Black Burton

Black Burton is a major antagonist in Jack London's 1903 short adventure novel The Call of the Wild, and the main antagonist of the 1972 film of the same name. He is a notorious troublemaker who is John Thornton's archenemy until he was killed by Buck.

He was portrayed by George Eastman.

Book
In Circle City, Buck has another opportunity to demonstrate his devotion to John Thornton. Burton is bullying a young "tenderfoot" in a bar (a tenderfoot is an inexperienced person in the frontier). When Thornton tries to prevent a nasty fight, Burton strikes Thornton solidly and sends him sprawling. Immediately, Buck attacks the man, and even though Burton is able to protect himself from two different lunges by the dog, Buck is finally able to tear open the man's throat. A meeting is immediately called, and it is decided that Buck had sufficient provocation for defending his master against violence.