Type of work: Adventure novelSettingNorthland (Alaska); the gold rush of the 1890s Main Characters Buck, a large, intelligent, well-bred dog Spitz, a cruel sled dog John Thornton, Buck's Northiand master Buck, a huge four-year-old Scottish Sheepdog-St. Bernard cross, lived a comfortable life at Judge Miller's estate in the Santa Clara Valley. As the Judge's faithful companion, working with his children and protecting his grandchildren, Buck ruled over all things, including humans. Combining his mother's intelligence with his father's size and strength, Buck became the undisputed leader of all the dogs on the estate. At the time, gold had been found in Alaska and thousands of men were rushing to the North. They wanted dogs, dogs like Buck. One night, Manuel, the estate's gardener, who felt he was not earning enough to support both his family and his gambling habits, took Buck for a walk to the train station. There money was exchanged, a rope was placed around Buck's neck, and his life in the civilized world came to an end. For two days and nights Buck traveled north in a trunk. Caged, without food or water, his placid nature changed into that of a furious demon. In Seattle, Buck met a man in a red sweater holding a bat. As Buck charged out of the open chest, the man cruelly beat him into submission. Buck had learned his first lesson: he stood no chance against a man with a club. Buck, along with other dogs, was purchased by Francois and Perrault, Canadian government shippers, and transported by ship to Alaska. Buck soon came to respect his French-Canadian masters. But life among dogs was wild; there was no law other than that of teeth and strength. On the first day, Buck watched one of his shipmates, downed in a crash, be savagely killed by an anxious pack of dogs. Thus he learned that in case of combat one must always remain standing. Spitz, the powerful and mischievous lead dog of the sled team, enjoyed these disputes. The dogs being reduced to ribbons seemed to amuse Spitz, making Buck hate him from the start. Buck got to know his teammates: which dogs were approachable and which to leave alone. He learned the necessary skills of a sled dog, which included digging under the snow at night to keep warm, surviving on much less food than he was accustomed to, stealing food from other dogs, and the ability to pull a load..