18 So?ne Account of the 



It is highly probable, that the Indian dog still ex- 

 ists, in a wild state, in the woods of many parts of 

 North- America. It is likely that when seen, he has 

 been sometimes mistaken for the wolf. 



A very intelligent Indian informed me, that, in the 

 year 1792, when travelling towards the head- waters 

 of the river Miami, which empties into Lake-Erie, 

 he had met with wolves which barked like dogs, 

 though, in other respects, they appeared to be little 

 different from wolves. Perhaps, future researches 

 will show, that these were the real Indian dogs, in 

 their wild state. The subject is worthy of farther 

 inquiry. If the Indian dog be a hybrid animal, we 

 ought to suppose that he is less common in the 

 woods, than the animals from whom he is sprung. 

 Hybrids are, in general, more rare than original spe- 

 cies. This observation applies both to the animal 

 and to the vegetable world. 



The late Mr. Peter Kalm informed Mr. John Bar- 

 tram, that the dogs which he saw among the Indians 

 of Canada, " were just like the dogs in Sweden, and 

 that they had ears sharp-pointed, and standing up- 

 right like a wolf's." " I can remember perfectly 

 well," continues Mr. Bartram, " that when I was a 

 boy, the Indians came frequently to our house. 

 Their dogs had sharp-pointed upright ears, and we 

 used to think that they were of the wolf-breed. Now, 

 whether the Indians had their dogs from the Swedes, 

 who settled in Pennsylvania long before the English 

 settled there, or whether the Indian dogs were na- 



