Evening star., 1924-08-12

At first he had been prone to turn
upon his Dursuers, jealous Of his dig
nifty and wrathful; but at such time
Mit-sah would throw the singing lash
of the 3O-foot caribou-gut whip
into his face and comrel him to turn
tail and run on. Lip-lip might face
the pack. but he could not fac, that
whip, and all that was left him to
and his f1anks ahead OF the teeth OF
his mates.
But still greater cunning lurke ed
In the recesses of the Indian mind.
To give point to unending pursuit of
the leader, Mit-sah favored him over
the other dogs. These favors aroused
in them jealousy and hatred. In their
presence Mit-sah would give him
meat and would give it to him only.
This was maddening to them. They
would rage around just outside the
throwing distance of the whip. while
Lip-lip devoured the meat and Nit
sab protected him. And when there
was no meat to give, Mit-sah would
keep the team at a distance and make
White 10 Fsns svs 1ooK te pindy 70 the
work. He had travelled a greater
distance than the other dogs in the
yielding of himself to the rule of
the gods. and he had learned more
thoroughly the futility of opposing
their will In addition. the persecu-
ton he had suffered from the pack
had made the pack less to him in
the scheme of things, and man more.
He had not learned to be Independent 1t
on his kind for companionship. Be-
sides, Kiche was well-nigh forgot
ten; and the chief outlet Of expression
that remained to him was in the
allegiance he rendered the gods he
had accepted as masters. So he work
ed hard. learned discipline and was
Obedient. Faithfulness and willing
ness characterized his toll. These
are essential traits of the wolf and
the wild dog when they have becom e
dome eSticated, and these traits White
Fang possessed in unusual measure.
A companionshiD did exist between
White Fang and the other dogs but
1T was one of warfare and enmity.
He had never learned to play with
them. He knew only how to fight,
and fight with them he did, returning
to them a hundred fold the snaps and
slashes they had given him in the
days when Lip-lip was leader of the
pack. But LiD-lip was no longer
leader-except when he fled away
before his mates at the end of his
In camp he kept close to Mit-sah or
Gray Beaver or Kloo-kooch- He did
not dare venture away from the gods,
for now the fangs of all dogs were
against him. and he tasted to the
dregs the persecution that had been
White F>ang's.
With the overthrow Of Lip-lip,
White Fang could have become leader
of the pack. But he was too morose
and solitary for that. He merely
thrashed his teammates Otherwise
he ignored them. They got out of his
way when he came along; nor did the
boldest of them ever dare to rob him
of his meat. On the contrary, they
devoured their own meat hurriedly.
for fear that he would take it away
VI -
law well: To oppress the weak and
obey the strong. He ate his share Of
meat as rapidly as he could. And
then woe the dog that had not yet
finished! snarl and a fash OF fangs
and that dog would wall his indigna-
White Fang finished his portion for
him.
Every little while. however, one
dog or another would flame up in re-
volt and be promptly subdued. Thus
White Fang was kept in training. He
was jealous of the isolation in which
he kept himself in the midst of the
pack. and he fought often to main
tain it. But such fights were of brief
duration. He was too quick for the
others. They were slashed open and
bleeding before they knew what had
happened, were whipped almost be-
fore they had begun to fight.
As rigid as the sled-discipline of
tanned by White Fang among his
fellows He never allowed them any
latitude. He compelled them to an
unremitting respect for him. They
might do as they pleased among
themselves That was no concern of
leave him alone in his isolation. get
out of his way when he elected to
walk among them, and at all times
acknowledge his mastery over them.
part a lifted lip or a bristle Of hair.
and he would be upon them, merci-
less and cruel. swiftly convincing
them of the error of their way.
He was a monstrous tyrant. His
mastery was rigid as steel. He op-
Not for nothing had he been exposed
to the pitiless struggle for life in the
days of his cubhood. when his mother
and he, alone and unaided, held their
environment of the wild. And not
for nothing had he learned to walk
softly when superior strength went
by. He oppressed the weak, but he
respected the strong. And in the
course Of the long journey with Cray
among the full-grown dogs in the
camps of the strange man-animals
they encountered.
The months passed by. Still con-
tinued the journey of Gray Beaver.
White Fang'S strength was developed
by the long hours on trail and the
steady toll at the sled: and it would
have seemed that his mental develop
ment was well-nigh complete. He
had come to know quite thoroughly
the world in which he lived The out
look was bleak and materialistic. The
world as he saw 1t was a fierce and
brutal world. a world without
warmth, world in which caresses
and affection and the bright sweet
nesses of the spirit did not exist.
He had no affection for Gray
Beaver. True. he was a god, but
most savage god. White Fang was
glad to acknowledge his lordship, but
1t was a lordship based upon su-
perior intelligence and brute
strength. There was something in
CITE HfcuYpS