AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
297 
slight attack of the distemper, which immediately gave 
way to bleeding and a dose of tartar emetic; and in three 
or four days he was restored to perfect health. His colour 
was a perfect jet black; he was larger than common, and 
altogether, the finest young pointer I ever saw. On the 
8th of January, (of the following year,) I observed the 
Dog keep his mouth almost continually open, the inside of 
which appeared darker coloured than usual, and somewhat 
swelled. I immediately bled him copiously, which, how- 
ever, produced no visible alteration; on the contrary, the 
next day all the symptoms had evidently increased, and I 
observed that he was unable to swallow, though he made 
many attempts both to eat and drink, particularly the 
latter: but the water or the milk, which, by putting his 
nose into the vessel, he contrived to get into his mouth, 
uniformly run out again, and he appeared utterly unable to 
pass it down his throat: he licked his fore-legs very much, 
and seemed to have a trifling discharge of mucus, or saliva: 
but all this time the Dog appeared not only perfectly sensi- 
ble, but even in good spirits, and evidently experienced 
but little pain. A sporting acquaintance, who saw him, said 
the disease was what was distinguished by the appellation 
of dumb madness, which seems to me altogether a ridiculous 
term; and supposing this to have been the disorder with 
which my Dog was affected, I can testify that the term is 
very improperly applied, as the animal in question regularly 
barked on the approach of a stranger, though in a different 
tone, and with more difficulty than usual. However, I 
immediately searched authorities for dumb madness , with 
a view to ascertain the proper mode of treatment. In an 
old writer, (the author of the “Gentleman’s Recreation,”) 
I found it thus described: — “The Dog that is troubled 
with dumb madness will not feed, but holds his mouth 
wide open continually, putting his feet to his mouth fre- 
quently, as if he had a bone in his throat.” Now, though 
my Dog kept his jaws somewhat distended, his mouth was 
not wide open, but only partially so, and that he was able to 
shut it I can safely attest, as I saw him many times close 
his jaws, though he never kept them more than a second 
or two in that position; further, the animal frequently 
licked his fore-legs, but I never saw him raise his feet, or 
otherwise use indications similar to those adopted by a Dog 
when he seems to have a bone in his throat; and therefore 
the cases did not appear to agree. 
I had next recourse to the “Sportsman’s Dictionary, or 
Gentleman’s Companion:” the third edition of which was 
published in 1783, which contained the following observa- 
tions: — “Dumb madness lies in the blood, and causes the 
Dog not to feed, but to hold his mouth always wide open, 
frequently putting his feet to his mouth, as if he had a bone 
in his throat.” 
4 F 
To be brief — I perused every thing within my reach, on 
the subject of Dogs and their diseases, but without gaining 
the least information; and, as the disorder, at least in the 
form in which it presented itself, was new to me, I began 
to entertain fears for the life of my Dog, and -the sequel will 
prove they were but too well founded. I have already 
remarked, that I first perceived the disease on the 8th of 
January, and the Dog continued much in the same way for 
four successive days, during which, all his faculties appear- 
ed very little, if at all, impaired. He would follow me 
into the field, and even hunt, frequently attempting to 
drink, and, in order to accomplish that desirable object, 
would thrust his nose into the water, instead of attempting 
to lap; but he never succeeded in forcing any of the fluid 
down his throat: his sense of smell was as perfect as ever; 
and, indeed, though he evidently became very lean, he 
might be said to be in good spirits till the morning of the 
13th, when I found him very languid, his eye had lost its 
lustre, and death was evidently fast approaching. He was 
perfectly sensible, and whenever I approached and spoke 
to him, he raised his heavy eyes, and by these, as well as 
by the movement of his tail, appeared grateful for my atten- 
tion. Towards the evening he made a last effort to swallow 
food, but was not able. On the following morning he was 
stretched on his side, and had every appearance of death, 
only that a breathing, at very long intervals, proved that 
the vital spark was not absolutely extinct. Some few hours 
afterwards he was perfectly lifeless; and I was resolved, if 
possible, to ascertain the cause of his death. For this pur- 
purpose, I called in the assistance of a skilful veterinary sur- 
geon, and the animal was dissected in my presence. On 
opening the body, it was abundantly evident that the Dog 
had been starved to death; or, in other words, had died for 
want of food. The lungs, the liver, and, indeed, all those 
parts of the animal organization, were totally unaffected, 
and manifested not the slightest symptom of disease; the 
same remark will equally apply to all parts of the throat, 
and also to the brain ; and the only affection that could be 
discovered, was in the salivary glands, which were tri- 
flingly swelled. On the whole, I feel a perfect conviction, 
that the disorder of the Dog was a glandular affection, which, 
by rendering him incapable of swallowing sustenance, 
caused his death. 
Of the cure, should a similar case come under my obser- 
vation, I feel confident; and I have been thus minute for 
the information of sportsmen in general, particularly as I 
have been informed, that the disorder which I have at- 
tempted to describe, or something very much resembling 
it, has carried off, within the last few years, great num- 
bers of valuable dogs. Should a similar case occur with 
any of my Dogs, I should force food, (nourishing broth, 
