HOUSE AND GARDEN 
September, 1914 
136 
cared little for the looks of their terriers — what they wanted was 
a dog to go to ground and bring out dead or alive the fox, or 
badger, or wild cat. A short-legged, powerfully built dog with 
a long jaw and a wire jacket possessed natural advantages for 
this work. All unconsciously this general type was established. 
Naturally this type, though it was easily recognized all over the 
Highlands, was, nevertheless, subject to almost infinite local varia¬ 
tion. The West Highland white terrier and the long-haired Skye 
terrier are examples of these local variations perpetrated and 
magnified by breeding for special points. 
Just when the Highland terrier made his first appearance no 
man can know, but John Lesley, Bishop of Ross, in his History 
of Scotland from 1436 to 1561, tells of a “dog of low height 
which, creeping into subterraneous burrows, routs out foxes, 
badgers, martens, and wild cats from their lurking places and 
dens,” so we can be sure that by the Sixteenth Century the dog 
had made a reputation that had traveled from the gamekeeper's 
lodge to the ecclesiastic's study. The Scottish terrier boasts a 
proud and ancient lineage, for his pedigree is longer than any 
other terrier, and his first historian, Col. Hamilton Smith (1840). 
claims he is the oldest breed native to Britain. 
Long before the era of dog shows the Scottie was cherished by 
the todlmnters, gamekeepers and sporting lairds. His nickname 
of “Diehard” was won in a thousand pitched battles with his 
hereditary foes. Scores of stories worthy of a ballad tell of his 
prowess. Two dogs, sire and son, 
owned by Andrew McPhearson, a 
well-known sporting character of 
Argyleshire a century and a half 
ago, met underground one day, 
and, in the darkness, each mistook 
the other for Master Brock, the 
badger. They grappled, and sev¬ 
eral hours later, when their mas¬ 
ter dug them out, they were dead, 
each with his jaw clamped fast in 
the other’s throat. Another fa¬ 
vorite story recounts the feat of 
a veteran. This old dog had won 
his pension, and while his grand¬ 
children were afield with Master, 
he was left at home to tend the 
baby. One morning a fox, hard 
pressed by the pack, bolted 
through the open window into the 
The Scottie is rarely complimented upon his looks, some liken¬ 
ing him to a “coon.” At times he has the sadness of the Celt 
room where the old dog and the baby were playing. The dog, 
without a second’s hesitation, nailed the tawny villain with his 
toothless jaws, and, though terribly punished, kept the foe at bay 
till the youngsters came to the relief. 
The work he was called upon to do forced the Scottish terrier 
to develop his own 
peculiar physique, 
and his environment 
had an effect upon 
his disposition that 
centuries of dog 
shows and drawing 
rooms will not 
change. Some ob¬ 
serving philosopher 
has said that there 
is an underlying 
trace of sadness in 
all Celts. The High¬ 
lander is no excep¬ 
tion. Beneath his 
vivid imagination, 
his deep loves and 
fierce hatreds, his 
undying patriotism, 
The best coat for him was one of wire, a capital 
armor, with a wooly undervest 
and his reckless courage is a quiet se¬ 
riousness and fixedness of purpose that 
balance his wild nature. For centuries 
the Scottie was born and bred, lived and 
died, in constant companionship with 
his master. He was as intimate a part 
of the frugal life of the little cottage as 
the baby. This long companionship has 
branded certain traits into the dog's char¬ 
acter, and herein lies the “difference" so 
often noted in the “Diehard.” 
With such a history the Scottish ter¬ 
rier is truly the child of his ancestors. It 
is remarkable that, although the origin of 
the breed is lost in a tangle of clan feuds 
and Border raids, still they have preserved intact their indi¬ 
vidualism both in physical appearance and mental character¬ 
istics. There have been some changes, especially in looks, dur¬ 
ing the last fifty years, but the Scottie of to-day is a great deal 
more like the Scottie of two centuries ago than the present-day 
fox-terrier is like the fox-terrier of 1850. The Scottie is very 
fortunate in never having been a victim of extreme fads and 
fancies. 
There is an old Scotch proverb that is very applicable to 
this Scotch dog: “Guid gear gangs in little bundles." A 
typical Scottie gives the impression of great size and strength 
squeezed down into very small compass. His heavy bone, his 
deep chest, his solid quarters, combined with his short legs and 
back, stimulate this effect. His long head, with its strong 
foreface, its erect, pointed ears, and its big, black nose, which 
sticks out beyond the line of his jaws, is all very different from 
the other terriers. His eyes—dark, bright and deep-set—are 
full of fire, but there are times, when Scottie is sitting at re- 
r- , , , • , • J t • 1 u pose when that sadness which underlies all Celts gives him a 
rrom puppyhood, he s an up-and-coming little beast, with a wisdom rairly uncanny, capable # . ° 
Of makina distinctions between friend and foe peculiarly sage expression. His tail, which is never cut, is 
