The Dog
by
William Youatt
Part 1 out of 10
Produced by Clytie Siddall, Joshua Hutchinson and Distributed Proofreaders
[Illustration: THE SOUTHERN HOUND.]
THE DOG,
BY WILLIAM YOUATT.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
[Illustration: HEAD OF BLOODHOUND]
EDITED, WITH ADDITIONS,
BY E. J. LEWIS, M.D.
Member of the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia; of the
Philadelphia Medical Society; of the Parisian Medical Society, &c. &c.
1852.
Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by
LEA AND BLANCHARD,
in the clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* * * * *
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE SOUTHERN HOUND
HEAD OF BLOODHOUND
ANCIENT SCULPTURE OF GREYHOUNDS
THE THIBET DOG
THE DINGO, OR NEW HOLLAND DOG
THE HARE INDIAN DOG
THE DANISH, OR DALMATIAN DOG
THE GREYHOUND
THE GRECIAN GREYHOUND
BLENHEIMS AND COCKERS
THE WATER SPANIEL
THE POODLE
THE ALPINE SPANIEL, OR BERNARDINE DOG
THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG
THE ESQUIMAUX DOG
THE ENGLISH SHEEP DOG
THE SCOTCH SHEEP DOG
THE BEAGLE
THE HARRIER
THE FOX HOUND
PLAN OF GOODWOOD KENNEL
THE SETTER
THE POINTER
THE BULL-DOG
THE MASTIFF
THE SCOTCH TERRIER
SKELETON OF THE DOG
DOG'S HEAD CONFINED FOR AN OPERATION
DOG'S EYE PREPARED FOR AN OPERATION
TEETH OF THE DOG AT SEVEN DIFFERENT AGES
* * * * *
PREFACE OF THE EDITOR.
The Editor, having been called upon by the American publishers of the
present volume to see it through the press, and add such matter as he
deemed likely to increase its value to the sportsman and the lover of
dogs in this country, the more readily consented to undertake the task,
as he had previously, during the intervals of leisure left by
professional avocations, paid much attention to the diseases, breeding,
rearing, and peculiarities of the canine race, with a view to the
preparation of a volume on the subject.
His design, however, being in a great measure superseded by the enlarged
and valuable treatise of Mr. Youatt, whose name is a full guarantee as
to the value of whatever he may give to the world, he found that not
much remained to be added. Such points, however, as he thought might be
improved, and such matter as appeared necessary to adapt the volume more
especially to the wants of this country, he has introduced in the course
of its pages. These additions, amounting to about sixty pages, will be
found between brackets, with the initial of the Editor appended. He
trusts they will not detract from the interest of the volume, while he
hopes that its usefulness may be thereby somewhat increased.
With this explanation of his connexion with the work, he leaves it in
the hope that it may prove of value to the sportsman from its immediate
relation to his stirring pursuits; to the general reader, from the large
amount of curious information collected in its pages, which is almost
inaccessible in any other form; and to the medical student, from the
light it sheds on the pathology and diseases of the dog, by which he
will be surprised to learn how many ills that animal shares in common
with the human race.
The editor will be satisfied with his agency in the publication of this
volume, if it should be productive of a more extended love for this
brave, devoted, and sagacious animal, and be the means of improving his
lot of faithful servitude. It is with these views that the editor has
occasionally turned from more immediate engagements to investigate his
character, and seek the means of ameliorating his condition.
PHILADELPHIA, October, 1846.
* * * * *
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Chapter
I. The Early History and Zoological Classification of the Dog
II. The Varieties of the Dog.--First Division
III. The Varieties of the Dog.--Second Division
IV. The Varieties of the Dog.--Third Division
V. The Good Qualities of the Dog;
the Sense of Smell;
Intelligence;
Moral Qualities;
Dog-carts;
Cropping;
Tailing;
Breaking-in;
Dog-pits;
Dog-stealing
VI. Description of the Skeleton.
Diseases of the Nervous System: Fits;
Turnside;
Epilepsy;
Chorea;
Rheumatism and Palsy
VII. Rabies
VIII. The Eye and its Diseases
IX. The Ear and its Diseases
X. Anatomy of the Nose and Mouth;
and Diseases of the Nose and other parts of the Face.
The Sense of Smell;
the Tongue;
the Lips;
the Teeth;
the Larynx;
Bronchocele;
Phlegmonous Tumour
XI. Anatomy and Diseases of the Chest:
the Diaphragm;
the Pericardium;
the Heart;
Pleurisy;
Pneumonia;
Spasmodic Cough
XII. Anatomy of the Gullet,
Stomach, and Intestines:
Tetanus;
Enteritis;
Peritonitis;
Colic;
Calculus in the Intestines;
Intussusception;
Diarrhoea;
Dysentery;
Costiveness;
Dropsy;
the Liver;
Jaundice;
the Spleen and Pancreas;
Inflammation of the Kidney;
Calculus;
Inflammation of the Bladder;
Rupture of the Bladder;
Worms;
Fistula in the Anus
XIII. Bleeding;
Torsion;
Castration;
Parturition;
and some Diseases Connected with the Organs of Generation
XIV. The Distemper
XV. Small-pox;
Mange;
Warts;
Cancer;
Fungus Haemotodes;
Sore Feet
XVI. Fractures
XVII. Medicines used in the Treatment of the Diseases of the Dog
Appendix. New Laws of Coursing
Index.
* * * * *
THE DOG.
CHAPTER I.
THE EARLY HISTORY AND ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE DOG.
The Dog, next to the human being, ranks highest in the scale of
intelligence, and was evidently designed to be the companion and the
friend of man. We exact the services of other animals, and, the task
being performed, we dismiss them to their accustomed food and rest; but
several of the varieties of the dog follow us to our home; they are
connected with many of our pleasures and wants, and guard our sleeping
hours.
The first animal of the domestication of which we have any account, was
the sheep. "Abel was a keeper of sheep." [1] It is difficult to believe
that any long time would pass before the dog--who now, in every country
of the world, is the companion of the shepherd, and the director or
guardian of the sheep--would be enlisted in the service of man.
From the earliest known history he was the protector of the habitation
of the human being. At the feet of the 'lares', those household deities
who were supposed to protect the abodes of men, the figure of a barking
dog was often placed. In every age, and almost in every part of the
globe, he has played a principal part in the labours, the dangers, and
the pleasures of the chase.
In process of time, man began to surround himself with many servants
from among the lower animals, but among them all he had only one
friend--the dog; one animal only whose service was voluntary, and who
was susceptible of disinterested affection and gratitude. In every
country, and in every time, there has existed between man and the dog a
connection different from that which is observed between him and any
other animal. The ox and the sheep submit to our control, but their
affections are principally, if not solely, confined to themselves. They
submit to us, but they can rarely be said to love, or even to recognise
us, except as connected with the supply of their wants.
The horse will share some of our pleasures. He enjoys the chase as much
as does his rider; and, when contending for victory on the course, he
feels the full influence of emulation. Remembering the pleasure he has
experienced with his master, or the daily supply of food from the hand
of the groom, he often exhibits evident tokens of recognition; but that
is founded on a selfish principle--he neighs that he may be fed, and his
affections are easily transferred.
The dog is the only animal that is capable of disinterested affection.
He is the only one that regards the human being as his companion, and
follows him as his friend; the only one that seems to possess a natural
desire to be useful to him, or from a spontaneous impulse attaches
himself to man. We take the bridle from the mouth of the horse, and turn
him free into the pasture, and he testifies his joy in his partially
recovered liberty. We exact from the dog the service that is required of
him, and he still follows us. He solicits to be continued as our
companion and our friend. Many an expressive action tells us how much he
is pleased and thankful. He shares in our abundance, and he is content
with the scantiest and most humble fare. He loves us while living, and
has been known to pine away on the grave of his master.
[It is stated that the favourite lap-dog of Mary, Queen of Scots, that
accompanied her to the scaffold, continued to caress the body after the
head was cut off, and refused to relinquish his post till forcibly
withdrawn, and afterwards died with grief in the course of a day or
two.
The following account is also an authentic instance of the inconsolable
grief displayed by a small cur-dog at the death of his master:--A poor
tailor in the parish of St. Olave, having died, was attended to the
grave by his dog, who had expressed every token of sorrow from the
instant of his master's death, and seemed unwilling to quit the corpse
even for a moment. After the funeral had dispersed, the faithful animal
took his station upon the grave, and was with great difficulty driven by
the sexton from the church ground; on the following day he was again
observed lying on the grave of his master, and was a second time
expelled from the premises. Notwithstanding the harsh treatment received
on several succeeding days by the hands of the sexton, this little
creature would persist in occupying this position, and overcame every
difficulty to gain access to the spot where all he held most dear was
deposited. The minister of the parish, learning the circumstances of the
case, ordered the dog to be carried to his house, where he was confined
and fed for several days, in hopes of weaning him by kind treatment to
forget his sorrow occasioned by the loss of his master. But all his
benevolent efforts were of no utility, as the dog availed himself of the
first opportunity to escape, and immediately repaired to his chosen spot
over the grave.
This worthy clergyman now allowed him to follow the bent of his own
inclinations; and, as a recompense for true friendship and unfeigned
sorrow, had a house built for him over this hallowed spot, and daily
supplied him with food and water for the space of two years, during
which time he never wandered from his post, but, as a faithful guardian,
kept his lonely watch day and night, till death at last put an end to
his sufferings, and laid him by the side of his long-expected
master.--L.]
As an animal of draught the dog is highly useful in some countries. What
would become of the inhabitants of the northern regions, if the dog were
not harnessed to the sledge, and the Laplander, and the Greenlander, and
the Kamtschatkan drawn, and not unfrequently at the rate of nearly a
hundred miles a day, over the snowy wastes? In Newfoundland, the timber,
one of the most important articles of commerce, is drawn to the
water-side by the docile but ill-used dog; and we need only to cross the
British Channel in order to see how useful, and, generally speaking, how
happy a beast of draught the dog can be.
[Large mongrel dogs are very extensively used on the Continent in
pulling small vehicles adapted to various purposes. In fact, most of the
carts and wagons that enter Paris, or are employed in the city, have one
of these animals attached to them by a short strap hanging from the
axle-tree. This arrangement answers the double purpose of keeping off
all intruders in the temporary absence of the master, and, by pushing
himself forward in his collar, materially assists the horse in
propelling a heavy load up-hill, or of carrying one speedily over a
plain surface. It is quite astonishing to see how well broken to this
work these dogs are, and at the same time to witness with what vigour
and perseverance they labour in pushing before them, in that way,
enormous weights.--L.]
Though, in our country, and to its great disgrace, this employment of
the dog has been accompanied by such wanton and shameful cruelty, that
the Legislature--somewhat hastily confounding the abuse of a thing with
its legitimate purpose--forbade the appearance of the dog-cart in the
metropolitan districts, and were inclined to extend this prohibition
through the whole kingdom, it is much to be desired that a kindlier and
better feeling may gradually prevail, and that this animal, humanely
treated, may return to the discharge of the services of which nature has
rendered him capable, and which prove the greatest source of happiness
to him while discharging them to the best of his power.
In another and very important particular,--as the preserver of human
life,--the history of the dog will be most interesting. The writer of
this work has seen a Newfoundland dog who, on five distinct occasions,
preserved the life of a human being; and it is said of the noble
quadruped whose remains constitute one of the most interesting specimens
in the museum of Berne, that forty persons were rescued by him from
impending destruction.
When this friend and servant of man dies, he does not or may not cease
to be useful; for in many countries, and to a far greater extent than is
generally imagined, his skin is useful for gloves, or leggings, or mats,
or hammercloths; and, while even the Romans occasionally fattened him
for the table, and esteemed his flesh a dainty, many thousands of people
in Asia, Africa, and America, now breed him expressly for food.
If the publication of the present work should throw some additional
light on the good qualities of this noble animal; if it should enable us
to derive more advantage from the services that he can render--to train
him more expeditiously and fully for the discharge of those services--to
protect him from the abuses to which he is exposed, and to mitigate or
remove some of the diseases which his connection with man has entailed
upon him; if any of these purposes be accomplished, we shall derive
considerable "useful knowledge" as well as pleasure from the perusal of
the present volume.
Some controversy has arisen with regard to the origin of the dog.
Professor Thomas Bell, to whom we are indebted for a truly valuable
history of the British quadrupeds, traces him to the wolf. He says, and
it is perfectly true, that the osteology of the wolf does not differ
materially from that of the dog more than that of the different kinds of
dogs differs; that the cranium is similar, and they agree in nearly all
the other essential points; that the dog and wolf will readily breed
with each other, and that their progeny, thus obtained, will again
mingle with the dog. [The relative length of the intestines is a strong
distinctive mark both as to the habits and species of animals; those of
a purely carnivorous nature are much shorter than others who resort
entirely to an herbaceous diet, or combine the two modes of sustenance
according to circumstances. The dog and wolf have the intestines of the
same length. (See Sir Everard Home on Comparative Anatomy.)--L.] There
is one circumstance, however, which seems to mark a decided difference
between the two animals; the eye of the dog of every country and species
has a circular pupil, but the position or form of the pupil is oblique
in the wolf. Professor Bell gives an ingenious but not admissible reason
for this. He attributes the forward direction of the eyes in the dog to
the constant habit, "for many successive generations, of looking towards
their master, and obeying his voice:" but no habit of this kind could by
possibility produce any such effect. It should also be remembered that,
in every part of the globe in which the wolf is found this form of the
pupil, and a peculiar setting on of the curve of the tail, and a
singularity in the voice, cannot fail of being observed; to which may be
added, that the dog exists in every latitude and in every climate, while
the habitation of the wolf is confined to certain parts of the globe.
There is also a marked difference in the temper and habits of the two.
The dog is, generally speaking, easily manageable, but nothing will, in
the majority of cases, render the wolf moderately tractable. There are,
however, exceptions to this. The author remembers a bitch wolf at the
Zoological Gardens that would always come to the front bars of her den
to be caressed as soon as any one that she knew approached. She had
puppies while there, and she brought her little ones in her mouth to be
noticed by the spectators; so eager, indeed, was she that they should
share with her in the notice of her friends, that she killed them all in
succession against the bars of her den as she brought them forcibly
forward to be fondled.
M.F. Cuvier gives an account of a young wolf who followed his master
everywhere, and showed a degree of affection and submission scarcely
inferior to the domesticated dog. His master being unavoidably absent,
he was sent to the menagerie, where he pined for his loss, and would
scarcely take any food for a considerable time. At length, however, he
attached himself to his keepers, and appeared to have forgotten his
former associate. At the expiration of eighteen months his master
returned, and, the moment his voice was heard, the wolf recognised him,
and lavished on his old friend the most affectionate caresses. A second
separation followed, which lasted three years, and again the
long-remembered voice was recognised, and replied to with impatient
cries; after which, rushing on his master, he licked his face with every
mark of joy, menacing his keepers, towards whom he had just before been
exhibiting fondness. A third separation occurred, and he became gloomy
and melancholy. He suffered the caresses of none but his keepers, and
towards them he often manifested the original ferocity of his species.
These stories, however, go only a little way to prove that the dog and
the wolf have one common origin. [There are some naturalists that even
go so far as to state that the different varieties of dogs are sprung
from, or compounded of, various animals, as the hyaena, jackal, wolf,
and fox. The philosophic John Hunter commenced a series of experiments
upon this interesting subject, and was forced to acknowledge that "the
dog may be the wolf tamed, and the jackal may probably be the dog
returned to his wild state."
The ancient Cynegetical writers were not only acquainted with the cross
between the wolf and dog, but also boasted the possession of breeds of
animals, supposed to have been derived from a connection with the lion
and tiger. The Hyrcanian dog, although savage and powerful beast, was
rendered much more formidable in battle, or in conflict with other
animals, by his fabled cross with the tiger. In corroboration of this
singular, but not less fabulous belief, Pliny states that the
inhabitants of India take pleasure in having dog bitches lined by the
wild tigers, and to facilitate this union, they are in the habit of
tieing them when in heat out in the woods, so that the male tigers may
visit them. (See L. 8, c. xl.)
There is, however, but little doubt that the wolf and dog are varieties
of the same family, as they can he bred together, and their offspring
continuing the cross thus formed, will produce a race quite distinct
from the original. French writers do not hesitate at all upon this
point, but even assert that it is very difficult to take a she-wolf with
male dogs during the period of oestrum, parceque la veulent saillir et
covrir comme une chienne.
Baudrillart, in the "dictionaire des chasses," further remarks that the
mongrels produced by this connection are very viciously disposed and
inclined to bite.
The period of utero-gestation, and the particular mode of copulation in
the wolf, is the same as that of the canine family, which two
circumstances are certainly very strong presumptive evidences of the
similarity of the species. The dogs used by our northern Indians
resemble very much, in their general appearance, the wolves of that
region, and do not seem very far removed from that race of animals,
notwithstanding they have been in a state of captivity, or
domestication, beyond the traditionary chronicles of this rude people.
Another strong circumstance in favour of the common origin of these two
quadrupeds, is the existence in our own country of the Canis Latrans, or
prairie wolf, who whines and barks in a manner so similar to the smaller
varieties of dogs, that it is almost impossible to distinguish his notes
from those of the terrier.
Major Long remarks that "this animal which does not seem to be known to
naturalists, unless it should prove to be the Mexicanus, is most
probably the original of the domestic dog, so common in the villages of
the Indians of this region, some of the varieties of which still remain
much of the habit and manners of this species." (Vol. i, page 174.)
If further proof be necessary to establish the identity of the dog and
wolf, the circumstances related by Captain Parry in his first voyage of
discovery, ought to be sufficient to convince every mind that the wolf,
even in its wild state, will seek to form an alliance or connection with
one of our domestic dogs.
"About this time it had been remarked that a white setter dog,
belonging to Mr. Beverly, had left the Griper for several nights past
at the same time, and had regularly returned after some hours absence.
As the daylight increased we had frequent opportunities of seeing him
in company with a she-wolf, with whom he kept up an almost daily
intercourse for several weeks, till at length he returned no more to
the ships; having either lost his way by rambling to too great a
distance, or what is more likely, perhaps, been destroyed by the male
wolves. Some time after a large dog of mine, which was also getting
into the habit of occasionally remaining absent for some time,
returned on board a good deal lacerated and covered with blood,
having, no doubt, maintained a severe encounter with a male wolf, whom
we traced to a considerable distance by the tracks on the snow. An old
dog, of the Newfoundland breed, that we had on board the Hecla, was
also in the habit of remaining out with the wolves for a day or two
together, and we frequently watched them keeping company on the most
friendly terms."
(Page 136, 1st voyage.)
[In volume 1st, page 111, of the Menageries, it is stated that Mr.
Wombwell exhibited in October, 1828, two animals from a cross between
the wolf and the domestic dog, which had been bred in that country. They
were confined in the same den with a female setter, and were likely
again to multiply the species. Mr. Daniel remarks that Mr. Brook, famous
for his menagerie, turned a wolf to a Pomeranian bitch at heat; the
congress was immediate, and, as usual between the dog and bitch, ten
puppies were the produce. These animals strongly resembled their sire
both in appearance and disposition, and one of them being let loose at a
deer, instantly caught at the animal's throat and killed it. (See
Daniel's Rural Sports, vol. i, page 14.)--L.]
It may appear singular that in both the Old Testament and the New the
dog was spoken of almost with abhorrence. He ranked among the unclean
beasts. The traffic in him and the price of him were considered as an
abomination, and were forbidden to be offered in the sanctuary in the
discharge of any vow. [2]
One grand object in the institution of the Jewish ritual was to preserve
the Israelites from the idolatry which at that time prevailed among
every other people. Dogs were held in considerable veneration by the
Egyptians, from whose tyranny the Israelites had just escaped. Figures
of them appeared on the friezes of most of the temples, [3] and they
were regarded as emblems of the Divine Being. Herodotus, speaking of the
sanctity in which some animals were held by the Egyptians, says that the
people of every family in which a dog died, shaved themselves--their
expression of mourning--and he adds, that "this was a custom existing in
his own time." [4]
The cause of this attachment to and veneration for the dog is, however,
explained in a far more probable and pleasing way than many of the
fables of ancient mythology. The prosperity of Lower Egypt, and almost
the very subsistence of its inhabitants, depended on the annual
overflowing of the Nile; and they looked for it with the utmost anxiety.
Its approach was announced by the appearance of a certain star--SIRIUS.
As soon as that star was seen above the horizon, they hastened to remove
their flocks to the higher ground, and abandoned the lower pastures to
the fertilizing influence of the stream. They hailed it as their guard
and protector; and, associating with its apparent watchfulness the
well-known fidelity of the dog, they called it the "dog-star," and they
worshipped it. It was in far later periods and in other countries that
the appearance of the dog-star was regarded as the signal of
insufferable heat or prevalent disease.
One of the Egyptian deities--Anubis--is described as having the form and
body of a man, but with a dog's head. These were types of sagacity and
fidelity.
["Who knows not that infatuate Egypt finds
Gods to adore in brutes of basest kinds?
This at the crocodile's resentment quakes,
While that adores the ibis, gorged with snakes!
And where the radiant beam of morning rings
On shattered Memnon's still harmonious strings;
And Thebes to ruin all her gates resigns,
Of huge baboon the golden image shines!
To _mongrel curs_ infatuate cities bow,
And cats and fishes share the frequent vow!"
Juvenal, 'Sat. xv'.--Badham's Trans.--L.]
In Ethiopia, not only was great veneration paid to the dog, but the
inhabitants used to elect a dog as their king. He was kept in great
state, and surrounded by a numerous train of officers and guards. When
he fawned upon them, he was supposed to be pleased with their
proceedings: when he growled, he disapproved of the manner in which
their government was conducted. These indications of his will were
implicitly obeyed, or rather, perhaps, dictated.
[Among the many strange and wonderful things mentioned by Pliny as being
discovered in Africa, is a people called Ptoembati or Ptremphanae, whose
principal city is Aruspi, where they elect a dog for their king and obey
him most religiously, being governed entirely by the different motions
of his body, which they interpret according to certain signs. (See
Pliny, lib. vi, c. xxx.)--L.]
Even a thousand years after this period the dog was highly esteemed in
Egypt for its sagacity and other excellent qualities; for, when
Pythagoras, after his return from Egypt, founded a new sect in Greece,
and at Croton, in southern Italy, he taught, with the Egyptian
philosophers, that, at the death of the body, the soul entered into that
of different animals. He used, after the decease of any of his favourite
disciples, to cause a dog to be held to the mouth of the dying man, in
order to receive his departing spirit; saying, that there was no animal
that could perpetuate his virtues better than that quadruped.
It was in order to present the Israelites from errors and follies like
these, and to prevent the possibility of this species of idolatry being
established, that the dog was afterward regarded with utter abhorrence
among the Jews. [5] This feeling prevailed during the continuance of the
Israelites in Palestine. Even in the New Testament the Apostle warns
those to whom he wrote to "beware of dogs and evil-workers;" [6] and it
is said in The Revelations that "without are dogs and sorcerers," &c.
[7] Dogs were, however, employed even by the Jews. Job says, "Now they
that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have
disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock." [8] Dogs were employed
either to guide the sheep or to protect them from wild beasts; and some
prowled about the streets at night, contending with each other for the
offal that was thrown away.
To a certain degree this dislike of the dog continues to the present
day; for, with few exceptions, the dog is seldom the chosen companion of
the Jew, or even the inmate of his house. Nor was it originally confined
to Palestine. Wherever a knowledge of the Jewish religion spread, or any
of its traditions were believed, there arose an abhorrence of the dog.
The Mohammedans have always regarded him as an unclean animal, that
should never be cherished in any human habitation--belonging to no
particular owner, but protecting the street [9] and the district rather
than the house of a master.
The Hindoos regard him likewise as unclean, and submit to various
purifications if they accidentally come in contact with him, believing
that every dog was animated by a wicked and malignant spirit, condemned
to do penance in that form for crimes committed in a previous state of
existence. If by chance a dog passed between a teacher and his pupil
during the period of instruction, it was supposed that the best lesson
would be completely poisoned, and it was deemed prudent to suspend the
tuition for at least a day and a night. Even in Egypt, dogs are now as
much avoided as they were venerated. In every Mohammedan and Hindoo
country, the most scurrilous epithet bestowed on a European or a
Christian is--"a dog!" [10]
This accounts for the singular fact that in the whole of the Jewish
history there is not a single allusion to hunting with dogs. Mention is
made of nets and snares, but the dog seems to have been never used in
the pursuit of game.
In the early periods of the history of other countries this seems to
have been the case even where the dog was esteemed and valued, and had
become the companion, the friend, and the defender of man and his home.
So late as the second century of the Christian era, the fair hunting of
the present day needed the eloquent defence of Arrian, who says that
"there is as much difference between a fair trial of speed in a good
run, and ensnaring a poor animal without an effort, as between the
secret piratical assaults of robbers at sea, and the victorious naval
engagements of the Athenians at Artemisium and at Salamis." [11] The
first hint of the employment of the dog in the pursuit of other animals
is given by Oppian in his Cynegeticus, who attributes it to Pollux,
about 200 years after the promulgation of the Levitical law.
Of the precise species of dog that prevailed or was cultivated in Greece
at this early period, little can with certainty be affirmed. One
beautiful piece of sculpture has been preserved, and is now in the
possession of Lord Feversham at Duncombe Hall. It is said to represent
the favourite dog of Alcibiades, and to have been the production of
Myson, one of the most skillful artists of ancient times. It differs but
little from the Newfoundland dog of the present day. He is represented
as sitting on his haunches, and earnestly looking at his master. Any one
would vouch for the sagacity and fidelity of that animal.
The British Museum contains a group of greyhound puppies of more recent
date, from the ruins of the villa of Antoninus, near Rome. One is
fondling the other; and the attitude of both, and the characteristic
puppy-clumsiness of their limbs, which indicate, nevertheless, the
beautiful proportions that will soon be developed, are an admirable
specimen of ancient art.
[Illustration of ancient sculpture of greyhounds]
The Greeks, in the earlier periods of their history, depended too much
on their nets; and it was not until later times that they pursued their
prey with dogs, and then not with dogs that ran by sight, or succeeded
by their swiftness of foot, but by beagles very little superior to those
of modern days [12]. Of the stronger and more ferocious dogs there is,
however, occasional mention. The bull-dog of modern date does not excel
the one (possibly of nearly the same race) that was presented to
Alexander the Great, and that boldly seized a ferocious lion, or another
that would not quit his hold, although one leg and then another was cut
off.
It would be difficult and foreign to the object of this work fully to
trace the early history of the dog. Both in Greece and in Rome he was
highly estimated. Alexander built a city in honour of a dog; and the
Emperor Hadrian decreed the most solemn rites of sepulture to another on
account of his sagacity and fidelity.
The translator of Arrian imagines that the use of the 'pugnaces'
(fighting) and the 'sagaces' (intelligent)--the more ferocious dogs, and
those who artfully circumvented and caught their prey--was known in the
earlier periods of Greek and Roman history, but that the 'celeres', the
dogs of speed, the greyhounds of every kind, were peculiar to the
British islands, or to the western and northern continents of Europe,
the interior and the produce of which were in those days unknown to the
Greeks and Romans. By most authors who have inquired into the origin of
these varieties of the dog, the 'sagaces' have been generally assigned
to Greece--the 'pugnaces' to Asia--and the 'celeres' to the Celtic
nations.
[The vertragi, 'canes celeres', or dogs that hunted by sight alone, were
not known to the ancients previous to the time of the younger Xenophon,
who then describes them as novelties just introduced into Greece:
"But the swift-footed Celtic hounds are called in the Celtic tongue
[Greek: oueztragoi]; not deriving their name from any particular
nation, like the Cretan, Carian, or Spartan dogs, but, as some of the
Cretans are named [Greek: diaponoi] from working hard, [Greek: itamai]
from their keenness, and mongrels from their being compounded of both,
so these Celts are named from their swiftness. In figure, the most
high-bred are a prodigy of beauty; their eyes, their hair, their
colour, and bodily shape throughout. Such brilliancy of gloss is there
about the spottiness of the parti-coloured, and in those of uniform
colour, such glistening over the sameness of tint, as to afford a most
delightful spectacle to an amateur of coursing."
It is probable these dogs were carried, about this time, into the
southern parts of Europe by the various tribes of Celts who over-ran the
continent, and also occupied Ireland, Britain, and the other western
islands, and ultimately took possession of Gaul.--L.]
Of the aboriginal country of the latter there can be little doubt; but
the accounts that are given of the English mastiff at the invasion of
Britain by the Romans, and the early history of the English hound, which
was once peculiar to this country, and at the present day degenerates in
every other, would go far to prove that these breeds also are indigenous
to our island.
Oppian thus describes the hunting dog as he finds him in
Britain:
"There is, besides, an excellent kind of scenting dogs, though small,
yet worthy of estimation. They are fed by the fierce nation of painted
Britons, who call them 'agasoei'. In size they resemble worthless
greedy house-dogs that gape under tables. They are crooked, lean,
coarse-haired, and heavy-eyed, but armed with powerful claws and
deadly teeth. The 'agasoeus' is of good nose and most excellent in
following scent [13]."
Among the savage dogs of ancient times were the Hyrcanian, said, on
account of their extreme ferocity, to have been crossed with the tiger
[14],--the Locrian, chiefly employed in hunting the boar,--the
Pannonian, used in war as well as in the chase, and by whom the first
charge on the enemy was always made,--and the Molossian, of Epirus,
likewise trained to war as well as to the honours of the amphitheatre
and the dangers of the chase. This last breed had one redeeming
quality--an inviolable attachment to their owners. This attachment was
reciprocal; for it is said that the Molossi used to weep over their
faithful quadruped companions slain in war.
[Of all the dogs of the ancients, those bred on the continent of Epirus
were the most esteemed, and more particularly those from a southern
district called Molossia, from which they received their name.
These animals are described as being of enormous size, great courage and
powerful make, and were considered worthy not only to encounter the
wolf, bear, and boar, but often overcame the panther, tiger, and lion,
both in the chase and amphitheatre. They also, being trained to war,
proved themselves most useful auxiliaries to this martial people.
The learned translator of Arrian states that
"the fabled origin of this breed is consistent with its high repute;
for, on the authority of Nicander, we are told by Julius Pollux, that
the Epirote was descended from the brazen dog which Vulcan wrought for
Jupiter, and animated with all the functions of canine life."
These were not the only dogs fashioned by the skilful hands of the
Olympic artist, as we find Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians, possessing
golden dogs also wrought at the celestial forge.
Pliny states that a dog of enormous magnitude was sent as a present by
the king of Albania to Alexander the Great when on his march to India;
and "that this monarch being delighted at the sight of so huge and fair
a dog, let loose unto him first bears, then wild boars, and lastly
fallow deer, all of which animals he took no notice of, but remained
perfectly unconcerned. This great warrior being a man of high spirit and
wonderful courage, was greatly displeased at the apparent cowardice and
want of energy in so powerful an animal, and ordered him to be slain.
This news was speedily carried to the king of Albania, who thereupon
sent unto him a second dog, stating that he should not make trial of his
courage with such insignificant animals, but rather with a lion or
elephant, and if he destroyed this one also, he need not expect to
obtain any other of this breed, as these two were all he possessed.
Tanta: suis petiere ultra fera semina sylvis,
Dat Venus accessus, et blando foedere jungit.
Tunc et mansuetis tuto ferus erat adulter
In stabulis, ultroque gravis succedere tigrim
Ausa canis, majore tulit de sanguine foetum.
'Gratii Falisci Cyneget.,' liv. 1. v. 160.
Alexander being much surprised, made immediate preparations for a trial,
and soon saw the lion prostrate, with his back broken, and his body torn
in pieces by the noble dog. Then he ordered an elephant to be produced;
and in no fight did he take more pleasure than in this. For the dog,
with his long, rough, shaggy hair, that covered his whole body, rushed
with open mouth, barking terribly, and thundering, as it were, upon the
elephant. Soon after he leaps and flies upon him, advancing and
retreating, now on one side, now on the other, maintaining an ingenious
combat; at one time assailing him with all vigour, at another shunning
him. So actively did he continue this artificial warfare, causing the
huge beast to turn around so frequently on every side to avoid his
attacks, that he ultimately came down with a crash that "made the earth
tremble with his fall". Book viii. chap. 40.
The Molossian dogs were at a later period much esteemed by the Romans as
watch dogs, not only of their dwellings, but also to guard their flocks
against the incursions of wild animals. Horace, in the following lines,
passes a just tribute to the worth of this animal, when referring to his
watchfulness, and the ardour with which he pursues those wild animals,
even 'per altas nives,' that threaten the flocks entrusted to his care.
"Quid immerentes, hospites vexas canis,
Ignarus adversum lupos?
Quin huc inanes, si potes, vertis minas,
Et me remorsurum petis?
Nam, qualis aut Molossus, aut fulvus Lacon,
Amica vis pastoribus,
Agam per altas aure sublata nives,
Quaecunpue praecedet fera."
'Epode' vi.--L.]
AElian relates that one of them, and his owner, so much distinguished
themselves at the battle of Marathon, that the effigy of the dog was
placed on the same tablet with that of his master.
Soon after Britain was discovered, the 'pugnaces' of Epirus were pitted
against those of our island, and, according to the testimony of Gratius,
completely beaten. A variety of this class, but as large and as
ferocious, was employed to guard the sheep and cattle, or to watch at
the door of the house, or to follow the owner on any excursion of
business or of pleasure. Gratius says of these dogs, that they have no
pretensions to the deceitful commendation of form; but, at the time of
need, when courage is required of them, most excellent mastiffs are not
to be preferred to them.
The account of the British 'pugnaces' of former times, and also of the
'sagaces' and 'celeres', will be best given when treating of their
present state and comparative value. In describing the different breeds
of dogs, some anecdotes will be related of their sagacity and fidelity;
a few previous remarks, however, may be admissible.
A young man lost his life by falling from one of the precipices of the
Helvellyn mountains. Three months afterwards his remains were discovered
at the bottom of a ravine, and his faithful dog, almost a skeleton,
still guarding them. Sir Walter Scott beautifully describes the scene:
Dark-green was the spot, 'mid the brown mountain heather,
Where the pilgrim of nature lay stretched in decay;
Like the corpse of an outcast, abandoned to weather,
Till the mountain winds wasted the tenantless clay;
Nor yet quite deserted, though lonely extended,
For, faithful in death, his mute favourite attended,
The much loved remains of her master defended,
And chased the hill-fox and the raven away.
How long didst thou think that his silence was slumber?
When the wind waved his garments, how oft didst thou start?
How many long days and long weeks didst thou number
Ere he faded before thee, the friend of thy heart?
Burchell, in his Travels in Africa, places the connexion between man and
the dog, and the good qualities of this animal, in an interesting point
of view. A pack of dogs of various descriptions formed a necessary part
of his caravan, occasionally to provide him with food, but oftener to
defend him from wild beasts or robbers.
"While almost every other quadruped fears man as his most formidable
enemy," says this interesting traveller, "there is one who regards him
as his companion, and follows him as his friend. We must not mistake
the nature of the case. It is not because we train him to our use, and
have made choice of him in preference to other animals, but because
this particular species of animal feels a natural desire to be useful
to man, and, from spontaneous impulse, attaches himself to him. Were
it not so, we should see in various countries an equal familiarity
with other quadrupeds, according to their habits, and the taste or
caprices of different nations; but, everywhere, it is the dog only
that takes delight in associating with us, and in sharing our abode.
It is he who knows us personally, watches over us, and warns us of
danger. It is impossible for the naturalist not to feel a conviction
that this friendship between creatures so different from each other
must be the result of the laws of nature; nor can the humane and
feeling mind avoid the belief that kindness to those animals, from
which he derives continued and essential assistance, is part of the
moral duty of man.
"Often in the silence of the night, when all my people have been fast
asleep around the fire, have I stood to contemplate these faithful
animals watching by their side, and have learned to esteem them for
their social inclination towards mankind. When, wandering over
pathless deserts, oppressed with vexation and distress at the conduct
of my own men, I have turned to these as my only friends, and felt how
much inferior to them was man when actuated only by selfish views."
Of the stanchness and incorruptible fidelity of the dog, and his
disregard of personal inconvenience and want, when employed in our
service, it is impossible to entertain a doubt. We have sometimes
thought that the attachment of the dog to its master was increased, or,
at least, the exhibition of it, by the penury of the owner. At all
events one fact is plain enough, that, while poverty drives away from us
many a companion of our happier hours, it was never known to diminish
the love of our quadruped friend.
The early history of the dog has been described, and the abomination in
which he was held by the Israelites. At no great distance of time,
however, we find him, almost in the neighbourhood of Palestine, in one
of the islands of the Ionian Sea, the companion and the friend of
princes, and deserving their regard. The reader will forgive a somewhat
abbreviated account of the last meeting of Ulysses and his dog.
Twenty years had passed since Argus, the favourite dog of Ulysses, had
been parted from his master. The monarch at length wended his way
homewards, and, disguised as a beggar, for his life would have been
sacrificed had he been known, stood at the entrance of his palace-door.
There he met with an old dependant, who had formerly served him with
fidelity and who was yet faithful to his memory; but age and hardship
and care, and the disguise which he now wore, had so altered the
wanderer that the good Eumaeus had not the most distant suspicion with
whom he was conversing; but:
Near to the gates, conferring as they drew,
Argus the dog his ancient master knew,
And, not unconscious of the voice and tread
Lifts to the sound his ears, and rears his head.
He knew the lord, he knew, and strove to meet;
In vain he strove to crawl and kiss his feet;
Yet, all he could, his tail, his ears, his eyes
Salute his master, and confess his joys. [15]
[Lord Byron, who had much experience and acquaintance with the canine
family, was rather sceptical as regards the memory of this animal,
having been, on one occasion, entirely forgotten by a favourite dog from
whom he was separated some considerable time, and in fact was most
savagely assailed by him, when on his return he attempted to caress him
as he was wont to do in former times.
This unkind reception at Newstead Abbey, on the part of his pampered
pet, may have given rise to the poet's feelings as embodied in the
following misanthropic lines:--
"And now I'm in the world alone,
Upon the wide, wide sea:
But why should I for others groan,
When none will sigh for me?
Perchance my dog will whine in vain,
Till fed by stranger hands;
But long ere I come back again,
He'd tear me where he stands."--L.]
In Daniel's Rural Sports, the account of a nobleman and his dog is
given. The nobleman had been absent two years on foreign service. On his
return this faithful creature was the first to recognise him, as he came
through the court-yard, and he flew to welcome his old master and
friend. He sprung upon him; his agitation and his joy knew not any
bounds; and at length, in the fulness of his transport, he fell at his
master's feet and expired.
[An interesting circumstance, strongly exhibiting canine fidelity and
attachment in a large mastiff, came under the Editor's own eye during
his childhood, and which, from its striking character, deserves to be
recorded on the page of history as another testimony to the high moral
worth of these useful animals.
A gentleman of Baltimore, with his family, lived during a portion of the
year a short distance in the country, and was in the habit of returning
to the city late in the fall to pass the winter. On his estate there was
a fine young mastiff, who though extremely cross to strangers, exhibited
at all times a great degree of tenderness and affection for the younger
branches of the family;--more particularly for the younger son, his most
constant companion, and who would often steal secretly away to share his
daily meal with this affectionate participator in his childish sports:
or, when fatigued with romping together, would retire to the well-kept
kennel, and recruit his limbs in a refreshing sleep, while reclining
upon the body of the faithful dog. If the little truant should now be
missed by those having him in charge, the most natural question to ask
was, "Where is Rolla?" knowing full well that wherever this honest brute
was, there might his young master be found also. On such occasions,
however, this trusty guardian would refuse all solicitations to abandon
his post, and express great dissatisfaction at any attempt to arouse or
carry off his young charge, whom he continued to watch over till he
awoke, refreshed from his slumber and eager again to resume their
frolics.
The period of returning to the city at last arrived, and the dog
exhibited marked signs of uneasiness, while the bustling preparations
for this end were going on, as if conscious of the separation that was
about to take place between his young master and himself, as also the
other children, who had been his constant companions for so many joyful
months.
Everything being completed, the childish group bid an affectionate adieu
to the downcast Rolla, whom they left standing on the hill-top, watching
the carriage as it disappeared in the wood. A few days after their
departure, and when this poor animal was forgotten in the new scenes
around them, a communication was received from the overseer of the farm,
in which he stated that the favourite dog appeared much grieved since
the family had left for the city, and was fearful that he might die if
he continued in the same condition. Little attention, however, was given
to these remarks, all imagining that the dog's melancholy was only the
result of temporary distress, owing to his secluded life, so different
from that which he had led when surrounded by the various members of a
large family. Little did any one suppose that this poor neglected brute
was suffering the acutest pangs of mental distress, even sufficient to
produce death.
Two weeks had now elapsed since the separation from Rolla, when another
message came from the overseer, stating that the dog would surely die
with grief, if not removed to the city, as he had refused all sustenance
for several days, and did nothing but wander about from place to place,
formerly frequented by the children, howling and moaning in the most
piteous manner.
Orders were now given, much to the children's delight, for the
conveyance of the favourite to the city; but, alas! this arrangement
came too late, as the poor creature sank from exhaustion, while in the
wagon on his way to join those beloved companions whose short absence
had broken his heart and grieved him even unto death.--L.]
We will not further pursue this part of our subject at present. We shall
have other opportunities of speaking of the disinterested and devoted
affection which this noble animal is capable of displaying when he
occupies his proper situation, and discharges those offices for which
nature designed him. It may, however, be added that this power of
tracing back the dog to the very earliest periods of history, and the
fact that he then seemed to be as sagacious, as faithful, and as
valuable as at the present day, strongly favour the opinion that he
descended from no inferior and comparatively worthless animal,--that he
was not the progeny of the wolf, the jackal, or the fox, but he was
originally created, somewhat as we now find him, the associate and the
friend of man.
If, within the first thousand years after the Deluge, we observe that
divine honours were paid to him, we can scarcely be brought to believe
his wolfish genealogy. The must savage animals are capable of affection
for those to whom they have been accustomed, and by whom they have been
well treated, and therefore we give full credit to several accounts of
this sort related of the wolf, the lion, and even the cat and the
reptile: but in no other animal--in no other, even in the genus
'Canis'--do we find the qualities of the domestic dog, or the slightest
approach to them.
"To his master he flies with alacrity," says the eloquent Buffon, "and
submissively lays at his feet all his courage, strength, and talent. A
glance of the eye is sufficient; for he understands the smallest
indications of his will. He has all the ardour of friendship, and
fidelity and constancy in his affections, which man can have. Neither
interest nor desire of revenge can corrupt him, and he has no fear but
that of displeasing. He is all zeal and obedience. He speedily forgets
ill-usage, or only recollects it to make returning attachment the
stronger. He licks the hand which causes him pain, and subdues his
anger by submission. The training of the dog seems to have been the
first art invented by man, and the fruit of that art was the conquest
and peaceable possession of the earth."
"Man," says Burns, "is the God of the dog; he knows no other; and see
how he worships him. With what reverence he crouches at his feet--with
what reverence he looks up to him--with what delight he fawns upon
him, and with what cheerful alacrity he obeys him!"
If any of the lower animals bear about them the impress of the Divine
hand, it is found in the dog: many others are plainly and decidedly more
or less connected with the welfare of the human being; but this
connexion and its effects are limited to a few points, or often to one
alone. The dog, different, yet the same, in every region, seems to be
formed expressly to administer to our comforts and to our pleasure. He
displays a versatility, and yet a perfect unity of power and character,
which mark him as our destined servant, and, still more, as our
companion and friend. Other animals may be brought to a certain degree
of familiarity, and may display much affection and gratitude. There was
scarcely an animal in the menagerie of the Zoological Society that did
not acknowledge the superintendent as his friend; but it was only a
casual intercourse, and might be dissolved by a word or look. At the
hour of feeding, the brute principle reigned supreme, and the companion
of other hours would be sacrificed if he dared to interfere; but the
connexion between man and the dog, no lapse of time, no change of
circumstances, no infliction of evil can dissolve. We must, therefore,
look far beyond the wolf for the prototype of the dog.
Cuvier eloquently states that the dog exhibits the most complete and the
most useful conquest that man has made. Each individual is entirely
devoted to his master, adopts his manners, distinguishes and defends his
property, and remains attached to him even unto death; and all this
springing not from mere necessity, or from constrain, but simply from
gratitude and true friendship. The swiftness, the strength, and the
highly developed power of smelling of the dog, have made him a powerful
ally of man against the other animals; and, perhaps, these qualities in
the dog were necessary to the establishment of society. It is the only
animal that has followed the human being all over the earth.
There is occasionally a friendship existing between dogs resembling that
which is found in the human being. The author pledges himself as to the
accuracy of the following little anecdote. Two dogs, the property of a
gentleman at Shrewsbury, had been companions for many years, until one
of them died of old age. The survivor immediately began to manifest an
extraordinary degree of restless anxiety, searching for his old
associate in all his former haunts, and refusing every kind of food. He
gradually wasted away, and, at the expiration of the tenth day, he died,
the victim of an attachment that would have done honour to man.
The Dog, belongs to the division of animals termed VERTEBRATED, (see
'The Horse', 2d edition, page 106), because it has a cranium or skull,
and a spine or range of VERTEBRAE proceeding from it. It ranks under the
'class' MAMMALIA, because it has teats, by which the female suckles her
young; the 'tribe' UNGUICULATA, because its extremities are armed with
nails; the 'order' DIGITIGRADES, because it walks principally on its
toes. The 'genus' CANIS has two tubercular teeth behind the large
carnivorous tooth in upper jaw; and the 'sub-genus familiaris', the DOG,
has the pupils of the eye circular, while those of the wolf are oblique,
and those of the fox upright and long.
There has been some dispute whether the various species of dogs are of
different origin, or sprung from one common source. When we consider the
change that climate and breeding effect in the same species of dog, and
contrast the rough Irish or Highland greyhound with the smoother one of
the southern parts of Britain, or the more delicate one of Greece, or
the diminutive but beautifully formed one of Italy, or the hairless one
of Africa or Brazil--or the small Blenheim spaniel with the magnificent
Newfoundland; if also we observe many of them varied by accident, and
that accidental variety diligently cultivated into a new species,
altogether different in form or use, we shall find no difficulty in
believing that they might be derived from one common origin.
One of the most striking proofs of the influence of climate on the form
and character of this animal, occurs in the bull-dog. When transported
to India he becomes, in a few years, greatly altered in form, loses all
his former courage and ferocity, and becomes a perfect coward.
It is probable that all dogs sprang from one common source, but climate,
food, and cross-breeding caused variations of form, which suggested
particular uses; and these being either designedly or accidentally
perpetuated, the various breeds of dogs thus arose, and they have become
numerous in proportion to the progress of civilization. Among the ruder,
or savage tribes, they possess but one form; but the ingenuity of man
has devised many inventions to increase his comforts: he has varied and
multiplied the characters and kinds of domestic animals for the same
purpose, and hence the various breeds of horses, and cattle, and dogs.
The parent stock it is now impossible to trace; but the wild dog,
wherever found on the continent of Asia, or Northern Europe, has nearly
the same character, and bears no inconsiderable resemblance to the
British fox-dog, while many of those from the Southern Ocean can
scarcely be distinguished from the English lurcher. There is, however,
no more difficulty in this respect with regard to the dog, than any
other of our domesticated animals. Climate, or chance, produced a change
in certain individuals, and the sagacity of man, or, perhaps, mere
chance, founded on these accidental varieties numerous breeds possessed
of certain distinct characteristic properties. The degeneracy of the
dog, also, in different countries, cannot for a moment be disputed.
The most natural arrangement of all the varieties of the dog is
according to the development of the frontal sinus and the cerebral
cavity, or, in other words, the power of scent, and the degree of
intelligence. This classification originated with M.F. Cuvier, and has
been adopted by most naturalists. He reckoned three divisions of the dog:
I. Those having the head more or less elongated, and the parietal bones
of the skull widest at the base, and gradually approaching towards
each other as they ascend, the condyls of the lower jaw being on the
same line with the upper molar teeth. The _Greyhound_ and all its
varieties belong to this class.
II. The head moderately elongated, and the parietals diverging from each
other for a certain space as they rise upon the side of the head,
enlarging the cerebral cavity and the frontal sinus. To this class
belong our most valuable dogs,--the _Spaniel_, _Setter_, _Pointer_,
_Hound_, and the _Sheep-dog_.
III. The muzzle more or less shortened, the frontal sinus enlarged, and
the cranium elevated, and diminished in capacity. To this class
belong some of the _Terriers_, and a great many dogs that might
very well be spared.
This division of the different species of the dog is adopted here as
being the most simple, intelligible, and satisfactory.
[Footnote 1: Gen. iv. 2.]
[Footnote 2: Deut. xxiii. 18.]
[Footnote 3: In some of Belzoni's beautiful sketches of the frieze-work
of the old Egyptian temples, the dog appears, with his long ears and
broad muzzle, not unlike the old Talbot hound.]
[Footnote 4: Herodotus, lib. ii. c. 66.]
[Footnote 5: No dog was suffered to come within the precincts of the
Temple at Jerusalem. [Greek: Ex_o kunes] was a prevalent expression
among the Jews. Byrant's 'Mythology', vol. ii. p. 42.]
[Footnote 6: Phil. iii. 2.]
[Footnote 7: Rev. xxii. 15.]
[Footnote 8: Job xxx. 1. See also Isaiah lvi, 10, 11.]
[Footnote 9: Psalm lix. 6.]
[Footnote 10: Carpenter's 'Scripture Natural History', p.109. It is a
remarkable fact that from this faithful animal, the companion of man,
and the guardian of his person and property, should originate as many
terms of reproach as "dog," "cur," "hound," "puppy," "dog-cheap," "a
dog's trick," "dog sick," "dog-weary," "to lead the life of a dog," "to
use like a dog." All this probably originated in the East, where the dog
was held in abhorrence as the common scavenger of the streets.]
[Footnote 11: Arrian's 'Cynegeticus', cap 26.]
[Footnote 12: ''New Sporting Magazine, vol. xiv. p. 97.]
[Footnote 13: Oppian's 'Cynegeticus', lib. i. v. 468-480.]
[Footnote 14:
["At contra faciles, magnique Lycaones armis.
Sed non Hyrcanae satis est vehementia genti."]]
[Footnote 15: Pope's 'Odyssey', xvii.]
* * * * *
CHAPTER II.
THE VARIETIES OF THE DOG.
FIRST DIVISION.
The head more or less elongated, the parietal bones widest at the base
and gradually approaching to each other as they ascend, and the
condyls of the lover jaw being on the same line with the upper molar
teeth.
To this division belong the greater number of the
WILD DOGS.
The wild dog, as existing in considerable numbers or communities, seems
to be nearly extirpated in the southern parts of Europe; but there are
several cases on record, of dogs having assumed native independence. A
black greyhound bitch, belonging to a gentleman in Scarisbrick, in
Lancashire, though she had apparently been well broken in, and always
well used, ran away from the habitation of her master, and betook
herself to the woods. She killed a great number of hares and made free
with the sheep, and became an intolerable nuisance to the neighbourhood.
She was occasionally seen, and the depredations that were committed were
brought home to her. Many were the attempts made to entrap or destroy
her, but in vain: for more than six months she eluded the vigilance of
her pursuers. At length she was observed to creep into a hole in an old
barn. She was caught as she came out, and the barn being searched three
whelps were found, which, very foolishly, were destroyed.
The bitch evinced the utmost ferocity, and, although well secured,
attempted to seize every one who approached her. She was, however,
dragged home and treated with kindness. By degrees her ferocity abated.
In the course of two months, she became perfectly reconciled to her
original abode, and, a twelve-month afterwards (1822), she ran
successfully several courses. There was still a degree of wildness in
her appearance; but, although at perfect liberty, she seemed to be
altogether reconciled to a domestic life.
In 1784 a dog was left by a smuggling vessel on the coast of
Northumberland. He soon began to worry the sheep for his subsistence,
and did so much mischief that he caused very considerable alarm. He was
frequently pursued by hounds and greyhounds; but when the dogs came up
he lay upon his back as if supplicating for mercy, and in that position
they would never hurt him. He therefore lay quietly until the hunters
approached, when he made off without being followed by the hounds until
they were again excited to the pursuit. He one day led them 30 miles in
this way. It was more than three months before he was caught and was
then shot [1].
A dog with every character of the wild one has occasionally been seen in
some of the forests of Germany, and among the Pyrenean mountains; but he
has rarely been found gregarious there. In the country on the eastern
side of the Gulf of Venice wild dogs are more frequent. They increase in
the Austrian and Turkish dominions, and are found on almost every part
of the coast of the Black Sea, but even there they rarely gather in
flocks: they do not howl in concert, as the wolf; nor are they the
precursors of other and larger beasts, like the jackal. Most of these
dogs have the muzzle and head elongated, the ears erect, triangular, and
small, the body and neck large and muscular, and the tail short, but
with a brush of crisped hair. In many parts of Arabia the wild dog--or
'dakhun'--is occasionally found. In Persia, they are most decidedly
congregated together, and still more so in almost every part of India
[2].
Mr. Hodgson has favoured the Zoological Society with an account of
THE WILD DOG OF NEPAL,
the 'buansu', and, finding it more or less prevailing through the whole
of Northern India, and even southward of the coast of Coromandel, he
thought that he had discovered the primitive race of the dog. This is a
point that can never be decided.
"These dogs hunt their prey by night, as well as by day, in packs of
from six to ten individuals, maintaining the chase more by the scent
than by the eye, and generally succeeding by dint of strength and
perseverance. While hunting, they bark like the hound, yet the bark is
peculiar, and equally unlike that of the cultivated breeds of dogs,
and the cries of the jackal and the fox."
Bishop Heber gives the following account of them.
"They are larger and stronger than a fox, which in the circumstances
of form and fur they much resemble. They hunt, however, in packs, give
tongue like dogs, and possess an exquisite scent. They make of course
tremendous havoc among the game in these hills; but that mischief they
are said amply to repay by destroying wild beasts, and even tigers."
[3]
Wild dogs are susceptible of certain social combinations. In Egypt,
Constantinople, and throughout the whole of the East, there are in every
village troops of wandering dogs who belong to no particular person.
Each troop has its own quarter of the place; and if any wander into a
quarter which does not belong to him, its inhabitants unite together and
chase him out. At the Cape of Good Hope there are many dogs
half-starved. On going from home the natives induce two or more of these
animals to accompany them, warn them of the approach of any ferocious
animal, and if any of the jackals approach the walls during the night,
they utter the most piercing cries, and at this signal every dog sallies
out, and, uniting together, put the jackals to speedy flight. [4]
The wild Nepal dogs caught when at an adult age make no approach towards
domestification; but a young one, which Mr. Hodgson obtained when it was
not more than a month old, became sensible to caresses, and manifested
as much intelligence as any sporting dog of the same age. [5]
Captain T. Williamson gives an interesting account of the ferocious
character of some of these wild dogs.
"They have considerable resemblance to the jackal in form. They are
remarkably savage, and frequently will approach none but their
'doonahs' or keepers, not allowing their own masters to come near
them. Some of them are very fleet; but they are not to be depended
upon in coursing; for they are apt suddenly to give up the chase when
it is a severe one, and, indeed, they will too often prefer a sheep or
a goat to a hare. In hog-hunting they are more valuable. It seems to
suit their temper, and they appear to enjoy the snapping and the
snarling, incident to that species of sports."
He says that many persons affect to treat the idea of degeneration in
quadrupeds with ridicule; but all who have been any considerable time
resident in India must be satisfied that dogs of European breed become,
after every successive generation, more and more similar to the pariah,
or indigenous dog of that country. The hounds are the most rapid in
their decline, and, except in the form of their ears, they are very much
like many of the village curs. Greyhounds and pointers also rapidly
decline, although with occasional exceptions. Spaniels and terriers
deteriorate less, and spaniels of eight or nine generations, and without
a cross from Europe, are not only as good as, but far more beautiful
than, their ancestors. The climate is too severe for mastiffs, and they
do not possess sufficient stamina; but, crossed by the East Indian
greyhound, they are invaluable in hunting the hog [6].
Colonel Sykes, at one of the meetings of the Zoological Society,
produced a specimen of
THE WILD DOG OF DAKHUN
or Deccan, a part of India far to the south of Nepal, and gave the
following description of this supposed primitive dog:
"Its head is compressed and elongated, but its muzzle not very sharp.
The eyes are oblique, the pupils round, and the 'irides' light-brown.
The expression of the countenance is that of a coarse ill-natured
Persian greyhound, without any resemblance to the jackal, the fox, or
the wolf. The ears are long, erect, and somewhat rounded at the top.
The limbs remarkably large and strong in relation to the bulk of the
animal. The size is intermediate between the wolf and the jackal. The
neck long, the body elongated, and the entire dog of a red-brown
colour. None of the domesticated dogs of Dakhun are common in Europe,
but those of Dakhun and Nepal are very similar in all their
characters. There is also a dog in Dakhun with hair so short as to
make him appear naked. It is called the 'polugar' dog."
THE WILD DOG OF THE MAHRATTAS
possesses a similar conformation; and the fact is, that the East Indian
wild dog is essentially the same in every part of that immense extent of
country. There is no more reason, however, for concluding that it was
the primitive dog, than for conferring on the Indian cattle the same
honour among the ruminants. The truth of the matter is that we have no
guide what was the original breed in any country. The lapse of 4000
years would effect strange alterations in the breeds. The common name
of this dog, in the track lying between South Bahar and the Mahratta
frontier towards Maghore, is
DHOLE,
the 'Chryseus Scylex' of Hamilton Smith.
Captain Williamson, in his Oriental Field Sports, gives the following
account of the Dholes:
"They are to be found chiefly, or only, in the country from Midnapore
to Chamu, and even there are not often to be met with. They are of the
size of a small greyhound. Their countenance is enlivened by unusually
brilliant eyes. Their body, which is slender and deep-chested, is
thinly covered by a coat of hair of a reddish-brown or bay colour. The
tail is dark towards its extremity. The limbs are light, compact, and
strong, and equally calculated for speed and power. They resemble many
of the common pariah dogs in form, but the singularity of their colour
and marks at once demonstrates an evident distinction.
"These dogs are said to be perfectly harmless if unmolested. They do
not willingly approach persons; but, if they chance to meet any in
their course, they do not show any particular anxiety to escape. They
view the human race rather objects of curiosity, than either of
apprehension or enmity. The natives who reside near the Ranochitty and
Katcunsandy passes, in which vicinity the 'dholes' may frequently be
seen, describe them as confining their attacks entirely to wild
animals, and assert that they will not prey on sheep, goats, &c.; but
others, in the country extending southward from Jelinah and
Mechungunge, maintain that cattle are frequently lost by their
depredations. I am inclined to believe that the 'dhole' is not
particularly ceremonious, but will, when opportunity offers, and a
meal is wanting, obtain it at the expense of the neighbouring village.
"The peasants likewise state that the 'dhole' is eager in proportion
to the size and powers of the animal he hunts, preferring the elk to
every other kind of deer, and particularly seeking the royal tiger. It
is probable that the 'dhole' is the principal check on the
multiplication of the tiger; and, although incapable individually, or
perhaps in small numbers, to effect the destruction of so large and
ferocious an animal, may, from their custom of hunting in packs,
easily overcome any smaller beast found in the wilds of India.
"They run mute, except that they sometimes utter a whimpering kind of
note, similar to that sometimes expressed by dogs when approaching
their prey. This may be expressive of their own gratification, or
anxiety, or may serve as a guide to other 'dholes' to join in the
chase. The speed of the 'dhole' is so strongly marked in his form as
to render it probable no animal in the catalogue of game could escape
him for any distance. Many of the 'dholes' are destroyed in these
contests; for the tiger, the elk, and the boar, and even many of the
smaller classes of game are capable of making a most obstinate
defence. Hence the breed of the 'dholes' is much circumscribed."
THE THIBET DOG.
Mr. Bennett, in his scientific and amusing description of the Zoological
Gardens, gave the best account we have of this noble dog, and our
portrait is a most faithful likeness of him. He is bred in the
table-land of the Himalaya mountains bordering on Thibet. The Bhoteas,
by whom many of them are carefully reared, come down to the low
countries at certain seasons of the year to sell their borax and musk.
The women remain at home, and they and the flocks are most sedulously
guarded by these dogs. They are the defenders of almost every
considerable mansion in Thibet. In an account of an embassy to the court
of the Teshoo Llama in Thibet, the author says, that he had to pass by a
row of wooden cages containing a number of large dogs, fierce, strong,
and noisy. They were natives of Thibet, and, whether savage by nature or
soured by confinement, they were so impetuously furious that it was
unsafe even to approach their dens. Every writer who describes these
dogs, speaks of their noble size, and their ferocity, and antipathy to
strangers.
It is said, however, that the Thibet dog rapidly degenerates when
removed from its native country, and certainly the specimens which have
reached the Zoological Gardens exhibited nothing of ferocity. The one
that was in that menagerie had a noble and commanding appearance; but he
never attempted to do any injury.
The colour of the Thibet dog is of a deep black, slightly clouded on the
sides, his feet alone and a spot over each eye being of a full tawny or
bright brown hue. He has the broad short truncated muzzle of the
mastiff, and the lips are still more deeply pendulous. There is also a
singular general looseness of the skin on every part of him.
THE PARIAH.
There are several varieties of this dog. There is a wild breed very
numerous in the jungles and in some of the lower ranges of the Himalaya
mountains. They usually hunt in packs, and it is not often that their
prey escapes them. They generally are very thin, and of a reddish-brown
colour, with sharp-pointed ears, deep chest, and tucked-up flanks. Many
persons hunt with these dogs singly, and they are very useful. They
bring the hog to bay, or indicate the course that he has taken, or
distract his attention when the sportsman is at hand.
There is also in every inhabited part of the country the poor desolate
pariah,--unowned by any one,--daring to enter into no house, but
wandering about, and picking up a living in any way that he can. He is,
however, of a superior race to the wild dog, and belongs to the second
class of the dog, although mentioned here in order that we may
altogether quit the dog of India. They are neglected by the Hindoos; but
the Mohammedans of India, and other strangers, consider it an act of
charity to throw out occasionally a morsel of food to them. They are
most of them mongrels; but the benevolent Bishop Heber does them no more
than justice when he says that he
"was forcibly struck at finding the same dog-like and amiable
qualities in these neglected animals as in their more fortunate
brethren in Europe."
Colonel Sykes says of these outcasts that among the pariahs is
frequently found the turnspit-dog. There is also a small petted variety
of the pariah, usually of a white colour, and with long silky hair. This
animal is taught to carry flambeaux and lanterns.
According to Captain Williamson, in some of the ditches of the Carnatic
forts, alligators are purposely kept, and all the pariah dogs found in
the forts are thrown into the ditches as provision for these monsters.
Some persons who have kept tigers in cages have adopted the same means
of supply for their royal captives, putting the poor pariah through an
aperture made for the purpose in the cage; and they justify themselves
by asserting that they thus get rid of a troublesome breed of curs, most
of which are unappropriated, and which being numerous are very
troublesome to passengers, often wantonly biting them, and raising a
yelling noise at night, that sets all attempts to rest at defiance.
It did not always happen that the tiger killed the pariah put into his
cage.
"I knew an instance," says Captain Williamson, "of one that was
destined for the tiger's daily meal, standing on the defensive in a
manner that completely astonished both the tiger and the spectator. He
crept into a corner, and whenever the tiger approached seized him by
the lip or the neck, making him roar most piteously. The tiger,
however, impelled by hunger,--for all supply of food was purposely
withheld,--would renew the attack. The result was ever the same. At
length the tiger began to treat the dog with more deference, and not
only allowed him to partake of the mess of rice and milk furnished
daily for his subsistence, but even refrained from any attempt lo
disturb him. The two animals at length became reconciled to each
other, and a strong attachment was formed between them. The dog was
then allowed ingress and egress through the aperture; and, considering
the cage as his own, he left it and returned to it just as he thought
proper. When the tiger died he moaned the loss of his companion for a
considerable period."
A wild variety exists in Sumatra. It is described by Cuvier as
"possessing the countenance of a fox, the eyes oblique, the ears
rounded and hairy, the muzzle of a foxy-brown colour, the tail bushy
and pendulous, very lively, running with the head lifted high, and the
ears straight."
This animal can scarcely be rendered tractable, and even when he is
apparently tamed can rarely be depended upon.
As we proceed through the Indian Archipelago, towards Australasia, we
skirt the coast of Java. Every Javanese of rank has large packs of dogs
with which he hunts the muntjak, the deer of that country. The dogs are
led in strings by the attendants until they scent the prey: they are
then unloosed, while the sportsmen follow, but not at the speed which
would distinguish the British sportsman. The animal is generally found
at bay. The male muntjak usually exhibits considerable courage, and
probably several of the dogs have been wounded by his tusks. As soon as
they come up every gun is discharged, and the animal almost immediately
drops. At other times the mounted sportsmen attack them with a spear or
sword. Generally, the muntjak does not go off like the stag in any
direct track, but takes a circular course, and soon returns to the spot
whence it was started. It perhaps makes several of these circles, and at
length entangles itself in a thicket, where it is secured.
These dogs are the indigenous breed of the island, the body lank, the
ears erect, ferocious in their disposition, and with very little
attachment to their masters. Such is the account given of them by Dr.
Horsfield.
THE DINGO, AUSTRALASIAN, OR NEW HOLLAND DOG.
The newly discovered southern continent was, and some of it still
continues to be, overrun by the native wild dogs. Dampier describes
them, at the close of the last century, as
"beasts like the hungry wolves, lean like so many skeletons, and being
nothing but skin and bone."
It was not until the publication of Governor Phillip's voyage to Botany
Bay, that any accurate description or figure of this dog could be
obtained. He approaches in appearance to the largest kind of shepherd's
dog. The head is elongated, the forehead flat, and the ears short and
erect, or with a slight direction forwards. The body is thickly covered
with hair of two kinds--the one woolly and gray, the other silky and of
a deep yellow or fawn colour. The limbs are muscular, and, were it not
for the suspicious yet ferocious glare of the eye, he might pass for a
handsome dog. The Australasian dog, according to M. Desmarest, resembles
in form and in the proportion of his limbs the common shepherd's dog. He
is very active and courageous, covered in some parts with thick hair
woolly and gray, in other parts becoming of a yellowish-red colour, and
under the belly having a whitish hue. When he is running, the head is
lifted more than usual in dogs, and the tail is carried horizontally. He
seldom barks. Mr. Bennett observes that
"dogs in a state of nature never bark. They simply whine, howl, or
growl. The explosive noise of the bark is only found among those that
are domesticated."
Sonini speaks of the shepherds' dogs in the wilds of Egypt as not having
this faculty; and Columbus found the dogs which he had previously
carried to America, almost to have lost their propensity to bark.
He does, however, occasionally bark, and has the same kind of snarling
voice which the larger dogs generally have. The Australasian dogs that
have been brought to Europe have usually been of a savage and
untractable disposition.
There are several of the Australasian dogs in the gardens of the
Zoological Society of London. One of them has been an inmate of that
establishment nine years, others more than five years; but not an
individual has acquired the bark of the other dogs by which they are
surrounded. When a stranger makes his appearance, or when the hour of
feeding arrives, the howl of the Australasian is the first sound that is
heard, and it is louder than all the rest.
If some of them have thrown off a portion of their native ferocity,
others retain it undiminished. A bitch and two of her whelps, nearly
half grown--a male and female--had inhabited the same cage from the time
that the young ones were born. Some cause of quarrel occurred on a
certain night, and the two bitches fell upon the dog and perfectly
destroyed him. There was not a limb left whole. A stronger instance of
the innate ferocity of this breed could scarcely be given. Even in their
native country all attempts perfectly to domesticate them have failed;
for they never lose an opportunity to devour the poultry or attack the
sheep. Every domesticated dog coming within their reach was immediately
destroyed. One that was brought to England broke his chain--scoured the
surrounding country--and, before dawn, had destroyed several sheep; and
another attacked, and would have destroyed, an ass, if he had not been
prevented.
Mr. Oxley, Surveyor-General of New South Wales, however, gives an
interesting account of the mutual attachment between two of the native
and wild New Holland dingos.
"About a week ago we killed a native dog, and threw his body on a
small bush. On returning past the same spot to-day, we found the body
removed three or four yards from the bush, and the female in a
dying-state lying close beside it: she had apparently been there from
the day the dog was killed. Being now so weakened and emaciated as to
be unable to move on our approach, it was deemed a mercy to despatch
her."
When Van Diemen Land began to be colonized by Europeans, the losses
sustained by the settlers by the ravages of the wild dogs were almost
incredible. The districts infested by these animals were principally
those appropriated to sheep, and there was scarcely a flock that did not
suffer. It was in vain to double the number of shepherds, to watch by
night and by day, or to have fires at every quarter of the fold; for
these animals would accomplish their object by stratagem or by force.
One colony lost no fewer than 1200 sheep and lambs in three months;
another colony lost 700.
The ravagers were either the native wild dogs of the island, or those
that had escaped from their owners. They seemed to have apportioned the
country into different districts, each troop having its allotted range.
At length the evil became so great that a general meeting of the
colonists was convened. The concluding sentences of the speech of
Lieutenant Hill forcibly express the extent of the evil.
"The country is free from bush-rangers: we are no longer surrounded
and threatened by the natives. We have only one enemy left in the
field; but that enemy strikes at the very root of our welfare, and
through him the stream of our prosperity is tainted at its very
source."
The colonists were then few, but they cordially united in the endeavour
to extirpate this formidable enemy; and, although the wild dog is still
found in the interior of the island, he is comparatively seldom seen,
and his ravages have nearly ceased.
THE CANIS AUSTRALIS--KARARAHE, NEW ZEALAND DOG.
A tradition exists in New Zealand of this dog having been given to the
natives two or three centuries ago by a number of divinities who made
their descent on these shores, probably Juan Fernandez and his
companions. The sagacious animal has, however, dwindled down to the
lowest rank of his family, but ill usage has not altogether destroyed
his worth. In New Zealand he is the safeguard of every village. Should
the slightest alarm exist, he is the first to ascertain the cause of it,
and many families have saved themselves by flight, or have taken arms in
self-defence against the incursions of predatory bands. The New
Zealanders are therefore kind in their treatment of the dog, except that
they occasionally destroy him for his hide.
The name formerly given to the New Zealand dog was 'pero', which in
some measure substantiates the supposition of Juan Fernandez having
visited the country--'perro', in the Spanish language, being the
name of a dog.
We will now turn to the northern parts of America. The races of wild
dogs are there considerably limited, both in number and the districts
which they occupy.
In the elevated sandy country north of the source of the Missouri,
inhabited by the "Stone" and the "Black Foot" Indians, is a doubtful
species of dogs--wolves they used to be called--who hunt in large packs
and are exceedingly swift; whose bark is similar to that of the domestic
dog, but who burrow in the ground, and eagerly run to their holes, when
the gun of the hunter is heard.
[Our author evidently, in the above remarks, confounds the Louisiana
marmot, Arctomys Ludovicianus or Prairie dog, with the Canis Latrans of
Say, as he certainly would not make us believe that such harmless
animals as the marmot should associate themselves in packs to hunt the
deer or other quadrupeds; neither would he tell us that so different an
animal as the Canis Latrans could burrow in the ground and retreat to
their holes when surprised by the hunter. The Louisiana Marmot,
improperly called Prairie dog, is about sixteen inches long, and lives
in extended villages or excavations surmounted by mounds. These
communities often comprise several thousand inhabitants, whose sole food
consists in the scanty herbage surrounding the settlement, as they
seldom extend their excursions beyond a half-mile from their burrows for
fear of the wolves, and many other enemies.
The Canis Latrans, on the other hand, is quite a large and savage
animal, and frequently unites in bands to run down deer or buffalo
calves, but as for living under ground in burrows, it is quite out of
reason to suppose such a thing possible with this quadruped, who
secretes himself in the depths of the forest, and appears on the open
plain only when in pursuit of game.--L.] The habit of selecting large,
open, sandy plains, and burrowing there, extends to the greater part of
the American wild dogs.
[We have been credibly informed by several gentlemen, familiar with the
country of Mexico, that there is a diminutive species of dog running
wild, and burrowing in the ground as rabbits, in the neighbourhood of
Santa Fe and Chihuahua. A gentleman who has seen these animals, states
that there is no doubt as to their identity, having met with them in a
state of domestication, when they exhibited all the actions and manners
of a French lap dog, such as come from Cuba or other West India Islands.
They are of every variety of hue, and resort to their burrows whenever
disturbed in their natural haunts. What they subsist on it is difficult
to say, as they are too harmless and insignificant to attack any other
animal beyond a mouse or a snail. They are represented as being very
difficult to tame, but when domesticated show no disposition to return
to their former mode of life. The lady of the Mexican Minister, when in
this city, had one of these dogs as a boudoir pet; it was lively and
barked quite fiercely. We have not been able to ascertain whether they
bark in their natural state. The breed of dog cultivated in China for
food alone, are fed entirely upon rice meal and other farinaceous
articles, having no relish whatever for flesh or other strong
aliment.--L.]
In some parts of North America whole troops of horses are guarded and
kept together by dogs. If any of the troop attempt to steal away, the
dog will immediately fly after the horse, head him, and bring him back
to his companions.
[To show the necessity of having dogs for this purpose, as well as to
guard the flocks of sheep, we need only mention that it is no uncommon
thing for a Mexican to own several thousand horses, besides an immense
number of cattle.
Mr. Kendall, in his Santa Fe expedition, states that the proprietress of
one hacienda, a widow, and comparatively poor when the wonderful wealth
of her ancestors is considered, now owns fifty thousand horses and
mules, beside herds of cattle and sheep, and that the pasture ground
extended for fifty miles on either side of the road.
One of the former owners of this immense estate, a short time previous
to the revolution, sent as a present to a Spanish colonel, just arrived
with his regiment of dragoons, a thousand white horses, nearly all of
the same age, and every one raised on this prolific hacienda.--L.]
The wild dogs abound in many parts of South America. In some of the
forests on the banks of the Oronoko they multiply to an annoying degree.
The Cayotte of Mexico, described by some as a wolf, and bearing no
slight resemblance to that animal, belongs to the South American wild
dogs, as do also the Aguara dogs of every kind. These wanderers of the
woods are, however, diminished in numbers in every part of that
continent, and are replaced by other kinds, many of which have been
imported from Europe and domesticated.
[There is no country in the world more cursed with worthless curs than
that of Mexico and the other southern republics; the cities and villages
actually swarm with these animals, and produce no little vexation to
travellers, who speak of their eternal yelping and barking in the most
indignant terms.
Mr. Kendall, on entering San Antonio, says,
"From every house some half dozen Mexican curs would jump forth and
greet us with a chorus of yelps and barks, and before we had fairly
entered the town the canine hue and cry was general. Those who have
for the first time entered a Mexican town or city must have been
struck with the unusual number of dogs, and annoyed by their incessant
barking; but the stranger soon learns that they spend all their
courage in barks--they seldom bite."--L.]
Many of the Indian tribes have succeeded in reclaiming the dog of the
woods, and have made him a useful although not a perfectly attached
servant.
The dogs of the Falkland Islands, and the Indian North American dogs
generally, are brown or gray-coloured varieties of the wild dog; but as
they are nearly exterminated, will occupy little space. It has already
been stated that in Egypt and in Nubia we have the first records of the
dog. Many superstitious notions were connected with him, and divine
honours were paid to him. Those times are passed away, and he is
regarded with aversion by the Moslem of the present day. He is an
outcast. He obtains a scanty living by the offal which he gathers in the
towns, or he is become a perfect wild dog, and scours the country for
his prey. His modern name is the 'deab'. He is of considerable size,
with a round muzzle, large head, small erect ears, and long and hairy
tail, spotted with black, white, and yellow, and having a fierce wolfish
aspect. These dogs are not, however, numerous; but the mischief which
they do is often great, whether in pairs they burrow in the earth, or
associate with others and hunt in troops. [7]
In Nubia is a smaller dog of the same kind, which never burrows. It
lives on small animals and birds, and rarely enters any of the towns. A
similar dog, according to Colonel Hamilton Smith, inhabits the
neighbourhood of the Cape, and particularly the Karroo or Wilderness. It
is smaller than either of the others, and lives among bushes or under
prominent rocks. Others, although not identified with the jackal, yet
associating with him, inhabit the Uplands of Gambia and Senegal.
On the Gold Coast, the dog is used and prized as an article of food. He
is fattened and driven to market as the European drives his sheep and
hogs. The dog is even more valued than the sheep for human subsistence,
and is deemed the greatest luxury that can be placed even on the royal
table.
In Loango, or Lower Guinea, is a town from which the African wild dogs
derive their name--the 'dingo'. They hunt in large packs. They
fearlessly attack even the elephant, and generally destroy him. In the
neighbourhood of the Cape, the country is nearly cleared of wild beasts;
but in Cape Town there are a great number of lean and miserable dogs,
who howl about the streets at night, quitting their dens and
lurking-places, in quest of offal. No great while ago, the wolves and
hyaenas used to descend and dispute the spoil with the dogs, while the
town resounded with their hideous howlings all the night long.
This will be a proper place to refer to the numerous accounts that are
given both in ancient and modern times of the immolation of dogs, and of
their being used for food. They were sacrificed at certain periods by
the Greeks and Romans to almost all their deities, and particularly to
Mars, Pluto, and Pan, to Minerva, Proserpine, and Lucina, and also to
the moon, because the dog by his barking disturbed all charms and
spells, and frightened away all spectres and apparitions. The Greeks
immolated many dogs in honour of Hecate, because by their baying the
phantoms of the lower world were disturbed. A great number of dogs were
also destroyed in Samothrace in honour of the same goddess. Dogs were
periodically sacrificed in February, and also in April and in May; also
to the goddess Rubigo, who presided over the corn, and the Bona Dea,
whose mysterious rites were performed on Mount Aventine. The dog
Cerberus was supposed to be watching at the feet of Pluto, and a dog and
a youth were periodically sacrificed to that deity. The night when the
Capitol had nearly been destroyed was annually celebrated by the cruel
scourging of a dog in the principal public places, even to the death of
the animal.
[As on a certain occasion, the dogs who had the Capitol in custody, did
not bark and give warning when the Gauls attempted to scale the wails,
there is a custom annually observed at Rome, to transfix certain dogs to
forks, and thus crucified, hang them on an elder tree as examples of
justice. (Book 29, chap. IV. Pliny.)-L.]
Many of the Greek and Roman epicures were strangely fond of the flesh of
the dog, and those who ought to have known much better encouraged the
use of this food. Galen speaks of it in the strongest terms of praise.
Hippocrates says that the meat of old dogs is of a warm and dry quality,
giving strength to the eater. Ananias, the poet, speaks of dog's flesh
served up with that of the hare and fox. Virgil recommends that the
fatted dog should be served up with whey or butter; and Dioscorides, the
physician, says that they should be fed on the whey that remains after
the making of cheese.
[Independent of the many useful and interesting qualities that
necessarily endeared this animal to the ancients, he had yet stronger
claims upon them, in the prophylactic properties of different portions
of his body. Pliny, Hippocrates, Aristotle and others, speak of various
preparations made of his flesh, for the cure of many distempers. The
first-mentioned writer observes, that the ashes of burnt dogs, made into
a liniment, with oil, will make an excellent application to the
eye-brows, to turn them black. We doubt not that an analogous compound,
if proved to be really efficacious, might he introduced to the notice of
the belles of our own time, or meet with extensive sale for dyeing the
pagoties and mustachios of the modern dandy. This quaint philosopher
also recommends the same substance as a healing salve, for malignant
wounds, and the internal use of the same article as a preventive or cure
of hydrophobia and other distempers. (Book 28, chap, XI. and X.)--L.]
Before Christianity was established among the Danes, on every ninth year
at the winter solstice, a monstrous sacrifice of 99 dogs was effected.
In Sweden the sacrifice was still worse. On each of 9 successive days,
99 dogs were destroyed. This sacrifice of the dog, however, gave way to
one as numerous and as horrible. On every 9th year, 99 human victims
were immolated, and the sons of the reigning tyrant among the rest, in
order that the life of the monarch might be prolonged. [8]
On the other hand, the dog was frequently the executioner; and, from an
early period, whether in the course of war or the mock administration of
justice, thousands of poor wretches were torn to pieces by animals
trained to that horrible purpose.
Many of the Indians of North America, and almost of the present day, are
fond of the flesh of the dog.
Captain Carver, in his Travels in North America in 1766, 1767, and 1768,
describes the admission of an Indian into one of the horrible societies
of that country.
"The dishes being brought near to me," says he, "I perceived that they
consisted of dog's flesh, and I was informed that at all their grand
feasts they never made use of any other food. The new candidate
provides fat dogs for the festival, if they can be procured at any
price. They ate the flesh; but the head and the tongue were left
sticking on a pole with the front towards the east. When any noxious
disease appeared among them, a dog was killed, the intestines were
wound between two poles, and every man was compelled to pass between
them."
The Nandowepia Indians also eat dog's flesh as an article of luxury, and
not from any want or scarcity of other animal food; for they have the
bear, buffalo, elk, deer, beaver, and racoon.
Professor Keating, in his interesting work on the expedition to Peter's
River, states that he and a party of American officers were regaled in a
large pavilion on buffalo meat, and 'tepsia', a vegetable boiled in
buffalo grease, and the flesh of three dogs kept for the occasion, and
without any salt. They partook of the flesh of the dogs with a mixture
of curiosity and reluctance, and found it to be remarkably fat, sweet,
and palatable, divested of any strong taste, and resembling the finest
Welsh mutton, but of a darker colour. So strongly rooted, however, are
the prejudices of education, that few of them could be induced to eat
much of it.
The feast being over, great care was taken to replace the bones in their
proper places in the dish, after which they were carefully washed and
buried, as a token of respect to the animals generally, and because
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