard working animal that will be beaten several times afterwards. When we compared the Buck living in the city and the Buck trying to survive in the Klondike, we can see a obvious contrast, that can be applied to the contrast between two different environment, and which had already been discussed when talking about experience/unexperience. 

We can also note that, in the book, Buck first description is quite different, which is directly linked with the support of the movie: it is harldy possible to convey Buck's inner thought on the screen, therefore, his proud attitude and his view on himself are impossible to depict. Indeed, in the book, Buck is not as soft as he can be seen in the movie. As London wrote :

But Buck was neither house-dog nor kennel dog. The whole realm was his. He plunged into the swimming tank or went hunting with the Judge's son; he escorted Mollie and Alice, the Judge's daughters, on long twilight or early morning rambles [...] Among the terriers he stalked imperiously, and Toots and Ysabel (*) he utterly ignored, for he was king - king over all creeping, crawling, flying things of Judge Miller's place, humans included.

(*) "Toots, the Japanese pug, Ysabel the mexican hairless - strange creatures that  rarely put nose out of doors" 

Because of that description, I didn't feel the same contrast between the two life-style that Buck knew, mostly due to the fact that he was already shown as an outdoor dog, seeking for the call of the wild. Moreover, Buck clearly fitted the characteristics wanted in a dog sledge, which lead the reader to Buck's fate.

Indeed, the demand for dogs was high at the time, for many prepared their journey in the Klondike, which explained the high price of dogs. At that time, especially for slegde dogs, dogs were not treated as they are now, they were scene as another supply for the gold digger: they were part of their package, and a good way to transport the rest of the supply. This also means that the stampeders had to add a ration for the dogs as well as pay the price of each dog, which was not somethings that everyone could afford. Nevertheless, we could say that dogs became a source of income for many people at the time.

Indeed, the economical context shows that poverty was high, therefore people could do many thing to gain some money. Moreover, whenever their is a high demand, we could say that illegal traffic for that supply starts to emerge here and there. It had also been the case for dogs, a real traffic emerged at the time, where dogs were stolen and then sold. This had been a serious issue, on the American continent and in Alaska too, and not just a way to serve the plot of the novel and the movie.

This extract give a good vision of dog thefts at the time, with several information about it: first who were the theves, then how this traffic worked, and finally how were treated the stolen dogs.

For Buck, the thief was a man working for Judge Miller, which can be seen as the representative for the working class, the people more affected by the economical crisis. As it could have been easily suspected, stealing dogs was just about the money you could earned. Then, this extract shows how the traffic works, which can be tricky to explain just by looking at the extract. It is not explicitly explained what role each characters have, and I will only try to describe what I have understood. Buck is sold to a man that appear to be the , the man that will sold the dogs to the actual prospector - or at least a man who is buying dogs to the thieves. The two other characters, wearing rags, must be taking care of the dogs during the transportation, for they still needed to be fed. The last scene of this extract, where the two poor people get the money shows how much they needed it ("We got the money!' and quickly gathering it from the floor) We can also see the rough way dogs are treated, since at this point, they are not more than supply. Beaten up, their muzzle tied, cages loading the wagon... 

Between the first extract and this one, we clearly see the different treatment of the dogs, from a caring house where Buck is loved and we could even say treated as a part of the family (the Judge talked to him the same way he would do to a child) to a mere supply in a train.

The Herald, 2 March 1898

The Record-Union, 22 Jan. 1898                                          The San Fransisco Call, 29 Jan. 1898

Here are different newspaper article, showing that dog thefts were punished by the law. In The Herald, we wan see that the thief is mentioned as "a hobo", which enforced is idea that the traffic was seen by the poor as a good way to make money, despite the illegal aspect of it. In most of the article, it is linked to the Klondike Gold Rush. We could have wrongfully thought that all dog sent in the Klondike were stolen. In The Record-Union, it is interesting to note that before being stolen, the owner of the dog had receive on offer for his dog: selling his dog was also a way to make profit during the time. We can also note that most of the article are from the beginning of the Klondike Gold Rush. In December, a dog could cost up to $500.

In this last extract, we can see the whole team of sled dogs being stolen in the Alaska, surely to be sold again to other prospectors in another town, to avoid being caught by the authorities of the town. If dog thefts could be the action of a single man for his own benefit, here, we can suspect that these two men are part of a sort of organization, as the postal worker imply by accusing the man. Which I find the most interesting is the implication of the authority in the movie, which had not been mentioned in the novel if I recall it right. Here again, we can see that the movie is more attached to the historical context than the developement of Buck.

As it had been said, others animals had been used during the Klondike Gold Rush, and almost absent in The Call of Wild : pack animals like mules, oxen, horses. They were used to pull the sleds or carry the supplies of the stampeders. The reason of that absence could be explained by the fact that the movie focused on the story of Buck, therefore on the fate of sledge dogs during that period. Also, pack animals often die on the way to the gold field, and took another path than sledge dog, therefore it would have been difficult for Buck or the main characters to encounter pack animals, at least on the trail.

Sources :

"Dogs in the Klondike", The New York Times, January 1, 1899 (Document PDF)
"The Duece Take Him." The Herald, 2 Mar. 1898: p. 8 (Web)
"Would Have the Dog." The Record-Union 22 Jan. 1898: p.11. (Web)
"The Traffic in Dogs." The San Francisco Call 29 Jan. 1898: p.7. (Web)