there was the belief among them that at some future time they would return again to life. Well-fattened puppies are frequently sold; and an invitation to a feast of dog’s meat is the greatest distinction that can be offered to a stranger by any of the Indian nations east of the Rocky Mountains.
[Notwithstanding the Indians occasionally eat their dogs either through necessity or when they wish to pay a marked tribute of respect to their gods, or prepare a feast of friendship with strangers, they value them very highly, and do not by any means consider their flesh superior to that of the buffaloes or other animals of the chase. Mr. Catlin remarks, that “the dog, amongst all Indian tribes, is more esteemed and more valued than amongst any part of the civilized world: the Indian, who has more time to devote to his company, and whose untutored mind more nearly assimilates to that of his faithful domestic, keeps him closer company and draws him nearer his heart: they hunt together and are equal sharers in the chase–their bed is one; and on the rocks and on their coats of arms they carve his image as the symbol of fidelity.” (Vol. I., p. 230.)
On visiting the Sioux, they prepared for this gentleman as a token of regard a dog feast, previous to partaking of which they addressed him in a manner that plainly exhibits the veneration in which they held these faithful animals, at the same time forcibly demonstrating the peculiar circumstances under which they alone are willing to destroy them:
“My father, I hope you will have pity upon us; we are very poor. We offer you to-day not the best we have got; for we have a plenty of good buffalo hump and marrow; but we give you our hearts in this feast, we have killed our faithful dogs to feed you, and the Great Spirit will seal our friendship. I have no more to say.” (Vol. I., p. 229.)–L.]
As a counterpart to much of this, the ancient Hyrcanians may be mentioned, who lived near the Caspian Sea, and who deemed it one of the strongest expressions of respect to leave the corpse of their deceased friends to be torn and devoured by dogs. Every man was provided with a certain number of these animals, as a living tomb for himself at some future period, and these dogs were remarkable for their fierceness.
[Not only the Hyrcanians but most of the people dwelling on or near the Caspian sea, preserved this race or a similarly formidable one, more particularly to devour their dead; it being considered more propitiatory to the Gods, and more flattering to the spirits of the deceased, to make this disposition of the corpse, than consigning it to the gloomy grave or funeral pile.
This custom is noticed by Theodoret as being pursued by the inhabitants of those parts, and was not abolished till after their adherence to Christianity.–L.]
DOMESTICATED DOGS OF THE FIRST DIVISION
Some of the readers of this work may possibly recollect three beautiful dogs of this species in the gardens of the Zoological Society of London, which afforded a perfect illustration of the elongated head of the dogs belonging to Cuvier’s first section. Mr. Bennett, the Secretary of the Society, gave an interesting account of them in 1835, derived from the observation of Sir John Franklin and Dr. Richardson.
The elongation and sharpness of the muzzle, and the small capacity of the skull, first attract attention. The dog was doubtless fitted for its situation, where its duty is to hunt by sight after the moose or rein-deer, but would have been comparatively worthless if he was to be guided by the scent. Its erect ears, widened at the base and pointed at the top, gave it an appearance of vivacity and spirit. Its depth of chest, and tucked-up flank, and muscular quarters, marked it as a dog of speed, while its light frame, and the length of the toes, and wideness of web between them, seem to depict the kind of surface over which it was to bound. It is not designed to seize and to hold any animal of considerable bulk; it bounds over the snow without sinking, if the slightest crust is formed upon it, and eagerly overtakes and keeps at bay the moose or the rein-deer until the hunters arrive. This animal furnishes a beautiful illustration of adaptation for a particular purpose.
The hair of these dogs is white, with patches of grayish-black and brown. They are known only in the neighbourhood of the Mackenzie River and of the Great Bear Lake in North America They appear to be good-tempered and easily manageable, and soon become familiar even with strangers. They are most valuable to the Indians, who live almost entirely on the produce of the chase. In their native country they never bark, but utter a whine and howl resembling that of the Esquimaux dog; yet one of the three, who was born a few days after its parents arrived at the gardens, while it whined and howled occasionally with its parents, at other times uttered the perfect bark of its companions of various breeds around it.
[It is the general belief among the Indians and others who are familiar with this dog, that his origin is connected, in some way, with the Arctic Fox, Canis Lagopus, as he so much resembles this animal in his general appearance and habits.
This fox when taken is easily tamed, a few days of captivity being often sufficient to render him quite docile, and ample opportunities have thus been afforded for studying his peculiarities.
Although the cross between the wolf and dog may be considered established beyond controversy, the testimony is not so very conclusive as regards the fox. The most authentic instances on record are perhaps those mentioned by Mr. Daniel, who states that Mr. Tattersall had a terrier bitch, who bred by a fox, and the produce again had whelps by dogs, also that the woodman of Mongewell manor had a bitch, the offspring of a tame dog-fox, by a shepherd’s cur, and she again had puppies by a dog; he does not state, however, that he knew these facts personally; but concludes from these two instances, that the fox species may be fairly added to the other supposed original stocks of dogs. (Daniel’s Rural Sports, vol. 1. p. 15.)
Mr. Collinson also states, that it is certain that the Siberian dog not only copulates with the wolf, but with the fox also. Notwithstanding this assertion, he is not able to cite a single instance, but on the other hand is forced to acknowledge, that he never met with any person who had seen the coupling of these two animals. The peasants of that country have a small dog, which, from their foxy appearance, they term fox-dogs. Our Indian dogs, also, resemble somewhat the wolves and foxes, the original inhabitants of this continent, while the canine family throughout the east is strongly marked with the jackal, the wild aborigines of that portion of the world.
These dogs, when fighting, do not shake their antagonists, like the perfectly domesticated dog; their teeth are extremely sharp, and when snarling, the skin is drawn from the mouth; their bite is more severe, and they show but little disposition to attack the wolves, although quite eager in the pursuit of all other game. The Indians had no dogs previous to the coming of the whites, but depended in a great measure, when hunting, upon the presence of the wolves, who, by their howlings, indicated the position of the herds of buffalo or deer, knowing full well that after the general carnage, they would come in for a full share of the garbage of these animals.
Harlan, in his Fauna Americana, says,
“we have very little doubt that the various species of domestic dogs are mere varieties of prolific hybrids, produced by the union of the wolf with the fox or jackal. A prolific hybrid of this kind once produced, the progeny would more readily unite with the congeners of either parent, and with each other, and in this manner give rise to the innumerable varieties which at the present day are found scattered over the face of the earth.” (Page 77.)
It is somewhat strange, that no naturalist has, as yet, succeeded in causing a union between the fox and dog, if the thing be possible. We ourselves are cognizant of an instance, where every effort was made to produce an offspring from such a connexion, but to no purpose, although the terrier bitch was thrice in heat while confined with the fox, and lived on the most amicable terms with him. We agree with Doct. Godman, that if a litter has ever been generated by these two animals, they were hybrids, as nothing to the contrary of an authentic character has been brought forward, whereas it is well known that the fox always exhibits a great antipathy and instinctive repugnance to such an union. It is also reasonable to suppose that if prolific hybrids had at any time been produced, the breed, from its singular character, would have been propagated by the fortunate possessor, either from curiosity or utility. The intestines of the fox are shorter than those of the dog or wolf–L.]
THE ALBANIAN DOG
can be traced to a very remote period of history. Some of the old authors speak of it as the dog which in the times of ancient mythology Diana presented to Procris. Pliny describes in enthusiastic terms the combat of one of them with a lion, and afterwards with an elephant. A dog very much resembling the ancient stories is yet found in Albania, and most of the districts of Greece. He is almost as large as a mastiff, with long and silky hair, the legs being shorter and stronger than those of the greyhound. He is gentle and tractable with those whom he knows, and when there is no point of duty at stake; but no bribe can seduce him from his post when any trust is committed to him.
[This dog, it is very probable, was highly impregnated with molossian blood, and like that animal, was trained both for war and the chase. It is rather doubtful, whether the dogs presented to Alexander the Great by the king of Albania, were those of his own country or some that he had obtained from other parts. We are inclined to believe that they were imported dogs, for Pliny distinctly states, that these two were all that the generous monarch possessed, and if destroyed could not be replaced. From this circumstance it is natural to suppose that, if these dogs had been native Albanians, the king would have been able to supply any reasonable quantity of them, and, therefore, not necessitated to send this message to Alexander. On the other hand, if these dogs had been of the pure molossian type, such as were raised in Epirus, it is probable that their huge dimensions would not have surprised this monarch so much, as it is reasonable to believe that Alexander would certainly have seen, if not heard, of dogs so remarkable, belonging to a kingdom in immediate contiguity with his own. We are, therefore, forced to look to some other source, from whence came these proud dogs, who alone deigned to contend with the lion and elephant, and must yield to Strabo, who states that these animals were of the Indian breed.–L. 15.]
THE GREAT DANISH DOG, CALLED ALSO THE DALMATIAN OR SPOTTED DOG.
The difference between these two breeds consists principally in the size, the Dalmatian being much smaller than the Danish. The body is generally white, marked with numerous small round black or reddish-brown spots. The Dalmatian is said to be used in his native country for the chase, to be easily broken, and stanch to his work. He has never been thus employed in England, but is chiefly distinguished by his fondness for horses, and as being the frequent attendant on the carriages of the wealthy. To that its office seems to be confined; for it rarely develops sufficient sense or sagacity to be useful in any of the ordinary offices of the dog.
[This dog is, perhaps, the tallest of the canine species in existence; the smaller Dane, or “le braque de Bengal,” of the French writers, is perhaps a cross of this animal with the pointer or hound, or the original dog degenerated by removal from his native soil. Although these dogs generally display little or no intelligence, and are, in fact, denounced by many writers as being incapable of acquiring sufficient knowledge to make them in any way serviceable for hunting, still we are led to believe that these latent qualities might be developed in this breed as well as any other of his particular physical construction.
We had a little Dane in our possession, whom we instructed, with little trouble, in a variety of tricks; although at first surly and stupid, he soon exhibited great aptness and pleasure in repeating the various lessons which we taught him. If he had been younger we might have given him an opportunity of displaying himself in the field, as we are confident, from his tractable disposition, that he might have been tutored, with perseverance, even sufficiently well to stand upon game. The dogs of Epirus were supposed to have been spotted like the Dalmatian, if not of the same breed. These dogs may also be the “spotted hounds” given by Pan to Diana.
Let the little Dane’s intellectual abilities be what they may, long habit and association have so intimately connected him with the stable and its occupants that he seems no longer fit for any other purpose than that of following in the wake of the carriages of the wealthy. This he does with peculiar fondness and singular ingenuity; for, although constantly by the side or at the heels of the horses, or under the tongue of the vehicle, his sure retreat when attacked by other dogs, who seem to have an antipathy for these pampered and fancy attendants on the affluent, he seldom or never is trod upon, or otherwise injured.
The little Dane is often a good ratter; and a gentleman of this city informs me that his dogs not only exhibit an attachment to horses in general, but that one of them has a particular partiality for an old carriage-horse, with whom he has been intimately associated for many years, and always greets his return to the stable with every demonstration of delight, by jumping up and kissing him, &c.–L.]
THE FRENCH MATIN.
(‘Canis laniarius’). There is considerable difficulty in describing this variety. The French consider it as the progenitor of all the breeds of dogs that resemble and yet cannot be perfectly classed with the greyhound. It should rather be considered as a species in which are included a variety of dogs,–the Albanian, the Danish, the Irish greyhound, and almost the pure British greyhound. The head is elongated and the forehead flat, the ears pendulous towards the tips, and the colour of a yellowish fawn. This is the usual sheep-dog in France, in which country he is also employed as a house-dog. He discharges his duty most faithfully; and, notwithstanding his flat forehead, shows himself to possess a very high degree of intelligence.
[The French matin we have seen of every variety of colour, being mostly patched with brown, yellow, grey, black, or white. He is employed both in France and Germany in hunting the boar and wolf; which savage animals he fearlessly attacks with courage equal to any dog they possess.–L.]
THE GREYHOUND.
We find no mention of this dog in the early Grecian records. The ‘pugnaces’ and the ‘sagaces’ are mentioned; but the ‘celeres’–the swift-footed–are not spoken of as a peculiar breed. The Celtic nations, the inhabitants of the northern continent of Europe and the Western Islands, were then scarcely known, and the swift-footed dogs were peculiar to those tribes. They were not, however, introduced into the more southern parts of Europe until after the dissolution of the Roman commonwealth.
The dog is, however, mentioned by Ovid; and his description of coursing the hare is so accurate that we cannot refrain from inserting it. We select a translation of it from Golding.
“I gat me to the knap Of this same hill, and there behelde of this strange course the hap, In which the beaste seemes one while caught, and ere a man would thinke Doth quickly give the grewnd [9] the slip, and from his biting shrinke; And, like a wilie fox, he runs not forth directly out, Nor makes a winlas over all the champion fields about, But, doubling and indenting, still avoydes his enemie’s lips, An turning short, as swift about as spinning-wheele he wips, To disappoint the snatch. The grewnd, pursuing at an inch, Doth cote [10] him, never loosing. Continually he snatches In vaine, but nothing in his mouth, save only hair, he catches.”
There is another sketch by the same poet:
“As when th’ impatient greyhound, slipped from far, Bounds o’er the glade to course the fearful hare, She in her speed does all her safety lay, And he with double speed pursues the prey; O’erruns her at the sitting turn, but licks His chaps in vain, yet blows upon the flix; She seeks the shelter, which the neighbouring covert gives, And, gaining it, she doubts if yet she lives.” [11]
The English, Scotch, and Irish greyhounds were all of Celtic derivation, And their cultivation and character correspond with the civilization of the different Celtic tribes. The dogs that were exported from Britain to Rome were probably of this kind. Mr. Blaine gives an account of the progress of these dogs, which seems to be evidently founded on truth.
“Scotland, a northern locality, has long been celebrated for its greyhounds, which are known to be large and wiry-coated. They are probably types of the early Celtic greyhounds, which, yielding to the influences of a colder climate than that they came from, became coated with a thick and wiry hair. In Ireland, as being milder in its climate, the frame expanded in bulk, and the coat, although not altogether, was yet less crisped and wiry. In both localities, there being at that time boars, wolves, and even bears, powerful dogs were required. In England these wild beasts were more early exterminated, and consequently the same kind of dog was not retained, but, on the contrary, was by culture made finer in coat, and of greater beauty in form.”
[The canis leporarius, or greyhound of the present day, is quite an inferior animal in point of size, when compared with his forefathers, who alone were occupied in the chase of the boar, wolf, bear, deer, and other animals both powerful and savage.
As these wild animals gradually disappeared under the hand of civilization, these hardy dogs were less wanted; and thus, by slow degrees, have degenerated into the less powerful, but more beautiful and symmetrical proportions that we now see. This change, however, has better adapted him for speed, and the coursing of such quadrupeds as depend upon nimbleness and activity of motion, to secure their escape.
Owing, in some measure, to the climate, but more particularly to the inactive life that they lead in this country, so much at variance with that of England, we can lay claim to but few dogs that would be considered above mediocrity among British sportsmen. We have seen several of these dogs which, living in a state of idle luxury, have degenerated considerably even in the third generation; and we cannot now recall but one dog, in the possession of a young lady in Philadelphia, that would at all come up to the English standard of perfection; and this one is a descendant from a fine imported stock in the second generation. The ancient Greeks were much devoted to coursing, but previous to the time of Arrian, their hounds were not a sufficient match, in point of speed, for the hare, and it was seldom that their sports were attended with success in the actual capture of this fleet animal by the dogs alone. If taken at all, it was generally by running them down in a long chase, or driving them into nets, toils, and other similar contrivances, as forcibly described in the following lines of the ancient poet, when extolling the pleasures of a country life.
“Aut trudit acres hinc et hinc multa cane Apros in obstante plagas,
Aut amite levi rara leiidit retia, Turdis edacibus dolos;
Pavidumve leporem, et advenam laqueo gruem, Jucunda captat praemia.”
(Horace, ‘Epode ii.’, v. 31.)
Even after the introduction of the Celtic hound, who, as before stated, was far inferior as regards speed to the present race, it was no easy matter to take the hare, it being necessary to carry several couples of dogs into the field, and let them slip at certain intervals in the chase, so that the fresh dogs might, in this way, overtake the little animal, already frightened and fatigued by previous exertion.
In reference to this mode of coursing, the younger Xenophon particularly enjoins that to prevent confusion in the field, naturally arising from the hunters letting their dogs loose at improper intervals, from eagerness to see them run,
“that a steward should be appointed over the sport, should match the dogs, and give orders to the field:–if the hare start on this side, you and you are to slip, and nobody else; but if on that side, you and you: and let strict attention be paid to the orders given.” (Arrian, chap. xx.)
Alciphron, in his familiar epistles descriptive of the domestic manners of the Greeks, gives a lively description of a course not very different from those of the present day, as will be seen in the following extract:
“In trying whether the young dogs were fit for the chase, I started a hare from a little bush; my sons loosed the dogs from the slips. They frightened her confoundedly, and were very near taking the game. The hare, in her flight, climbed a steep place, and found a retreat in some burrow. One of the more spirited of the dogs, pressing close upon her, gasping, and expecting to take her in his gripe, went down with her into the hole. In endeavouring to pull out the hare, he broke one of his fore-legs. I lifted up my good dog, with his lame leg, and found the hare half devoured: thus, when I hoped to get something, I encountered a serious loss.”
(Letter ix.)
We will close our remarks upon this subject by introducing a few descriptive lines, selected from one of the very rare English authors who have attempted a versification of this exciting sport.
“Yet if for silvan sport thy bosom glow, Let thy fleet greyhound urge his flying foe. With what delight the rapid course I view! How does my eye the circling race pursue! He snaps deceitful air with empty jaws; The suttle hare darts swift beneath his paws; She flys, he stretches, now with nimble bound Eager he presses on, but overshoots his ground: Then tears with goary mouth the screaming prey.”
(‘Gay’s Poems’, vol i.–‘Rural Sports’, v. 290),–L.]
Mr. Richardson, in his History of the Greyhound, gives a different derivation of the name of this dog. He says that the ‘greyhound’ was of Grecian origin–‘cannis Graecus’,–that ‘Graecus’ was not unfrequently written ‘Graeius’, and thence was derived the term ‘greyhound’. This derivation, however, is somewhat too far-fetched.
Mention occurs of the greyhound in a very early period of the British history. He was an inmate of the Anglo-Saxon kennels in the time of Elfric, king of Mercia. There are paintings of him that can be satisfactorily traced to the ninth century. In the time of Canute he was reckoned first in degree of rank among the canine species, and no one under the degree of a gentleman, ‘liberalis’, or more properly, perhaps a ‘freeholder’, was allowed by the forest laws to keep them. Even he could not keep them within two miles of a royal forest, unless two of the toes were cut off and for every mile that an uncut dog was found within this distance a fine of a shilling was levied on the owner. The nobleman was rarely seen abroad without his hawk upon his fist, and his greyhound at his side.
Henry II was passionately fond of them. John spared no expense to procure good horses and swift hounds, and appears frequently to have received greyhounds in lieu of money on the issue or removal of grants. For the renewal of a grant in the year 1203 he received five hundred marks, ten horses, and ten leashes of greyhounds, and for another, in 1210, one swift running horse and six greyhounds.
The Isle of Dogs, now devoted to purposes of commerce, received its name from its having been, at this period, the receptacle of the greyhounds and spaniels of this monarch. It was selected on account of its contiguity to Waltham and the other royal forests where coursing was a frequent amusement. For the same purpose he often took up his abode at Greenwich. [12]
Blount’s Ancient Tenures abound with instances of the high repute in which this dog has ever been held in Great Britain. The holders of land in the manor of Setene in Kent were compelled, as the condition of their tenure to Edward I and II, to lend their greyhounds, when this king went into Gascony, “so long as a pair of shoes of 4d price would last.” Edward III was partial to greyhounds; for when he was engaged in war with France he took with him sixty couples of them, besides other large hunting dogs.
Charles I was as fond of the greyhound as his son Charles II was of the spaniel. Sir Philip Warwick thus writes of that unfortunate monarch;
“Methinks, because it shows his dislike of a common court vice, it is not unworthy the relating of him, that one evening, his dog scratching at his door, he commanded me to let in Gipsy; whereupon I took, the boldness to say, Sir, I perceive you love a greyhound better than you do a spaniel. Yes, says he, for they equally love their masters, and yet do not flatter them so much.”
On most of the old tombs in the sculpture of which the dog is introduced, the greyhound is represented lying at the feet of his master; and an old Welsh proverb says that a gentleman may be known by his hawk, his horse, and his greyhound.
The following poetical record of the fidelity, prowess, and ill-fate of Gelert, the favourite greyhound of Llewellyn Prince of Wales, and son-in-law to King John, will he read with interest:
The spearman heard the bugle sound
And cheerly smiled the morn,
And many a brach and many a hound
Obeyed Llewellyn’s horn.
And still as blew a lowder blast,
And gave a louder cheer,
“Come, Gelert! why art thou the last Llewellyn’s horn to hear?”
“Oh, where does faithful Gelert roam? The flower of all his race!
So true, so brave; a lamb at home, A lion in the chase?”
‘Twas only at Lewellyn’s board
The faithful Gelert fed,
He watched, he served, he cheered his lord, And sentinel’d his bed.
In sooth he was a peerless hound,
The gift of royal John;
But now no Gelert could be found,
And all the chase rode on.
And now as over rocks and dells
The gallant chidings rise,
All Snowdon’s craggy chaos yells
With many mingled cries.
That day llewellyn little loved
The chase of hart or hare;
And scan and small the booty proved, For Gelert was not there.
Unpleased Llewellyn homeward hied,
When near the portal seat
His truant Gelert he espied,
Bounding his lord to greet.
But when he gained the castle-door,
Aghast the chieftan stood;
The hound was smeared with gouts of gore– His lips and fangs ran blood.
Llewellyn gazed with wild surprise:
Unused such looks to meet,
His favourite check’d his joyful guise And crouched and licked his feet.
Onward in haste Llewellyn pass’d,
And on went Gelert too;
And still where’er his eyes he cast, Fresh blood-gouts shocked his view.
O’erturned his infant’s bed he found, The blood-stained covert rent;
And all around the walls and ground, With recent blood besprent.
He called his child–no voice replied– He searched with terror wild:
Blood! blood! he found on every side, But nowhere found the child.
‘Hellhound! by thee my child’s devoured!’ The frantic father cried;
And to the hilt his vengeful sword He plunged in Gelert’s side.
His suppliant, as to earth he fell,
No pity could impart;
But still his Gelert’s dying yell
Passed heavy o’er his heart.
Aroused by Gelert’s dying yell,
Some slumberer wakened nigh:
What words the parent’s joy can tell To hear his infant cry!
Concealed beneath a mangled heap
His hurried search had missed,
All glowing from his rosy sleep,
His cherub boy he kissed.
Nor scratch had he, nor harm, nor dread, But the same couch beneath,
Lay a great wolf, all torn and dead, Tremendous still in death.
Ah, what was then Llewellyn’s pain!
For now the truth was clear:
The gallant hound the wolf had slain, To save Llewellyn’s heir.
Vain, vain was all Llewellyn’s wo:
“Best of thy kind, adieu!
The frantic deed which laid thee low, This heart shall ever rue.”
And now a gallant tomb they raise,
With costly sculpture decked;
And marbles, storied with his praise, Poor Gelert’s bones protect.
Here never could the spearman pass,
Or forester, unmoved;
Here oft the tear-besprinkled grass Llewellyn’s sorrow proved.
And here he hung his horn and spear; And oft, as evening fell,
In fancy’s piercing sounds would hear Poor Gelert’s dying yell!
It will be evident, however, from the story of the noble hound whose history is just related, that the greyhounds of the time were very different from those which are used at the present day. There are no Gelerts now to combat successfully with the wolf, if these ferocious animals were yet to be met with in our forests. The greyhound of this early period must have resembled the Irish wolf-dog of the present day, a larger, stronger, fiercer dog than we are accustomed to see.
The owner of Gelert lived in the time of John, in the early part of the thirteenth century; but, at the latter part of the fifteenth century, the following singular description is given of the greyhound of that period. It is extracted from a very curious work entitled “The Treatise perteynynge to Hawkynge, Huntynge, &c., emprynted at Westmestre, by Wynkyn de Werde, 1496.”
A greyhounde should be headed lyke a snake, And neckyd lyke a drake,
Fotyd lyke a cat
Tayled lyke a ratte,
Syded like a teme
And chyned like a bream.
The fyrste yere he must lerne to fede, The seconde yere to feld him lede.
The thyrde yere he is felow lyke.
The fourth yere there is non syke. The fifth yere he is good ynough.
The syxth yere he shall hold the plough, The seventh yere he will avaylle
Grete bytches for assayle.
But when he is come to the ninth yere Have him then to the tannere;
For the best hounde that ever bytch had At the ninth yere is full bad.
As to the destiny of the poor animal in his ninth year, we differ from the author; but it cannot be denied that few dogs retain their speed beyond the eighth or ninth year.
There can scarcely be a better description of the greyhound of the present day; but it would not do for the antagonist of the wolf. The breed had probably begun to degenerate, and that process would seem to have slowly progressed. Towards the close of the last century, Lord Orford, a nobleman enthusiastically devoted to coursing, imagined, and rightly, that the greyhound of his day was deficient in courage and perseverance. He bethought himself how this could best be rectified, and he adopted a plan which brought upon him much ridicule at the time, but ultimately redounded to his credit. He selected a bull-dog, one of the smooth rat-tailed species, and he crossed one of his greyhound bitches with him. He kept the female whelps and crossed them with some of his fleetest dogs, and the consequence was, that, after the sixth or seventh generation, there was not a vestige left of the form of the bulldog; but his courage and his indomitable perseverance remained, and, having once started after his game, he did not relinquish chase until he fell exhausted or perhaps died. This cross is now almost universally adopted. It is one of the secrets in the breeding of the greyhound.
Of the stanchness of the well-bred greyhound, the following is a satisfactory example. A hare was started before a brace of greyhounds, and ran by them for several miles. When they were found, both the dogs and the hare lay dead within a few yards of each other. A labouring man had seen them turn her several times; but it did not appear that either of them had caught her, for there was no wound upon her.
A favourite bitch of this breed was Czarina, bred by Lord Orford, and purchased at his decease by Colonel Thornton: she won every match for which she started, and they were no fewer than forty-seven. Lord Orford had matched her for a stake of considerable magnitude; but, before the appointed day arrived, he became seriously ill and was confined to his chamber. On the morning of the course he eluded the watchfulness of his attendant, saddled his favourite piebald pony, and, at the moment of starting, appeared on the course. No one had power to restrain him, and all entreaties were in vain. He peremptorily insisted on the dogs being started, and he would ride after them. His favourite bitch displayed her superiority at every stroke; she won the stakes: but at the moment of highest exultation he fell from his pony, and, pitching on his head, almost immediately expired. With all his eccentricities, he was a kind, benevolent, and honourable man.
In the thirteenth year of her age, and in defiance of the strange verses just now quoted, Czarina began to breed, and two of her progeny, Claret and young Czarina, challenged the whole kingdom and won their matches. Major, and Snowball, without a white spot about him, inherited all the excellence of their dam. The former was rather the fleeter of the two, but the stanchness of Snowball nothing could exceed. A Scotch greyhound, who had beaten every opponent in his own country, was at this time brought to England, and challenged every dog in the kingdom. The challenge was accepted by Snowball, who beat him in a two-mile course. Snowball won the Mailton cup on four successive years, was never beaten, and some of his blood is now to be traced in almost every good dog in every part of the kingdom, at least in all those that are accustomed to hunt in an open country. The last match run by Snowball was against Mr. Plumber’s celebrated greyhound Speed; and, so severely contested was it, that Speed died soon afterwards. A son of the old dog, called Young Snowball, who almost equalled his father, was sold for one hundred guineas.
The speed of the greyhound has been said to be equal to that of the fleetest horse. A singular circumstance, which occurred at Doncaster, proved that it was not much inferior. A mare cantering over the Doncaster course, her competitor having been withdrawn, was joined by a greyhound bitch when she had proceeded about a mile. She seemed determined to race with the mare, which the jockey humoured, and gradually increased his pace, until at the distance they put themselves at their full speed. The mare beat her antagonist only by a head. The race-horse is, perhaps, generally superior to the greyhound on level ground, but the greyhound would have the advantage in a hilly country.
Lord Rivers succeeded to Major Topham and Colonel Thornton, the owners of Major and Snowball, as the leading man on the course. His kennels at Strathfieldsaye were the pride of the neighbouring country. At first he bore away almost every prize, but breeding too much in and in, and for speed more than for stoutness, the reputation of his kennel considerably declined before his death.
In 1797 a brace of greyhounds coursed a hare over the edge of a chalk-pit at Offham, in Sussex. The hare and both the dogs were found dead at the bottom of the pit.
On another occasion a hare was chased by a brace of greyhounds: she was killed at the distance of seven miles from the place at which they started. Both of the dogs were so exhausted, that every possible assistance being given, they were with difficulty recovered.
The English greyhound hunts by sight alone; not because he is altogether devoid of scent, but because he has been taught to depend upon his speed, and that degree of speed which is utterly incompatible with the searching out of the scent. It is like a pack of hounds, running breast high, with the game in view. They are then running by sight, and not by scent, almost doubling their usual pace, and sometimes, from an unexpected turning of the fox or hare, thrown out for a little while. The hound soon recovers the track by his exquisite sense of smell. The English greyhound is never taught to scent his game, but, on the contrary, is called off the moment he has lost sight of the hare, the re-starting of which is left to the spaniel.
The English greyhound is distinguished by its peculiarly long and attenuated head and face, terminating in a singular sharpness of the nose, and length of the muzzle or month. There are two results from this: the length of the mouth gives a longer grasp and secures the prey, but, as the nasal cavities and the cavity of the skull are proportionately diminished, there is not so much room for the expansion of the membrane of the nose, there is less power of scent, and less space for the development of the brain.
There is little want of extraordinary acute hearing, and the ears of the greyhound are small compared with his bulk. Markham recommends the ears to be close, sharp, and drooping, neither protruding by their bulk, nor tiring by their weight.
The power of the eye is but of little consequence, for the game is rarely distant from the dog, and therefore, easily seen.
The neck is an important portion of the frame. It should be long, in order to correspond with the length of the legs, and thus enable the dog to seize and lift the game, as he rapidly pursues his course, without throwing any undue or dangerous weight on the fore extremities. In the act of seizing the hare the short-necked dog may lose the centre of gravity and fall.
The chest is a very important part of the greyhound, as well as of every other animal of speed. It must be capacious: this capacity must be obtained by depth rather than by width, in order that the shoulders may not be thrown so far apart as to impede progression.
The form and situation of the shoulders are of material consequence; for on them depends the extent of the action which the animal is capable of exerting. The shoulders should be broad and deep, and obliquely placed. They are so in the horse, and the action of the dog depends entirely on this conformation.
The fore legs should be set on square at the shoulder: bulging out at the elbow not only gives a clumsy appearance, but makes the dog slow. The legs should have plenty of bone, and be straight, and well set on the feet, and the toes neither turned out nor in. The fore arm, or that portion of the leg which is between the elbow and the knee, should be long, straight and muscular. These are circumstances that cannot be dispensed with. The length of the fore arm, and the low placing of the pastern, are of essential importance.
With regard to the form of the back and sides of the greyhound, Mr. Thacker says, with much truth, that
“It is the strength of the back which is brought into requisition, in particular, in running over hilly ground. Here may be said to rest the distinction between long and short backs, supposing both to be good and strong. The more lengthy the back, and proportionately strong, the more the greyhound is calculated to beat the shorter-backed dog on the flat; but on hilly ground one with a shorter back will have the advantage.” [13]
The ribs should also be well arched. We would perhaps avoid him with sides too decidedly outswelling, but still more would we avoid the direct flat-sided dog.
Without really good haunches and muscular thighs, it has been well remarked that the odds are against any dog, be his other points whatever they may. It is by the propulsatory efforts of the muscles of the loins and thighs that the race is won. The thighs should be large, and muscularly indented; the hocks broad, and, like the knee, low placed. These are very important points; for, as Mr. Blaine has properly remarked, “on the extent of the angles formed between these several portions of the hinder limbs, depends the extent of the space passed over at each bound.”
The colour of the greyhound varies exceedingly. Some are perfectly black and glossy. In strength and endurance, the brindled dog, or the brown or fawn-coloured one, is the best. The white greyhound, although a beautiful animal and swift, is not, perhaps, quite so much to be depended on.
The greyhound is said to be deficient in attachment to his master and in general intelligence. There is some truth in the imputation; but, in fact, the greyhound has, far less than even the hound, the opportunity of forming individual attachments, and no other exercise of the mind is required of him than to follow the game which starts up before him, and to catch it if he can. If, however, he is closely watched he will be found to have all the intellect that his situation requires. [14]
As to the individual attachment which the greyhound may form, he has not always or often the opportunity to acquire or to exhibit it. The keeper exercises over him a tyrannical power, and the owner seldom notices him in the manner which excites affection, or scarcely recognition; but, as a plea for the seeming want of fondness, which, compared with other breeds, he exhibits, it will be sufficient to quote the testimony of the younger Xenophon, who had made the greyhound his companion and his friend.
“I have myself bred up,” says he, “a swift, hard-working, courageous, sound-footed dog. He is most gentle and kindly affectioned, and never before had I any such a dog for myself, or my friend, or my fellow-sportsman. When he is not actually engaged in coursing, he is never away from me. On his return he runs before me, often looking back to see whether I had turned out of the road, and as soon as he again catches sight of me, showing symptoms of joy, and once more trotting away before me. If a short time only has passed since he has seen me or my friend, he jumps up repeatedly by way of salutation, and barks with joy as a greeting to us. He has also many different tones of speech, and such as I never heard from any other dog. Now really I do not think that I ought to be ashamed to chronicle the name of this dog, or to let posterity know that Xenophon the Athenian had a greyhound, called Horme, possessed of the greatest speed, and intelligence, and fidelity, and excellent in every point.”
[The Greek sportsmen held their dogs in peculiar estimation; they were not only their attendants in the field, but their constant companions in their houses, were fed from their tables, and even shared their beds. It is with some degree of pleasure that the patrons of this noble animal will witness, in the following remarks, the tender solicitude with which this people watched over their dogs.
“There is nothing like a soft and warm bed for greyhounds, but it is best for them to sleep with men, as they become thereby affectionately attached, pleased with the contact of the human body, and as fond of their bed-fellow as of their feeder. If any ailing affect the dog the man will perceive it, and will relieve him in the night, when thirsty, or urged by any call of nature. He will also know how the dog has rested. For if he has passed a sleepless night, or groaned frequently in his sleep, or thrown up any of his food, it will not be safe to take him out coursing. All these things the dog’s bed-fellow will be acquainted with.”
(Arrian, chap. ix. Trans.)
It was also not an unusual circumstance for the most polished Greeks, when sending notes of invitation to their friends, requesting their presence in celebration of some festive occasion, to extend the same civilities to their favourite dogs, by desiring them to be brought along, as will be seen by the following paragraph selected from a letter of this kind addressed by one friend to another.
“I am about to celebrate the birth-day of my son, and I invite you, my Pithacion, to the feast. But come not alone; bring with you your wife, children, and your brother. If you will bring also your bitch, who is a good guard, and by the loudness of her voice drives away the enemies of your flocks, she will not, I warrant, disdain to be partaker of our feast, &c.”
(Letter xviii., Alciphron’s Epistles.)–L.]
The greyhound has within the last fifty years assumed a somewhat different character from that which he once possessed. He is distinguished by a beautiful symmetry of form, of which he once could not boast, and he has even superior speed to that which he formerly exhibited. He is no longer used to struggle with the deer, but he contends with his fellow over a shorter and speedier course.
The rules for breeding and breaking-in of greyhounds are very simple. The utmost attention should be paid to the qualities of the parents; for it is as certain in these dogs as in the horse that all depends upon the breeding. The bitch should be healthy and of good size; the dog muscular, stanch, and speedy, and somewhat larger than the bitch. Both should have arrived at their full vigour, and with none of their powers beginning to fail. Those as much as possible should be selected whose peculiar appearance bids fair to increase the good qualities and diminish the bad ones on either side. The best blood and the best form should be diligently sought. Breeding from young dogs on either side should, generally speaking, be avoided. With regard to older dogs, whether male or female, there may be less care. Many greyhounds, both male and female, eight, nine, and ten years of age, have been the progenitors of dogs possessing every stanch and good quality.
On no consideration, however, should the bitch be put to the dog before she is two years old. Little can be done to regulate the period of oestrum; but the most valuable breed will be almost invariably that which is produced during the spring, because at that time there will often be opportunity for that systematic exercise on which the growth and powers of the dog so materially depend. A litter of puppies in the beginning or even the middle of winter will often be scarcely worth the trouble or expense of rearing.
The age of the greyhound is now taken from the first day in the year; but the conditions of entry are fixed at different periods. It seems, however, to be agreed that no dog or bitch can qualify for a puppy cup after two years of ago.
One principle to be ever kept in mind is a warm and comfortable situation, and a plentiful supply of nourishment for the mother and for the puppies from the moment of their birth. The dog that is stinted in his early growth will never do its owner credit. The bitch should be abundantly supplied with milk, and the young ones with milk and bread, and oatmeal, and small portions of flesh as soon as they are disposed to eat it; great care, however, being taken that they are not over-gorged. Regular and proper feeding, with occasional exercise, will constitute the best preparation for the actual training. If a foster-mother be required for the puppies, it should, if possible, be a greyhound; for it is not at all impossible that the bad qualities of the nurse may to a greater or less degree be communicated to the whelps. Bringing up by hand is far preferable to the introduction of any foster-mother. A glass or Indian-rubber bottle may be used for a little while, if not until the weaning. Milk at first, and afterwards milk and sop alternately, may be used.
There is a difference of opinion whether the whelp should be kept in the kennel and subjected to its regular discipline, or placed at walk in some farm-house. In consequence of the liberty he will enjoy at the latter, his growth will probably be more rapid; but, running with the farmers’ dogs, and probably coursing many hares, he will acquire, to a certain degree, a habit of wildness. It is useless to deny this; but, on the other hand, nothing will contribute so much to the development of every power as a state of almost unlimited freedom when the dogs are young. The wildness that will be exhibited can soon be afterwards restrained so far as is necessary, and the dog who has been permitted to exert his powers when young will manifest his superiority in more advanced age, and in nothing more than his dexterity at the turn.
When the training actually commences, it should be preceded by a couple of doses of physic, with an interval of five or six days, and, probably, a moderate bleeding between them; for, if the dog begins to work overloaded with flesh and fat, he will suffer so severely from it that possibly he will never afterwards prove a game dog. In the course of his training he should be allowed every advantage and experience every encouragement. His courses should be twice or thrice a-week, according to their severity, and as often as it can be effected be should be rewarded with some mark of kindness.
In the ‘Sportsman’ for April, 1840, is an interesting account of the chase of the hare. It is said that, in general, a good greyhound will reach a hare if she runs straight. He pursues her eagerly, and the moment he is about to strike at her she turns short, and the dog, unable to stop himself, is thrown from ten to twenty yards from her. These jerking turns soon begin to tell upon a dog, and an old well-practised hare will seldom fail to make her escape. When, however, pursued by a couple of dogs, the hare has a more difficult game to play, as it frequently happens that when she is turned by the leading dog she has great difficulty in avoiding the stroke of the second.
It is highly interesting to witness the game of an old hare. She has generally some brake or thicket in view, under the cover of which she means to escape from her pursuers. On moving from her seat she makes directly for the hiding-place, but, unable to reach it, has recourse to turning, and, ‘wrenched’ by one or the other of her pursuers, she seems every moment almost in the jaws of one of them, and yet in a most dexterous manner she accomplishes her object. A greyhound, when he perceives a hare about to enter a thicket, is sure to strike at her if within any reasonable distance. The hare shortens her stride as she approaches the thicket, and at the critical moment she makes so sudden, dexterous, and effectual a spring, that the dogs are flung to a considerable distance, and she has reached the cover and escaped.
The isle of Cyprus has for many years been celebrated for its breed of the greyhound. On grand days, or when the governor is present, the sport is conducted in a curious manner. When the hare is ready to become the prey of its enemies, the governor rushes forwards, and, throwing before the greyhounds a stick which he carries, they all instantaneously stop. The hare now runs a little distance; but one of the swiftest greyhounds is then let loose. He pursues the hare, and, having come up with it, carries it back, and, springing on the neck of the governor’s horse, places it before him. The governor delivers it to one of his officers, who sends it to the park, where he maintains many prisoners of the same kind; for he will not destroy the animal that has contributed to his amusement. [15]
The following, according to Mr. Blaine, an ardent courser in his youth, is the best mode of feeding greyhounds at regular work:
“The dogs had a full flesh meal every afternoon or evening, as more nutriment is derived from night-feeding than by day, and when sleeping than when waking. In the morning they were let out, and either followed the keeper about the paddock, or the groom in his horse exercise, and then had a trifling meat of mixed food, as a quieting portion, until the evening full meal. Such was our practice on the days when no coursing was contemplated, and, with the exception of lowering the quantity and quality of the evening meal, the same plan was pursued throughout the year. On the day previous to coursing, if we intended anything like an exhibition of our dogs before company engaged to meet us on the marshes, we gave a plentiful meal early the previous day, some exercise also in the afternoon, and a light supper at night, of meal with either broth or milk, with a man on horseback going a gentle trot of six or seven miles an hour.” [16]
Mr. Thacker orders the greyhounds out on the fore part of every day; but, instead of being loose and at liberty, they would be much better two and two; then, when he meets with a proper field to loose them in, to give them a good gallop. This will be a greater novelty than if they had been loose on the road, and they will gallop with more eagerness. Four days in a week will be enough for this exercise. On one day there should he a gallop of one or two miles, or even a course for each brace of dogs.
The young dog has usually an older and more experienced one to start with him. That which is of most importance is, that his leader should be a thoroughly stout and high-mettled dog. If he shrinks or shies at any impediment, however formidable, the young one will be sure to imitate him, and to become an uncertain dog, if not a rank coward. Early in November is the time when these initiatory trials are to be made. It is of consequence that the young one should witness a death as soon as possible. Some imagine that two old dogs should accompany the young one at its first commencement. After the death of the leveret, the young dog must be coaxed and fondled, but never suffered to taste the blood.
In kennels in which the training is regularly conducted, the dog should be brushed all over twice every day. Few things contribute so much to health as general cleanliness, and friction applied to the skin. Warmth is as necessary for greyhounds as for horses, and should not be forgotten in cold weather. Body-clothing is a custom of considerable antiquity, and should not be abandoned. The breeder of greyhounds for the purpose of coursing must reckon upon incurring considerable expense; but, if he loves the sport, ho will be amply remunerated by the speed and stoutness of his dogs.
A question has arisen whether, on the morning of the coursing, any stimulant should be given to the dog. The author of this work would unhesitatingly approve of this practice. He has had abundant experience of the good effect of it; but the stimulus must be that which, while it produces the desired effect, leaves no exhaustion behind. [17]
THE SCOTCH GREYHOUND
has the same sharpness of muzzle, length of head, lightness of ear, and depth of chest, as the English dog; but the general frame is stronger and more muscular, the hind quarters more prominent, there is evident increase of size and roughness of coat, and there is also some diminution of speed. If it were not for these points, these dogs might occasionally be taken for each other. In coursing the hare, no north-country dog will stand against the lighter southern, although the southern would be unequal to the labour often required from the Highlander.
The Scotch greyhound is said–perhaps wrongly–to be oftenest used by those who look more to the quantity of game than to the fairness and openness of the sport, and in some parts of the country this dog is not permitted to be entered for a sweepstakes, because, instead of depending on his speed alone, as does the English greyhound, he has recourse to occasional artifices in order to intercept the hare. In sporting language he runs sly, and, therefore, is sometimes excluded.
THE HIGHLAND GREYHOUND, OR DEER-HOUND
is a larger, stronger, and fiercer dog, and may be readily distinguished from the Lowland Scotch greyhound by its pendulous, and, generally, darker ears, and by the length of hair which almost covers his face. Many accounts have been given of the perfection of its scent, and it is said to have followed a wounded deer during two successive days. He is usually two inches taller than the Scotch greyhound. The head is carried particularly high, and gives to the animal a noble appearance. His limbs are exceedingly muscular, his back beautifully arched. The tail is long and curved, but assumes the form of an almost straight line when he is much excited. The only fault which these dogs have is their occasional ill-temper, or even ferocity; but this does not extend to the owner and his family.
It appears singular that the English greyhound exhibits so little power of scent; but this is simply because he has never been taught to use it, or has been cruelly corrected when he has attempted to exercise it.
Holinshed relates the mischief that followed the stealing of one of these dogs:
“Divers of the young Pictesh nobilitye repaired unto Craithlint, King of the Scots, for to hunt and make merie with him; but, when they should depart homewards, perceiving that the Scotish dogs did far excel theirs, both in fairnesse, swiftnesse, and hardinesse, and also in long standing up and holding out, they got diverse both dogs and bitches of the best kind for breed, to be given them by the Scotish Lords: and yet not so contented, they stole one belonging to the King from his keeper, being more esteemed of him than all the others which he had about him. The maister of the leash, being informed hereof pursued after them that had stolen the dog, thinking, indeed, to have taken him from them: but they not being to part with him fell at altercation, and at the end chanced to strike the maister of the leash through with their horse spears, so that he did die presently. Whereupon noise and crie being raised in the country by his servantes, divers of the Scots, as they were going home from hunting, returned, and falling upon the Picts to revenge the death of their fellow, there ensued a shrewed bickering betwixt them; so that of the Scots there died three score gentlemen, besides a great number of the commons, not one of them understanding what the matter meant. Of the Picts there were about 100 slaine.”
Mr. H.D. Richardson describes a cross between the greyhound and British bloodhound:
“It is a tall muscular raw-boned dog, the ears far larger, and more pendulous, than those of the greyhound or deer-hound. The colour is generally black, or black and tan; his muzzle and the tips of the ears usually dark. He is exceedingly swift and fierce; can pull down a stag single-handed; runs chiefly by sight, but will also occasionally take up the scent. In point of scent, however, he is inferior to the true deer-hound. This dog cannot take a turn readily, but often fails at the double.” [18]
THE IRISH GREYHOUND.
This dog differs from the Scotch, in having shorter and finer hair, of a pale fawn colour, and pendent ears. It is, compared with the Scotch dog, gentle and harmless, perhaps indolent, until roused. It is a larger dog than the Scottish dog, some of them being full four feet in length, and proportionately muscular. On this account, and also on account of their determined spirit when roused, they were carefully preserved by some Irish gentlemen. They were formerly used in hunting the wolf when that animal infested the forests of Ireland. Mr. Bell says that the last person who kept the pure breed was Lord Altamont, who in 1780 “had eight of them.” [19]
THE GASEHOUND,
the ‘agasaeus’ of former times, was probably allied to, or connected with, the Irish greyhound. It hunted entirely by sight, and, if its prey was lost for a time, it could recover it by a singular distinguishing faculty. Should the deer rejoin the herd, the dog would unerringly select him again from all his companions:
“Seest thou the gasehound how with glance severe From the close herd he marks the destined deer?” [20]
There is no dog possessed of this quality at present known in Europe; but the translator of Arrian thinks that it might be produced between the Irish greyhound and the bloodhound.
THE IRISH WOLF-DOG
This animal is nearly extinct, or only to be met with at the mansions of one or two persons by whom he is kept more for show than use, the wild animals which he seemed powerful enough to conquer having long disappeared from the kingdom. The beauty of his appearance and the antiquity of his race are his only claims, as he disdains the chase of stag, fox, or hare, although he is ever ready to protect the person and the property of his master. His size is various, some having attained the height of four feet, and Dr. Goldsmith stales that he saw one as large as a yearling calf. He is shaped like a greyhound, but stouter; and the only dog which the writer from whom this account is taken ever saw approaching to his graceful figure, combining beauty with strength, is the large Spanish wolf-dog: concerning which he adds, that, showing one of these Spanish dogs to some friends, he leaped through a window into a cow-house, where a valuable calf was lying, and seizing the terrified animal, killed it in an instant; some sheep having in the same way disappeared, he was given away. The same writer says that his grandfather had an Irish wolf-dog which saved his mother’s life from a wolf as she was paying a visit attended by this faithful follower. He rushed on his foe just when he was about to make his spring, and after a fierce struggle laid him dead at his mistress’s feet. His name was Bran. [21]
THE RUSSIAN GREYHOUND
is principally distinguished by its dark-brown or iron-grey colour–its short semi-erect ears–its thin lanky body–long but muscular legs–soft thick hair, and the hair of its tail forming a spiral twist, or fan, (thence called the fan-tailed dog,) and as he runs having a very pleasing appearance. He hunts by scent as well as by sight, and, therefore, small packs of this kind are sometimes kept, against which the wolf, or even the bear, would stand little chance. He is principally used for the chase of the deer or the wolf, but occasionally follows the hare. The deer is the principal object of pursuit, and for this he is far better adapted than to contend with the ferocious wolf. His principal faults are want of activity and dexterity. He is met with in most parts of Russia, where his breed is carefully preserved by the nobility, with whom coursing is a favourite diversion.
Some dogs of this breed were not long ago introduced into Ireland.
THE GRECIAN GREYHOUND
The author is glad that he is enabled to present his readers with the portrait of one now in the menagerie of the Zoological Society of London. It is the dog whose image is occasionally sculptured on the friezes of some of the ancient Grecian temples, and was doubtless a faithful portrait of one of the dogs which Xenophon the Athenian valued, and was the companion of the heroes of Greece in her ancient glory.
The principal difference between the Grecian and the English greyhound is, that the former is not so large, the muzzle is not so pointed, and the limbs are not so finely framed.
THE TURKISH GREYHOUND
is a small-sized hairless dog, or with only a few hairs on his tail. He is never used in the field, and bred only as a spoiled pet, yet not always spoiled, for anecdotes are related of his inviolable attachment to his owner. One of them belonged to a Turkish Pacha who was destroyed by the bowstring. He would not forsake the corpse, but laid himself down by the body of his murdered master, and presently expired.
THE PERSIAN GREYHOUND
is a beautiful animal. He is more delicately framed than the English breed; the ears are also more pendulous, and feathered almost as much as those of a King Charles’s spaniel. Notwithstanding, however, his apparent slenderness and delicacy, he yields not in courage, and scarcely in strength, to the British dog. There are few kennels in which he is found in which he is not the master.
In his native country, he is not only used for hunting the hare, but the antelope, the wild ass, and even the boar. The antelope is speedier than the greyhound: therefore the hawk is given to him as an ally. The antelope is no sooner started than the hawk is cast off, who, fluttering before the head of the deer, and sometimes darting his talons into his head, disconcerts him, and enables the greyhound speedily to overtake and master him. The chase, however, in which the Persians chiefly delight, and for which these greyhounds are mostly valued, is that of the ‘ghoo-khan’, or wild ass. This animal inhabits the mountainous districts of Persia. He is swift, ferocious, and of great endurance, which, together with the nature of the ground, renders this sport exceedingly dangerous. The hunter scarcely gives the animal a fair chance, for relays of greyhounds are placed at various distances in the surrounding country; so that, when those by which the animal is first started are tired, there are others to continue the chase. Such, however, is the speed and endurance of the ghoo-khan, that it is seldom fairly run down by the greyhounds, its death being usually achieved by the rifle of some horseman. The Persians evince great skill and courage in this dangerous sport, galloping at full speed, rifle in hand, up and down the most precipitous hills, and across ravines and mountain streams, that might well daunt the boldest rider. [22]
The Persian greyhound, carried to Hindoostan, is not always to be depended upon; but, it is said, is apt to console itself by hunting its own master, or any one else, when the game proves too fleet or escapes into the cover.
THE ITALIAN GREYHOUND
possesses all the symmetry of the English or Persian one, on a small scale. So far as beauty can recommend it, and, generally speaking, good nature, it is deservedly a favourite in the drawingroom; but, like the large greyhound, it is inferior in intelligence. It has no strong individual attachment, but changes it with singular facility. It is not, however, seen to advantage in its petted and degraded state, but has occasionally proved a not unsuccessful courser of the rabbit and the hare, and exhibited no small share of speed and perseverance. In a country, however, the greater part of which is infested with wolves, it cannot be of much service, but exposed to unnecessary danger. It is bred along the coasts of Italy, principally for the purpose of sale to foreigners.
In order to acquire more perfect beauty of form, and more activity also, the English greyhound has received one cross from the Italian, and with decided advantage. The speed and the beauty have been evidently increased, and the courage and stoutness have not been diminished.
It has been said that Frederick the Great of Prussia was very fond of a small Italian greyhound, and used to carry it about with him under his cloak. During the seven years’ war, he was pursued by a party of Austrian dragoons, and compelled to take shelter, with his favourite, under the dry arch of a bridge. Had the little animal, that was naturally ill-tempered and noisy, once barked, the monarch would have been taken prisoner, and the fate of the campaign and of Prussia decided; but it lay perfectly still, and clung close to its master, as if conscious of their mutual danger. When it died, it was buried in the gardens of the palace at Berlin, and a suitable inscription placed over its grave.
[Footnote 1: ‘Annals of Sporting’, vol. vi. p. 99.]
[Footnote 2: The superstition of the Arabians and Turks with regard to dogs is somewhat singular: neither have they much affection for these animals, or suffer them to be in or near the camp, except to guard it in the night. They have, however, some charity for the females that have whelps. As for other dogs, they feed them well, and give them good words, but never touch them nor go near them, because dogs are regarded as unclean animals. They particularly drive them away in wet weather; for, if one drop of water from a dog should fall on their raiment, their devotion would be interrupted and useless. They who are fond of hunting make their religion subservient to their pleasure, and say that greyhounds and setters are excepted from the general rule, because when not running these dogs are tied up where nothing unclean can reach them, and they are never suffered to eat any thing unclean. Their opinion is the same with regard to small dogs, which are kept with great care, and no one willingly injures a dog, or, if he should injure purposely, or destroy one of them, the law would punish him. Chevalier Darvieux’s ‘Travels in Arabia Deserta’, 1718, p. 155.]
[Footnote 3: ‘Heber’s Narrative’, p. 500.]
[Footnote 4: ‘Histoire du Chien’, par Elzear Blaze, p. 54.]
[Footnote 5: ‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society’, Part I. 833.]
[Footnote 6: Williamson’s ‘Oriental Field Sports’]
[Footnote 7: Poiret, in his ‘Travels in Barbary’ asserts that
“the dog loses in the East a great part of those good qualities that make him the friend of man. He is no longer a faithful domesticated animal, faithfully attached to his master, and ever ready to defend him even at the expense of his own life. He is cruel and blood-thirsty, his look is savage, and his appearance revolting; carrion, filth, anything is good enough for him if he can but appease his hunger. They seldom bite one another, but they unite against a stranger who approaches the Arab tents, and would tear him to pieces if he did not seek his safety in flight.” Vol. i. p. 353.
Denon, when in the city of Alexandria, in Egypt, says,
“I have no longer recognised the dog, that friend of man, the attached and faithful companion–the lively and honest courtier. He is here a gloomy egotist, and cut off from all human intercourse without being the less a slave. He does not know him whose house he protects, and devours his corpse without repugnance.” Travels in Lower Egypt, p. 32.]
[Footnote 8: ‘Histoire du Chien’, p. 200. The Voyage of Dumont d’Urville, vol. ii. p.474.]
[Footnote 9: Greyhound.]
[Footnote 10: Overcast, or overrun.]
[Footnote 11: Ovid, ‘Metamorph.’, lib. i. v. 353.]
[Footnote 12: A singular story is told of Richard II, and one of these dogs. It is given in the language of Froissart.
“A grayhounde called Mithe, who always wayted upon the kynge, and would knowe no man els. For when so ever the kynge did ryde, he that kept the grayhounde dyd lette him lose, and he wolde streyght runne to the kynge and faune uppon hym, and leape with his fore fete uppon the kynge’s shoulders. And, as the kynge and the Erle of Derby talked togyder in the courte, the grayhounde who was wonte to leape uppon the kynge, left the kynge and came to the Erle of Derby, Duke of Lancastre; and made to him the same friendly continuance and chere as he was wonte to do to the kynge. The duke, who knewe not the grayhounde, demanded of the kynge what the grayhounde wolde do? ‘Cousin,’ qoud the kynge, ‘it is a greate goode token to you, and an evyl signe to me.’ ‘How knowe you that?’ quod the duke. ‘I knowe it well,’ quod the kynge. ‘The grayhounde acknowledgeth you here this daye as Kynge of England, as ye shall be, and I shal be deposed; the grayhounde hath this knowledge naturally: therefore take hyme to you, he wyll followe you and forsake me.’ The duke understood well those words, and cheryshed the grayhounde, who would never after followe kynge Richarde, but followed the duke of Lancastre.”]
[Footnote 13: ‘Thacker on Sporting’.]
[Footnote 14: The writer of this work had a brace of greyhounds as arrant thieves as ever lived. They would now and then steal into the cooking-room belonging to the kennel, lift the lid from the boiler, and, if any portion of the joint or piece of meat projected above the water, suddenly seize it, and before there was time for them to feel much of its heat, contrive to whirl it on the floor, and eat it at their leisure as it got cold. In order to prevent this, the top of the boiler was secured by an iron rod passing under its handle of the boiler on each side; but not many days passed ere they discovered that they could gnaw the cords asunder, and displace the rod, and fish out the meat as before. Small chains were then substituted for the cords, and the meat was cooked in safety for nearly a week, when they found that, by rearing themselves on their hind legs, and applying their united strength towards the top of the boiler they could lift it out of its bed and roll it along the floor, and so get at the broth, although the meat was out of their reach. The man who looked after them expressed himself heartily glad when they were gone; for, he said, he was often afraid to go into the kennel, and was sure they were devils, and not dogs.]
[Footnote 15: Scott’s ‘Sportsman’s Repository’, p. 97.]
[Footnote 16: Blaine’s ‘Encyclopedia of Sporting’.]
[Footnote 17: For a set of laws for Coursing Matches. see Appendix.]
[Footnote 18: ‘Sportsman’, vol. xi. p. 314]
[Footnote 19: Bell’s ‘British Quadrupeds’, p. 241.]
[Footnote 20: Tickell’s ‘Miscellanies’]
[Footnote 21: ‘Sporting Mag.’ 1837, p. 156.]
[Footnote 22: ‘New Sports. Mag.’ xiii. 124.]
* * * * *
CHAPTER III.
THE VARIETIES OF THE DOG.
SECOND DIVISION.
The head moderately elongated, the parietals not approaching from their insertion, but rather diverging, so as to enlarge the cerebral cavities and the frontal sinuses; consequently giving to these dogs greater power of scent and intelligence. They constitute the most pleasing and valuable division of the Dog.
The Spaniel is evidently the parent of the Newfoundland dog and the setter; while the retriever, the poodle, the Bernardine, the Esquimaux, the Siberian, and the Greenland dogs, the shepherd and drover’s dog, and every variety distinguished for intelligence and fidelity, have more or less of his blood in them.
THE SPANIEL
is probably of Spanish origin, and thence his name. The ears are large and pendent, the tail elevated, the fur of a different length in different parts of the body, but longest about the ears, under the neck, behind the thighs and on the tail, varying in colour, but most commonly white with brown or black patches.
There are many varieties of the spaniel. The smallest of the ‘land’ spaniels is
THE COCKER.
It is chiefly used in flushing woodcocks and pheasants in thickets and copses into which the setter, and even the springer, can scarcely enter.
“But, if the shady woods my cares employ, In quest of feathered game my spaniels beat, Puzzling the entangled copse, and from the brake Push forth the whirring pheasant.”
The cocker is here very useful, although he is occasionally an exceedingly impatient animal. He is apt to whimper and babble as soon as he comes upon the scent of game, and often raises the bird before the sportsman is within reach: but when he is sufficiently broken in not to give tongue until the game rises, he is exceedingly valuable. There can scarcely be a prettier object than this little creature, full of activity, and bustling in every direction, with his tail erect; and, the moment he scents the bird, expressing his delight by the quivering of every limb, and the low eager whimpering which the best breaking cannot always subdue.
Presently the bird springs, and then he shrieks out his ecstasy, startling even the sportsman with his sharp, shrill, and strangely expressive bark.
The most serious objection to the use of the cocker is the difficulty of teaching him to distinguish his game, and confine himself within bounds; for he will too often flush everything that comes within his reach. It is often the practice to attach bells to his collar, that the sportsman may know where he is; but there is an inconvenience connected with this, that the noise of the bells will often disturb and spring the game before the dog comes fairly upon it.
Patience and perseverance, with a due mixture of kindness and correction, will, however, accomplish a great deal in the tuition of the well-bred spaniel. He may at first hunt about after every bird that presents itself, or chase the interdicted game; but, if he is immediately called in and rated, or perhaps corrected, but not too severely, he will learn his proper lesson, and will recognise the game, to which alone his attention must be directed. The grand secret in breaking in these dogs is mildness, mingled with perseverance, the lessons being enforced, and practically illustrated by the example of an old and steady dog.
These spaniels will sometimes vie with almost every other species of dog in intelligence, and will not yield to one of them in fidelity. A gentleman in Sussex had an old cocker, that was his constant companion, both in the house and the field. If the morning was rainy, the dog was perfectly quiet; if it was fine, he became restless, and, at the usual time for his master to go out, he would take him by the flap of his coat, and gently pull at it. If the door was opened, he ran immediately to the keeper’s lodge, which was at a considerable distance from the house. This was a signal for the other dogs to be brought up, and then he trotted back to announce their approach.
[This beautiful and interesting dog, so called from his peculiar suitableness for woodcock shooting, is but little known among us except as a boudoir companion for our ladies. He is, nevertheless, extensively used in England by sportsmen for finding and flushing this bird, as also the pheasant; and no doubt, if introduced into our country, would prove equally, if not more serviceable, in putting up game concealed in the thickets and marshy hollows of our uncleared grounds. Having extremely fine scenting powers, they are also employed in greyhound coursing, to give warning of the proximity of a hare, which they seldom fail to accomplish.
This active little animal hunts with great spirit, and soon becomes attached to the sport; in fact the only difficulty to be overcome in breaking him, is the effort it requires to make him suppress his natural ardour and withhold his exclamations of delight till the bird is actually on the wing. The tutelage of the cocker intended for the field should commence as early as possible, and is not, as many suppose, attended with great difficulty. His first lessons should be confined to the art of bringing and carrying, which he soon, in common with all the other members of the spaniel tribe, learns. The next thing to be inculcated is implicit obedience to our wishes; then, at the age of four months or so, he may be carried to the field, where his natural fondness for hunting will soon be developed by his chasing every bird within his reach. When this impulse is fully exhibited, and the dog expresses gratification in the amusement, he should be then instructed to give chase, or not, at his master’s pleasure. When this desirable end has been accomplished, he may be introduced to the particular kinds of game which it is proposed to hunt him on, and by slow degrees teach him to confine his attentions to those varieties alone. It is absolutely necessary that the dog be forced to hunt as near to the sportsman as possible, otherwise the game will be flushed at such a distance that it will be impossible to get at it. The cocker spaniel is much smaller than the springer; his ears are long, pendulous, and silky; his body round and compact; his legs short and tufted; his coat variable; his nose black; tail bushy and feathered, and, when hunting, is kept in constant motion.
Some are black and white, others liver colour and yellow; the latter variety we have most usually seen in this country, and some of them have been represented to us as well-broken and serviceable dogs.–L.]
THE KING CHARLES’S SPANIEL,
so called from the fondness of Charles II for it–who usually had some of them following him, wherever he went–belongs likewise to the cockers. Its form and character are well preserved in one of the paintings of the unfortunate parent of that monarch and his family. The ears deeply fringed and sweeping the ground, the rounder form of the forehead, the larger and moister eye, the longer and silken coat, and the clearness of the tan, and white and black colour, sufficiently distinguish this variety. His beauty and diminutive size have consigned him to the drawing-room or parlour.
Charles the First had a breed of spaniels, very small, with the hair black and curly. The spaniel of the second Charles was of the black and tan breed.
The King Charles’s breed of the present day is materially altered for the worse. The muzzle is almost as short, and the forehead as ugly and prominent, as the veriest bull-dog. The eye is increased to double its former size, and has an expression of stupidity with which the character of the dog too accurately corresponds. Still there is the long ear, and the silky coat, and the beautiful colour of the hair, and for these the dealers do not scruple to ask twenty, thirty, and even fifty guineas.
[This breed of dog was cultivated with such jealous care by the late Duke of Norfolk, that no solicitation or entreaty could induce this nobleman to part with one of these favourites, except under certain peculiar stipulations and injunctions, as detailed in the following interview of Mr. Blain with the late Duchess of York. “On one occasion, when we were accompanying Her Royal Highness to her menagerie, with almost a kennel of canine favourites behind her, after drawing our attention to a jet black pug pup she had just received from Germany, she remarked that she was going to show me what she considered a present of much greater rarity, which was a true King Charles’s breed sent to her by the Duke of Norfolk. ‘But,’ she observed, ‘would you believe he could be so ungallant as to write word that he must have a positive promise not from myself, but from the Duke of York, that I should not breed from it in the direct line?'” Notwithstanding these selfish restrictions on the part of this noble patron of the spaniel, this breed of dog has become quite common in England, and not a few have found their way to this country.–L.]
THE SPRINGER
This dog is slower and steadier in its range than the cocker; but it is a much safer dog for the shooter, and can better stand a hard day’s work. The largest and best breed of springers is said to be in Sussex, and is much esteemed in the Wealds of that county.
From a cross with the terrier a black and tan variety was procured, which was cultivated by the late Duke of Norfolk, and thence called the Norfolk Spaniel. It is larger than the common springer, and stancher, and stouter. It often forms a strong individual attachment, and is unhappy and pines away when separated from its master. It is more ill-tempered than the common springer, and, if not well broken in, is often exceedingly obstinate.
[Mr. Skinner informs us that this breed, in its greatest purity, may be found in the Carrollton family, as also in the possession of Mr. Keyworth of Washington city.–L.]
THE BLACK AND TAN SPANIEL,
the cross of the terrier being nearly or quite got rid of, is often a beautiful animal, and is much valued, although it is frequently considered a somewhat stupid animal. The cocker and the springer are sometimes used as finders in coursing.
THE BLENHEIM SPANIEL,
a breed cultivated by one of the Dukes of Marlborough, belongs to this division. From its beauty, and occasional gaiety, it is oftener an inhabitant of the drawing-room than the field; but it occasionally breaks out, and shows what nature designed it for. Some of these carpeted pets acquit themselves nobly in the covert. There they ought oftener to be; for they have not much individuality of attachment to recommend them, and, like other spoiled animals, both quadruped and biped, misbehave. The breed has degenerated of late, and is not always to be had pure, even in the neighbourhood of Blenheim. This spaniel may he distinguished by the length and silkiness of the coat, the deep fringe about the ear, the arch and deep-feathering of the tail, the full and moist eye, and the blackness of the palate.
THE WATER-SPANIEL.
Of this breed there are two varieties, a larger and smaller, both useful according to the degree of range or the work required; the smaller, however, being ordinarily preferable. Whatever be his general size, strength and compactness of form are requisite. His head is long, his face smooth, and his limbs, more developed than those of the springer, should be muscular, his carcase round, and his hair long and closely curled. Good breaking is more necessary here than even with the land-spaniel, and, fortunately, it is more easily accomplished; for, the water-spaniel, although a stouter, is a more docile animal than the land one.
Docility and affection are stamped on his countenance, and he rivals every other breed in his attachment to his master. His work is double; first to find, when ordered so to do, and to back behind the sportsman when the game will be more advantageously trodden up. In both he must be taught to be perfectly obedient to the voice, that he may be kept within range, and not unnecessarily disturb the birds. A more important part of his duty, however, is to find and bring the game that has dropped. To teach him to find is easy enough, for a young water-spaniel will as readily take to the water as a pointer puppy will stop; but to bring his game without tearing is a more difficult lesson, and the most difficult of all is to make him suspend the pursuit of the wounded game while the sportsman re-loads.
The water-spaniel was originally from Spain; but the pure breed has been lost, and the present dog is probably descended from the large water-dog and the English setter.
The water and land spaniels differ materially from each other. The water-spaniel, although when at his work being all that his master can desire, is, when unemployed, comparatively a slow and inactive dog; but under this sobriety of demeanor is concealed a strength and fidelity of attachment to which the more lively land-spaniel cannot always lay just claim. The writer of this work once saved a young water-spaniel from the persecution of a crowd of people who had driven it into a passage, and were pelting it with stones. The animal had the character of being, contrary to what his species usually are, exceedingly savage; and he suffered himself to be taken up by me and carried from his foes with a kind of sullenness; but when, being out of the reach of danger, he was put down, he gazed on his deliverer, and then crouched at his feet.
From that moment he attached himself to his new master with an intensity of affection scarcely conceivable–never expressed by any boisterous caresses, but by endeavouring to be in some manner in contact with him; resting his head upon his foot; lying upon some portion of his apparel, his eye intently fixed upon him; endeavouring to understand every expression of his countenance. He would follow one gentleman, and one only, to the river-side, and behave gallantly and nobly there; but the moment he was dismissed he would scamper home, gaze upon his master, and lay himself down at his feet. In one of these excursions he was shot. He crawled home, reached his master’s feet, and expired in the act of licking his hand.
Perhaps the author may be permitted to relate one story more of the water-spaniel: he pledges himself for its perfect truth. The owner of the dog is telling this tale.
“I was once on the sea-coast, when a small, badly-formed, and leaky fishing-boat was cast on shore, on a fearful reef of rocks. Three men and a boy of ten years old constituted the crew. The men swam on shore, but they were so bruised against the rocks, that they could not render any assistance to the poor boy, and no person could be found to venture out in any way. I heard the noise and went to the spot with my dog. I spoke to him, and in he went, more like a seal than a dog, and after several fruitless attempts to mount the wreck he succeeded, and laid hold of the boy, who clung to the ropes, screaming in the most fearful way at being thus dragged into the water. The waves dashed frightfully on the rocks. In the anxiety and responsibility of the moment I thought that the dog had missed him, and I stripped off my clothes, resolved to render what assistance I could. I was just in the act of springing from the shore, having selected the moment when the receding waves gave me the best chance of rendering any assistance, when I saw old ‘Bagsman,’ for that was the name of my dog, with the struggling boy in his mouth, and the head uppermost. I rushed to the place where he must land, and the waves bore the boy and the dog into my arms.
“Some time after that I was shooting wild-fowl. I and my dog had been working hard, and I left him behind me while I went to a neighbouring town to purchase gunpowder. A man, in a drunken frolic, had pushed off in a boat with a girl in it; the tide going out carried the boat quickly away, and the man becoming frightened, and unable to swim, jumped overboard. Bagsman, who was on the spot, hearing the splash, jumped in, swam out to the man, caught hold of him, and brought him twenty yards towards the shore, when the drunken fellow clasped the dog tight round the body, and they both went down together. The girl was saved by a boat going to her assistance. The body of the man was recovered about an hour afterwards, with that of the dog clasped tight in his arms, thus dragging him to the bottom. ‘Poor Bagsman! thy worth deserves to be thus chronicled.'”
THE POODLE.
The particular cross from which this dog descended is unknown, but the variety produced has been carefully preserved. It is, probably, of continental origin, and is known by its thick curly hair concealing almost every part of the face, and giving it the appearance of a short, thick, unintelligent head. When, however, that hair is removed, there is still the large head; but there is also the cerebral cavity more capacious than in any other dog, and the frontal sinuses fully developed, and exhibiting every indication of the intellectual class to which it belongs.
It was originally a water-dog, as its long and curly hair, and its propensities in its domesticated state, prove; but, from its peculiar sagacity, it is capable of being trained to almost any useful purpose, and its strong individual attachment renders it more the companion of man than a mere sporting dog: indeed, its qualities as a sporting dog are seldom recognised by its owner.
These dogs have far more courage than the water-spaniel, all the sagacity of the Newfoundland, more general talent, if the expression may be used, and more individual attachment than either of them, and without the fawning of the one, or the submissiveness of the other. The poodle seems conscious of his worth, and there is often a quiet dignity accompanying his demonstrations of friendship.
This dog, however, possesses a very peculiar kind of intelligence. It will almost perform the common offices of a servant: it will ring the bell and open the door. Mr. Wilkie, of Ladythorn in Northumberland, had a poodle which he had instructed to go through all the apparent agonies of dying. He would fall on one side, stretch himself out, and move his hind legs as if he were in great pain; he would next simulate the convulsive throbs of departing life, and then stretch out his limbs and thus seem as if he had expired. In this situation he would remain motionless, until he had his master’s command to rise.
The portrait of Sancho, a poodle, that was with difficulty forced from the grave of his master, after the battle of Salamanca, is familiar to many of our readers. Enticed from his post he could not be, nor was he at length taken away until weakened by grief and starvation. He by degrees attached himself to his new master, the Marquis of Worcester, but not with the natural ardour of a poodle. He was attentive to every command, and could perform many little domestic offices. Sometimes he would exhibit considerable buoyancy of spirit; but there oftener seemed to be about him the recollection of older and closer friendship.
Another poodle occupies an interesting place in the history of the Peninsular war. He too belonged to a French officer, who was killed at the battle of Castella. The French were compelled to retreat before they could bury their dead, and the soldiers wished to carry with them their regimental favourite; but he would not be forced from the corpse of his master. Some soldiers afterwards traversing the field of battle, one of them discovered the cross of the Legion of Honour on the breast of the fallen officer, and stooped to take it away, when the dog flew savagely at him, and would not quit his hold, until the bayonet of another soldier laid him lifeless.
A veterinary surgeon, who, before any other animal than the horse was acknowledged to be the legitimate object of medical care, did not disdain to attend to the diseases of the dog, used to say that there were two breeds which he never wished to see in his infirmary, namely, the poodle and the Norfolk spaniel; for, although not always difficult to manage, he could never attach them to him, but they annoyed him by their pitiful and imploring gaze during the day, and their mournful howling at night.
Custom has determined that the natural coat of this animal shall be taken from him. It may be a relief to the poodle for a part of his coat to be stripped off in hot weather, and the curly hair which is left on his chest, contrasted with his smooth and well-rounded loins and quarters, may make it look pretty enough; but it should he remembered that he was not designed by nature to be thus exposed to the cold of winter, and that there are no dogs so liable to rheumatism, and that rheumatism degenerating into palsy, as the well-trimmed poodle.
THE BARBET
is a small poodle, the production of some unknown and disadvantageous cross with the true poodle. It has all the sagacity of the poodle, and will perform even more than his tricks. It is always in action; always fidgety; generally incapable of much affection, but inheriting much self-love and occasional ill temper; unmanageable by any one but its owner; eaten up with red mange; and frequently a nuisance to its master and a torment to every one else.
We must not, however, do it injustice; it is very intelligent, and truly attached to its owner.
The barbet possesses more sagacity than most other dogs, but it is sagacity of a particular kind, and frequently connected with various amusing tricks. Mr. Jesse, in his Gleanings in Natural History, gives a singular illustration of this. A friend of his had a barbet that was not always under proper command. In order to keep him in better order, he purchased a small whip, with which he corrected him once or twice during a walk. On his return the whip was put on a table in the hall, but on the next morning it was missing. It was soon afterwards found concealed in an out-building, and again made use of in correcting the dog. Once more it would have been lost, but, on watching the dog, who was suspected of having stolen it, he was seen to take it from the hall table in order to hide it once more.
THE MALTESE DOG
can be traced back to an early period. Strabo says that
“there is a town in Sicily called Melita, whence are exported many beautiful dogs called ‘Canes Melitaei’. They were the peculiar favourites of the women; but now (A.D. 25) there is less account made of these animals, which are not bigger than common ferrets or weasels, yet they are not small in understanding nor unstable in their love.”
They are also found in Malta and in other islands of the Mediterranean, and they maintain the same character of being devotedly affectionate to their owners, while, it is added,–and they are not loved the less for that,–they are ill-tempered to strangers.
THE LION DOG
is a diminutive likeness of the noble animal whose name it bears. Its head, neck, shoulders, and fore-legs down to the very feet, are covered with long, wavy, silky hairs. On the other parts of the dog it is so short as scarcely to be grasped, except that on the tail there is a small bush of hair. The origin of this breed is not known; it is, perhaps, an intermediate one between the Maltese and the Turkish dog.
THE TURKISH DOG,
as it is improperly called, is a native of hot climates. The supposition of Buffon is not an improbable one, that, being taken from some temperate country to one considerable hotter, the European dog probably acquired some cutaneous disease. This is no uncommon occurrence in Guinea, the East Indies, and South America. Some of these animals afterwards found their way into Europe, and, from their singularity, care was taken to multiply the breed. Aldrovandus states that the first two of them made their appearance in Europe in his time, but the breed was not continued, on account, as it was supposed, of the climate being too cold for them.
The few that are occasionally seen in England bear about them every mark of a degenerated race. They have no activity, and they show little intelligence or affection. One singular circumstance appertains to all that the author of this work has had the opportunity of seeing,–their teeth become very early diseased, and drop from the gums. That eminent zoologist, Mr. Yarrell, examining, with the author of this work, one that had died, certainly not more than five years old, found that it had neither incisors nor canine teeth, and that the molars were reduced to one on each side, the large tubercular tooth being the only one that was remaining. At the scientific meeting of the Zoological Society, the same gentleman stated, that he had examined the mouths of two individuals of the same variety, then alive at the gardens, in both of which the teeth were remarkably deficient. In neither of them were there any false molars, and the incisors in both were deficient in number. Before the age of four years the tongue is usually disgustingly hanging from the mouths of these animals.
THE ALPINE SPANIEL, OR BERNARDINE DOG,
is a breed almost peculiar to the Alps, and to the district between Switzerland and Savoy. The passes over these mountains are exceedingly dangerous from their steepness and narrowness. A precipice of many hundred feet is often found on one side, and perpendicular rocks on the other, while the path is glazed with frozen snow or ice. In many places the path is overhung with huge masses of frozen snow, which occasionally loosen and fall, when the dreadful storms peculiar to these regions suddenly come on, and form an insurmountable barrier, or sweep away or bury the unfortunate traveller. Should he escape these dangers, the path is now become trackless, and he wanders amid the dreary solitudes until night overtakes him; and then, when he pauses from fatigue or uncertainty with regard to the path he should pursue, his limbs are speedily benumbed. Fatal slumbers, which he cannot shake off, steal upon him, and he crouches under some ledge and sleeps, to wake no more. The snow drifts on. It is almost continually falling, and he is soon concealed from all human help.
On the top of Mount St. Bernard, and near one of the most dangerous of these passes, is a convent, in which is preserved a breed of large dogs trained to search for the benighted and frozen wanderer. Every night, and particularly when the wind blows tempestuously, some of these dogs are sent out. They traverse every path about the mountains, and their scent is so exquisite that they can discover the traveller, although he may lie many feet deep in the snow. Having found him, they set to work and endeavour to scrape away the snow, uttering a deep bark that reverberates from rock to rock, and tells those who are watching in the convent that some poor wretch is in peril. Generally, a little flask of spirits is tied round the neck of the animal, by drinking which the benighted traveller may recruit his strength, until more effectual rescue arrive. The monks hasten in the direction of the sound, and often succeed in rekindling the vital spark before it is quite extinguished. Very many travellers have been thus rescued from death by these benevolent men and their intelligent and interesting quadruped servants.
One of these Bernardine dogs, named Barry, had a medal tied round his neck as a badge of honourable distinction, for he had saved the lives of forty persons. He at length died nobly in his vocation. A Piedmontese courier arrived at St. Bernard on a very stormy day, labouring to make his way to the little village of St. Pierre, in the valley beneath the mountain, where his wife and children lived. It was in vain that the monks attempted to check his resolution to reach his family. They at last gave him two guides, each of whom was accompanied by a dog, one of which was the remarkable creature whose service had been so valuable. Descending from the convent, they were overwhelmed by two avalanches or heaps of falling snow, and the same destruction awaited the family of the poor courier, who were travelling up the mountain in the hope of obtaining some news of the husband and father.
A beautiful engraving has been made of this noble dog. It represents him as saving a child which he had found in the Glacier of Balsore, and cherished, and warmed, and induced to climb on his shoulders, and thus preserved from, otherwise, certain destruction.
THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG.
The Newfoundland is a spaniel of large size. He is a native of the island of which he bears the name; but his history is disgraceful to the owners of so valuable an animal. The employment of the lower classes of the inhabitants of St. John, in Newfoundland, is divided between the cutting of wood, and the drawing of it and other merchandise in the winter, and fishing in the summer.
The carts used in the winter work are drawn by these dogs, who are almost invariably urged and goaded on beyond their strength, fed only with putrid salt-fish, and an inadequate quantity even of that. A great many of them are worn out and die before the winter is over; and, when the summer approaches, and the fishing season commences, many of them are quite abandoned, and, uniting with their companions, prowl about preying on the neighbouring flocks, or absolutely starving.
Mr. Macgregor, however, states that
“in almost every other part of British America they are valuable and useful. They are remarkably docile and obedient to their masters, serviceable in all the fishing countries, and yoked in pairs to draw the winter’s fuel home. They are faithful, good-natured, and ever friendly to man. They will defend their master and their master’s property, and suffer no person to injure either the one or the other; and, however extreme may be the danger, they will not leave them for a minute. They seem only to want the faculty of speech, in order to make their good wishes and feelings understood, and they are capable of being trained for all the purposes for which every other variety of the canine species is used”.[1]
That which most recommends the Newfoundland dog is his fearlessness of water, and particularly as connected with the preservation of human life. The writer of the present work knows one of these animals that has preserved from drowning four human beings.
[This breed of dog, though much esteemed both in England and other portions of the world, as well for his majestic appearance as for many useful and winning traits of character, has but few sportsmen as patrons with us. He is not only used in England as a water-dog for the pursuit of wild fowl, but has been trained by many sportsmen to hunt on partridges, woodcocks, and pheasants, and is represented by Captain Hawker and others as surpassing all others of the canine race, in finding wounded game of every description.
Mr. Blain remarks that,