212 
THE WATER SPANIEL. 
on the edges of a large water-course, which took its rise near the foot of the large hill at 
Muckun Gunge, when suddenly oue of a brace of fine cocking Spaniels I had with me ran 
round a large bush greatly agitated, and apparently on some game which I expected to put up. 
“I followed as fast as I could ; but Paris, which was the Dog’s name, was too quick for me, 
and before I could well get round the bush, which was about ten yards from the brink of the 
ravine, had come to a stand, his ears pricked, his tail wagging like lightning, and his whole 
frame in a seeming state of ecstasy. I expected that he had got a hare under the bank, and, 
as the situation was in favor of a shot, I ran towards him with more speed than I should have 
done had I known that instead of a hare I should find, as I did, a tiger sitting on its rump, 
and staring Paris in the face. They were not above two yards asunder. 
“As soon as the Dog found me at his side, he barked, and giving a spring down, dashed 
at the tiger. What happened for some moments I really cannot say ; the surprise and danger 
which suddenly affected me banished at once that presence of mind which many boast to 
possess on all emergencies. I frankly confess that my senses were clouded, and that the tiger 
might have devoured me without my knowing a word of the matter. However, as soon as my 
fright had subsided, I began, like a person waking from a dream, to look about, and saw the 
tiger cantering away at about a hundred and fifty yards’ distance, with his tail erect, and fol- 
lowed by Paris, who kept barking ; but when the tiger arrived at a thick cover, he disappeared. 
“ I had begun in my mind to compose a requiem for my poor Dog, as I saw him chasing 
the tiger, which I expected every moment would turn about and let Paris know that he had 
caught a Tartar. Though Paris had certainly brought me to the gate of destruction, yet he as 
certainly saved me. I felt myself indebted to him for preservation, and consequently was not 
a little pleased to see him return safe.” 
This is not a solitary example of the achievement of so daring a feat. Another officer, 
belonging to the Bengal Artillery, was shooting near a jungle, and was attended by five or 
six Spaniels, for the purpose of putting up the bustards, floricans, peafowl, and other birds, 
when a tiger suddenly showed itself from a spot where it had lain concealed. Instead of 
retreating from the terrible animal, the Spaniels dashed boldly at the brindled foe, and 
although several of them were laid prostrate by the tiger’s paw, the survivors remained 
staunch, and attracted the creature’ s attention so completely that their master was enabled to 
kill it without difficulty. 
The report that the Dhole will attack the tiger is thus corroborated. 
From its singular affection for the water, this Dog is termed the W ateb Spaniel, as a 
distinction from the Field Spaniel. In all weathers, and in all seasons, the W ater Spaniel is 
ever ready to plunge into the loved element, and to luxuriate therein in sheer wantonness of 
enjoyment. It is an admirable diver, and a swift swimmer, in which arts it is assisted by the 
great comparative breadth of its paws. It is therefore largely used by sportsmen for the pur- 
pose of fetching out of the water the game which they have shot, or of swimming to the oppo- 
site bank of the river, or to an occasional island, and starting therefrom the various birds that 
love such moist localities. 
Much of its endurance in the water is owing to the abundance of natural oil with which its 
coat is supplied, and which prevents it from becoming really wet. A real W ater Spaniel gives 
himself a good shake as soon as he leaves the river, and is dry in a very shoit time. This oil, 
although useful to the Dog, gives forth an odor very unpleasant to human nostrils, and there- 
fore debars the Water Spaniel from enjoying the fireside society of its human friends. 
Some people fancy that the Water Spaniel possesses webbed feet, and that its aquatic 
prowess is due to this formation. Such, however, is not the case. All dogs have their toes 
connected with each other by a strong membrane, and when the foot is wide and the mem- 
brane rather loosely hung, as is the case with the W ater Spaniel, a large surface is presented 
to the water. 
The Water Spaniel is of moderate size, measuring about twenty-two inches in height at 
the shoulders, and proportionately stout in make. The ears are long, measuring from point 
to point rather more than the animal’s height. 
