ANECDOTES.l 



THE DOG, AND ITS VAEIETIES 



[anecdotes. 



case, one can generally approach within range 

 of him. On such occasions a good dog is an 

 immense safeguard to a person ; as, should he 

 unhappily fall into the jaws of the beast, his 

 faithful follower might be the means of saving 

 his life ; for the dog seldom hesitates to fix at 

 once upon the bear ; and, by so doing, he often 

 succeeds in drawing the attack from his master 

 to himself. 



" High-couraged dogs are not unfrequeutly 

 killed by the bear during the chase ; for, if the 

 beast once gets them withia his grasp, he, in 

 most cases, quickly annihilates them. Several 

 iustances of the kind have come to my know- 

 ledge. 



" It is said, that when the bear is pursued 

 by dogs, he, at times, becomes so much enraged, 

 that he takes hold of the nearest stick or stone 

 he can lay his paws upon, and casts it at them. 

 According to Mr. Nillsson, indeed, when the 

 bear is attacked by the hunter, and whilst 

 beating a retreat, he satisfies himself by throw- 

 ing these missiles at his adversary. It is re- 

 ported that bruin is a bad marksman; for, 

 instead of sending his weapon in the direction 

 of his opponent, he not unfrequeutly whizzes 

 ifc over his own head. As I never witnessed 

 an exploit of the kind on the part of a bear, I 

 am by no means inclined to vouch for the 

 truth of these stories." 



In following the elk, the Northern chasseur 

 must have his dogs, which he often slips from 

 the couplings, and which not unfrequeutly 

 bring the old males to bay. In hunting this 

 animal, considerable art is necessary ; and the 

 eagerness and length of time with which they 

 pursue the game are astonishing. The dog 

 must always be allowed to start the elk ; for, 

 should the latter once get sight or scent of 

 the sportsman, he usually goes off at his best 

 pace. 



The great inconvenience of slipping a dog 

 on these occasions is, that if he should be good 

 for anything, and the elk does not stand to 

 bay, lie will hardly ever desist from pursuing 

 the animal; and thus the sportsman may be 

 thrown out altogether. 



To guard against a circumstance of this kind 

 happening, the Northern chasseurs — there 

 generally being two or more in company on 

 these occasions — are not unfrequeutly provided 

 with a second dog, which they retain in his 



leash. When, therefore, they can no longer 

 hear the challenges of the dog that is loosed 

 in the distance, the other enables them to con- 

 tinue the pursuit. Sometimes, however, dogs 

 go off altogether from their masters. "I have 

 heard of instances of their pursuing the elk 

 such great distances, that they have been lost 

 to their owners for days and days together, 

 and have perhaps cast up at last in an al- 

 together different part of the country." 



Of the determination and spirit of the dog, 

 even in pursuing and attacking the most fero- 

 cious animals, there are many examples on 

 record. Recently, a Erench journal chronicled 

 the following incidents in a wild boar hunt : — 

 The pack of hounds of M. Rattier de Verveines, 

 twenty-five in number, lately hunted a huge 

 wild boar in the forest near this town — Alengon 

 — but, after three hours' chase, could not bring 

 it to bay, though it stopped now and then to 

 attack the dogs. Twelve fresh hounds having 

 been set on, it at last stopped, and the dogs 

 attacked it with great determination. It, 

 however, ripped up several, and threw others 

 in the air. One of the keepers having arrived, 

 fired his carbine, but only broke one of the 

 fore feet of the animal. The chief keeper then 

 arrived, and fired two balls at its head, with- 

 out, however, producing any effect. He, how- 

 ever, re-loaded, and then lodged one ball in 

 the boar's muzzle, and the other behind his 

 ear. The last proved mortal, the animal fall- 

 ing dead. It was then found that two of the 

 dogs were dead, ten more mortally wounded, 

 and that several others were more or less in- 

 jured. The boar weighed about 3 cwt. 



The terrier has long been famous for his 

 game and hunting propensities. Recently a 

 stone-cutter, engaged at the Bodelwyddan 

 church, near St. Asaph, was taking a walk in 

 some fields, accompanied by a dog, of the cross- 

 bred terrier breed. The dog was hunting along 

 a small rivulet, which ran at the bottom of a 

 field, when a large male otter made his appear- 

 ance, running along the course of the brook. 

 The man was frightened, never having seen 

 such an animal before ; but the dog immedi- 

 ately attacked him, when a battle ensued, the 

 otter dragging the dog to a small pool, about 

 three or four feet deep, evidently with the in- 

 tention of drowning him. The man prevented 

 this by laying hold of the dog, and dragged 



