THE POMERANIAN. 



423 



been for a vast number of centiiries, and 

 had been e\-en cruelly honoured by being 

 sacrificed to Flora in the remote days of 

 the old Latin gods." 



Dr. Keller, in his "Lake Dwellings" 

 {English translation, 1866), regards the 

 first centurj' of the Christian era as the 

 date when the Swiss lake dwellings ceased 

 to be occupied. If this is so, and if remains 

 of the Pomeranian have been foimd in 

 these verj^ lake dwellings, Ouida's state- 

 ment with regard to the antiquity of the 

 Pomeranian in Italy becomes perfectly 

 possible. 



At Athens, in the street of Tombs, there 

 is a representation of a little Spitz leaping 

 up to the daughter of a familj- as she is 

 taking leave of them, which bears the date 

 equivalent to 56 B.C., and in the British 

 Museum there is an ancient bronze jar of 

 Greek workmanship, upon which is engraved 

 a group of winged horses at whose feet 

 there is a small dog of undoubted Pomeranian 

 type. The date is the second century b.c. 



It is now generally accepted that, whcre\er 

 our Pomeranian originated, he is a Northern 

 or Arctic breed. Evidence goes to show 

 that his native land in prehistoric times 

 was the land of the Samoj-edes, in the 

 north of Siberia, along the shores of the 

 Arctic Ocean. The Samoyad dog is being 

 gradually introduced into England, and 

 good specimens can be frequently' seen at 

 the principal ghows. The similarity between 

 our large white Pomeranian and the Samoyad 

 is too great to be accidental. The prob- 

 ability that the Pomeranian is descended 

 from the Samoyad is rendered more credible 

 by the following extract from Henry See- 

 bohm's book, " Siberia in Europe." Speak- 

 ing of the Samoyad dogs, he saj's : " The 

 dogs were all white except one which was 

 quite black ; they were stiff-built little 

 animals, somewhat like Pomeranian dogs, 

 with fox-like heads and thick bushy hair, 

 their tails turned up over the back, and 

 curled to one side. This similarity between 

 the Pomeranian and Samoyede dogs is a 

 curious fact, for Erman mentions a race of 

 people who, he says, resemble the Finns, 

 both in language and features, in a district 



of Pomerania called Samogritia, inhabited 

 by the Samaites." 



We are dra\\-n therefore to the conclusion 

 that in prehistoric times a migration of 

 the Samoyedes was made from their native 

 land into Pomerania, the most eastern pro- 

 Nince of Prussia bordering on the Baltic 

 Sea, and that these people took with them 

 their dogs, which were the progenitors of 

 the present race of Pomeranian or Spitz. 



But in anj' case the Pomeranian dog, so 

 called, has been a native of various parts 



DOG OF SPITZ TYPE. 



From an ENCWAvtD BRONZE Jar of Grcek Workma 



CCNTURV B.C (In the BRITISH MuSEUM.) 



of Europe from verj' early times. His 

 advent into England has been of com- 

 paratively recent date, at least in any great 

 numbers, so far as can be ascertained, since 

 no ancient records exist on this question. 

 Gainsborough, however, has a painting of 

 the famous actress, Mrs. Robinson, with a 

 large white Pomeranian sitting by her side. 



In Rees' Encyclopaedia, published in 1816, 

 a good picture of a White Pomeranian is 

 given with a fairly truthful description. 

 In this work he is said to be " larger than 

 the common sheep dog." Rees gives his 

 name as Cams Pomeranius, from Linnfeus, 

 and Chien Loup, from Buffon. From these 

 examples, therefore, we may infer that the 

 large Pomeranian, or Wolf Spitz, was already 

 known in England towards the end of the 

 eighteenth century at least. There are, 

 however, no systematic registers of Pomer- 

 anians prior to the year 1S70. 



Even ten years later than this last date, 



