Aug. 28, 1909.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
335 
The Newfoundland Dog. 
Scientists tell us that the “dog is a genus of 
digitigrade carnivorous quadrupeds, which, as de¬ 
fined by Linnaeus, included all that now form the 
family Canidce, and also hyenas. In the genus, 
as now restricted, wolves and jackals are gen¬ 
erally included by naturalists along with these 
animals to which alone the name dog is popu¬ 
larly applied.” 
Opinions differ as to the origin of the dog. 
Some naturalists contend that they are a dis¬ 
tinct species and have been found in a wild 
state in all parts of the earth; others maintain 
that all domestic dogs are derived from the 
wolf, while others advocate the claims of the 
jackal to be regarded as their original parent 
and type. Cuvier makes the strong assertion 
that the dog is the 
most complete, the most 
singular and the most 
useful conquest ever 
made by man. In all 
ages he has been the 
humble friend and com¬ 
panion of man, often 
seeming actually , to 
know and sympathize 
with the joys and sor¬ 
rows of his master, and 
on this account it is 
that he is alike the 
pampered minion of 
royalty and the half- 
starved partaker of the 
beggar’s crust. 
The origin of the 
Newfoundland dog is 
lost in the mists of 
obscurity. As far as I 
can ascertain from the 
best authorities, the fol¬ 
lowing are the theories 
advanced: First, the 
Beothic Indians had 
dogs before the arrival 
of the first white man; 
second, the early Basque 
and Breton fishermen 
brought dogs, some of which may have been 
left on the island; third, the West of England 
men brought mastiffs that interbred either with 
the wolves or the native Indian dogs, and thus 
begot the present type. 
J. Guillie Millais, discussing this question, 
says: “This close association of a friendly char¬ 
acter between dogs and wolves has long been 
known in Newfoundland, where among early 
writers it seems to have been a matter of sur¬ 
prise. Writing in 1622, Captain Whitbourne says 
that the wolves frequently came down to the 
seashore when his men were laboring among 
the fish, and that on each occasion his mastiff 
dog ran to them. ‘The one began to fawn and 
play with the other and so went together into 
the woods, and continued with them, every of 
these times nine or ten dayes and did return un¬ 
to us without any hurt. Hereof I am in no way 
superstitious, yet is something strange to me 
that the wild beasts, being followed by a sterne 
Mastiff-dogge should grow to familiaritie with 
him, seeing their natures are repugnant.’ ” 
This seems to be one well authenticated case 
of what must have frequently happened, viz.: 
that the dogs of the European fishermen mingled 
and interbred with the native dogs and wolves 
and with each other. 
Whatever was the origin, the result is one of 
the hardiest, strongest, bravest and most intelli¬ 
gent and faithful of all domestic animals. Well 
authenticated stories of its intelligence, fidelity 
and its propensity to risk its own life to save 
the lives of others are so numerous that an ac¬ 
count of them would stock a fair-sized library. 
The Newfoundland is of large size, has a broad 
intelligent head and a kind expression. The type 
has been variously described as being straight¬ 
haired, or curly; of being black with white 
breast, and white face; or, of being black and 
white in patches. Most of the authorities differ. 
The curly-haired black dog with the white breast 
seems to be the favorite and includes all that is 
A NEWFOUNDLAND MAIL SERVICE DOG TEAM. 
best and most beautiful in form and disposition 
of the whole species. 
An American authority referring to this point 
says: “The smooth breed of Newfoundland is 
extinct, and that the other varieties are so nearly 
extinct as to render the obtaining of one prac¬ 
tically an impossibility. The smooth Newfound¬ 
land had a rather small head and was white in 
color with black spots. The breed desired now 
is the very large sort, with broad muzzle, head 
raised, noble expression, waved or curly hair, a 
bushy, curly tail, black and white in color.” 
The smooth breed is not nearly extinct, as 
there are thousands of them around the island 
to-day, though they may not be pure bred. The 
description of the typical Newfoundland is not 
the one with which most of us are familiar and 
which we have always fondly believed to be 
the type. 
The Newfoundland has ever been a favorite 
of man ; a trusted friend and defender of women 
and children. Great artists have painted him; 
poets have sung his praises. Byron’s epitaph 
divested of its cynicism is a faithful word-pic¬ 
ture of him. The poet describes his dog Boat¬ 
swain as one “who possessed beauty without 
vanity, strength without insolence, courage with¬ 
out ferocity and all the virtues of man without 
his vices. This praise would be unmeaning flat¬ 
tery if inscribed over human ashes, but is a just 
tribute to the memory of Boatswain, a dog who 
was born at Newfoundland, May, 1803, and died 
at Newstead Abbey, Nov. 18, 1808.” 
Transplanted from his native heath and mixed 
with other varieties, he has become the progeni¬ 
tor of many dogs whose good qualities are traced 
with pride to this aristocratic lineage. One of 
the most noted is the Chesapeake dog, described 
by C. M. Stark in Forest and Stream of Sept. 
26, 1903. 
Many years ago a vessel from Newfoundland 
ran aground near an estate called Walnut Grove, 
on the shores of the Chesapeake. This estate 
belonged to George 
Law, a member of a 
well - known Maryland 
family. On board the 
ship were two New¬ 
foundland dogs which 
were given by the cap¬ 
tain to Mr. Law in re¬ 
turn for kindness and 
hospitality shown to 
himself and his crew. 
The beginning of the 
Chesapeake dog was a 
cross between these 
Newfoundlands and a 
common yellow-and-tan 
colored hound, or coon- 
dog, of that part of the 
country. The marked 
characteristics of the 
Chesapeake Bay dog 
give every evidence of 
the truth of the story. 
The strong power of 
scent, its hardihood, its 
shorter hair, its medium 
size and its remarkable 
endurance come from 
the hound, while its 
love of water, its 
powers of swimming, 
its extraordinary ability to endure cold, its furry 
coat, wonderful intelligence and general good 
temper are all due to the Newfoundland. 
There has doubtless been added from time 
to time some water-spaniel cross, which has 
helped its remarkable retrieving qualities. The 
yellow-and-tan of the hound, combined with the 
black of the Newfoundland, and the introduc¬ 
tion of the spaniel, produced the liver color of 
the true Chesapeake Bay dog. In course of time 
the Chesapeake Bay has, in Maryland, become 
a distinctive breed. 
At the Carroll Island Club, of which I have 
been a member for over thirty years, £pnd the 
records of which go back for over a century, 
this strain of dogs has been carefully bred and 
for many years the pedigrees have been kept. 
The same care in breeding the Chesapeake Bay 
has been followed at some of the other clubs. 
From Carroll’s Island the stock has been sent 
to the Currituck Sound clubs, and also to the 
Pacific coast. On the island are still preserved 
many of the old names of celebrated dogs. We 
have now a Tinnie, Turk, Dave, Jack, Gill, 
Mollie, Lady, Tim, Drake, Belle, etc., the won- 
