White. — On the Native Dog of Netv Zealand. 555 



■we have the original rat Hving side by side with the imported 

 Norway rat (Mus decwnanus) , there is every encouragement 

 to observe and search dihgently in expectation of finding 

 in a supposed Maori cur a pure descendant of the original 

 kuri. 



Some Maoris told me the native name for the land known 

 as Glenshee was Kuripaka, the home or j^lace of the brown 

 dog. It is difficult, unless a good Maori scholar, to be certain 

 in matters of conversation through an inexpert interpreter. 

 My reason for doubting is this : Mr. Tregear gives hiripa'ka, 

 a flint ; and kirikiri, pebble-stones, gravel. Now, although 

 at Glenshee there is no flint or obsidian, still a remarkable 

 outcrop or wall of conglomerate, composed of water-worn 

 stones, few of which reach the size of a man's fist, firmly 

 cemented together and superimposed on the papa rock, is a 

 notable feature of the country, and might be referred to by 

 the Maoris. They themselves, speaking only from tradition, 

 might slightly confuse the name. But I prefer to take it as 

 evidence that a brown or reddish-brown dog did at one time 

 live there. The Maori tried to explain the colour by referring 

 to the horse ; but whether a chestnut, a brown, or a bay 

 horse was meant I could not decide. 



I might state that the wild dogs seen by myself, with the 

 exception of one, were remarkably short in the hair — more so 

 even than a cat, as you will see from the use a dogskin was 

 put to. I had a close-fitting tubular case made from it for 

 my telescope, hair outwards, and a cap of the same to slip 

 over the open end of the tube-formed case. Circular pieces of 

 dogskin, with the hair outward, were compactly sewn into 

 either end of the case, and when made the hide was stiff as 

 leather, and the hair short and close, never rumpling or rough- 

 ing up, though in constant use. This, if you consider it, gives 

 proof of the short and close character of the hair, and is re- 

 markable in dogs living exposed to all weathers in an alpine 

 region. 



Few people are aware that the original feral ancestors, or, 

 rather, the descendants of the primeval dogs from whom our 

 domestic dogs are derived, still live in a wild state in India, 

 the scientific name for them being Cuou riitilans, the meaning 

 of which is, a dog of a reddish colour, inclining to golden- 

 yellow. From their being every one of the same type and 

 colour, there is evidence that they have been long feral, and 

 probably they are the exact counterpart of the first dogs exist- 

 ing. It is notable that they have no white tip to the tail, 

 which is a comnion feature w'ith the domestic dog. 



The following is a good description of the native dog of 

 India, given by a correspondent under the signature " Shikari," 

 in Land and Water: "The general colour is a bright rusty 



