The Call of the Wild

The story opens in 1897 with Buck, a powerful 140 pound St. Bernard Scotch Collie mix, happily living in California’s Santa Clara Valley as the pampered pet of Judge Miller and his family. One night, assistant gardener Manuel, needing money to pay off gambling debts, steals Buck and sells him to a stranger. Buck is shipped to Seattle where he is confined in a crate, starved, and ill-treated. When released, Buck attacks his handler, the “man in the red sweater,” who teaches Buck the “law of club and fang,” sufficiently cowing him. The man shows some kindness after Buck demonstrates obedience.Shortly after, Buck is sold to two French-Canadian dispatchers from the Canadian government, François and Perrault, who take him to Alaska. Buck is trained as a sled dog for the Klondike region of Canada. In addition to Buck, François and Perrault add an additional 10 dogs to their team. Buck’s teammates teach him how to survive cold winter nights and about pack society. Over the next several weeks on the trail, a bitter rivalry develops between Buck and the lead dog, Spitz, a vicious and quarrelsome white husky. Buck eventually kills Spitz in a fight and becomes the new lead dog.