CHAPTER IV 

 THE ST. BERNARD 



THE St. Bernard, both before and since its introduction into 

 England, has been surrounded with a halo of romance. The stories 

 related of these magnificent dogs, their picturesque appearance, 

 noble bearing, and romantic history, so appeal to the imagination, 

 that it seems natural they should claim the title of " holy breed " as 

 belonging to a grander group than other varieties of the canine race. 

 Before speaking more fully of the introduction of the St. Bernard 

 into England, it will be as well to give in detail an interesting 

 account furnished by H. Schumacher, of Switzerland, at one time 

 the largest breeder and exporter of these animals, and whose 

 thorough knowledge of the subject was to be relied upon at the 

 time. Mr. Schumacher writes in 1886 as follows : 



44 Compiled from Traditions of the Monks of the Hospice and 

 Recollections of Heinrich Schumacher, 



" In kynological circles there prevails the erroneous idea that the 

 so-called St. Bernard breed of dogs died out in 1815. This depends 

 upon the way in which the matter is regarded, because a double 

 explanation is possible. The first notion, that the breed of dogs 

 does not exist in the same purity as before 1815, arose from a belief 

 that in the great snowstorms which then prevailed the breed was 

 destroyed. Although, indeed, in the Maison St. Bernard, in 

 Martigny, and in the monastery on Simplon, stocks were always kept 

 up, from which the losses sustained in the mountains were made 

 good, yet the monks of that time observed that the breed of dogs 

 deteriorated through continual in-breeding, and there was a loss 

 in strength which incapacitated the dogs from developing the 

 activity and endurance needed in the difficult service of the 

 mountains in winter time. In the beginning of 1830 the monks 

 tried, therefore, to renew the old breed by crossing with strong, 

 intelligent dogs, to recover the weakened good qualities size, 

 strength, and endurance. This crossing was done with long-haired 

 Newfoundland females, which are recognised as the strongest and 



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