THE THIBET DOG. 
151 
curiosity, I strolled alone among the houses : and seeing 
every thing still and quiet, I turned into one of the 
stone enclosures, which serve as folds for cattle. The 
instant I entered the gate, to my astonishment, up 
started a huge dog, big enough, if his courage had been 
equal to his size, to fight a lion. He kept me at bay 
with a most clamorous bark, and I was a good deal 
startled at first ; but recollecting their cowardly dispo- 
sition, I stood still ; for having once had one in my 
possession, I knew that they were fierce only when they 
perceived themselves feared. If I had attempted to 
run, he probably would have flown upon me, and torn 
me in pieces, before any one could have come to my 
rescue. Some person came out of the house, and he 
was soon silenced." 
Similar accounts of the large size of these dogs, as 
well as of their ferocity and antipathy to strangers, 
which seem to be regarded as their uniform charac- 
teristics, are given by other writers. Captain Raper, in 
his Narrative of a Survey for discovering the Sources 
of the Ganges, speaking of the trade carried on by the 
natives of Bootan, says, " Dogs are also brought down 
by these people. — One of them was a remarkably 
fine animal, as large as a good-sized Newfoundland 
Dog, with very long hair and a head resembling a 
Mastiff^s. His tail was of an amazing length, like the 
brush of a fox, and curled half way over his back. He 
was however so fierce, that he would allow no stranger 
to approach him ; and the same fault was observable 
in the rest of this species." Mr. Moorcroft also, in his 
Journey to Lake Manasarovara, says, " The Uniyas had 
dogs with their flocks, which were fierce and much 
disposed to attack strangers." 
There can be little doubt that the dogs thus spoken 
of were all of the true Thibetan race ; but we can 
hardly help suspecting that Mr. Fraser, in his Tour 
