594 
FOREST AND STREAM 
May io, 1913 
The Irish Terrier 
By WALTER H. DEARING 
Illustrated by viost perfect types in America to-day. 
T O say something new, or to advance an origi¬ 
nal theory, regarding the origin, breeding 
or general characteristics of the Irish ter¬ 
rier, would be almost as difficult as to present 
a theory concerning the blending of colors or 
the relative values of accuracy of detail as 
opposed to strength of impression in the art of 
painting that has not already been advanced by 
the impressionists, post impressionists, futurists 
and what-nots in their particular fields of en¬ 
deavor, 
I shall not consequently claim originality, 
unless, indeed, there be originality in the initia¬ 
tive of paying one more tribute to the intelli¬ 
gent, courageous and warm-hearted little fellow, 
who, like his compatriot the policeman, has 
helped to make Ireland fanious the world over. 
For the rest I have gathered most of my infor- 
Red Sea, he became engulfed when the waters 
rolled back, and (you couldn’t drown him) swam 
safely to the other side. From thence he may 
have joined the Israelites and traveled to the 
Holy Land, and having been taken to by the 
Romans, eventually found his way to Ireland, 
where his known history first begins. He may 
have done all this, because records have been 
found of a red dog with a green head, repre¬ 
sented in an Egyptian cortege, which many 
lovers of the breed insist can be no other than 
their little red-coated favorite. Perhaps they are 
right; they surely have more grounds for claim¬ 
ing him as their own than have the lovers of 
any other breed. 
But, much as it pleases our fancy to roam 
back in our imagination to the early days in 
Ireland, and to live for a moment with the 
easy to see why the best judges are generally 
of the opinion that the terrier is descended from 
this breed of dogs. The Irish terrier of the 
earlier periods ran strongly to red and fawn 
although to quote the words of Dr. Carey, sec¬ 
retary of the Irish Terrier Club of that time, 
the terriers competing in the shows were “of 
all sorts, sizes and colors.” 
The type of the Irish terrier of to-day is 
vastly different from that of the recognized type 
of the breed when it was being standardized in 
1879 and 1880. I have before me the photograph 
of Ch. Erin, considered the best dog of his time, 
and said to be one of the best Irish terriers 
that has ever been bred. Comparing it with the 
models of to-day, the contrast becomes quite 
laughable. Erin appears to have been a much 
stockier dog than the present day type of Irish 
terrier. He has less of the racy line about the 
waist, and his head lacks that polar bear-like 
appearance that characterizes the modern terrier. 
The length of head has been aimed at in pro¬ 
ducing the present standard. 
As one looks at the old and the new types 
of Irish terrier, he cannot but be amused at the 
striking resemblance to two separate types of 
Illation of a statistical nature, from personal in¬ 
terviews with Singleton Van Schaick, secretary 
of the Irish Terrier Club of America. 
There seems to be no authentic record as 
to when, or how, the Irish terrier as a breed 
first sprang into existence, but from all the in¬ 
formation that can be gathered from those who 
have made a close study of the breed, he ap¬ 
pears to be a direct descendant of the Irish wolf¬ 
hound, and may for all that we can conjecture 
have been roving the high hills and green val¬ 
leys of Ireland during the time of the old Druids, 
or sitting by the side of his Celtic master, listen¬ 
ing to Saint Patrick's fanious exposition on the 
Trinity during the latter’s debates with the 
learned teachers of the Emerald Isle. 
He may have done all this, yes, and more. 
He may even have strolled by the side of the 
dusky desert sheiks, or followed at the heels 
of Egyptian kings, or been a witness to the 
slaver}' of the Israelites during the reign of the 
early Pharaohs, and camped with the army of 
the pursuing hosts that followed IMoses and his 
colleagues to destruction. 
We might follow this hypothesis to a logical 
conclusion if we so fancied; why not? Hav¬ 
ing accompanied the hosts of Pharaoh to the 
ancient characters of Biblical and early Egyptian 
times, there to find one of our old friends and 
playmates basking in the sunlight of the land of 
Shamrock and shillaly, or walking with his 
customary air of assurance about tlie sacred 
temples of Isis and Osiris, we are forced to 
abandon this day-dreamy state of mind and 
awaken to the fact that the object of our 
reveries is barking right outside our door. At 
least, he is barking at my door. I hope, for 
your sake, he also liarks at yours. Now, how 
did he get there ? 
We have said that he is probably descended 
from the Irish wolfhound, a dog which inhabited 
the North of Ireland, and which resembled in 
appearance a rough, coarse-coated greyhound 
more nearly than any other breed of dog to which 
it could be likened. It is rather difficult at first 
thought to imagine that the alert, audacious lit¬ 
tle animal that we know as the Irish terrier is 
descended from an ancestor that bore any re¬ 
semblance to a rough-coated greyhound. But 
even the most casual oliserver of dogs cannot 
fail to notice, if he looks closely, the hound-like 
appearance of his head and hind quarters. And 
when the fact that the wolfhound was red or 
fawn in color is taken into consideration, it is 
the Irishman which we often come in contact 
with. It was customary to crop the ears of 
the early Irish terriers, and this appears to have 
lent a sharpness to their features that makes 
the contrast between them more marked. I 
don't know as I can convey the impression that 
I get by looking at the two photographs, but I 
almost feel that Erin would say, if he could 
talk, “G'wan now, get off the grass wid ye, or 
I’ll take ye to the sthation house,” and I feel 
equally sure the modern dog would reply, “Well, 
neow, shure ye may be roight, and thin ye may 
be wrong in ordhering me off the premises, but 
whither right or wrong, you’d have to prove 
yer autority before I’d go.” The result of such 
a conversation between two Irishmen would be 
too obvious to call for any further comment. 
There appears to be some difference of opin¬ 
ion as to who brought the first Irish terrier to 
America. James Watson claims this honor, as 
he states that his bitch Kathleen was the first 
to be brought to this country. Kathleen was 
shown in America in the year 1880, but prior to 
that time Singleton Van Schaick had shown a 
couple of Irish terriers, they being the only 
ones entered in their class at the time exhibited. 
The remarkable growth and popularity of the 
