302 



THE BOARHOUND. 



so quick and agile, that, if the Dog were to retain his hold, the otter would twist round 

 and inflict a severe bite, so the Dog bites as fast and as often as he can, in order to give 

 his antagonist the fewest possible chances of retaliation. 



When a number of these Dogs are placed in the same kennel they are sadly apt to 

 fight, and to inflict fatal injuries on each other from the sheer love of combat. If two of 

 the Dogs begin to quarrel and to fight, the others are sure to join them ; so that, from the 

 bad temper of a single Dog, half the pack may lose their lives. 



As these Dogs are obliged to endure the most turbulent weather and the coldest 

 streams, they are furnished with a very strong, rough, and wiry coat, which is capable of 

 resisting the effects of cold and storm, and is also of much service in blunting the 

 severity of the otter's bite. The face and muzzle are guarded with a profusion of longish 

 and very rough " whisker " hairs. 



Whether this animal is the production of a cross-breed between two families of Dogs, 

 or whether it forms a distinct family in itself, is a mooted point. According to the best 

 authorities, the latter opinion seems to be the best founded. It is thought by those who 

 consider the Dog to be of mixed breed, that it was originally the offspring of the deer- 

 hound and terrier ; but as it retains the full melodious note of the hound, which is 

 always injured or destroyed by an admixture with the sharp-voiced terrier, it appears to 

 owe more of its parentage to that animal. Be this as it may, it is now treated as a 

 separate breed, and may claim the honors of a pure lineage. In all probability it is a 

 variety of the old southern hound, which was selected carefully for the work which it is 

 intended to perform, and which in course of time has so settled down to its vocation as 

 to have undergone that curious variation in form and aspect that is always found in 

 animals or men which have long been employed in the same kind of work. 



Any one of moderate experience among Dogs and their habits can, on seeing the 

 animal, determine its avocation, just as any one who is conversant with men and their 

 manners can, on seeing a man, at once announce his calling. There is something in 

 the little peculiarities of the formation which tells its tale to the observing eye. There 

 is a kind of moral and intellectual, as well as physical, atmosphere, that seems to sur- 

 round every creature, and to tell of its essential nature, its education, and its habits. 

 Animals appear to be peculiarly sensitive to this surrounding emanation, and to be at- 

 tracted or repelled by an influence as powerful, though as invisible, as that which 

 attracts or repels the different poles of a magnet. We feel it ourselves in the instinct- 

 ive cordiality or repugnance which we perceive when brought in contact with a fresh 

 acquaintance, and which very seldom misleads those who are content to follow their 

 instincts. The nature of each being seems to pervade its every particle as it were to 

 overflow and shed its influence, consciously or otherwise, on every object with which 

 it enters into communion. There are some men whose very presence warms and en- 

 livens all whom they approach, and that not from any suavity of manner, for such men 

 are often most abrupt and truth-telling in their demeanor ; and there are others who, 

 however urbane may be their deportment, seem to cast from them a cold and freezing 

 atmosphere that congeals all those around them, like the icebergs of the northern seas. 



Although, on examining the form of the Otterhound, we should not be able to point 

 out the description of game which it is accustomed to pursue, we should at once pro- 

 nounce it to be a strong and hardy animal, a good swimmer, possessed of a delicate 

 nose, and of stout courage. In each of these accomplishments the Otterhound excels, 

 and needs them all when it ventures to cope with the fierce prey which it is taught to 

 pursue. 



The Otterhound is a tolerably large Dog, measuring nearly two feet in height at the 

 shoulder. This is the height of the male, that of the female is an inch or two less. 



THE FINE animal which is represented in the accompanying engraving can hardly be 

 considered as belonging to a separate breed, but rather as a mixture between several 

 families of domesticated Dogs. 



According to competent judges, the BOARHOUND is derived from a mingling of the 

 mastiff with the greyhound, crossed afterwards with the terrier. The reader will see why 

 these three animals are employed for the purpose of obtaining a Dog which is capable of 



