160 THE ALPINE MASTIFF 



the Hospice flourished about 960, and died in 1008, aged 85, 

 I cannot think the painting can have been taken from life, 

 however it shows that the bloodhound (probably selected 

 from its keen sense of smell) was one of the earliest varieties 

 kept at the convent. 



Subsequent to this a dog more nearly approaching the 

 Spaniel type occupied the convent kennels, and was probably 

 identical with the Italian wolfdog, used by the shepherds to 

 defend their flocks in the mountains of Abruzzo. The instinct 

 of finding sheep and travellers buried beneath the snow is 

 seen in the Scotch colley, and sheepdogs generally, and it is 

 probable that the instinct for searching for travellers buried 

 beneath the snow in the Alps was in the St. Bernard, derived 

 from these white, long haired animals, and the modern rough 

 St. Bernard has probably a large percentage of their blood, 

 mixed with that of the smooth mastiff of the Alps. About 

 1820 the old rough variety almost died out through some 

 epidemic. 



Youatt writing of this variety, calls it the Alpine Spaniel, 

 stating it to be peculiar to the Alps and the district between 

 Switzerland and Savoy. Col. H. Smith states that he had 

 made drawings of several, which were all white, with black 

 or fulvous spots, and head and ears resembling the Spaniel 

 in type. Capt. T. Brown in his work gives a cut of one of 

 these Alpine dogs, representing a Jarge sort of Spaniel. 

 Martin, whose work (now very scarce) was published in 1845, 

 rightly classes these dogs as belonging to the Calabrian 

 variety. 



One characteristic, which has long been a subject of dispute, 

 namely the dewclaw, and is common to all the varieties of 

 sheepdog inhabiting mountainous districts, clearly points the 



