62 Idle Days in Patagonia. 
not on account of the assistance they have been to 
me, but because when I have wished to have a dog 
at my side I have found them more suitable than 
other kinds for companions. They are not stupid 
nor restless, but ready to fall in with a quiet mood, 
and never irritate by a perpetual impatient craving 
for notice. A fussy, demonstrative dog, that can 
never efface himself, I object to: he compels your 
attention, and puts you in a subordinate place: you 
are his attendant, not he yours. 
Major’s appearance attracted me from the first, 
and he, on his side, joyfully responded to my ad- 
vances, and at once attached himself to me, following 
me about the place as if he feared to lose sight of 
me even for a minute. My host, however, hastened 
to warn me not to take him with me when I went 
out shooting, as he was old and blind, and subject, 
moreover, to strange freaks, which made him worse 
than useless. He had formerly been an excellent 
retriever, he informed me, but even in his best days 
not wholly to be trusted, and now he was nothing 
but bad. 
I could scarcely credit the blindness, as he did 
not show it in his brown intelligent and wistful 
eyes, and always appeared keenly alive and interested 
in everything going on about him; but by experi- 
menting I found that he could scarcely see further 
than about six inches from his nose; but his hearing 
and scent were so good, and guided him so well, 
that no person on a slight acquaintance would have 
made the discovery of his defective sight. 
