FOREIGN NON-SPORTING AND UTILITY BREEDS. 
in the arena, whose forequarters were one 
mass of scars received from dogs he had 
fought with or from bears he had baited. 
The same gentleman also brought home 
with him, from Paris, a bitch named Cora. 
Mr. Brooke purchased a red bitch named 
Dragonne, afterwards known as Amazone de 
Bordeaux, and the black masked red dog 
Tristran. 
In the same year a separate class for 
Dogues de Bordeaux 
was provided at the 
509 
Francisco. Matador du Midi had already 
had what in the old bear-baiting days was 
called a “‘jump ” at a bear, and Mr. Brooke 
tried him when eighteen months old at a 
large Russian bear which stood six feet 
high on his hind legs. ‘‘The dog showed 
great science in keeping his body as much 
sideways as possible, to avoid the bear’s 
hug, and threw the bear fairly and squarely 
on the grass three times.” 
Chow Chow show held 
at the Aquarium, 
when Mr. G. R. Krehl 
judged. Mr. H. C. 
Brooke, who has 
kindly supplied the 
information I am 
using, became enthu- 
siastic over the breed 
and soon owned many 
examples, including 
Sans-Peur, Diane, 
Bart, and a fawn red- 
masked dog with a 
wonderful head cov- 
ered with great ropes 
of wrinkle, who was 
transferred to Mr. 
THE TYPICAL DOGUES DE BORDEAUX SANS-PEUR and LA GOULUE. 
Haslam, and was ex- 
hibited successfully 
under the name of 
Brutus. These dogs 
were all of the same type as the magnifi- 
cent pair Sultane and Buffalo, shown some 
years previously at the Tuileries, and 
acknowledged by judges of all nationalities 
to’ be perfect. 
Wishing to possess a dog of the real 
fighting strain, Mr. Brooke imported from 
Bordeaux a young fawn dog of gladiatorial 
lineage. This dog, Matador du Midi, had 
among its ancestors the celebrated Caporal, 
for seven years champion of the Pyrenees, 
who weighed 108 pounds, and stood nearly 
25 inches at the shoulder, and had a skull 
circumference of 26 inches ; Megere, a bitch 
who had been pitted against wolf, bear and 
hyena; and Hercules, who was finally 
killed by a jaguar in a terrific battle in San 
FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF MR. H. C. BROOKE. 
Photograph by A. R. Dresser. 
With’ these materials considerable pro- 
gress was made in bringing the Dogue de 
Bordeaux to the knowledge of English 
fanciers. A. club was formed, and Mr. 
Brooke in conjunction with M. Mégnin, of 
L’Eleveur, Dr. Wiart, and other authorities 
in France, drew up a description of the 
breed which is still the accepted standard. 
Classes were being provided at many shows, 
and all was looking rosy when the anti- 
cropping regulation of the Kennel Club put 
a sudden period to all enthusiasm. A 
Dogue de Bordeaux with his natural ears 
is not to be admired, and all efforts to 
popularise the breed in England abruptly 
ceased. 
Some of the more notable specimens 
