CHAPTER XX 
Tue CHEsaPEAKE Bay Doc 
a|NE of the few dogs developed in this country is the Chesa- 
peake Bay dog, its name being taken, obviously, from 
that great ducking resort on the Atlantic coast. The dog 
was developed for retrieving ducks, and naturally we 
have a dog well fitted for the work. 
There are three stories regarding the origin of this dog, one of which 
has to be put down as an impossibility, and from the other two the reader 
can take his choice or dismiss them both and conclude that a gradual 
process of selection of a dog fitted for the work developed the variety. 
The impossible story is that a retrieving bitch, in order to be kept away 
from the dogs, was tied up in a marsh near an otter den and subsequently 
had puppies which were supposed to own an otter as their sire, and from 
him came what is still called the otter coat. Another “tradition,” as these 
stories were called by the late James F. Pearson, of Baltimore, is that 
given upon the authority of George W. Kierstead, who was also one of the 
acknowledged experts of twenty years ago. Mr. Kierstead claimed that 
the breed originated in the place of its name, and “from the best authorities 
obtainable, we learn that about the year 1807 the ship Canton, of Baltimore, 
Md., fell in at sea with an English brig, in a sinking condition, bound from 
Newfoundland to England. ‘The crew were taken aboard the Canton, 
also two puppies, a dog and a bitch. The English crew were landed on 
their native soil, and the two puppies purchased from the captain for a 
guinea apiece and taken to Baltimore. The dog puppy, a dingy red in 
colour, was called Sailor, and was given to Mr. John Mercer, of West 
River. The bitch was black, was called Canton, and was given to Dr. 
James Stewart, of Sparrow Point. These dogs were compactly built— 
not so large as the Newfoundland; hair not long, but thick and wavy. 
They individually attained great reputation as duck retrievers, and it is 
said of them that they would follow a crippled duck for miles through ice 
and heavy sea, and if successful in a capture would always bring it back 
325 
