Read the excerpt from The Call of the Wild. A poor substitute for food was this hide, just as it had been stripped from the starved horses of the cattlemen six months back. In its frozen state it was more like strips of galvanized iron, and when a dog wrestled it into his stomach it thawed into thin and innutritious leathery strings and into a mass of short hair, irritating and indigestible. The sensory details in this excerpt help the reader understand how cold and harsh the weather is. how long food rations can last on the trail. how desperate the dogs are to eat. how poorly treated the horses are.