212 British Dogs. 



get awfully sceptical of unauthenticated pedigrees, and in such matters 

 positively refuse as evidence the traditions of the Bed Man, however 

 pretty and romantic. I saw Garry in the flesh at Birmingham where, 

 by the way, he took a .5 prize and I must pronounce him the very 

 finest specimen of an Esquimaux dog I have seen, but I must differ 

 from our esteemed correspondent when he says there is unmistakeable 

 evidence of wolf blood in the dog. Dogs appear to approach nearer to 

 the wolf type the farther they are removed from the higher civilised life of 

 man, and that, I think, is the case with Garry, and, besides that, hybrids 

 do not breed. The measurements cannot have been accurately taken ; 

 and Mr. Fryer must have been misinformed as to Garry's sleigh drawing, 

 if we may judge by his age. 



Among those exhibited in this country, the best specimens I have seen 

 are Zouave, shown by Mr. W. Arkwright, and Mr. W. K. Taunton's 

 Sir John Franklin and Zoe. 



Zouave I have understood was imported from Greenland, and Sir John 

 Franklin, the finest exhibited, was brought over in the Pandora. As 

 they are now being bred by one or two gentlemen in this country we 

 may, in a few years, see more of them. 



Mr. Taunton describes his Esquimaux as intelligent and of amiable 

 disposition, and the following is his description of them : 



" The head is wolf -like, with the same pointed muzzle, and, more 

 or less, the oblique eye, which gives the dog a treacherous appear- 

 ance ; ears small, rounded, erect, and pointed forward ; short thick 

 neck, deep chest, body long ; legs well made, without any feather, feet 

 round, tail very bushy and carried curled over the back. The coat is 

 dense and thick, standing out from the body, and is stiff on the outside 

 like bristles, especially so along the back, whilst the undercoat is a soft 

 wool, much resembling down, and admirably adapted to keep out the cold 

 and wet. The nearer approach in appearance to the wolf the more 

 typical of the breed I should consider it. The colour varies, being some- 

 times pure white, sometimes, as in Towser and Sir John Franklin, a 

 silvery grey, and other colours. In size they vary, those which are 

 reared where fish is plentiful making, I am informed, larger dogs than 

 those bred further away where food is scarcer. The average height, as 

 far as I am able to ascertain, would be 22in. to 24in." 



Dogs of this class are of the greatest service drawing sleighs, and, as 



