Whereas White Fang has never been liked by the other dogs, now that he has been made leader of Mit-sah’s team, the other dogs develop an intense hatred for him, a hatred based on the fact that White Fang is the lead dog, in charge of discipline among the other dogs, and also because he is given an extra ration of meat by Mit-sah. White Fang takes great pride in his leadership, yet at the same time, he dislikes the other dogs’ always “yapping” at his heels, knowing that if he ever slows down, they will be upon him in a minute. The pride of leadership, though, is modified by the fact that White Fang is once again keenly isolated from the rest of the pack. Thus, he has to learn to stay at a distance, to stay in open spaces where he can outrun the other dogs, if necessary, and avoid fights and places where he can be trapped. As a result, White Fang becomes more and more adept at protecting himself.
The following summer, Gray Beaver takes White Fang to Fort Yukon, and it is there that White Fang sees his first white man. Rumors of “great gold fields” have brought large numbers of white men to the Yukon, and, consequently, Gray Beaver has come to the fort with great bundles of furs, mittens, and moccasins to sell. He expects to make a large profit on his goods, but never in his wildest imagination does he expect to make over a thousand percent profit—which he does.
White Fang notices a great deal of difference between the white men-gods and the Indian men-gods. The white men-gods are, seemingly, all powerful, so much so that Gray Beaver is, in comparison with them, like a child-god. But if the white gods are more powerful, their dogs are obviously weaker. Consequently, while Gray Beaver is selling his goods, White Fang entertains himself by fighting the dogs that have come North with the white men. According to London, “White Fang did not love his kind . . . and the killing of the white men’s dogs was a diversion.” Fresh from the soft Southland, these dogs are easy prey for a dog of White Fang’s experience. Early in Part Four, then, London once again points out that White Fang could have developed differently—had Gray Beaver given him any measure of love and devotion, as Weedon Scott will indeed give White Fang later in the novel. But, in the absence of this kindly treatment, White Fang is “molded until he became what he was, morose and lonely, unloving, and ferocious, the enemy of all his kind.”
London lets us know that the few white men who lived permanently in Fort Yukon were known as “Sour-doughs” because of their using sour dough starter to make their own bread, and they look down on the newcomers who bring baking powder with them. These older men who look down on the new men are also obviously delighted with the way that White Fang dominates the dogs of the new arrivals.
One of these men is nicknamed “Beauty” Smith—actually he is “preeminently ugly” and, in fact, he is, in London’s words, a “monstrosity.” In addition, his outer nature is symbolic of his inner nature, probably because he is “the weakest of the weak-kneed and snivelling cowards.” Unfortunately, however, as soon as Beauty Smith develops a liking for White Fang, particularly because of the dog’s ability to fight in a savage manner, he is determined to purchase him. At this same time, White Fang develops an instinctive hatred for Beauty Smith.
Beauty Smith offers to buy the dog, but because Gray Beaver has made such a huge profit from his sales, he refuses—at first—to sell White Fang. “But Beauty Smith knew the ways of Indians,” says London, and so Smith often takes bottles of whiskey to Gray Beaver’s camp. Here, London is using a basic cliché about the Indians’ drinking proclivities, a cliché which has, unfortunately, become commonplace today. At any rate, Gray Beaver soon becomes addicted to alcohol, and he squanders his entire profits upon whiskey. Now Beauty Smith is able to buy White Fang in exchange for whiskey.
The first time that White Fang is taken to Beauty Smith’s house, he chews through the leather thong around his neck and returns to Gray Beaver. He escapes again, and again he resists being taken back to Smith’s house, but he is beaten so brutally that he can hardly walk. Finally, after White Fang escapes a third time, Beauty Smith retrieves him and beats him so severely that an ordinary dog from the Southland would have died from such brutality. Then White Fang is securely chained, and soon afterward Gray Beaver departs from Fort Yukon, leaving White Fang as the sole property of Beauty Smith.
In these and in the following scenes, London is giving us a picture of the ultimate depravity of human nature, and of the indignities that White Fang must endure in order that London can picture the contrast later with the gentle and humane treatment which White Fang will receive from Weedon Scott.
The lowest ebb of White Fang’s fortunes are now presented. He is the property of a vicious and cruel master who uses him only for savage and vicious purposes. The reader should be reminded that Beauty Smith bought White Fang because White Fang was a beast which could fulfill Smith’s hatred toward his fellow human beings. Thus, he uses the dog cruelly, and he makes much money betting on White Fang to win fights against other dogs; yet whereas earlier White Fang had hated only members of his own kind, now White Fang is imbued with a hatred toward everything that leaves him. Eventually, he develops such a reputation as a fighter that on one occasion a fight promoter even throws a lynx into a cage with him. At another time, two dogs are thrown into the ring at the same time, and White Fang, while victorious, is almost killed in the contest.
