210 THE POE DOG. 



veiling through the country in haste; he was as 

 usual carried in a palanquin, and the poor beast fol- 

 lowed by his side, stage after stage, until at length, 

 exhausted with exertion in a lonely part of the 

 route, he dropped, but kept looking wistfuUy after 

 the object of his choice till out of sight. 



In the great Asiatic islands, the cur dogs still 

 retain the general characters of the Pariahs, although 

 about insular situations and great straits, where 

 navigation more necessarily congregates, a greater 

 variety of dogs must be looked for. This, for in- 

 stance, is already the case in the South Sea Islands, 

 vvhere the influx of European dogs brought from 

 different countries, and of different breeds, are 

 rapidly extinguishing the native race, known by 

 the name of 



The Poe Dog (Canis Pacificus, Nob.), Uri-Mahoi 

 of Tahiti and Ilio of the Sandwich Islands, from 

 Uri a dog, and Mahoi indigenous. In form this 

 variety bears marks of decrepitude; the head is 

 sharpened at the muzzle, the ears erect, the back 

 long, the limbs crooked ; the hair is smooth, but re- 

 tains its primitive livery of tan or rusty ochre-colour. 

 It is a silent lazy animal, feeding on vegetable diet, 

 such as taro, bread-fruit, &c., and entirely reserved 

 for the table. Since the dogs of Europe have mul- 

 tiplied, the Poe dog is becoming daily more scarce, 

 and the practice of eating the flesh begins to be 

 abandoned, although it is considered a real delicacy 

 by the natives, and said by Europeans to be not un- 

 palateable ; but for this purpose vegetable food, with 



