White Fang: A Tale of Wilderness and Transformation
Chapter 1
On both sides of the river lay a gloomy pine forest. The boreal forest was savage. But life in these places, without challenging two men, stood on a dog sled. They also had a third who lay in a box. At nightfall, they stopped in a coniferous forest that was at the side of the road, built a fire, and Bill told Henry that he had given all the fish to the dogs, but he needed one. That meant that a wolf had eaten the fish. A while later, the dogs seemed upset, and a lot of eyes were grouped around the camp. The two men decided to sleep. The howling woke Bill. He counted them and saw that there were seven. The next morning, there were only six. Wolves probably would have devoured one.
Chapter 2
Henry and Bill woke up and went on the road, covered by the Arctic night. Quickly, or by heaven, so they camped. Henry heard a scream and saw Bill with a stick in his hand and a slice of salmon in the other. Bill said he had given a good shot at a wolf that would eat the dog meat. The next day, he saw that another dog had disappeared, so at least two dogs were launched. That day was like all the rest. As night fell, they made a camp. Bill attached the dogs so that they could not escape. The next day, they again missed another dog. Certainly, one of the animals would bite the rope to the other, and this one would escape. They broke camp and continued their journey, and it was less surprised that in the ride in the sleigh they found the club where they had tied the dog. Wolves had eaten up the belt. Bill told Henry to hasten to tell how many wolves were following. After a while, Bill came back and told Henry that they were filled with about twenty hungry wolves. At camp, the first thing Bill did was to tie the dogs so that they could not bite the rope between them. Bill seemed quite disheartened. After a while, he went to sleep.
Chapter 3
The day started well. At night, no dog had disappeared. Bill seemed most animated when, as she upset the sleigh, one of the dogs ran toward the wolves. Bill’s attempts to stop it were unsuccessful. The dog stopped at the wolf. Bill remembered the rifle he had in the sled and pulled it out. Pronto, a wolf pounced on the dog’s back, and out of nowhere appeared a dozen wolves. The wolf’s attempts to escape were futile. Bill turned his rifle toward where the wolves were. From the sled, Henry could not see what was happening, but what he heard was enough to continue the trip alone. He only had two dogs, so he could not go very far. To ease the burden of death, he had to tie the box into a tree. He camped, and as night fell, a circle of wolves surrounded him. He spent a sleepless night with glow sticks thrown everywhere, but the next day, sleep overcame him, and he fell exhausted. On waking, he saw a pleasant surprise: the wolves were away. Then an idea occurred to him. He made a circle of fire and got inside, and when he thought all was lost, he heard some men come, and he fell asleep from exhaustion.
Chapter 4
The wolf was the first to hear humans, then the others followed. The herd was weak and urgently needed food. It had a great young wolf at his side, an old wolf that was missing one eye, and there was also a cub about three years old. From time to time, the three displayed their love for the wolf, and this was stirred by giving them quick bites on the shoulders. Eventually, they found a herd of reindeer, with which they could satisfy their hunger. So, with full stomachs, the wolves from partner to partner were leaving the herd to be only the big young wolf, the one-eyed, and the cub. One day, the wolf attacked the wrong one and tore his ear. Then, the big-eyed wolf killed him after that fight. The one-eyed bit his jugular vein and killed him, leaving them both. One day, they found a camp in which the wolf was curious, but it quickly went away, and by the way they went, they saw a hare hanging from branches that were no more or less traps for hares. Indians, but they have been stolen and fed on them.
Chapter 5
The wolf and One Eye ascended the Mackenzie. They found a cave they were installed in. The wolf no longer had the speed it had before, and each time it had to be stopped. The wolf found a cave where it was installed. It went inside the cave all day, until the wolf expected it. One Eye went for a walk, and returning to the cave, it was found by the wolf. There lay a litter of puppies. Then, his instinct told him he was looking for food for the puppies. He walked a few hours until they finally found a partridge and killed her. With the bird in his mouth, he went to the cave, but before he got there, he found footprints bigger than his, and a little later, he saw a bobcat trying to kill a porcupine. But this was rolled up and did not let the lynx attack. But in an unguarded moment, this unrolled, and the lynx hit a near-fatal blow in a split second. The porcupine wagged his tail, and the lynx got a nail in the face. The cat ran away, and half an hour after the porcupine died, the wolf ate the porcupine. But as it did not fit both in the mouth, he swallowed the bird and went to the cave with the porcupine, where he hoped the wolf and her cubs were.
Chapter 6
The cub was different from the rest of her litter. Rather than red, it was gray, like his father. It was a real wolf. It did not open its eyes for a month, but despite that, it already knew his mother, his father, and brothers. It felt very curious about the light output that was the end of the cave and the world that lay beyond this. It was the first of his breed to learn kicking, biting, and barking. One day, her father went hunting and never returned, and his brothers were dying of hunger to be the single one, so his mother began to hunt. She knew full well that the one-eyed man was killed by the lynx and now had to avenge his death.
Chapter 7
The cub came out of the cave. It was a new world out there. The cub was full of curiosity. Out of the cave, it fell down the embankment and landed next to some bushes and saw the first animal that was not his race. It was a squirrel. He wavered from the top of a tree. Suddenly, he saw a woodpecker, which was launched on the head and pecking him. The cub ran away with the bad luck to step over a log. This gave way, rotted, and fell over a nest of quail, which was full of chicks, and he felt the first taste of warm blood in his mouth. The mother suddenly appeared and began to peck him, and when the cub was on the verge of defeat, out of nowhere came a hawk that killed the partridge. The cub continued their journey to reach the river, nearly drowned in passing through it, crossed the river, he met a young weasel who wanted to attack, but the mother of this protected his son by jumping into the neck of the wolf, and when he went into his second attack, the cub’s mother appeared and killed the weasel. Then, the two wolves went to the cave and slept.
Chapter 8
The cub, as time passed, felt stronger and more courageous. He no longer feared almost anything and sometimes even planned to kill the squirrel as mocking, but still feared what he really was: a hawk flying over the skies. At the sight, he always was hiding. One day, he slept in the cave with his mother. He was awakened by this cry. The mother of bobcats tried to enter the cave, as the wolf pups killed the lynx. The struggle between the lynx and the wolf was very intense. The lynx had an advantage in possessing knife-sharp claws to tear. The cub was also involved in the fight and took a swipe of the lynx, who made a deep wound in the shoulder. At the end, they managed to kill the lynx and feed him for several days. The courage of the cub was growing each day a little more.
Chapter 9
The cub emerged from the cave to drink water, but that was his surprise at seeing a creature who had never seen before. They were men. The cub tried to defend himself. The three men surrounded him. His attempts to defend himself were futile. Seeing the white fang, the wolf decided to call it White Fang. On hearing the cries of help from his son, the wolf ran from the cave to defend it, but one of the men shouted “Kiche,” and the wolf stopped and lay on the ground. The Indian took Kiche and White Fang to camp. The latter was astonished by the power that humans had. They seemed gods. White Fang, in the camp, he met a dog named Lip-lip, which would be his great enemy. They were not long settled in that camp, but continued their journey.
Chapter 10
White Fang’s days in the camp were full of new experiences. He thought of humans as gods who dominated everything. Lip-lip did not stop fighting with White Fang, and White Fang always lost these fights. Maybe it was because Lip-lip did not let him live his childhood. Mostly, White Fang was developing the sense of cunning. One day, he planned a strategy for their comeuppance. Lip-lip had attracted him in a roundabout way through the camp to join him, and this tore Kiche by all sides. One day, Three Eagles embarked on a canoe, taking with them Kiche. White Fang jumped into the river to chase the boat, but Gray Beaver took another boat and managed to catch it. Leaving Gray Beaver gave him a good beating, so White Fang knew he had to obey the man, and so it would give him food and shelter.
Chapter 11
The camp was still a martyrdom for White Fang because it was increasingly more fierce and dangerous. There were growing cubs in the camp, so that White Fang learned to attack the weak and respect the strong, so none of the puppies dared to walk alone through the camp. White Fang was a very smart dog and planned great strategies to round up opponents. One day, while in the woods, he killed a dog. Everyone saw how he killed the dog, which wanted to kill White Fang, but White Fang was protected.
Chapter 12
There was a great hustle in the camp. The Indians were going to lands where game was more plentiful. Instead of going with them, White Fang went to the forest. He stayed there long enough, until he heard some voices calling for him. They were Gray Beaver and Mit-sah. White Fang had an internal dispute over whether to stay or not stay, but decided to remain in the forest. Night fell early. It was very cold and started snowing. White Fang did not know what to do and missed the protection of man, so he bolted out of the woods and was following the bank of the river the same way they had come the Indians previously. The trip took almost three days. White Fang was malnourished, but when all seemed lost, he found traces of the Indians on the shore. A little further was the Indian camp and Gray Beaver, who saw him, gave him a piece of meat and stroked him.
Chapter 13
Gray Beaver departed at the onset of winter. White Fang was used to pull on his sled. Lip-lip was ahead of the dogs. He ran even more eager to catch him. Thanks to this, the sled ran over. When handing out food, all were letting White Fang catch the biggest piece. One day, they reached an Indian village. White Fang saw as an Indian was cutting meat. White Fang took a piece of the fallen one. Then, the Indian lifted the club to give him, but White Fang returned his hand, plucking the attack. The next day, the kids wanted to stick to Mit-sah, but White Fang frightened them with a quick bite. The boy told his father that White Fang gave a large piece of meat for saving his son.
Chapter 14
Gray Beaver ended his trip at the end of spring. White Fang had just turned a year. One day, he distributed the meat. White Fang grabbed a big piece of meat. A dog named Baseek, who had always feared him, tried to snatch a piece of meat. Then, White Fang bit and tore his skin. It ran away, White Fang being felt even stronger. During the summer, White Fang had an extraordinary experience. He found Kiche, which showed no affection for him, even bared his teeth. There was a great period of famine in the camp. Some Indians ate their dogs, so White Fang went to the woods in which he obtained enough food to survive. White Fang also found Kiche in the den. Next to her, she had a litter of puppies. One day, he found Lip-lip walking, which succeeded in defeating. A day after, he returned again to camp, where food was again plentiful.
Chapter 15
White Fang was consolidated as the leader of the sled, which the other dogs hated him for. They had the protection of Mit-sah, so they always attacked White Fang. He attacked as manifested in the jungle, is unknown. When White Fang was five, Gray Beaver took him away. In the villages they passed, White Fang left a big trail of death. The other Indians said it was the top dog they had ever seen. His body, his brain, and his movements were perfectly coordinated to kill. In the summer, they came to Fort Yukon. Gray Beaver had heard that gold had been found recently. He first saw white men, who seemed even stronger than the Indians. White Fang had fun killing the dogs of white men. Since then, almost all dogs and strong white men hated him.
Chapter 16
At Fort Yukon lived a man, whom they nicknamed Beauty Smith. He was so called because it was very ugly. Beauty Smith was obsessed with White Fang, which had not lost sight at any time and loved that the dog killed the white men’s dogs. One day, Beauty Smith wanted to buy White Fang. Gray Beaver said no, but Beauty Smith knew how to buy it, so he was bringing bottles of whiskey, and every day Gray Beaver wanted more and more. So, Beauty Smith proposed a deal: he was buying White Fang in exchange for more bottles. Gray Beaver and Beauty Smith agreed to the deal. Beauty Smith carried White Fang. White Fang hated Beauty Smith because Beauty Smith often gave him a brutal beating. At nightfall, White Fang escaped with Gray Beaver, but the next day, Beauty Smith went for it and gave him a beating. It was so great that he fell ill.
Chapter 17
Beauty Smith stuffed White Fang in a cage. This enraged White Fang, so soon this could not have another feeling than hate for Beauty Smith. Beauty Smith organized fights in which White Fang would take part. His first fight was with a mastiff, who he won easily. Beauty Smith was making money quickly. A month later, they went to Dawson, where he exhibited him in exchange for some coins, and suddenly came the fights, which knew no defeat. There was no dog to tear down White Fang, as this had a great balance. In Dawson, no one wanted to start a fight with White Fang because it was synonymous with defeat. But one day, the city became a professional player named Tim Keenan, who brought a bulldog.
Chapter 18
They dropped the chains with which they endured the two dogs. White Fang had never seen a dog like that. It was tiny and had quite large jaws. He started the fight. White Fang struck with a quick motion, tearing the ear of his opponent, but the bulldog did not seem to have felt anything. White Fang continued to attack, but in an unguarded moment, he lost his balance and fell down. The bulldog took this opportunity to jump into the neck of his opponent. White Fang looked as if he had lost consciousness. He began to spin like a madman until he fell exhausted. When all seemed lost, two men arrived on sleds, called Scott and Matt. Scott stopped the fight and bought White Fang from Beauty Smith.
Chapter 19
Scott and Matt were on the stairs, seeing White Fang growling at the dogs pulling sleds. Scott said it was best to release him, but Matt did not believe that, but said it was a tame wolf. Matt released him and gave him a piece of meat. White Fang walked away from a dog named Collie. It came to take the meat, and White Fang ripped his neck, wounding him to death. Scott pulled his gun to kill him, but Matt asked for mercy. Then, Scott said that if he returned to attack, he would kill it. Scott stroked White Fang, and he tore his hand. Then, Matt took the rifle to kill him, but Scott said no, that it would be a shame to waste a dog so smart.
Chapter 20
At the approach of Weedon Scott, White Fang bristled and snarled. Scott started to quietly talk to him. White Fang was experiencing a new sensation that he never had before. He seemed to like it. Then, Scott moved to caress his ears. The change experienced by White Fang inside was tremendous. He had now forgotten Beauty Smith and had Scott as his god. Came the day in which White Fang had to pull the sled. It did not take long in taking the lead sled. Scott had to be away from home for a while. White Fang became so depressed by the absence of his god that he was about to die ill. When Scott returned, White Fang recovered. Overnight, White Fang heard growling and then a growl. When he went to look at what happened, he saw Beauty Smith lying on the floor with his arm broken and a chain on hand. Beauty Smith had tried to rob White Fang.
Chapter 21
White Fang again felt his master leave, while Scott and Matt decided whether or not to take White Fang on their trip to California. At the end of a long talk, they decided not to take him and locked themselves inside. And when Scott was embarking on the boat, there was White Fang. Matt tried to stop him to take him home, but the dog did not give in. He had suffered some injuries and had gone through the window to escape, but eventually, Scott took him to California.
Chapter 22
Upon landing, White Fang was awed by what white men could do. To White Fang, the noise there was in that city was hell. The day after, Scott and White Fang went by train. White Fang was surprised how he had changed the landscape so fast. When dropping off, some men found those who kept their love to hug and a dog named Collie, which did not stop to make life impossible. White Fang ran after the car he was in with his master. On the way, he met a greyhound named Dick, who almost killed him if not for his master. Then, they put him at home and shut him up.
Chapter 23
White Fang was increasingly integrated into the family, which continued to be the bane of Collie’s life. People knew what that house was vital to his master, so he respected them and loved them. One day, White Fang ate a chick he had on the farm, but one employee saw him and hit him with the whip. White Fang struck him and tore his arm. Suddenly, Scott appeared and calmed White Fang. By nightfall, White Fang went into the yard of the chickens and killed them. The day after, Scott gave him a good scolding, that were like the beating that went to the heart, and it hurt his feelings, so White Fang learned his lesson: he had to kill the pets. Judge Scott, not convinced that there were no more of these, made a bet with Scott, who was to leave White Fang in the roost, and that on reaching the twilight, he had not killed any hen. After a long day, the hens followed intact.
Chapter 24
White Fang was feeling better than ever, but it bothered him, the heat of the southern lands. Collie continued to be a martyr for White Fang, even though it all went well. He no longer even bothered to laugh at him. White Fang, twice, found something new in it: now, he was barking. The first time was a day when Scott was trying to train a horse who could close the shutters, but this was refused, so White Fang barked. It was the first time he did. The horse jumped and brought down Scott, with such bad luck that he broke his leg. Scott had White Fang to ask for help. To get to the front porch, he did it for the whole family. He gave a second bark. The family followed, and thanks to that, they managed to save Scott. Collie would no longer bite or attack him, but showed playful behavior. White Fang also went along, so throughout the day, they ran together through fields and forests.
Chapter 25
Jim Hall was an escaped convict. He was a lonely man and away from society, since that had modeled itself in a cruel and merciless way. This prisoner was unjustly imprisoned by Judge Scott, and now he intended to kill him. He scared the whole family, and just in case, they let White Fang inside the house. Jim had come to the house and was going to kill Judge Scott. But when he went upstairs to the bedroom, White Fang fell upon him. The fight was intense and lasting. It finished with Jim dead and White Fang half dead. They called the best doctors to cure White Fang. After a few months, when he was healed and returned to the barn, he was surrounded by Collie’s puppies. White Fang was a father, and with the happiness that surrounded him, he dozed in the sun.
Main Characters
White Fang
White Fang, when he was born, was very different from his brothers and sisters. He was the one who resembled his father. He had gray hair. He was of the genuine race of wolves. He was the most mischievous of the brothers. He was the first puppy that went outside. The first time he felt pain was when Kiche hit him for going outside. When there was a scarcity of food, White Fang was the only pup that survived. Then, he came out more often, and every time, he felt new sensations, like falling, hunting, that he found it very easy at first, but to deal with the weasel, everything changed. The name White Fang, Gray Beaver put it, because of his very white teeth. When he saw the dogs, he thought they were of their race, and being a dog, he attacked them. The changes which have occurred were many. Beginning with the freedom to change life for the man. If Lip-lip had not been brought into White Fang’s life, this small dog would have played with other dogs and would have adapted to a normal life. But the intervention of Lip-lip was a change in his life. Thanks to Lip-lip, he succeeded in developing a sense of cleverness that was very valuable in later life. White Fang was witty and bad. He developed an evil, a rabies to humans, an aggressiveness, which could only be reflected in dogs, because he treated humans as gods, which dominated everything. This evil and aggression was further reflected with Beauty Smith. At this stage, White Fang became more aggressive than anything. It was a killing machine for their wolf instincts and the speed and dexterity of his acts. Lip-lip and the cruelty of Beauty Smith made him that way. He only served to kill, until he found Scott, and that changed his life. For the first time, he found love and learned to laugh, to hug, when his master was sick, he came to the farm, where he met Collie, with whom he had children.
Scott Weedon
He was the best engineer of mines in the world. He was the one who stopped the fight with a bulldog, so that White Fang would not die. He’s a tall young man and always shaved, so you could see the reddish skin. When he got to the fight, he hit Beauty Smith two punches and bought White Fang. Scott had two children and a woman, but more importantly, he wanted White Fang. At first, he wanted to kill the wolf because it was untamed, but Matt got him to reason. Then, it was he who would not kill him. He gained White Fang’s confidence, giving him flesh instead of a beating, because he had bitten him. Finally, he got him tamed. He has a farm in California. He did not want to take White Fang because he would be killed there, but White Fang decided to jump into the boat himself. He played with White Fang, and he loved him. He taught White Fang what love was.
Beauty Smith
He was essentially ugly, stunted body. He had a small head that ended in a point like a pear. Before they called him by the nickname, he was called Beauty Smith. His eyes were so great that a medium could be another couple. Nature had given him a lower jaw and large dimensions. It was one of the men of men more whiners and cowards throughout the region. His teeth were long and yellow. His hair was sparse and did not grow. In a word, Beauty Smith was a monstrosity. White Fang hated him. He always beat him and treated him very badly. He had taught him to fight and kill in illegal fights he did. Beauty Smith won a large sum of money from the fights. He was a cruel and ruthless man in which evil had feelings like greed. He even tried to rob White Fang after all.
Minor Characters
- Bill: He’s a human who traveled with Kiche. His mission was to carry a coffin.
- Henry: This is Bill’s companion. He was eaten by wolves because humans came.
- Lip-lip: Dog that made White Fang’s life miserable and that made him so aggressive.
- Kiche: She was the mother of White Fang. Earlier, she had been a dog until she went to live with wolves. She had a reddish coat.
- One Eye: White Fang’s father. He fed him when he was a puppy. He was a wolf.
- Gray Beaver: A dark-skinned Indian who captured Kiche and White Fang’s brother because he owned Kiche. He’s dead.
- Three Eagles: Indian who possessed Kiche the last time.
- Mit-sah: Son of Gray Beaver.
- Baseek: Old dog that White Fang beat in a fight.
- Cherokee: Bulldog breed dog. He did not kill White Fang by a miracle.
- Tim Keenan: A professional gambler and Cherokee’s owner.
- Matt: A friend and worker of Scott, who was in charge of White Fang.
- Alicia: Weedon Scott’s wife.
- Elizabeth and Mary: Weedon Scott’s sisters.
- Collie: Californian bitch that tried to kill White Fang and had children with White Fang.
- Dick: Greyhound who wanted to make friends with White Fang.
- Jim Hall: A murderer who almost kills White Fang and wanted to kill Judge Scott.