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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



never seen. Only two strains are preserved, so 

 far as can be learned — one in England and one 

 in New Jersey. Therefore it was a great pleas- 

 ure as well as a great assistance in the making 

 of the plate to meet face to face at the West- 

 minster show of 1918 the straight descendant 

 of the very dog whose photograph had been 

 the artist's model. 



The magnificent St. Bernard carries on better 

 than any other breed the qualities that charac- 

 terize the Newfoundland. For many years the 

 breed, which had been perfected and stabilized 

 in England, was used as a farmer's helper, 

 having the intelligence needed for a herding 

 dog and the weight and willingness to churn 

 and do other real work. 



His benignity and unquestioned gentleness 

 made him a very desirable guard and compan- 

 ion for children, and his deep voice rather than 

 his actual attack was usually a sufficient alarm 

 against unwonted intrusions. Aside from these 

 fine qualities, however, his mere beauty and 

 staunch dependability should have been suffi- 

 cient to preserve him from the fate that seems 

 to be almost accomplished. 



Weighing from 120 to 150 pounds and stand- 

 ing 25 to 27 inches at the shoulder, the deep- 

 furred, massive-headed, and kind-eyed New- 

 foundland was one of the most impressive of 

 dogs. He was strong, active, and leonine both 

 in looks and in action, having a rolling, loosely 

 knit gait. There were two recognized colors — 

 all black (white toes and breast spot were not 

 defects, however) and white, with large black 

 patches over the ears and eyes and on the body, 

 the latter being known as Landseer Newfound- 

 lands, because a dog of this type is the subject 

 of Sir Edwin Landseer's well-known painting, 

 "A Distinguished Member of the Humane So- 

 ciety." The forehead was domed almost to 

 the point of looking unnatural ; the broad fore- 

 head, deep jaw, flews, and dewlaps betokened 

 a kind and gentle nature. 



SPITZ 



(For illustration, see page 230) 



The "wolf spitz" of the mid- Victorian fan- 

 cier is now seldom seen in this country; yet he 

 is a very interesting dog, having much to do in 

 the gradual evolution of many types popular 

 today. Almost unaltered except in size, we see 

 him now as the popular toy Pomeranian (see 

 page 251) ; his influence is easily seen in the 

 saucy black schipperke (see page 258) ; there is 

 little doubt that he has a share in the various 

 shepherd dogs of central Europe, and one can 

 see strong probability that this strain reappears 

 in the fine dogs of the North, represented by 

 the Samoyed and sled dogs of the Eastern and 

 the Eskimos of the Western hemispheres, 

 though it is not clear how it got there. 



The true spitz is a dog weighing about 25 to 

 30 pounds, and the best dogs are white or 

 cream-color, though fawn, brown, and even 

 black dogs are found. The mixture of white 

 in patches with any of these "self" colors is an 

 unpardonable defect with the fancy. They are 



bright, fascinating, pretty dogs; but it must in 

 candor be said they are very "choicy" in mak- 

 ing friends and very ready to repel with sharp 

 teeth any unwelcome advances by dogs or hu- 

 mans they don't know. They are apt to be a 

 real responsibility to the owner on this account. 



The Eskimo dog, Samoyed (page 234), spitz 

 (page 230), and Chow-Chow (page 234), al- 

 though differing in size and sometimes in color, 

 probably had a common origin. Their dense 

 coats show that they all properly belong in the 

 North, and their straight, upright ears and 

 general appearance betray their blood rela- 

 tionship to the wolf. 



The spitz, usually solid white or solid black, 

 has long been a favorke in Germany. Thirty 

 or forty years ago it was popular in this coun- 

 try, but it is a dog of uncertain temper, and 

 that may be one reason why it is no longer in 

 favor, except in a reduced form as a toy dog. 



ALASKAN ESKIMO DOGS 



(For illustration, see page 230) 



There is no set standard for Eskimo dogs, 

 and nowadays one must go very far into the 

 Arctic to find the packs pure and uncontami- 

 nated with the blood of the white man's dogs; 

 for the best huskie is the strongest, most will- 

 ing, and obedient dog, whatever his lineage, 

 and these qualities have undoubtedly been in- 

 creased through the introduction of such 

 strains as the Newfoundland, Dane, shepherd 

 dog, and others of less pure but equally civil- 

 ized blood. 



There are a good many names for the Eskimo 

 dogs and a good many types, as their range 

 covers a stretch of country some 4,000 miles 

 long and 1,500 miles wide. It is therefore 

 easily understandable that the dog of the Aleu- 

 tians and Alaska should present quite a differ- 

 ent appearance from that of Hudson Bay or 

 Greenland. 



The typical Alaskan "huskie" is generally 

 black or dark, with white and buff markings, 

 distributed as shown in the plate. The brown 

 leader is the famous dog Napoleon, from 

 Nome, who went as leader to France in 191 5. 

 The white-faced dogs are "huskies" ; the 

 "masked" dog in the middle is a "malamute," 

 and the pale dogs are of the North Greenland 

 type. 



All Eskimos are strong, wolfy, self-reliant 

 dogs, with straight, strong legs, solid body, and 

 massive head; even of jaw, keen of eye and 

 ear, and well equipped by nature for the semi- 

 feral life they lead among their nomadic mas- 

 ters. They have the pricked ears, deep-furred 

 neck, dense waterproof coat, well-furred feet, 

 and gaily carried tail of all the Arctic and 

 northern Asiatic dogs, and are represented by 

 similar dogs across northern Lapland, Russia, 

 and Siberia. 



A good average weight for these dogs is 

 about 70 pounds, though they often scale much 

 more. They share with the Asiatic dogs the 

 peculiar horizontal width of jaw so marked in 

 the Chow. They are used by the Eskimos for 



