THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



•21 



force friendship nor made advances when 

 alone, it is impossible for the writer to say how 

 catholic their tolerance was (see also page lo). 



THE NORWEGIAN ELKHOUND 



(For illiislration, sec fage ig) 



The Norwegian elkhound is one of the wolfy- 

 looking dogs from which the shepherd dogs of 

 middle Europe (see pp. 48 and 55) have been 

 evolved, and is probably a more dependable 

 dog than any of them, having been bred for 

 the specific uses of Inmting big game, and left 

 free of the refinements and stultifications de- 

 manded by the more effete market, which is 

 largely dependent on the whims of wealth and 

 caprice. 



The elkhound, in short, looks like a small, 

 stocky, wide-faced German shepherd dog, 

 standing about 22 inches instead of 26 or 2". 

 but wearing the same strong, rough working 

 coat of grizzled buff and brown, or wolf colors. 

 He is a rare dog in the United States, but in 

 northern Europe plays an important part in the 

 life of the people of the mountainous and 

 wooded country. 



He is used to some extent as a carrying and 

 draft animal, but is unsurpassed in the rough 

 and tumble of the hunt for such big game as 

 bear, wolves, and elk (the "moose" of northern 

 Europe), and is so keen of nose and so tract- 

 able that he can easily be trained to the more 

 subtle arts of hunting the capercailzie and 

 black grouse. 



The only one the artist ever saw was the 

 single specimen shown in the Westminster 

 show of 1918, and no dog in the whole show 

 made him more envious of his owner. For 

 what Mark Twain characterized as "the pur- 

 poses of a dog" this strong, friendly, and primi- 

 tive-looking animal seemed a most perfect 

 creature. He was alert, bright, and self-reliant, 

 but willing to extend a reserved welcome to a 

 new acquaintance. 



PERSIAN GAZELLEHOUND, OR 

 SLUGHI 



(For illustration, see page 22) 



This ancient race is one of the most peculiar, 

 most beautiful, and most puzzling of dogs. 

 His graven image comes to us as one of the 

 earliest of man's essays in art, and is so easily 

 recognizable that there is no doubt possible as 

 to the archaic artist's model. Possibly no dog 

 known has changed less from our earliest 

 knowledge of it to the present day. 



The first peculiarity to strike the eye is the 

 curious combination of short, close body hair, 

 with silky, flowing Afghan fleece on the ears 

 and long silken feather from the stern. Other- 

 wise he looks at first glance very like a grey- 

 hound. 



But, unlike other coursing dogs, the slughi is 

 short and straight in the body, though very 

 long and rangy of leg. As he stands in profile 



the outline of fore legs, back, hind leg, and 

 ground form an almost perfect square. 



A fact tending to show the antiquity of the 

 slughi is that no combination of known dogs 

 seems to be capable of producing a creature 

 just like him. 



In color they are almost without limit. 

 Cream, fawn, "hound" colors — that is, black, 

 with tan chops, legs, belly, and feather — seem 

 to predominate, and while pictures are rather 

 rare and the dogs practically non-existent out- 

 side the Mediterranean regions of Africa and 

 upper India, we have never seen any that were 

 irregularly pied with white, as are most dogs. 



This argues a very dominant character for 

 their ancient ancestors, for this symmetry of 

 coloring, found in all wild animals, is about 

 the first superficial characteristic to disappear 

 under domestication ; and when it persists, as 

 in this instance, through countless generations, 

 we may be sure of a very persistent and domi- 

 nant character for the original wild stock. 



The gazellehound is about the size of a me- 

 dium greyhound — 26 to 28 inches at the shoul- 

 der. The falcon is sometimes used to harry 

 the game until the dogs come up with it. 



THE OTTERHOUND 



(For illustration, sec page ig) 



It is said that every sizable stream in Great 

 Britain has its otter. To hunt this elusive and 

 wily animal, a very distinct type of dog has 

 been evolved. The requirements of the hunt 

 demand the keenest of noses, the staunchest of 

 "wills to hunt," the utmost courage, and the 

 ability to stand the roughest of wet and dry 

 coursing. 



These qualities have been assembled in the 

 otterhound, which may be described as a blood- 

 hound clad in the roughest of deerhound coats. 

 In general he is all hound, with long, sweeping 

 ears, deep jaw, and deep-set eye showing the 

 haw. He is broader in the brow than the 

 bloodhound and not quite so large, but he has 

 the same fine carriage, on straight, strong, and 

 heavily boned legs : large, sound, and partly 

 webbed feet. The hair over the eyes is long 

 and ragged, and there is a strong tendency 

 toward beard and moustache. 



He is a great favorite in Great Britain, but 

 is rarely seen in America. In color he maj' be 

 "hound colors," or "self-colored," fawn, brown, 

 tawny, or black. The working dogs are so 

 hardened by rough work that they are not par- 

 ticularly suitable as house dogs ; when reared 

 to it, however, their fine qualities render them 

 exceptional companions even for children. 



THE GREYHOUND 



(For illustration, see page 27) 



Developed originally for great speed in the 

 pursuit of antelope, gazelles, and desert hares, 

 the greyhound, though one of the most ancient, 

 is also one of the most extreme types of dog 

 known to man. 



