DOMESTIC DOGS. 513 



period in which we have evidence, of the existence of domesticated dogs, then- wen- 

 several distinct breeds, more or less closely resembling some of those still extant, 

 has been urged as an important argument in favour of the multiple origin of 

 the group; but too much weight must not be attached to this. The main 

 argument in favour of the view of the multiple origin of the dog is that t In- 

 different early and original breeds of the domestic dogs of different count rirs 

 approximate in appearance to the wild species of the same regions. For instance, 

 the Eskimo dogs are exceedingly like wolves, and Mr. Bartlett states confidently 

 that we are justified in regarding them as nothing more than reclaimed wolves. 

 Indeed, the Eskimo are said to be in the constant habit of crossing their dogs 

 with wolves, in order to maintain their size and stamina. Then again some of 

 the more northerly tribes of the Indians of North America have wolf-like dogs, 

 their howls being so like those of wolves that even their owners can scarcely 

 distinguish between the two. On the other hand, the domestic dogs of the Hare 

 Indians closely resemble the coyote, which is the most common species in the 

 districts inhabited by those tribes. These dogs are stated, indeed, by Sir J. 

 Richardson to present precisely the same relation to the coyote as is borne by 

 the Eskimo dog to the common wolf. Then again the black wolf-dog of Florida 

 is almost indistinguishable from the black variety of the wolf characterising 

 that country. Further, many of the sheep-dogs and wolf-dogs of Europe resemble 

 the wolves inhabiting the same districts ; and Blyth was struck with the marked 

 resemblance of some of the pariah dogs of India to the wolf of the same country. 

 Moreover, in South-Eastern Europe and Southern Asia many of the domestic 

 dogs so closely resemble jackals, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish 

 between them. Still more important is the circumstance that some of the 

 domestic dogs of South Africa present a striking resemblance in form and colour 

 to the black-backed jackal of the same regions, although they have lost the distinct 

 black back characteristic of the latter. Equally noteworthy is the resemblance 

 observed between certain South American domestic dogs and the wild Azara's 

 dog of the same regions. From this evidence Darwin was inclined to believe that 

 domestic dogs were descended from the common wolf and the coyote, from the 

 various local varieties of the former, from the Indian wolf, from Azara's dog and 

 another South American species, from at least two species of jackals, and perhaps 

 from one or more extinct species. " Although it is possible or even probable 

 that domesticated dogs, introduced into any country and bred there for many 

 generations, might acquire some of the characters proper to the aboriginal 

 Canidce of the country, we can hardly thus account for introduced dogs having 

 given rise to two breeds in the same country, resembling two of its aboriginal 

 species." 



Mr. Bartlett, who is likewise a believer in the multiple origin of domestic dogs, 

 observes that " the fashion of hunting led, in all probability, to the separation of 

 domestic dogs into two well-known breeds, viz., those that hunt by sight, as dis- 

 tinguished from those that hunt by scent ; for there can be no doubt that at a very 

 early period dogs were used in the chase of wild animals. . . . The usefulness of 

 dogs being established at a very early period would naturally lead to great care 

 being bestowed upon them, and doubtless to the breeding of them in a domestic 



VOL. i. 33 



