White. — On the Native Dog of Neiu Zealand. 5i9 



" J.B. " writes, "On the 27th November, 1859, I came 

 across two of these dogs, and killed one, a slut ; and she was 

 carrying seven pups. The dog escaped into the bush. These 

 two were as large as any colley I ever saw. They were both 

 cream-colour, the dog slightly darker and larger than the slut ; 

 but there was not a spot on either of them. In regard to their 

 not being sheep-worriers in the true sense of the word, I think 

 ' C.G. ' is right, as they were several times among my flock 

 before I killed the one, but not a sheep was killed outright on 

 any occasion, though I had thirteen ewes and one lamb bitten 

 one night, only four of them recovering. When the piece was 

 taken clean out by the snap the sheep got better ; but other- 

 wise the place festered time after time until the sheep pined 

 away and died. As to their being domesticated, the first of 

 the kind I ever saw was in the Town of Leicester, in the Mid- 

 land Counties of England, about the year 1854: or 1855, 

 accompanying two chiefs who were touring the Home-country 

 at that time ; and the dog they had with them was exactly 

 like the one I killed in the Umbrella Mountains in 1859. 

 I quite agree with ' C.G.' as to their being a distinct 

 breed." 



" C.G." writes again, " I have only seen five of the native 

 dogs. I do not think they were sheep- worriers. I was told 

 by a shepherd about the time the rush to the Lake Diggings 

 took place that this dog existed on Mr. Trotter's run. Not 

 only this, but my informant stated that he had a young pup, 

 which he tried to domesticate, but failed, as it got away. I 

 have seen the Australian dingo, and this Maori dog is much 

 like him, only not nearly so large. The dingo has a lot of 

 wolf about his head, which the native dog has not. I may 

 here state that I have seen a cross of the Australian dingo and 

 the colley working sheep beautifully on the Blue Mountains, 

 close to the Pomahaka, years ago." 



I can also give evidence on the capabilities of the half-bred 

 dingo. A large reddish dog, with long hair and bushy tail, 

 said to be a half-bred dingo by his owner, a shepherd to Mr. 

 Joseph Pearson, then of View Hill, Oxford, Canterbury, was 

 used as a sheep-dog. 



You will remember in a former paper I spoke of little long- 

 haired white dogs, which were often carried long distances by 

 the Maori women when travelling on horseback. In a letter 

 on various subjects, published in the Hawke's Bay Herald a 

 few months back, Mr. H. H. Murdoch, of Hastings, says, " We 

 have dogs of many breeds, and of no breed at all, from the 

 fluffy little white nondescript which nestles in the bosom of 

 the dusky waJiine to the huge St. Bernard's," &c. Here is an 

 independent observer who also has taken notice of these queer 

 little dogs, which I think are remains of an old breed of Maori 



