Buck did not read the newspapers. If he read them, he would know about the trouble. It was not just trouble for Buck. It was trouble for every big dog with strong muscles and warm hair.
Men found gold (a yellow metal that is worth a lot of money) in the North. Many men wanted to go there. These men needed dogs. They wanted heavy dogs with thick fur to protect them from the cold.
Buck lived at a big house in the warm Santa Clara Valley. People called it Judge Miller’s place. The house was far from the road. It had many trees and a wide veranda (a porch with a roof that goes around a house).
There were large lawns and tall trees. In the back, there were big stables and small houses for the servants. There was a big tank for swimming. Judge Miller’s sons swam there to stay cool in the hot afternoon.
Buck was the king of Judge Miller’s place. He was born there and lived there for four years. There were other dogs, but they were not important. Some were small dogs that lived inside the house.
Other dogs lived in the kennels (small houses built for dogs). Buck was different. He was not a house dog, and he was not a kennel dog. All the land belonged to Buck.
Buck went swimming in the tank with the sons of Judge Miller. He went for long walks with the daughters of Judge Miller. On winter nights, he lay at the feet of Judge Miller near the fire.
He carried the grandsons of Judge Miller on his back. He protected the children and played with them in the grass. Among the other dogs, Buck walked like a king. He was the boss of everything at Judge Miller’s place.
Buck's father was a very big dog named Elmo. Buck’s mother was a shepherd dog named Shep. Buck was not as big as his father, but he weighed one hundred and forty pounds.
Buck was a proud dog. He lived a good life for four years. He went hunting often. These outdoor activities made his muscles very strong. He loved the water and he was very healthy.
This was Buck in the year 1897. This was the year many men went to the North to find gold. But Buck did not know about the newspapers. He also did not know about Manuel.
Manuel was a helper for the gardener at Judge Miller’s place. Manuel had a problem. He loved to play games for money. He always lost his money. The wages of a gardener’s helper were not enough for Manuel’s wife and many children.
One night, Judge Miller was at a meeting. The sons of Judge Miller were busy at their sports club. No one saw Manuel and Buck walk away through the orchard. Buck thought it was just a normal walk.
They went to a small train station. A man was waiting there. Manuel and the man talked. The man gave some money to Manuel. The money made a clicking sound.
The stranger told Manuel to tie the dog. Manuel put a thick rope around the neck of Buck under his collar. Manuel told the man to pull the rope hard to choke Buck.
Buck let Manuel put the rope on him. Buck trusted the men he knew. But when the man pulled the rope, Buck growled. He was very surprised. He was a proud dog and he was angry.
The rope became tight around the neck of Buck. He could not breathe. Buck jumped at the man in anger. The man grabbed Buck's throat and threw him on his back.
The man pulled the rope again. Buck struggled, but he could not move. His tongue came out of his mouth. He was very angry because no one ever treated him like this.
Then Buck lost his strength. His eyes closed. He did not feel anything when the men threw him into a train. Buck was now a prisoner.
When Buck woke up, he felt the movement of the train. He knew the feeling of a train because he traveled with Judge Miller before. He opened his eyes and felt a great anger.
A man tried to grab his throat. Buck was too quick. Buck bit the hand of the man. He did not let go until the man choked him again.
The man hid his bleeding hand from the train worker. The man lied and said Buck was sick. He said he was taking Buck to a doctor in San Francisco.
That night, the man stayed in a shed behind a bar. He complained about his hand. He told the owner of the bar that he received fifty dollars for the dog.
The bar owner said the dog was worth the money. Buck was in a lot of pain. His throat and tongue hurt. The men took off the heavy collar of Judge Miller. Then they put Buck into a crate (a wooden box with bars).
Buck stayed in the crate all night. He was very angry. He did not understand why these men kept him in a small box. He felt that something bad was going to happen.
In the morning, four men picked up the crate. Buck barked and bit at the bars. The men laughed at Buck. They poked him with sticks. Buck bit the sticks until he realized the men liked his anger.
Then Buck lay down. The men put the crate into a wagon. After that, many different people moved the crate. Buck went on a boat and then another train.
For two days and nights, the train moved. During this time, Buck did not eat or drink. The workers on the train teased Buck. They barked and meowed at him like children.
Buck was very thirsty. His throat was very dry and swollen. The bad treatment made him feel like he had a fever. He was glad the rope was gone, but he was very dangerous now.
Buck changed. He was now a very angry animal. Even Judge Miller would not know him. The train workers were happy to move the crate off the train in Seattle.
Four men carried the crate into a small yard with high walls. A man in a red sweater came out. Buck jumped against the bars of the crate. The man smiled and brought a club (a heavy wooden stick).
The man used a tool to open the crate. The other men climbed up the wall to watch. They were afraid of Buck. Buck bit the wood of the crate. He wanted to get out and attack the man.
The man in the red sweater opened the box. Buck jumped at the man with all his power. But in the air, the man hit Buck with the club. Buck fell to the ground.
Buck never felt a club before. He did not understand the pain. He jumped again. The man hit him again. Buck fell hard on the grass.
Buck tried to attack twelve times. Each time, the club hit him and knocked him down. Blood came from his nose and ears. His beautiful fur was dirty and red.
Then the man hit Buck very hard on the nose. The pain was terrible. Buck jumped one more time. The man grabbed the jaw of Buck and threw him to the ground.
Buck was now very weak. The man hit him one last time. Buck fell down and lost his senses (the ability to think and feel). He was not moving.
One of the men on the wall said that the man in the red sweater was good at breaking dogs. Buck finally woke up, but he had no strength. He watched the man in the red sweater.
The man read a letter. He knew the name of the dog was Buck. The man spoke in a kind voice. He told Buck that the fight was over.
The man told Buck to be a good dog. If Buck was a good dog, nothing bad would happen. If Buck was a bad dog, the man would hit him again.
The man patted the head of Buck. Buck did not like it, but he did not move. The man brought water and Buck drank it. Then the man gave Buck some raw meat. Buck ate the meat from the man’s hand.
Buck was beaten, but he was not broken. He knew he could not win against a man with a club. This was a new lesson. It was his first lesson about the primitive (belonging to a simple, wild way of life) law.
In the following days, more dogs arrived. Some dogs were quiet. Other dogs were angry like Buck. The man in the red sweater hit every angry dog with his club.
Buck watched and learned. A man with a club was the master. You must obey the master. Some dogs acted happy and licked the man's hand. Buck did not do that.
Sometimes, strangers came to talk to the man in the red sweater. The strangers paid money and took dogs away. Buck wondered where they went. He was afraid of the future.
One day, a small man named Perrault came. He spoke English with a French accent. He looked at Buck and liked him. He said Buck was a very good dog.
Perrault paid three hundred dollars for Buck. This was a lot of money. But Perrault worked for the government of Canada. He needed good dogs to carry mail.
Perrault took Buck and another dog named Curly. Curly was a friendly dog. They went to a ship called the Narwhal. It was the last time Buck saw the warm South.
On the ship, Buck met a man named François. François was a large man with dark skin. Perrault and François were fair men. They were calm and they knew a lot about dogs.
Buck met two other dogs on the ship. One was a big white dog named Spitz. Spitz was friendly, but he was also a thief. He stole Buck's food at the first meal.
Buck wanted to attack Spitz. But François used a whip to hit Spitz first. Buck saw that François was a fair master. Buck began to like François.
The other dog was named Dave. Dave was not friendly. He wanted to be alone. He ate and he slept. He did not care about anything, even when the ship moved in the waves.
The ship moved for many days. The weather became very cold. One morning, the ship stopped. There was a lot of excitement. François put the dogs on leashes.
When Buck walked on the deck, his feet sank into something white and soft. He jumped back. More white stuff fell from the sky. Buck licked some of it.
It felt cold like fire, and then it disappeared. He was very confused. The men laughed at him. It was the first time Buck saw snow (soft, white pieces of frozen water that fall from the sky).