Dogs.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



199 



Laid on the track of a marauder, it kept up a 

 steady, persevering chase, and was not baffled with- 

 out difficulty. Sir Walter Scott, in his graphic de- 

 scription of the " stark moss-trooper" Sir William of 

 Deloraine, " good at need," gives, as a proof of his 

 merit, that he 



" By wi.y turns and desperate bounds 

 Had baffled Percy's test blood-hounds ;'■ 



and the same accomplished knight, his stern nature 

 touched by sorrow at the sight of Sir Richard Mus- 

 grave slain, thus eulogizes his dead enemy:— 



" Yet rest thee God ! for well I know 

 I ne'er shall find a nobler foe. 

 In all the northern countries here, 

 Whose word is snaffle, spur, and spear, 

 Tiiou wert the best to follow gear. 

 T was pleasure, as we look'd behind, 

 To see Mow tbou the chase couldst wind. 

 Cheer the dark blood-hound on his way, 

 And with the bujjle rouse the fray. 

 I'd fjive the lands of Deloraine, 

 Dark Musgrave were alive again." 



Sir Walter Scott states that the breed of blood- 

 hounds was kept up by theBuccleuch family on their 

 border estates till within the eighteenth century. 

 In former ages these dogs, or, as the Scotch called 

 them, " Sleuth-hounds," were kept, in great numbers 

 on the Borders ; and fugitive kings as well as moss- 

 troopers were obliged to study how to evade them. 

 Bruce was repeatedly tracked by these dogs, and 

 on one occasion only escaped by wading for a con- 

 siderable distance up a brook and climbing a tree 

 which overhung the water. " A sure way of stop- 

 ping the dog was to spill blood upon the track, 

 which destroyed the discriminating fineness of the 

 scent. A captive was sometimes sacrificed on such 

 occasions. Henry the Minstrel tells a romantic 

 story of Wallace, founded on this circumstance. 

 The hero's Utile band had been joined by an Irish- 

 man named Fawdon, or Fadzean, a dark, savage, 

 and suspicious character. After a sharp skirmish 

 at Black-Erne Side, Wallace was forced to retreat 

 with only sixteen followers. The English pursued 

 with a border blood-hound. In the retreat Fawdon, 

 tired, or affecting to be so, would go no farther ; 

 Wallace having in vain argued with him, in hasty 

 anger struck off his head, and continued the retreat. 

 When the English came up, their hound stayed upon 

 the dead body." (Notes to the ' Lay of the Last 

 Minstrel.') 



To the present group has generally been referred 

 the Cuban blood-hound, as it is termed, a dog of 

 Spanish descent, sagacious and savage, and which 

 was employed by the Spaniards with atrocious bar- 

 barity in their conquest of America ; and more re- 

 cently (1795) in Jamaica against the Maroons, who 

 had revolted, and were waging a bloody and suc- 

 cessful war against the government forces, but 

 which the vei-y terror these dogs inspired at once 

 happily brought to a close. 



These dogs, used in Cuba in the pursuit of mur- 

 derers and felons, have a fine scent and great 

 power : specimens exist in the Gardens of the Zool. 

 Soc. (Figs. 889, 890, 891). 



Their colour is tawny, with black about the muz- 

 zle ; the ears are comparatively small ; the muzzle 

 is shorter and more pointed than in the ordinary 

 hound, and they are shorter on the limbs ; in some 

 points they approach the mastiff or ban-dog, espe- 

 cially in the form of thje head, which approaches 

 that of the bull -dog : indeed, by many, and with 

 reason, they are regarded more as a variety of the 

 mastiff than the hound, and for ourselves, we hesi- 

 tate not to regard them as such. They make ex- 

 cellent watch-dogs, and attack both the bull and 

 the bear with determined resolution. Their height 

 at the shoulder is about two feet. 



We have hitherto said nothing of the pointer 

 (Fig. 862, c). The present pointer is derived from 

 a heavy dog, possessing the sense of smell in the 

 highest perfection, known as the old Spanish 

 pointer, and decidedly related to the hound ; this 

 dog is now seldom seen ; like the talbot, the 

 source, as we presume, of the light, active, but 

 vigorous fox-hound, the old Spanish pointer has 

 merged into the intelligent, vigorous dog so much 

 prized by the sportsman for its excellent qualifica- 

 tions. In some breeds of pointers there is, we be- 

 lieve, a cross of the fox-hound, which improves their 

 strength and energy. 



We now enter upon a group of dogs distinguished 

 by the shortness of the muzzle and the breadth of 

 the head, this latter character resulting not from a 

 corresponding development of the brain, but from 

 the magnitude of the temporal muscles, which are 

 attached, to a bony ridge passing down the median 

 line of the skull. The expression of the eyes is 

 lowering and ferocious ; the jaws are very strong, 

 the lips pendulous; the general form is thick-set 

 and robust ; the limbs are muscular. 



This group comprehends the Bull -dog, the Mas- 

 tiff, and their allies. In sagacity and intelligence 

 the dogs of the present section are not to be com- 

 pared to the Newfoundland dog, the spaniel, or the 

 shepherd's dog; they surpass all, however, in de- 



termined courage and prowess in combat. In early 

 times the English mastiff was celebrated for its 

 strength and resolution, characteristics which did 

 not i'ail to attract the attention of the Romans 

 when this island formed apart of their widely-spread 

 empire. To a people in whom a partiality for 

 scenes of bloodshed and slaughter, and for the 

 sanguinary games of the amphitheatre, was a ruling 

 passion, dogs so fitted to gratify their taste were 

 peculiarly acceptable, and accordingly we find that 

 they were bred and reared by officers specially ap- 

 pointed, who selected such as were distinguished 

 for combative qualities, and sent them to Rome for 

 the service of the amphitheatres, where they were 

 matched in fight with various beasts of prey. Dr. 

 Caius, a naturalist of the time of Elizabeth, states 

 that three were reckoned a match for a bear, .and 

 four for a lion. 



Stow, in his ' Annals,' gives us the account of an 

 engagement between three mastiffs and a lion, 

 which took place in the presence of James I. The 

 battle reminds us of a recent occurrence, excepting 

 that the dogs which fought with Nero and Wallace 

 were not mastiffs, but half-bred bull-dogs. " One of 

 the dogs," says Stow, " being put into the den, was 

 soon disabled by the lion, which took it by the head 

 and neck, and dragged it about. Another clog was 

 then let loose, and served in the same manner; 

 but the third, being put in, immediately seized the 

 lion by the lip, and held him for a considerable 

 time ; till, being severely torn by his claws, the dog 

 was obliged to quit its hold, and the lion, greatly 

 exhausted in the conflict, refused to renew the en- 

 gagement, but, taking a sudden leap over the dogs, 

 fled into the interior part of his den. Two of the 

 dogs soon died of their wounds ; the last survived." 

 The mastiff is by far the most sagacious of the pre- 

 sent section, and, of all other dogs, makes the best 

 guardian of property. It is attached to its master, 

 but towards strangers is fierce and suspicious. Its 

 bark is deep and sonorous. 



Though the mastiff has by no means the keen 

 sense of smell which the hound possesses, it seems 

 to be (at least such is our opinion, and that not 

 hastily formed) either an offset from that branch, 

 or a cognate branch from the same root. The mas- 

 tiff, however, has a finer scent than persons are 

 generally aware of, and its hearing is very acute. 

 A dog of this breed, chained to his kennel, and 

 never suffered to wander about the premises nor 

 treated as a friend and companion, affords but a 

 poor example of what the animal really is. Con- 

 finement spoils its temper, and cramps the develop- 

 ment of its noble qualities. (See Fig. 863, a, and 

 Fig. 892.) 



We have said that the mastiff is allied to the 

 hound : the Cuban mastiff, to which we have al- 

 ready alluded, is, indeed, often termed a blood- 

 hound. The pendulous ear, not so large in the 

 mastiff as in the hound, the thick hanging lips, the 

 broad moist nose, the brindled markings, and the 

 general figure, attest the affinity. The mastiff is 

 larger and stronger than the hound, and useless for 

 the chase ; this latter circumstance, however, is no 

 proof of diversity of origin. It must be remembered 

 that particular instincts and qualities are acquired, 

 and that the excellences of the hound are the re- 

 sult of long-continued and judicious culture. We 

 do not say that the mastiff can be converted into 

 the hound, but merely that two branches from the 

 same root may be so cultured as to assume, to a 

 given point, diverse characteristics. 



The huge Thibet watch-dog (Fig. 893) belongs 

 to the present section. This dog (Canis fami- 

 liaris, var. 3Iolossus Thibetanus) is kept by the 

 natives of the Thibet range of hills as a guardian of 

 their flocks and their villages. It is very fierce, 

 and its bark is loud and terrific. The colour is 

 generally black. 



The Ban-dog (Fig. 863, c) is a term given to any 

 of the fierce animals of the present section, which 

 are in ordinary cases kept chained or secured in 

 kennels. Bewick, however, applies it to a dog, of 

 which he gives an excellent figure, and which he 

 states to differ from the mastiff in being lighter, 

 more active and vigilant, but not so powerful or so 

 large ; its muzzle, besides, is not so heavy, and it 

 possesses in some degree the scent of the hound. 

 Its hair is described as being rather rough, and 

 generally of a yellowish grey streaked with shades 

 of black or brown. It is ferocious and full of 

 energy. Bewick says that this dog is seldom to be 

 seen" at the present day ; we have, however, had 

 occasion to notice varieties of the mastiff so closely 

 agreeing with Bewick's figure and description, as 

 to convince us that he took both of them from 

 nature. 



Of all the dogs of this section none surpass in 

 obstinacy or ferocity the bull-dog. This animal is 

 smaller than the mastiff, but more compactly 

 formed ; the chest is broad and deep ; the loins 

 narrow; the tail slender and arched up ; the limbs 

 short and robust,- the head is broad and thick ; the 



muzzle short and deep ; the jaws strong, the lower 

 jaw often advancing, so that the inferior incisor 

 teeth overshoot the upper ; the ears are short and 

 semi-erect, the nostrils distended, the eyes scowl- 

 ing, and the whole expression calculated to inspire 

 terror. This dog is distinguished by tenacity of 

 tooth and indomitable resolution. In all its habits 

 and propensities it is essentially gladiatorial : it is 

 a fighting dog, and nothing else ;lts intelligence is 

 very limited ; and though dogs of this breed are 

 attached to their masters, they exhibit in the de- 

 monstration of their feelings, unless when incited 

 to combat, a perfect contrast to the Newfoundland 

 dog or spaniel. These latter delight to accompany 

 their master in his walks, and scour the fields and 

 lanes in the exuberance of delight ; the bull-dog 

 skulks at its master's heels, and regards with a sus- 

 picious glance everything and everybody that passes 

 by ; nor, indeed, is it safe to approach the animal, 

 for it often attacks without the slightest provoca- 

 tion. A cross between the bull-dog and the terrier 

 is celebrated for spirit and determination. 



It has been usual to consider the pug-dog as a 

 degenerate variety of the bull-dog, but we doubt 

 the correctness of this theory. It has indeed some- 

 what the aspect of the bull-dog, on a miniature 

 scale ; but the similarity is more in superficial ap- 

 pearance than reality. The pug is a little round- 

 headed short-nosed dog, with a preternatural abbre- 

 viation of the muzzle, and with a tightly twisted 

 tail. Like the Gillaroo trout, it is a specimen of 

 hereditary malformation. Not so the bull-dog, in 

 which the bones of the skull and the temporal 

 muscles are finely developed, and in which the 

 muzzle and head are in perfect harmony. 



The pug-dog is snarling and ill-tempered, but 

 cowardly, and by no means remarkable for intelli- 

 gence. Formerly it was in great esteem as a pet, 

 but is now little valued, and not often kept. 



In taking a review of the various breeds of the 

 domestic dog, we cannot fail to observe that they 

 are endowed respectively with qualifications or 

 habits certainly not innate, but the result of educa- 

 tion, at least originally ; which education, continued 

 through a series of generations, has produced per- 

 manent effects. For example, no dog in a state of 

 nature would point with his nose at a partridge, 

 and then stand like a statue, motionless, for the dog 

 would gain nothing by such a proceeding. Man, 

 however, has availed himself of the docility and 

 delicacy of scent peculiar to a certain breed, and 

 has taught the dog his lesson, and the lesson thus 

 learned has become second nature. A young 

 pointer takes to its work as if by intuition, and 

 scarcely requires discipline. Hence, therefore, 

 must we conclude that education not only effects 

 impressions on the sensorium, but transmissible 

 impressions, whence arise the predispositions of 

 certain races. Education in fact modifies organ- 

 ization : not that it makes a dog otherwise than a 

 dog, but it supersedes, to a certain point, instinct, 

 or makes acquired propensities instinctive, heredi- 

 tary, and therefore characteristics of the race. 

 The effect of this change of nature is not to render 

 the dog more independent, nor to give it any ad- 

 vantage over its fellows, but to rivet more firmly 

 the links of subjection to man. 



It is not to the pointer alone that these observa- 

 tions apply ; all our domestic dogs have their own 

 acquired propensities, which, becoming second 

 nature, make them, in one way or another, valuable 

 servants. No one, we presume, will suppose that 

 the instinctive propensities implanted by nature in 

 the shepherd's dog make it not a destroyer, but a 

 preserver of sheep. On the contrary, this dog, like 

 every other, is carnivorous, and nature intends it to 

 destroy and devour. But education has supplanted 

 instinct, to a certain point, and implanted a dis- 

 position which has become an hereditary charac- 

 teristic, and hence a shepherd's dog of the true breed 

 takes to its duties naturally. But a shepherd's dog 

 could not, delicate as its sense of smell is, be 

 brought to take the place of the pointer m the field, 

 even though it were subjected to training from the 

 earliest age ; nor, on the other hand, could a pointer 

 be substituted with equal advantage in the place 

 of a shepherd's dog as the assistant of the drover 

 Each is civilized, but in a different style, and edu- 

 cation has impressed upon each a different bent of 

 mind, a different class of propensities. 



The following is the arrangement of the groups 

 into which the breeds of the domestic dog seem to 

 us to resolve themselves :— _ 



1. Dingo — semi-domestic ? 



2. Esquimaux dog? 



3. Hare Indian's dog ? 



To what groups these respectively belong is not 

 very clear ; probably to the first or second of the 

 following groups :— 



Ears sharp, erect, or sub- 

 erect; nose pointed; hair 

 long. 



Shepherd's dog. 

 Siberian. 

 Pomeranian. 

 Icelandish, &c. 



