THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG. 215 



also foretell an approaching storm, by stopping and 

 scraping the snow with their feet ; in which case it 

 is always advisable, without delay, to look out for 

 some village, or other place of safety *. 



The Nj-ivfoumlland Dogs-\ were originally brought 

 from the country of which they bear the name; where 

 their great strength and docility render them ex- 

 tremely useful to the settlers, who employ them in 

 bringing down wood, on sledges, from the interior parts 

 of the country to the sea-coast. They have great 

 strength, and are able to draw very considerable 

 weights. Four of them yoked to a sledge will trail 

 three hundred-weight of* wood, with apparent ease, 

 for several miles. Their docility is as material to 

 their owners as their strength ; for they frequently 

 perform these services without a driver. As soon as 

 they are relieved of their load at the proper place, 

 they return in the same order to the woods from 

 whence they were dispatched ; where their labours 

 are commonly rewarded with a meal of dried fish j^. 



They are web-footed ; and can swdm extremely 

 fast, and with great ease. — Their extraordinary sa- 

 gacity and attachment to their masters, render them, 

 in particular situations, highly valuable. 



In the summer of 17 92, a gentleman went to Ports- 

 mouth for the benefit of sea-bathing. He was con- 

 ducted in one of the machines into the water; but 

 ])eing unacquainted with the steepness of the shore, 

 and no swimmer, he found himself, the instant he 



■^ Criere, I07. f Bew. Quad. 226. % Church. 



P 4 



