Canis lupus hominis

Mi'kmaq dog fetching a goose.

From Nicolas Denys’s  The Description and Natural History of the Coasts of North America (Acadia)(1672):

The hunting by the Indians in old times was easy for them. They killed animals only in proportion as they had need of them. When they were tired of eating one sort, they killed some of another. If they did not wish longer to eat meat, they caught some fish. They never made an accumulation of skins of Moose, Beaver, Otter, or others, but only so far as they needed them for personal use. They left the remainder where the animals had been killed, not taking the trouble to bring them to their camps.

The hunting of the Moose in summer took place by surprising them. The Indians knew approximately the places where they could be found. In those localities they beat the woods, going from one part to another to find their tracks. Having found one they followed it, and they knew by the track, and even from the dung, whether it was male or female, and whether it was old or young. By its track they knew also whether they were near the beast; then they considered whether there was any thicket or meadow near by where the beast would be likely to be, judging from the direction it was taking. They were rarely mistaken. They made a circle around the place where it was, in order to get below the wind so as not to be discovered by the Moose. They approached it very softly, fearful of making noise enough to reveal themselves to it. Having discovered it, if they were not near enough they approached closer until within arrow-shot, which is from forty-five to fifty paces. Then they launched their blow against the beast, which rarely fell to a single arrow. Then it was necessary to follow its track. Sometimes the beast would stop, hearing no more noise. Knowing this from its pace, they went slowly and tried to approach it yet again, and gave it still another arrow-shot. If this did not make it drop, they had again to follow it, even to evening, when they camped near the beast, and in the morning went again to take up the track. The animal being sluggish in rising because of the blood it had lost, they gave it a third shot, and made it drop, [thus] accomplishing the killing. They then broke off some branches to mark the place, in order to send their wives to find it.

But after having delivered the two first blows, they endeavoured to get in front of it to make it turn towards the camp, following it and making it approach until it fell dead from lack of strength. Often they worked it up very close to the camp. They always found several together, but in summer they can never follow more than one.

In the spring the hunting was still made thus, as it was except when the females enter on the rutting-time. At that time the hunting was done at night upon the rivers in a canoe. Counterfeiting the cry of the female, the Indians with a dish of bark would take up some water, and let it fall into the water from a height. The noise brought the male, who thought it was a female making water. For this object they let themselves go softly along the stream; if they were ascending, they paddled very softly, and from time to time they made water fall, counterfeiting always the female. They went all along the border of the river, and if there was any male in the woods who heard the sound of this water, he came there. Those who were in the canoe would hear him coming, because of the noise the beast made in the woods, and they kept on constantly imitating the cry of the female, which made him come close up to them. They were all ready to draw upon him, and never missed him. The darkest night was best for this hunting, and also the most calm, [since] the wind prevented the noise made by the fall of the water from being heard.

In winter the hunting was different. Because of the snow, snow-shoes were used, by means of which one marches over the snow without sinking in, especially in the morning, because of the freezing in the night. At that time it bears the Dogs, but the Moose does not find good going, because he sinks into the snow, which fatigues him greatly in travelling.

To find the Moose, the Indians ran about from one place to another, seeking wood that was bitten. For at this time of year they eat only the twigs of wood of the year’s growth. Where they found the wood eaten, they met straightway with the animals, which were not far distant, and approached them easily, they being unable to travel swiftly. They then speared them with the lance, which is the large shaft of which 1 have spoken;at its end is fixed that large pointed bone which pierces like a sword. But if there were several Moose in the band, they made them flee. At that season the Moose arranged themselves one after another, and made a large ring of a league and a half, or two leagues, and sometimes of more, and beat down the snow so well by virtue of moving around, that they no longer sank into it. The one in front becoming weary, dropped to the rear. But the Indians, who were more clever than they, placed themselves in ambush, and waited for them to pass, and there they speared them. There was always one person chasing them; at each circuit always one of them fell; but in the end they scattered into the woods, some in one direction and some in another. There fell always five or six, and, when the snow would carry, the Dogs followed whatever ones were left.

The hunting of the Beaver took place in summer with arrows, when they were taken in the woods, or else in the lakes or ponds, where the Indians placed themselves in canoes at a proper spot to watch until they came to the surface of the water to take air. But the commonest and most certain way was to break their dam, and make them lose the water. Then the Beavers found themselves without water, and did not know any more where to go; their houses showed everywhere. The Indians took them with blows of arrows and of spears; and, having a sufficiency, they left all the rest.

The Beavers, hearing no more noise, reassembled and set about repairing their dam. It is at this we have seen them working, and this makes it well believable that all I have said of their work is true. I do not consider that the work of making their dams entirely anew is so difficult as to repair them when broken in the middle.

In winter the hunting of them was done differently, the dams and the lakes being all frozen. Then the Indians have their Dogs, which are a kind of Mastiff, but more lightly built. They have the head of a Fox, but do not yelp, having only a howl which is not of great sound. As for their teeth,these are longer and sharper than those of Mastiffs. These Dogs serve for hunting the Moose, as I have related, in the spring, summer, and autumn, and in the winter when the snows will bear them. There is no hunter who has not from seven to eight of them. They cherish them greatly. If they have little ones which the mother cannot nourish, the women suckle them; when they are large they are given soup. When they are in condition to be serviceable, they are given nothing but the offal of the beasts which are killed. If eight days pass without any animals being killed, they are just so long without eating. As to the bones, they are not given any, for fear of damaging their teeth, not even those of the Beaver. If they should eat of that, it would keep the Indians from killing any, and the same if one were to burn them. For it is well to remark here that the Indians had many superstitions about such things, of which it has been much trouble to disabuse them. If they had roasted an Eel, they also believed that this would prevent them from catching one another time. They had in old times many beliefs of this kind, which they have no more at the present time, and of which we have disabused them.

Their wealth was in proportion to their Dogs, and as a testimony to a friend of the esteem in which they held him, they give him that Dog to eat which they valued the most; [this was] a mark of friendship. They say that it is very good eating. They still do this, and the French eat it when they are present at their feasts, of which they tell great stories. They like it better than mutton. But that, nevertheless, has never given me any desire to eat it.

When they took their Dogs to hunt the Moose in spring, summer, and autumn, the Dogs would run about for some time, some in one direction and some in another. The one which first met some track followed it without giving tongue. If he overtook the beast, he got in front of it, jumping for the nose. Then he howled. The Moose amused himself, and wished to kick the Dog in front. All the other Dogs which heard it came running up and attacked it from all sides. It defended itself with its feet in front; the Dogs tried to seize its nose or ears. In the meantime the Indian arrives, and tries without being seen to approach within shot below the wind. For if the animal perceives him or his smell, the Moose takes to flight and scorns the Dogs, unless the hunter gives it an arrow-shot. Being injured, it has difficulty in saving itself from the Dogs, which follow it incessantly, as does also the Indian, who overtakes it and shoots again. But sometimes the Dogs, which have seized the ears or the muzzle, drag it to earth before the Indian has come up. They are not inclined to abandon it, for very often they have had nothing to eat for seven to eight days. The Indian arrives, completes the kill, splits open the belly, and gives all the entrails to his Dogs, which have a great junket. It is this which makes the Dogs keen in the chase. As for the winter, when it has rained upon the snow, which [thus] can carry the Dogs, they made use of them as I have already described, because they have not at that time so much trouble to catch the Moose. For these cannot then run so fast; being much heavier than the Dogs, they sink into the snow, and are unable to advance farther except by leaps.

As for that [hunting] of the Beavers, it also was done in winter with Dogs, but they were only used to find the houses in which they smelled the Beavers through the ice. Having found them, the Indians cut through the ice and made a hole large enough to let through a Beaver. Then they made another hole twenty-five or thirty paces away, on the open surface of the lake. In this place an Indian or two took their stand with a bow and an arrow which has a harpoon of bone at the end, made like a barbed rod, like that which was used in fishing the Sturgeon, but smaller

attached at one end, and the Indian took hold of the other. Everything being ready, a other Indian went to the other hole near the house of the Beavers. Lying down on his belly upon the ice, he placed his arm through the hole to find the Beavers’ opening, that by which they place their tail in the water. There they are all arranged one against the other, that is to say, all those of one Beaver family. Having found them, the Indian passed his hand very gently along the back of one several times, and, approaching little by little to the tail, tried to seize it.

I have heard it said by the Indians that they have kept the arm so long in the water that the ice froze all around the arm. When they once seized the tail they drew the Beaver all at one swoop out from the water upon the ice, and at the same time gave it the axe upon the head. They killed it for fear lest the Beaver bite them, for wherever these set their teeth they take out the piece. Having thus drawn one out they tried to obtain another, which they did in the same way, rubbing them gently. That does not put them to flight, for they imagine they are touching one another. But nevertheless three or four of them having been removed, the remainder take to flight and throw themselves into the water. Not being able to remain long without breathing, the daylight which shows over the hole out on the surface leads them to go there to get the air. The other Indians who are there in ambush, so soon as they appear, give them an arrow shot; the harpoon, which has teeth, holds in some part of the Beaver from which it cannot be drawn out. The cord is then pulled and the Beaver is drawn out through the hole; then they raise it upon the ice and kill it. Some time after there comes another which is taken in the same way. Few in a house are saved; they would take all. The disposition of the Indians is not to spare the little ones any more than the big ones. They killed all of each kind of animal that there was when they could capture it. It is well to remark here that they were more fond of the young than of the grown of various species of animals, whatever these might be, to such a degree that often when they were chasing two Elks [caribou], male and female, they quitted the male if they perceived that the female was pregnant, in order to obtain the young ones, for ordinarily they carry two, and it is for them a great dainty.

As to the Bears, if they killed them in winter, it was necessary that they should happen upon them when hunting. Coming upon some large trees they looked to see whether there came out any breath in the form of vapour from within. If they saw any it was a sign that the Bear was there. They mounted upon the tree and killed the Bear with their spears; then they drew it out. In the spring they met them in the woods, when they followed their track. Or they killed them sometimes upon an Oak where they were eating acorns. Then a shot of an arrow straightway brought it to the ground, and so soon as it was down they gave it another arrow, and then they killed it with blows from axes. If they meet it upon the ground, and they draw upon it, according to whether the Bear is hurt [or not] it [either] flees or comes to the man, who has immediately another arrow ready. If he does not bring it down, the Bear embraces him, and will very soon have torn him to pieces with its claws. But the Indian to escape this throws himself face down upon the ground. The Bear smells him, and if the man does not stir, the Bear turns him over and places its nose upon his mouth to find if he is breathing. If it does not smell the breath, it places its bottom on the [man’s] belly, crushes him as much as it can, and at the same time replaces its nose upon the mouth. If it does not then smell the breath, and the man does not move, it leaves him there and goes fifteen or twenty paces away. Then it sits down on its haunches and watches [to see] if the man does not move. If the man remains some time immovable, it goes away. But if it sees him move, it returns to the man, presses him once more upon the belly for a long time, then returns to smell at his mouth. If it perceives that the man breathes it will press him like that until it believes it has suffocated him, if in the meantime its wounds do not bring it down. To guard against this, it is necessary to take good care neither to breathe nor to move until it is far off. They do not do any other harm. When one has Dogs one is guaranteed against all this.

As for the Lynxes, if the Indians meet them and they or their Dogs pursue them, this animal mounts into a tree where it is easily killed, whilst the Dogs are terrifying it with their barkings. All the other animals are not really difficult to kill, and there is not one of them capable of attacking a man, at least unless it be attacked first (pg. 426-434).

Denys was a seventeenth century French colonist who founded settlements in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. He was intimately aware of the customs of the native of this land, and French had the good sense to emulate many of them.

The “Indians” he discusses are the Mi’kmaq people.

Some of Mi’kmaq used their dogs to retrieve geese and other waterfowl.

But one thing is clear, these people relied upon their hunting dogs for survival.

Despite what people like Raymond Coppinger might say, people have likely been relying upon hunting dogs for tens of thousands of years.

Hunting with dogs is almost universal. Native Australians hunted with dingoes, and those of Papua New Guinea still hunt with derivatives of the singing dogs.  Not all Inuit used their dogs primarily for hauling. Some used them for hauling sleds on occasion, but the main use they had for their dogs was to assist in the hunt.

To buy into this commonly held assertion that people only rarely relied upon dogs to hunt prey one must ignore both the ethnographies and historical records of people doing so.

Virtually no one in the West relies upon wild game survival, but we in the advanced Western countries are historical anomalies.

We’ve not always had grocery stores. We’ve not always had large scale agriculture either.

And when we had had neither, one of our main “tools” for sustenance was to rely upon our dogs’ predatory behavior to feed us.

I don’t know why this is so controversial.

I think it may be that we’ve decided that we need to write out both the predatory and social natures of dogs in order to be politically correct.

It’s easy to think of a dog as kind of cartoonish fur person.

But the truth is they are no more people than they are wild wolves.

They may have evolved cognitive abilities that allow them to more easily live with man, and they may be genetically still part of the same species as the wolf.

But they are neither.