AMEEiOAN DOGS.] THE DOG, AND ITS VAEIETIES; 



[apeican dogs. 



called Tagoua in Paraguay, where they are very 

 common, and dwell in caves. They formerly 

 abounded in Hajti, Cuba, and all the Carib- 

 bean islands ; but are now extirpated there. 

 Mr. Darwin alludes to wild dogs in Banda 

 Oriental as attacking sheep. According to 

 Oexmelin these dogs resemble the greyhound ; 

 but others more accurately describe them as 

 having the head flat and elongated, the muzzle 

 sharp, the body slender, and the general aspect 

 wild and savage. They are strong and active, 

 and hunt tlieir prey in packs. 



It would appear, however, that the Euro- 

 peans, on their arrival, found native dogs both 

 in the Caribbean Islands and in Peru. " Those 

 belonging to the savages of the Antilles," says 

 Euffon, " had the head and ears very long, and 

 resembled a fox in appearance." He also 

 adds that the Indians of Peru had a large and 

 a smaller kind of dog, which they named Alco, 

 and that those of the Isthmus were ugly, with 

 rough, long hair, and erect ears. 



"With respect to the Alco of Peru and 

 Mexico, nothing more is known about it than 

 what Dampier and Fernandez mention. The 

 latter describes two breeds — viz., the fat Alco, 

 or Michuacaneus, called by the natives 

 Ytzcuinte porzotli, and the broad-footed Alco, 

 or Techichi. Both were small, some of the 

 latter race not much exceeding a guinea-pig 

 in size. The head was small, the back arched, 

 the body thick, the ears peiiduloua, and the 

 tail short. An individual, probably of this race, 

 was bz'ought to this country from the neigh- 

 bourhood of Mexico, by Mr. Bullock ; it was 

 white, variegated with black and reddish- 

 yellow. This specimen was procured in the 

 mountains of Durango, where it bore the 

 name of Acolotte It died in a few days, and 

 its stufted skin formed part of a collection ex- 

 hibited in Piccadilly, being placed under a 

 glass with a huge bull-frog, which equalled it 

 in size. Dogs resembling the Alco were seen 

 as early as 1492, in several of the West 

 Indian Islands, by Columbus ; and were also 

 found in Martinique and Guadaloupe, in 1635, 

 by Erench navigators, who describe them as 

 resembling the little Turkish, or Barbary doo^s, 

 without hair; adding, that they were eaten by 

 the inhabitants. All trace of them is now lost. 



The probability is that these Alco do"-s were 

 not indigenes to the soil, either in tho islands 

 804 



or on the continent of Peru ; but were brought 

 by some of the tribes by whom South America 

 was populated. The breed might have been 

 introduced by that strange people (of Malay 

 descent ?) who founded the Peruvian and 

 Mexican empires. In the South Sea Islands, 

 dogs of a similar race exist, which are fed on 

 vegetable food, and eaten, as were the Alco 

 dogs in South America. 



AFRICAN DOGS. 



"Wild dogs exist in Congo, Guinea, and 

 other parts of Africa, hunting in packs, and 

 dwelling in caves or burrows. Clapperton met 

 with them in the country beyond Timbuctoo. 

 In the island of TenerifFe, a large wolfish 

 breed of dogs is domesticated, and valued for 

 the chase. 



Major Denham used African hounds in 

 Africa for hunting the gazelle ; in the chase of 

 which, their exquisite scent and extraordinary 

 speed were displayed to great advantage. They 

 would frequently quit the line of scent for the 

 purpose of taking a direct, instead of a circui- 

 tous course — sportsmen call this cutting off a 

 double — and recover the scent again with 

 wonderful facility. These beautiful hounds 

 were brought to England, and consigned to 

 the Tower menagerie ; where, shut up in a 

 close den, they were doubtless miserable. In- 

 stead of exerting their energies in pursuit of 

 the antelope on the plains of Africa, here they 

 were prisoners, with no means of escape, and 

 with no room or opportunity for the exercise 

 of their powers and instincts. They were not, 

 however, of a wild breed; in symmetry and 

 action they were perfect models ; and in 

 temper were gentle, excepting that confine- 

 ment rendered the female irritable. 



The Cape hunting-dog is a daring and fero- 

 cious animal ; and as the Dingo is in Australia, so 

 it is one of the pests of Southern Africa. It is a 

 complete dog, or canis, in the form of the skull 

 and the characters of the teeth ; it has, however, 

 as in the hyaenas, only four toes on the 

 anterior feet, and the same on the feet behind. 

 In figure it is tall, lightly built, but muscular 

 and well proportioned ; the limbs are long, 

 the ears large and erect, tlie jaws powerful, 

 and the teeth strong. Its aspect is wild and 

 fierce, and its disposition treacherous. The fur 

 »s close and of a sandy yellow, irregularly 



