THE ALAN OR ALAUNT. 51 



Tales under the Knight's Story, that the Alan was a white 

 clog of vast size, (as large as a steer) and used for hunting the 

 lion or wild boar. 



Cotgrave calls the Alan a great ugly lop-eared brute, with 

 great dewlaps, used for hunting the boar. Other early writers 

 have stated that it was a large, strong, thick-headed, short 

 muzzled dog. These descriptions will only suit the mastiff, 

 and are identical with the peculiarities of the mastiffs depicted 

 on the Assyrian slabs, hunting lions, and the dogs figured on 

 the early British pottery. 



The white colour of the early English Alan and the Spanish 

 Alano of the present day is very suggestive of a Sarmatian or 

 Russian origin. The Tartarian and Siberian mastiffs are 

 often quite white, and the few specimens I have seen of 

 the breed conform much more nearly to the mastiffs on the 

 Assyrian slabs, than the Tibetian variety does. 



About the year 1865 Hvisited the kennel of the noted Dog 

 Dealer, Bill George, then at Kensal Newtown, Paddington. 

 London, and among a great-number of dogs he had his famous 

 English bulldog, a Spanish bulldog, the English mastiff Venus 

 (by Tiger 2345 out of Nell by I.ukey's Nelson out of his 

 Bounty), and a vast smooth coated mastiff, perfectly milk 

 white, except for patches on each side the face and covering 

 both ears. This dog's coat was short, very hard and almost 

 wire haired ; he was of vast size, in fact, as far as I can now 

 judge, was one of the largest dogs I have ever seen, and was 

 a true mastiff, both in type of head, massiveness of limbs, and 

 bulk of body, being totally distinct from the Great Dane or 

 boarhound type. Bill George stated that he was a Spanish 

 mastiff, and asked only the modest sum of 20 for him. 



