8 CASSELI/S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. 



as his friend, his other self, his iluppd yaiujer ; so that " Love me, love my clog," 1ms pa ;sed into a 

 proverb, 



Of dogs, as is well known, there is ;i great variety : we shall proceed now to consider them as 

 forming several groups, and illustrate, by well-attested facts, their respective powers and di.| options. 

 And, true it is 



'That learn we might, if not too proud to atoop 

 To quadruped instructors, many a goud 

 And useful quality, and virtue, too, 

 Karely exemplified among ourselves. 

 Attachment never to be weantd or changed 

 By any change of fortune; proof alike 



Against unkindness, absence, and neglect ; 

 Fidelity that neither bribe nor threat 

 Cm move or warp; and gratitude fur Miidl 

 And trivial favours, lasting as the life, 

 And glistening in the d} ing eye." 



" Man is the god of the dog." 



All the great and ancient races of dogs may be regarded as divided into a rough and smooth 

 variety, which appear to have been independent of climate ; for both are found to continue under 

 opposite circumstances. In the first group of dogs we shall notice, the ears are erect, or nearly so ; the 

 nose is pointed ; the hair is long, often woolly ; the form is robust and muscular ; and the aspect more 

 or less wolfish. 





THE MACKENZIE RIVER, OR HARE -INDIAN DOG.* 



THIS elegant dog has an elongated pointed muzzle, sharp erect .ears, and a bushy tail, not carried erect, 

 but only slightly curved upwards, and a generally slender contour. In its native country, the banks 



of the Mackenzie River, and of the Great 

 Bear Lake, traversed by the Arctic circle, 

 this variety of the dog does not bark, 

 and a pair brought to England, many 

 years ago, never acquired this canine 

 language. One, however, born in the 

 Zoological Gardens, made his voice sound 

 as loudly as any other dog of the same size 

 and age. 



The hair of this animal is full, deep, 

 and fine : in summer it is marked by 

 patches of slate gray, but in winter it 

 becomes white, and more thick and furry. 

 It is of great use to the inhabitants of 

 these bleak regions, where the moose and 

 the reindeer are objects of the chase during 

 the winter. This dog has not, indeed, 

 sufficient strength to encounter these ani- 

 mals ; but, from the lightness of its body and the breadth of its feet, it runs easily over the snow 

 without sinking, if the slightest crust covers the surface, and can overtake the quarry and keep it at 

 bay till the hunters come up. 



It was perhaps formerly spread over the northern parts of America, but, being fitted only for the 

 ehase, it has, since the introduction of guns, given way to the mongrel race sprang from the Esqui- 

 maux, Newfoundland, and this very breed, with an occasional intermixture of European kinds. Other 

 dogs are used by the Indians for sledges. 



THE HAKE-INDIAN Dud. 



THE DINGO, OR AUSTRALIAN DOG. 



PACKS of this dog roam through the wilds of Australia, preying upon the kangaroo and the flocks 

 of the settler. It is called by the natives of New South Wales WarnujitJ, and is about as large as a harrier, 



* Canis lagopus. 



