106 NATURAL HISTORY. 



too many instances to allow of its being looked upon as a mere coincidence. Sir John Richardson says : 

 < ; The resemblance between the Wolves and the Dogs of those Indian nations who still preserve their 

 ancient mode of life continues to be very remarkable, and it is nowhere more so than at the northern 

 extremities of the Continent, the Eskimo Dogs being not only extremely like the Grey Wolves of 

 the Arctic circle in form and colour, but also nearly equalling them in size. The Dog has generally 

 a shorter tail than the Wolf, and carries it more frequently curled over the hip, but the latter practice 

 is not totally unknown to the Wolf, although that animal, when under the observation of man, being 

 "enerally apprehensive of danger or on the watch, seldom displays this mark of satisfaction." And 

 o wain, "The resemblance between the northern Wolves and the domestic Dog of the Indians is so 

 n-eat, that the size and strength of the Wolf seem to be the only difference. I have more than once 

 mistaken a band of Wolves for the Dogs of a party of Indians ; and the howl of the animals of both 

 species is prolonged so exactly in the same key, that even the practised ear of an Indian fails at 

 times to discriminate them." 



As the Eskimo and Indian Dogs resemble the North American Wolf (C. lupus), so the Dog 

 of the Hare Indians, a very distinct breed (see below), resembles the Prairie Wolf (C. lalrans). 

 So great is this resemblance that Richardson says, " I could detect no marked difference in form 

 except the smallness of its [the Dog's] cranium, nor in the fineness of its fur, and arrangement of its 

 spots of colour. The length of the fur on the neck, back part of the cheeks, and top of the head, was 

 the same in both species. It, in fact, bears the same resemblance to the Prairie Wolf that the 

 Eskimo Dog does to the great Grey Wolf." Another observer remarks that, except in the matter 

 of barking, there is no difference whatever between the black Wolf-dog of the Indians of Florida and 

 the Wolves of the same country. The Dogs also breed readily with the wild animals they so 

 closely resemble. The Indians often cross their Dogs with* Wolves to improve the breed, and in South 

 America the same process is resorted to between the domesticated and the wild Dogs. 



The same phenomenon is seen in many kinds of Dog in the Old World. The Shepherd Dog of 

 the plains of Hungary is white or reddish-brown, has a sharp nose, short erect ears, shaggy coat, and 

 bushy tail, and so much resembles a Wolf, that Mr. Paget, who gives the description, says he has 

 known a Hungarian mistake a Wolf for one of his own Dogs. There is also a close resemblance 

 between some of the Indian Pariah Dogs and the Indian Wolf. Some of the domestic Dogs of Egypt, 

 both at the present day and in the condition of mummies, closely resemble the Wolf of that country ; 

 " whereas the domestic Dogs of Nubia, and certain other mummied Dogs, have the closest relation to 

 a wild species of the same country . . . which is only a form of the common Jackal." Dogs have, 

 moreover, been knov/n to cross with Jackals as well as with Wolves. Lastly, in Africa, some of the 

 natives assert that their half-tamed Dogs are derived from Foxes ; and the Pogs of the Bosjesman 

 have a striking resemblance to the black-backed Jackal (C. mesomelas), which, as we shall see, is a 

 South African variety. 



These facts are so significant and so important that they in reality leave only one difficulty to be 

 settled, and that is the question of voice. As we stated above, all domestic Dogs bark, while all wild 

 Canidce express their feelings only by howls. But the difficulty here is not so great as it seems. Some 

 domestic Dogs left on the island of Juan Fernandez entirely lost the habit of barking in thirty-three 

 years, and a few individuals removed after that period only re-acquired it very slowly ; thus, domestic 

 Dogs allowed to run wild forget how to bark. On the other hand, Jackals, wild Dogs, and Wolf-pups 

 reared by bitches, readily acquire the habit. Thus the last stumbling-block in the argument disappears, 

 and we are forced to agree with Mr. Dai-win, from whom many of the above facts are taken,* that " it 

 is highly probable that the domestic Dogs of the world have descended from two good species of Wolf 

 (C. lupus and C. latrans), and from two or three other doubtful species of Wolves (namely, the European, 

 Indian, and North African forms) ; from at least one or two South American Canine species ; from 

 several races or species of the Jackal ; and perhaps from one or more extinct species ;" and that the 

 blood of these, " in some cases mingled together, flows in the veins of our domestic breeds." 



There is no animal so interesting as the Dog for the study of the relation between man and the 

 lower animals in the matter of instinct, reason, conscience, and the like. As no animal has been so 



* Darwin, " Animals and Plants under Domestication." 



