360 THE AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DOG. 



great reputations as duck-retrievers, and it is said of them 

 that they would follow a cripple for miles through ice and 

 a heavy sea, and if successful in a capture would always 

 bring it back to their owner. The dog, Sailor, became the 

 property of a gentleman of wealth, and was taken to his 

 estate on the east shore of Maryland, where his progeny is 

 still known as the Sailor breed. 



There is no positive proof that there were ever any dogs 

 produced from the union of these two Sailor and Canton; 

 neither is there anything to show there was not a produc- 

 tion from them. The natural supposition is that there was, 

 and it is to these two dogs that we feel we can give credit 

 for the now famous breed of Chesapeake Bay Duck Dogs. 



There is now to be met with a great variety of what are 

 called Chesapeake Bay Duck Dogs, but my opinion is that 

 if the pedigree of some of these were obtainable, you would 

 find that a cross or two has been made on either the Setter 

 or Spaniel, and it is in this way that I account for the dif- 

 ferent types to be seen. The reason this cross-breeding has 

 been resorted to is that the Chesapeake Bay Dog, with an 

 authenticated pedigree, is not to be met with every day, 

 and especially since the close of the late civil war, which 

 made such devastation in the Southern States. 



While there are a number of dogs used for breeding pur- 

 poses, and their produce sold as Chesapeake Bay Dogs, 

 which do not even reproduce themselves, much less trans- 

 mit the qualities claimed for the Chesapeake Bay Dogs, yet 

 there are, and have been for years, dogs used for breeding, 

 the progeny of which can be depended upon to reproduce 

 themselves and transmit this with their other good quali- 

 ties; and this I consider the best evidence obtainable that 

 the Chesapeake Bay Duck Dog does now exist in purity, 

 and that it is as distinct a breed as the Setter, Pointer, or any 

 other breed, though much fewer in numbers. Many breeds 

 of dogs have a tail of mongrels hanging to them, which is 

 in some cases larger than the breed itself; and, unhappily, 

 the Chesapeake Bay Dog happens to be one of the cases 

 where the tail is trying hard to wag the dog. 



