DOG KIND. 7 



" Although the wild dog, such as he was before 

 he came under the protection of mankind, is at 

 present utterly unknown, no such animal being 

 now to be found in any part of the world, yet 

 there are many that, from a domestic state, have 

 turned savage, and entirely pursue the dictates of 

 nature." In those deserted and uncultivated coun- 

 tries where the dog is found wild, they seem en- 

 tirely to partake of the disposition of the wolf; 

 they unite in large bodies, and attack the most 

 formidable animals of the forest, the couguar, the 

 panther, and the bison. In America, where they 

 were originally brought by the Europeans, and 

 abandoned by their masters, they have multiplied 

 to such a degree, that they spread in packs over 

 the whole country, attack all other animals, and 

 even man himself does not pass without insult. 

 They are there treated in the same manner as all 

 other carnivorous animals, and killed wherever 

 they happen to come : however, they are easily 

 tamed ; when taken home, and treated with kind- 

 ness and lenity, they quickly become submissive 

 and familiar, and continue faithfully attached to 

 their masters. Different in this from the wolf or 

 the fox, who, though taken never so young, are 

 gentle only while cubs, and, as they grow older, 

 give themselves up to their natural appetites of 

 rapine and cruelty. In short, it may be asserted, 

 that the dog is the only animal whose fidelity is 

 unshaken ; the only one who knows his master, 

 and the friends of the family ; the only one who 

 instantly distinguishes a stranger; the only one 

 who knows his name, and answers to the domes- 



