234 AUSTRALIAN DOGS. 



no remains of the beast were visible in the majority 

 of instances ; and crows and hawks do not devour 

 animals, bones and all, in this country.* The fol- 

 lowing anecdote proves that the " dingos," al- 

 though cowards when chances are against them, 

 will, like the Chinese, stand battle when num- 

 bers and chance of victory are on their side. A 

 native dog attacked a calf, which was driven by 



* The Australian dog never barks ; and it is remarked by 

 Mr. Gardiner, in a work entitled the " Music of Nature," 

 " that dogs in a state of nature never bark ; they simply 

 whine, howl, and growl : this explosive noise is only found 

 among those which are domesticated. Sonnini speaks of the 

 shepherds' dogs in the wilds of Egypt as not having this 

 faculty ; and Columbus found the dogs which he had previ- 

 ously carried to America, to have lost their propensity to 

 barking. The ancients were aware of this circumstance. 

 Isaiah compares the blind watchmen of Israel to these ani- 

 mals — ' they are dumb, they cannot bark.' But, on the con- 

 trary, David compares th6 noise of his enemies to the dogs 

 round about the city. Hence the barking of a dog is an ac- 

 quired faculty — an effort to speak, which he derives from his 

 associating with man. It cannot be doubted, that dogs in 

 this country bark more, and fight less, than formerly. This 

 may be accounted for by the civilization of the lower orders, 

 who have gained a higher taste in their sports and pastimes, 

 than badger-baitings and dog-fights ; and it may with truth 

 be asserted, that the march of intellect has had its influence 

 even upon the canine race, in destroying that natural ferocity 

 for war which (happily for the world) is now spent more in 

 words than in blows." 



