266 DAYS OF DEER-STALKING, 



Of the courage of the ancient deer-hound there can be 

 little doubt, from the nature of the game for which he was 

 used, but if any proof were wanting, an incident mentioned 

 by Evelyn in his Diary, 1670, when present at a bull fight 

 in the bear garden, is conclusive. He says, " The bulls 

 (meaning the bull dogs) did exceeding well, but the Irish 

 Wolf dog exceeded, which was a tall greyhound, a stately 

 creature indeed, who beat a cruele mastiff." 



Here then is further proof that the Irish wolf dog was 

 a greyhound, and there can be little doubt that it is the 

 same dog that we find mentioned under the name of " the 

 Irish Greyhound." 



On comparison, therefore, of the descriptions given of the 

 Vertraha of Nemesian, the English greyhound of the 15th 

 century, the Irish wolf dog, and the Highland deer-hound, 

 we find a strong similarity ; and when it is recollected, that 

 the game for which they were all used was the same, and 

 that the term miol chh was the one generally used for this 

 species of dog over a great portion of the country, we have 

 strong reasons to conclude that they were one and the same 

 kind, the more particularly as we find the Irish wolf dog 

 described as a greyhound, and the Highland deer-hound as 

 an Irish greyhound ; and find that the drawings which 

 have reached us of the Scotch and Irish dogs, bear so strong 

 a resemblance to each other. 



From the above authorities, it is obvious that this race 

 of dogs has been known in this country for many centuries, 

 and for a greater period of time than any other sort; indeed, 

 it is the opinion of most naturalists, and, among others, 

 Buffon, that they are an original race, and natives of Britain. 

 On this subject he has the following remarks : " The Irish 

 greyhounds are of a very ancient race, and still exist 

 (though their number is small) in their original climate : 

 they were called by the ancients, dogs of Epirus, and 

 Albanian dogs. Pliny has narrated, in the most elegant 

 and energetic terms, a combat between one of these dogs, 

 first with a lion, and then with an elephant; they are 

 much larger than -the mastiff. In France they are so rare, 

 that I never saw above one of them, which appeared 

 when sitting to be about five feet high, and resembled 

 in figure the Danish dog, but greatly exceeded him in 



