52 SALMON-FISHING BY A DOG. 



wards they became in some measure common. Metellus 

 having vanquished the Carthaginians in Sicily, conducted their 

 elephants to Rome on rafts, to the number of a hundred and 

 twenty according to Seneca, of a hundred and forty-two ac- 

 cording to Pliny. Claudius Pulcher had combats of the ele- 

 phant in the circus in 655 ; and similar combats, either of 

 elephant against elephant, of the elephant against the rhino- 

 ceros, the bull, or the gladiator, were exhibited by Lucullus, 

 Pompey, Caesar, Claudius, and Nero. Pompey harnessed 

 them to his car during his triumph for Africa. Germanicu3 

 exhibited some 'which danced in a rude fashion. In the reign 

 of Nero they were seen to dance on a rope, carrying at the 

 same time a Roman knight. One may read in ^Elian the 

 extraordinary feats they were brought to execute. It is true 

 they were trained to them from their earliest age, and ^Elian 

 says even, expressly, that these dancing elephants were brought 

 forth at Rome. This assertion, with the confirmation it has 

 received in our own day from the experiments of Mr. Corse, 

 leads us to hope it will be possible to multiply this useful 

 animal in a state of domestication.' ' 



SALMON-FISHING BY A DOG, 



" Now that I am got upon the subject of fishing, let me tell 

 you of an amusing instance of sagacity which I had an op- 

 portunity of seeing a short time ago, in a water-dog of this 

 country, who had become a most excellent fisher. In riding 

 from Portrush to the Giant's Causeway with some company, 

 we had occasion to ford the river Bush, near the sea ; and as 

 the fishermen were going to haul their net, we stopped to 

 see their success. As soon as the dog perceived the men to 

 move, he instantly ran down the river, of his own accord, and 

 took post in the middle of it, on some shallows, where he 

 could occasionally run or swim, and in this position he placed 

 himself with all the eagerness and attention so strongly ob- 

 servable in a pointer dog who sets his game. We were for 

 some time at a loss to apprehend his scheme, but the event 

 soon satisfied us, and amply justified the prudence of the 

 animal ; for the fish, when they feel the net, always endeavour 

 to make directly out to sea. Accordingly, one of the salmon, 

 escaping from the net, rushed down the stream with great 

 velocity toward the ford, where the dog stood ready to receive 

 him at an advantage. A very diverting chase now commenced, 

 in which, from the shallowness of the water, we could discern 

 the whole track of the fish, with all its rapid turnings and 



