For three days, Perrault and François brag about their accomplishments, and "the team [is] the constant center of a worshipful crowd of dog busters and mushers." New orders, however, come to the kindly drivers, François and Perrault, and "like other men, they are forced to accept new assignments, and so they leave Buck's life. Buck's new owner is a "Scotch half-breed" and is known only by that name; he is the driver of the mail team over the trail to Dawson. Once again, Buck and his mates set out on the weary and monotonous trail to Dawson. We are told that Buck enjoyed lying near the campfire, at which time he would dream of his old life in the Santa Clara Valley, but — and this is an important point — "he was not homesick." The Sunland was very "dim and distant," and such old memories have no power over him any more. At other times, he ponders the "half-breed cook" who also sits near the campfire. In London's description of the "half-breed cook," it is clear that he wants us to see the half-breed as a type of prehistoric cave man covered with hair, a creature perhaps closer to the animals than to the humans. We are told that "he did not stand erect," but that he had "a trunk that inclined forward from the hips on legs bent at the knees." He is described as a "hairy man" who slept with his "head between his legs."
Buck and his mates are in poor condition due to the lack of rest and recuperation at Skagway, and to make matters worse is the fact that on the way to Dawson, it snows every day, making the journey even more tedious. Once again, London reminds us of his central concern about the survival of the fittest. He tells us that since Buck's career as a sled dog began, he has traveled over 1800 miles, and that 1800 miles will take its toll — even on "the life of the toughest."
