88 The Carnivora. 
attack. Though well mounted, they closed upon me rapidly, 
and, had I not drawn my revolver and shot the leader as 
he sprang at my legs, I should probably have been pulled 
out of the saddle and torn to pieces. Although the situation 
was serious, I could not but regret the necessity for killing 
that faithful fellow in the performance of a duty which so 
fully tested his courage and determination. 
In the sheepdog we have one of the most remarkable 
examples of the suppression of a natural instinct; for to 
the unregenerate canine mind a sheep must seem specially 
created to be run down and killed. Yet here we find the 
colley, and, indeed, almost any other breed we may instruct 
for the purpose, devoting its physical and mental powers 
to the care and defence of its natural prey, and thoroughly 
enjoying the work. I have known excellent sheepdogs made 
out of the most unpromising materials. A large French 
poodle—a veritable Jack-of-all-trades, retriever, cattle dog, 
opossum hunter, and mountebank—who had been discharged 
from a troupe of performing dogs on account of his quarrel- 
some disposition, I was told—would trot about among the 
flocks at lambing time, and gently bid a ewe and her lamb 
move on, as though he had the deepest interest in treating 
his master’s property with consideration. The sheep may 
have wondered what manner of dog they had to look after 
them when he suddenly recollected his old profession, and 
danced about on his hind legs every now and then; but it 
would not have been easy to match him for that persuasive 
way he had of managing a refractory or frightened flock. 
Another acquaintance of mine was a dog whose form be- 
tokened a cross between greyhound and bulldog—a lanky, 
broad-headed, and withal underhung specimen of intermixture 
quite comical to see—a cur in the ordinary acceptation of 
the term, no doubt. Lying out at night on guard by the 
sheep yards, many a severe and victorious encounter had he 
had with dingoes endeavouring to break into the peaceful 
fold, until he was speared by a party of blacks out on a 
