Archaeologists have found evidence dating back as far as 6500 B.C. that long before the Plains Indians obtained horses from the Spanish, they had domesticated dogs, and they used them to bear burdens. Two poles arranged in a "V" shape, called a travois were fastened to the animal and a net suspended from the poles held around 75 pounds of baggage. Dogs even helped the hunters round up buffalo during a hunt, and warned their camp when an enemy was near or danger was close by.
Among the Indians of the subarctic regions, the dog, like his brother the Wolf, was looked upon as a brother of man, and was not killed for food. However the Algonquian speaking Indians who lived in the Northeastern woodlands found the dogs to be useful in hunting and tracking game, but often killed and ate them in sparse times.
The small white dogs owned by the Klallam Indians of the Northwest Pacific Coast led a somewhat a sheltered life. They were bred for their hair, which once becoming long enough, was clipped, spun into yarn, then added with mountain goat's wool from which the Klallam women wove blankets.
The most useful dog was probrably the Eskimo's husky, which pulled sleds and had a keen sense of smell. This greatly aided hunters in locating seals. The husky's heavy coat protected it against the bitter cold of the Arctic winters.
The most valuable of the husky's was the lead sled dog, he was the smartest and the biggest of the team.
During summer months, the dogs were turned loose to search for food for themselves, which they did very well, and then would return to the camps in the fall when their food source grew scarce. |
