282 SHEEP HUSriANDRi' IN THE SOUTH. 



turn, anil the letiibiitiou was awful ! It was upon a large, powerful iiias.tiff" we kept ait « 

 ni^ht-ijiiaril in the Bank. He then put forth liis stiength, which j>roved tremenilous ' H.j 

 coat hung about him in thick, loose, matted folds, dirty and nncaied-for, — so that I jiresunie 

 a dot^ never got hold of anything about him deeper than his tliick, tough skin, which wae 

 twice too large to fit him anywhere, and especially around the neck and shoulders. The 

 only other evidence of his uncommon sitnMigth wliich I had observed, vvns the perfect cum 

 Tirith whicli he threw himself over a high wall or i)aling, which often drew my attention, 

 beieause he seemed to me wanting in that particular j)hysical development whicii we are 

 iccustomed to consider as necessary to muscular power. He was flat-chested, and flat- 

 sided, with a somewhat long back and narrow loin. (My drawing foreshortens his length.) 

 His necl<, forearm and thigh certainly indicated strength. If the Spanish wolf and the dog 

 ever cahabit. he most assuredly h;id in him such a cross; the very effluvia of tiie animal be- 

 trayed it. In all in which he difl'ered from the besiutiful Spanish shepherd-dog, he was 

 wolfish both in form and habits.* But, though no parlor beauty, Arrogante was un^uestioa- 

 ably a dog of immense value to the mountain-sliepherd. Several times, he had met the 

 lar^e wolf of the A[)penines, and wiihout aid slain his antagonist. The sheplierds who bred 

 him said it was an afiair of no doubtful issue, when he encountered a wolf single-handed. 

 His history, after,.^reaching England, you know." 



Some portions of that history I cannot resist the temptation of narrating, 

 as illustrative of the character of this interesting breed, and commemora- 

 tive of the virtues of the stern, but honest and dauntless Arrogante. ll' 

 his courage was tinctured with ferocity, and sometimes instigated by a 

 revenge, going a little beyond the canon which pefmits bad debts to be 

 paid in kind, he did everything opcnh/ ! He made no sneakish, cur-like 

 attacks, on the heels of his foe. By him, as by Robin Hood and his merry 

 men — commemorated by Drayton — 



" Who struck below the kn e [wasi not counted then a man ;" 



and his spring was always at the throat of his quarry. But he made not 

 that deadly spring until he gave " warning fair and true," and never with- 

 out provocation.t 



Soon after Arrogante's arrival in England, a ewe under his charge 

 chanced to get cast in a ditch, duritig the temporary absence of the Span- 

 ish shepherd who had accompanied the flock and dog at their importation. 

 An English shepherd, in a spirit of vaunting, insisted on relieving the fal- 

 len sheep, in preference to having the absent shepherd called, though 

 warned by his companions to desist. The stern stranger dog met him at 

 the gate and also warned him with sullen growls, growing more menacing 

 as he approached the sheep. The shepherd was a powerful and bold man, 

 and felt that it was too late now to retract with credit. On reaching the 

 sheep, he bent carefully forward, with his eyes on the dog, which instantly 

 made a spring at his throat. A quick forward movement of his arm saved 

 his throat, but the arm was so dreadfully lacerated that immediate am- 

 putation became necessary. To save the dog, which had but done his 

 duty, as he had been taught it, from the popular excitement, he was ship- 

 ped in a vessel which sailed thfit very afternoon, from Bristol for America. 

 He was sent to Francis Rotch, Esq., then a resident of New-Bedford. 



For a long time Arrogante would not pay the least attention to his new 

 master ; the voice of the latter would scarcely arrest him for a moment. 

 After attempting in vain, for several weeks, to obtain some recognition ol 

 mastership from him, Mr. Rotch chained him securely to a tree, punished 

 him severely, and then, with not a few misgivings, released him. But he 

 submitted, for he well knew that the punishment came from his master, 

 and afterward gave a cold, haughty obedience to all required of him. 



• I never have gupposed, from the eeveral conversations which I have had with Mr. Rotcb on the enb 

 Ject, that Arrogante was nnythine less thnn a thorough-bred Spanish shepherd-dog. Mr. Rotch here meHng 

 (hat he was Rf ill-faTored individual of the familv— and he thinks that this may be owing to n barsinistel 

 on his escutcheon, left there by some wolfish gallant. His temper was even kstferiKmit than Mr. Powell 

 describes that of At* Spanish dogs. 



I Was the^ anything wolflikt in all of this t 



