What is an Alaskan Husky*?? Lets start at the beginning. A recent study (2002) suggests dogs were first domesticated in Asia. The first North Americans were Paleo Indians (descended from Asians) who crossed the Bering Strait and headed south. In any event, we do know that some 10,000 years ago, primitive man began taming wolves. The resulting village 'dogs' were some of the first to form the timeless canine/human bond. For an excellent page on the prehistory of Arctic People of North America, click here. That was only the beginning. It is estimated that the first dog teams were used 4,000 years ago, in northern Siberia, their use a result of pressures to travel further to find game. Dogteams naturally became a means of survival for our Native people in the treeless, frozen tundra of North America. Special thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Art for this image by Leon Cogniet Legends tell of the historically tough demeanor of domesticated village dogs, direct descendants of the first gentled wolves. It is said the natives occasionally tied females in season outside the village, to keep the blood of wolves in their stock. The natives, as tough as the dogs they drove, used many means to subdue and train their teams, as witnessed by early adventurers ~ and a unique animal evolved, so necessary to Inuit survival, under such extreme conditions. Photo courtesy of Channel 6 Denmark Previously 'untouched' by external influences, the Inuit witnessed the first coming of whites with the search for the North West Passage, and the whaling trade of the 1800's. Disease took it's toll among the natives, but they tenaciously survived - much better than their visitors, who experienced heavy losses due to the arctic environment. As much as it is human nature to adapt, the whites eventually learned from the Inuit, and slowly but surely, put down roots in their land. This last frontier of North America was soon to drastically change, just before the turn of the century. In 1867, the United States acquired the Russian colony, Alaska, and by 1880, gold was discovered the frozen landscape of what was later known as "Juneau". Within 20 years, the Gold rush was to forever change the destiny of the sled dog of the north, and the natives of Alaska. Their home became the destination of fortune seekers from across the globe. Within an 8 year time frame, over $40 million in gold was successfully mined. Special thanks to the Alaska Icefield Expeditions A vast range of breeds appeared in Alaska because of the Gold Rush. Many dogs were being transported to the frozen state, and used for travel to the furthest reaches of the wilderness, in search of fortune. Irish and English Setters, Siberian Huskies from Russia, canines of every variety - the demand for dogs outweighed their supply in this northernmost state - it was a very strange era indeed, and makes for some great story telling! Everyone has heard of Jack London's 'Call of the Wild' - a must read for dogsledding enthusiasts! After the Gold Rush, just click thee link , look , and read .
SMH , GIMMEE !
*hey, i dont kno why this is embedded here . u figure it OUT ! up down left right . /|\
WELL WELL WELL what does ETY say ?
husky (n.) "Eskimo dog," 1852, Canadian English, earlier (1830) hoskey "an Eskimo," probably shortened variant of Ehuskemay (1743), itself a variant of Eskimo. The moment any vessel is noticed steering for these islands [Whalefish Islands], the Esquimaux, or "Huskies,"* as the Danes customarily term them, come off in sufficient numbers to satisfy you that you are near the haunts of uncivilized men, and will afford sufficient information to guide any stranger to his anchorage. *"Husky" is their own term. I recollect the chorus to a song at Kamtchatka was "Husky, Husky." ["Last of the Arctic Voyages," London, 1855] Kodiak Alaskan island, from Rus. Kadiak, from Alutiiq (Eskimo) qikertaq "island." husky (adj.) "hoarse," c.1722 in reference to a cattle disease (of persons, 1740), from husk on the notion of "dry as a husk." Earlier (1550s) "having husks." Sense of "tough and strong" (like corn husks) is first found 1869, American English. Related: Huskily; huskiness. hooch also hootch, "cheap whiskey," 1897, shortened form of Hoochinoo (1877) "liquor made by Alaskan Indians," from the name of a native tribe in Alaska whose distilled liquor was a favorite with miners in 1898 Klondike gold rush; the tribe's name is said by OED to be from Tlingit Hutsnuwu, lit. "grizzly bear fort." As the supply of whisky was very limited, and the throats down which it was poured were innumerable, it was found necessary to create some sort of a supply to meet the demand. This concoction was known as "hooch"; and disgusting as it is, it is doubtful if it is much more poisonous than the whisky itself. [M.H.E. Hayne, "The Pioneers of the Klondyke," London, 1897]
*i know why this one is, though . \|/
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