MAMMALIA. ~ 79 
DESCRIPTION, 
The Hare Indian Dog has a mild countenance, with, at times, an expression of demureness. 
It has a small head, slender muzzle; erect, thickish ears; somewhat oblique eyes; rather 
slender legs, and a broad hairy foot, with a bushy tail, which it usually carries curled over its 
right hip. It is covered with long hair, particularly about the shoulders, and at the roots of 
the hair, both on the body and tail, there is a thick wool. The hair on the top of the head is 
long, and on the posterior part of the cheek it is not only long, but being also directed back- 
_ wards, it gives the animal, when the fur is in prime order, the appearance of having a ruff 
round the neck. Its face, muzzle, belly, and legs, are of a pure white colour, and there is a 
white central line passing over the crown of the head and the occiput. The anterior surface of 
the ear is white, the posterior yellowish-gray or fawn-colour. The end of the nose, the eye- 
lashes, the roof of the mouth, and part of the gums, are black. There is a dark patch over 
the eye. On the back and sides there are larger patches of dark blackish-gray or lead-colour 
mixed with fawn-colour and white, not definite in form, but running into each other. The 
tail is bushy, white beneath and at the tip. The feet are covered with hair which almost con- 
ceals the claws. Some long hairs between the toes project over the soles, but there are naked 
callous protuberances at the root of the toes and on the soles, even in the winter time, as in 
all the wolves described in the preceding pages. The American foxes, on the contrary, have 
the whole of their soles densely covered with hair in the winter. Its ears are proportionably 
nearer each other than those of the Esquimaux dog. 
The size of the Hare Indian Dog is inferior to that of the prairie wolf, but 
rather exceeds that of the red American fox. Its resemblance, however, to the 
former is so great, that, on comparing live specimens, I could detect no marked 
difference in form, (except the smallness of its cranium,) nor in the fineness of the 
fur, and arrangement of its spots of colour. The length of the fur on the neck, 
back part of the cheeks, and top of the head, was the same in both species. It, 
in fact, bears the same relation to the prairie wolf that the Esquimaux Dog does 
to the great gray wolf. It is not, however, a breed that is cultivated in the districts 
frequented by the prairie wolf, being now confined to the northern tribes, who 
have been taught the use of fire-arms within a very few years. Before that 
weapon was introduced by the fur-traders, a dog, so well calculated by the lightness 
of its body and the breadth of its paws, for passing over the snow, must have been 
invaluable for running down game, and it is reasonable to conclude that it was 
then generally spread amongst the Indian tribes north of the Great Lakes. 
The Hare Indian Dog is very playful, has an affectionate disposition, and is soon 
gained by kindness. It is not, however, very docile, and dislikes confinement of 
every kind. It is very fond of being caressed, rubs its back against the hand like 
a cat, and soon makes an acquaintance with a stranger. Like a wild animal, it is 
