THE DINGO. 319 
a question whether it should not be shot at once, everything like recovery seeming 
impossible. 
But I really think Neptune saved his life. The trusty friend applied himself so 
carefully to lic king his wounds, hanging over him with such tenderness, and gazing at his 
master with such mute entreaty, that it was decided to leave the Dogs together for that 
night. The devotion of the great Dog knew no change ; he suffered any of the people to 
dress his friend’s wounds, or feed him, but he growled if they attempted to remove him, 
Although after the lapse of ten or tw elve days he could limp to the sumy spots of the 
lawn—alway s attended by Neptune—it was quite three months before Charger was 
himself again, and his recovery was entirely attributed to Neptune, who ever after was 
called Doctor Neptune,—a distinction which he received with his usual gravity. 
Now here I must say that Neptune was never quarrelsome. He was a very large 
liver-coloured Dog, with huge, firm jaws, and those small cunning eyes which I always 
think detract from the nobility of the head of the Newfoundland ; “his paws were pillow Ss 
and his chest broad and firm. He was a dignified, gentlemanly Dog, who looked down 
upon the general run of quarrels as quite beneath him. If grievously insulted, he would 
lift up the aggressor in his jaws, shake him, and let him eo—if he could go—that was all. 
But in his heart of hearts he resented the treatment his friend had received. 
So when Charger was fully recovered, the two Dogs set off together to the Hill 
Carrick, a distance of more than a mile from their home, and then and there set upon the 
bull-dog. While we were at breakfast, the butler came in with the information that 
something had gone wrong, for both Neptune and Charger had come home covered with 
blood and wounds, and were licking each other in the little stable. This was quickly 
followed by a visit from the bristly Lad of Carrick, erying like a child—the great rough- 
looking bear of a man—because our Dogs had gone up the Hill and killed his pup ‘ Blue- 
nose gt ‘The two fell on him,’ he said, ‘together, and now you could hardly tell his head 
from his tail. It was a fearful retribution ; but even his master confessed that ‘Blue- 
nose’ deserved his fate, and every cur in the country rejoiced that he was dead.” 
The Dinco, or Warragal, as it is called by the natives, is an inhabitant of Australia, 
where it is found in the greatest profusion, being, indeed, a pest of no ordinary character 
to those colonists who are employed in raising and maintaining large flocks of sheep. 
The colour of this animal is a reddish-brown, sometimes plentifully sprinkled with 
black hairs over the back and ribs, the legs retaining the ordinary ruddy hue. Its muzzle 
is very sharp, as is generally the case w ith: wild Dogs ; its ears are sharp, short, and erect ; 
its tail is pendent and rather bushy ; and its eyes small, cunning, and obliquely placed 1 in 
the head. It was formerly thought to be an aboriginal inhabitant of Australia, but is 
now allowed to be an importation from some source which is at present uncertain. 
Large packs of these wild Dogs ravage the localities in which they have taken up their 
residence, and have attained to so high a degree of organization that each pack will only 
hunt over its own district, and will neither intrude upon the territory which has been 
allotted to a neighbouring pack of Dingos, nor permit any intrusion upon its own soil. 
For this reason, their raids upon the flocks and herds are so dangerous that the colonists 
were obliged to call a meeting, in order to arrange proceedings against the common foe. 
Before the sheep-owners had learned to take effectual measures to check the inroads of 
these marauders, they lost their flocks in such numbers that they counted their missing 
sheep by the hundred. From one colony no less than twelve hundred sheep and lambs 
were stolen in three months. 
The tenacity of life which is exhibited by the Dingo is almost incredible, and it 
appears to cling as firmly to existence as the opossum. Like the last-mentioned animal, 
the Dingo appears to feign death when it finds that escape is impracticable, and often 
manages to elude its opponents by the exercise of mingled craft and endurance. Mr. 
Bennett, in his well-known “ Wanderings,” mentions several instances of the wonderful 
tenacity of life exhibited by the Dingo, | and the almost incredible fortitude with which it 
will submit to wounds of the most fearful description. One of these animals had been 
overtaken by its exasperated foes, and had been “beaten so severely that it was supposed 
