AUSTRALIAN Docs. 519 



of wolves for miles, but there are liars everywhere. They will hunt a kangaroo for hours, some- 

 times I believe days, by sight and by smell until they tire it down. There used to be 

 generally on stations a reward given for each tail brought in it was, as a rule, half a pound 

 of tobacco ; and immense quantities of poison (strychnine) is laid down for them. Hunted with 

 a couple of Kangaroo Dogs, they give a fair run, and die very game you never hear a 

 whimper while they are being worried they die fighting to the last." 



Having thus given Mr. Beaver's ideas of the Dingo, we add those of Mr. W. K. Taunton, 

 who Is an authority on the subject of domesticated foreign dogs. The only point at which 

 Mr. Beaver and Mr. Taunton appear to be at issue is in the carriage of the tail, and here 

 Mr. Beaver's remarks appear to account for their difference of opinion. 



Mr. Taunton writes : 



" The Dingo, or, as it is called by the natives, ' Warragal,' is the wild dog of Australia, in 

 which country it causes great annoyance and loss to the inhabitants by the havoc it makes 

 among their flocks. Large numbers are annually being destroyed, so that in some parts of the 

 country they are now becoming scarce. Like most other wild dogs, the Dingo bears a consider- 

 able resemblance to the wolf, especially in head, which is wide between the ears ; the body 

 is rather long, with a moderately short and thick coat and bushy tail, which, when the dog is 

 in motion, is generally carried high and slightly curled, but not over the hip. The colour is 

 almost invariably a reddish-brown ; white feet and a white tip to the tail are looked upon by 

 some as typical of the breed. The Dingo stands about 22 inches at the shoulder, and is a 

 strongly-made, very active dog, with powerful jaws, and teeth unusually large in proportion to 

 the size of the dog. I see no reason why the Dingo should not become as domesticated as 

 any other dog within a short space of time. Possibly it might take a generation or two before 

 their innate wildness would be bred out, but much would of course depend under what con- 

 ditions the puppies are reared. There is a general impression that these dogs are treacherous, 

 and not to be trusted. I have owned two of this breed, and cannot say, as far as my experience 

 goes, that I have found them so. My best specimen I gave to a friend in Paris, and I believe 

 the dog is now located in the Jardin des Plantes. These dogs do not bark, but make a 

 peculiar noise, which can scarcely be called howling. There are a handsome pair of Dingoes 

 now in the Zoological Gardens which have lately bred, but the mother destroyed and must 

 have eaten the puppies when they were a few days old. The same thing occurred only a few 

 days before with the wild dog of Sumatra, a dog which is lower in the leg and more foxy 

 in appearance than the Dingo." 



The illustration which accompanies these remarks is that of Lupus, a Dingo belonging to 

 Mr. Walter K. Taunton, the writer of the above. The chief fault in this Dingo is in the 

 carriage of his tail, which is much too high. 



