THE VARIETIES OF THE DOG.
FIRST DIVISION.
The head more or less elongated, the parietal bones widest at the base
and gradually approaching to each other as they ascend, and the
condyls of the lover jaw being on the same line with the upper molar
teeth.
To this division belong the greater number of the
WILD DOGS.
The wild dog, as existing in considerable numbers or communities, seems
to be nearly extirpated in the southern parts of Europe; but there are
several cases on record, of dogs having assumed native independence. A
black greyhound bitch, belonging to a gentleman in Scarisbrick, in
Lancashire, though she had apparently been well broken in, and always
well used, ran away from the habitation of her master, and betook
herself to the woods. She killed a great number of hares and made free
with the sheep, and became an intolerable nuisance to the neighbourhood.
She was occasionally seen, and the depredations that were committed were
brought home to her. Many were the attempts made to entrap or destroy
her, but in vain: for more than six months she eluded the vigilance of
her pursuers. At length she was observed to creep into a hole in an old
barn. She was caught as she came out, and the barn being searched three
whelps were found, which, very foolishly, were destroyed.
The bitch evinced the utmost ferocity, and, although well secured,
attempted to seize every one who approached her. She was, however,
dragged home and treated with kindness. By degrees her ferocity abated.
In the course of two months, she became perfectly reconciled to her
original abode, and, a twelve-month afterwards (1822), she ran
successfully several courses. There was still a degree of wildness in
her appearance; but, although at perfect liberty, she seemed to be
altogether reconciled to a domestic life.
In 1784 a dog was left by a smuggling vessel on the coast of
Northumberland. He soon began to worry the sheep for his subsistence,
and did so much mischief that he caused very considerable alarm. He was
frequently pursued by hounds and greyhounds; but when the dogs came up
he lay upon his back as if supplicating for mercy, and in that position
they would never hurt him. He therefore lay quietly until the hunters
approached, when he made off without being followed by the hounds until
they were again excited to the pursuit. He one day led them 30 miles in
this way. It was more than three months before he was caught and was
then shot [1].
A dog with every character of the wild one has occasionally been seen in
some of the forests of Germany, and among the Pyrenean mountains; but he
has rarely been found gregarious there. In the country on the eastern
side of the Gulf of Venice wild dogs are more frequent. They increase in
the Austrian and Turkish dominions, and are found on almost every part
of the coast of the Black Sea, but even there they rarely gather in
flocks: they do not howl in concert, as the wolf; nor are they the
precursors of other and larger beasts, like the jackal. Most of these
dogs have the muzzle and head elongated, the ears erect, triangular, and
small, the body and neck large and muscular, and the tail short, but
with a brush of crisped hair. In many parts of Arabia the wild dog--or
'dakhun'--is occasionally found. In Persia, they are most decidedly
congregated together, and still more so in almost every part of India
[2].
Mr. Hodgson has favoured the Zoological Society with an account of
THE WILD DOG OF NEPAL,
the 'búánsú', and, finding it more or less prevailing through the whole
of Northern India, and even southward of the coast of Coromandel, he
thought that he had discovered the primitive race of the dog. This is a
point that can never be decided.
"These dogs hunt their prey by night, as well as by day, in packs of
from six to ten individuals, maintaining the chase more by the scent
than by the eye, and generally succeeding by dint of strength and
perseverance. While hunting, they bark like the hound, yet the bark is
peculiar, and equally unlike that of the cultivated breeds of dogs,
and the cries of the jackal and the fox."
Bishop Heber gives the following account of them.
"They are larger and stronger than a fox, which in the circumstances
of form and fur they much resemble. They hunt, however, in packs, give
tongue like dogs, and possess an exquisite scent. They make of course
tremendous havoc among the game in these hills; but that mischief they
are said amply to repay by destroying wild beasts, and even tigers."
[3]
Wild dogs are susceptible of certain social combinations. In Egypt,
Constantinople, and throughout the whole of the East, there are in every
village troops of wandering dogs who belong to no particular person.
Each troop has its own quarter of the place; and if any wander into a
quarter which does not belong to him, its inhabitants unite together and
chase him out. At the Cape of Good Hope there are many dogs
half-starved. On going from home the natives induce two or more of these
animals to accompany them, warn them of the approach of any ferocious
animal, and if any of the jackals approach the walls during the night,
they utter the most piercing cries, and at this signal every dog sallies
out, and, uniting together, put the jackals to speedy flight. [4]
The wild Nepal dogs caught when at an adult age make no approach towards
domestification; but a young one, which Mr. Hodgson obtained when it was
not more than a month old, became sensible to caresses, and manifested
as much intelligence as any sporting dog of the same age. [5]
Captain T. Williamson gives an interesting account of the ferocious
character of some of these wild dogs.
"They have considerable resemblance to the jackal in form. They are
remarkably savage, and frequently will approach none but their
'doonahs' or keepers, not allowing their own masters to come near
them. Some of them are very fleet; but they are not to be depended
upon in coursing; for they are apt suddenly to give up the chase when
it is a severe one, and, indeed, they will too often prefer a sheep or
a goat to a hare. In hog-hunting they are more valuable. It seems to
suit their temper, and they appear to enjoy the snapping and the
snarling, incident to that species of sports."
He says that many persons affect to treat the idea of degeneration in
quadrupeds with ridicule; but all who have been any considerable time
resident in India must be satisfied that dogs of European breed become,
after every successive generation, more and more similar to the pariah,
or indigenous dog of that country. The hounds are the most rapid in
their decline, and, except in the form of their ears, they are very much
like many of the village curs. Greyhounds and pointers also rapidly
decline, although with occasional exceptions. Spaniels and terriers
deteriorate less, and spaniels of eight or nine generations, and without
a cross from Europe, are not only as good as, but far more beautiful
than, their ancestors. The climate is too severe for mastiffs, and they
do not possess sufficient stamina; but, crossed by the East Indian
greyhound, they are invaluable in hunting the hog [6].
Colonel Sykes, at one of the meetings of the Zoological Society,
produced a specimen of
THE WILD DOG OF DAKHUN
or Deccan, a part of India far to the south of Nepâl, and gave the
following description of this supposed primitive dog:
"Its head is compressed and elongated, but its muzzle not very sharp.
The eyes are oblique, the pupils round, and the 'irides' light-brown.
The expression of the countenance is that of a coarse ill-natured
Persian greyhound, without any resemblance to the jackal, the fox, or
the wolf. The ears are long, erect, and somewhat rounded at the top.
The limbs remarkably large and strong in relation to the bulk of the
animal. The size is intermediate between the wolf and the jackal. The
neck long, the body elongated, and the entire dog of a red-brown
colour. None of the domesticated dogs of Dakhun are common in Europe,
but those of Dakhun and Nepâl are very similar in all their
characters. There is also a dog in Dakhun with hair so short as to
make him appear naked. It is called the 'polugar' dog."
THE WILD DOG OF THE MAHRATTAS
possesses a similar conformation; and the fact is, that the East Indian
wild dog is essentially the same in every part of that immense extent of
country. There is no more reason, however, for concluding that it was
the primitive dog, than for conferring on the Indian cattle the same
honour among the ruminants. The truth of the matter is that we have no
guide what was the original breed in any country. The lapse of 4000
years would effect strange alterations in the breeds. The common name
of this dog, in the track lying between South Bahar and the Mahratta
frontier towards Maghore, is
DHOLE,
the 'Chryseus Scylex' of Hamilton Smith.
Captain Williamson, in his Oriental Field Sports, gives the following
account of the Dholes:
"They are to be found chiefly, or only, in the country from Midnapore
to Chamu, and even there are not often to be met with. They are of the
size of a small greyhound. Their countenance is enlivened by unusually
brilliant eyes. Their body, which is slender and deep-chested, is
thinly covered by a coat of hair of a reddish-brown or bay colour. The
tail is dark towards its extremity. The limbs are light, compact, and
strong, and equally calculated for speed and power. They resemble many
of the common pariah dogs in form, but the singularity of their colour
and marks at once demonstrates an evident distinction.
"These dogs are said to be perfectly harmless if unmolested. They do
not willingly approach persons; but, if they chance to meet any in
their course, they do not show any particular anxiety to escape. They
view the human race rather objects of curiosity, than either of
apprehension or enmity. The natives who reside near the Ranochitty and
Katcunsandy passes, in which vicinity the 'dholes' may frequently be
seen, describe them as confining their attacks entirely to wild
animals, and assert that they will not prey on sheep, goats, &c.; but
others, in the country extending southward from Jelinah and
Mechungunge, maintain that cattle are frequently lost by their
depredations. I am inclined to believe that the 'dhole' is not
particularly ceremonious, but will, when opportunity offers, and a
meal is wanting, obtain it at the expense of the neighbouring village.
"The peasants likewise state that the 'dhole' is eager in proportion
to the size and powers of the animal he hunts, preferring the elk to
every other kind of deer, and particularly seeking the royal tiger. It
is probable that the 'dhole' is the principal check on the
multiplication of the tiger; and, although incapable individually, or
perhaps in small numbers, to effect the destruction of so large and
ferocious an animal, may, from their custom of hunting in packs,
easily overcome any smaller beast found in the wilds of India.
"They run mute, except that they sometimes utter a whimpering kind of
note, similar to that sometimes expressed by dogs when approaching
their prey. This may be expressive of their own gratification, or
anxiety, or may serve as a guide to other 'dholes' to join in the
chase. The speed of the 'dhole' is so strongly marked in his form as
to render it probable no animal in the catalogue of game could escape
him for any distance. Many of the 'dholes' are destroyed in these
contests; for the tiger, the elk, and the boar, and even many of the
smaller classes of game are capable of making a most obstinate
defence. Hence the breed of the 'dholes' is much circumscribed."
THE THIBET DOG.
Mr. Bennett, in his scientific and amusing description of the Zoological
Gardens, gave the best account we have of this noble dog, and our
portrait is a most faithful likeness of him. He is bred in the
table-land of the Himalaya mountains bordering on Thibet. The Bhoteas,
by whom many of them are carefully reared, come down to the low
countries at certain seasons of the year to sell their borax and musk.
The women remain at home, and they and the flocks are most sedulously
guarded by these dogs. They are the defenders of almost every
considerable mansion in Thibet. In an account of an embassy to the court
of the Teshoo Llama in Thibet, the author says, that he had to pass by a
row of wooden cages containing a number of large dogs, fierce, strong,
and noisy. They were natives of Thibet, and, whether savage by nature or
soured by confinement, they were so impetuously furious that it was
unsafe even to approach their dens. Every writer who describes these
dogs, speaks of their noble size, and their ferocity, and antipathy to
strangers.
It is said, however, that the Thibet dog rapidly degenerates when
removed from its native country, and certainly the specimens which have
reached the Zoological Gardens exhibited nothing of ferocity. The one
that was in that menagerie had a noble and commanding appearance; but he
never attempted to do any injury.
The colour of the Thibet dog is of a deep black, slightly clouded on the
sides, his feet alone and a spot over each eye being of a full tawny or
bright brown hue. He has the broad short truncated muzzle of the
mastiff, and the lips are still more deeply pendulous. There is also a
singular general looseness of the skin on every part of him.
THE PARIAH.
There are several varieties of this dog. There is a wild breed very
numerous in the jungles and in some of the lower ranges of the Himalaya
mountains. They usually hunt in packs, and it is not often that their
prey escapes them. They generally are very thin, and of a reddish-brown
colour, with sharp-pointed ears, deep chest, and tucked-up flanks. Many
persons hunt with these dogs singly, and they are very useful. They
bring the hog to bay, or indicate the course that he has taken, or
distract his attention when the sportsman is at hand.
There is also in every inhabited part of the country the poor desolate
pariah,--unowned by any one,--daring to enter into no house, but
wandering about, and picking up a living in any way that he can. He is,
however, of a superior race to the wild dog, and belongs to the second
class of the dog, although mentioned here in order that we may
altogether quit the dog of India. They are neglected by the Hindoos; but
the Mohammedans of India, and other strangers, consider it an act of
charity to throw out occasionally a morsel of food to them. They are
most of them mongrels; but the benevolent Bishop Heber does them no more
than justice when he says that he
"was forcibly struck at finding the same dog-like and amiable
qualities in these neglected animals as in their more fortunate
brethren in Europe."
Colonel Sykes says of these outcasts that among the pariahs is
frequently found the turnspit-dog. There is also a small petted variety
of the pariah, usually of a white colour, and with long silky hair. This
animal is taught to carry flambeaux and lanterns.
According to Captain Williamson, in some of the ditches of the Carnatic
forts, alligators are purposely kept, and all the pariah dogs found in
the forts are thrown into the ditches as provision for these monsters.
Some persons who have kept tigers in cages have adopted the same means
of supply for their royal captives, putting the poor pariah through an
aperture made for the purpose in the cage; and they justify themselves
by asserting that they thus get rid of a troublesome breed of curs, most
of which are unappropriated, and which being numerous are very
troublesome to passengers, often wantonly biting them, and raising a
yelling noise at night, that sets all attempts to rest at defiance.
It did not always happen that the tiger killed the pariah put into his
cage.
"I knew an instance," says Captain Williamson, "of one that was
destined for the tiger's daily meal, standing on the defensive in a
manner that completely astonished both the tiger and the spectator. He
crept into a corner, and whenever the tiger approached seized him by
the lip or the neck, making him roar most piteously. The tiger,
however, impelled by hunger,--for all supply of food was purposely
withheld,--would renew the attack. The result was ever the same. At
length the tiger began to treat the dog with more deference, and not
only allowed him to partake of the mess of rice and milk furnished
daily for his subsistence, but even refrained from any attempt lo
disturb him. The two animals at length became reconciled to each
other, and a strong attachment was formed between them. The dog was
then allowed ingress and egress through the aperture; and, considering
the cage as his own, he left it and returned to it just as he thought
proper. When the tiger died he moaned the loss of his companion for a
considerable period."
A wild variety exists in Sumatra. It is described by Cuvier as
"possessing the countenance of a fox, the eyes oblique, the ears
rounded and hairy, the muzzle of a foxy-brown colour, the tail bushy
and pendulous, very lively, running with the head lifted high, and the
ears straight."
This animal can scarcely be rendered tractable, and even when he is
apparently tamed can rarely be depended upon.
As we proceed through the Indian Archipelago, towards Australasia, we
skirt the coast of Java. Every Javanese of rank has large packs of dogs
with which he hunts the muntjak, the deer of that country. The dogs are
led in strings by the attendants until they scent the prey: they are
then unloosed, while the sportsmen follow, but not at the speed which
would distinguish the British sportsman. The animal is generally found
at bay. The male muntjak usually exhibits considerable courage, and
probably several of the dogs have been wounded by his tusks. As soon as
they come up every gun is discharged, and the animal almost immediately
drops. At other times the mounted sportsmen attack them with a spear or
sword. Generally, the muntjak does not go off like the stag in any
direct track, but takes a circular course, and soon returns to the spot
whence it was started. It perhaps makes several of these circles, and at
length entangles itself in a thicket, where it is secured.
These dogs are the indigenous breed of the island, the body lank, the
ears erect, ferocious in their disposition, and with very little
attachment to their masters. Such is the account given of them by Dr.
Horsfield.
THE DINGO, AUSTRALASIAN, OR NEW HOLLAND DOG.
The newly discovered southern continent was, and some of it still
continues to be, overrun by the native wild dogs. Dampier describes
them, at the close of the last century, as
"beasts like the hungry wolves, lean like so many skeletons, and being
nothing but skin and bone."
It was not until the publication of Governor Phillip's voyage to Botany
Bay, that any accurate description or figure of this dog could be
obtained. He approaches in appearance to the largest kind of shepherd's
dog. The head is elongated, the forehead flat, and the ears short and
erect, or with a slight direction forwards. The body is thickly covered
with hair of two kinds--the one woolly and gray, the other silky and of
a deep yellow or fawn colour. The limbs are muscular, and, were it not
for the suspicious yet ferocious glare of the eye, he might pass for a
handsome dog. The Australasian dog, according to M. Desmarest, resembles
in form and in the proportion of his limbs the common shepherd's dog. He
is very active and courageous, covered in some parts with thick hair
woolly and gray, in other parts becoming of a yellowish-red colour, and
under the belly having a whitish hue. When he is running, the head is
lifted more than usual in dogs, and the tail is carried horizontally. He
seldom barks. Mr. Bennett observes that
"dogs in a state of nature never bark. They simply whine, howl, or
growl. The explosive noise of the bark is only found among those that
are domesticated."
Sonini speaks of the shepherds' dogs in the wilds of Egypt as not having
this faculty; and Columbus found the dogs which he had previously
carried to America, almost to have lost their propensity to bark.
He does, however, occasionally bark, and has the same kind of snarling
voice which the larger dogs generally have. The Australasian dogs that
have been brought to Europe have usually been of a savage and
untractable disposition.
There are several of the Australasian dogs in the gardens of the
Zoological Society of London. One of them has been an inmate of that
establishment nine years, others more than five years; but not an
individual has acquired the bark of the other dogs by which they are
surrounded. When a stranger makes his appearance, or when the hour of
feeding arrives, the howl of the Australasian is the first sound that is
heard, and it is louder than all the rest.
If some of them have thrown off a portion of their native ferocity,
others retain it undiminished. A bitch and two of her whelps, nearly
half grown--a male and female--had inhabited the same cage from the time
that the young ones were born. Some cause of quarrel occurred on a
certain night, and the two bitches fell upon the dog and perfectly
destroyed him. There was not a limb left whole. A stronger instance of
the innate ferocity of this breed could scarcely be given. Even in their
native country all attempts perfectly to domesticate them have failed;
for they never lose an opportunity to devour the poultry or attack the
sheep. Every domesticated dog coming within their reach was immediately
destroyed. One that was brought to England broke his chain--scoured the
surrounding country--and, before dawn, had destroyed several sheep; and
another attacked, and would have destroyed, an ass, if he had not been
prevented.
Mr. Oxley, Surveyor-General of New South Wales, however, gives an
interesting account of the mutual attachment between two of the native
and wild New Holland dingos.
"About a week ago we killed a native dog, and threw his body on a
small bush. On returning past the same spot to-day, we found the body
removed three or four yards from the bush, and the female in a
dying-state lying close beside it: she had apparently been there from
the day the dog was killed. Being now so weakened and emaciated as to
be unable to move on our approach, it was deemed a mercy to despatch
her."
When Van Diemen Land began to be colonized by Europeans, the losses
sustained by the settlers by the ravages of the wild dogs were almost
incredible. The districts infested by these animals were principally
those appropriated to sheep, and there was scarcely a flock that did not
suffer. It was in vain to double the number of shepherds, to watch by
night and by day, or to have fires at every quarter of the fold; for
these animals would accomplish their object by stratagem or by force.
One colony lost no fewer than 1200 sheep and lambs in three months;
another colony lost 700.
The ravagers were either the native wild dogs of the island, or those
that had escaped from their owners. They seemed to have apportioned the
country into different districts, each troop having its allotted range.
At length the evil became so great that a general meeting of the
colonists was convened. The concluding sentences of the speech of
Lieutenant Hill forcibly express the extent of the evil.
"The country is free from bush-rangers: we are no longer surrounded
and threatened by the natives. We have only one enemy left in the
field; but that enemy strikes at the very root of our welfare, and
through him the stream of our prosperity is tainted at its very
source."
The colonists were then few, but they cordially united in the endeavour
to extirpate this formidable enemy; and, although the wild dog is still
found in the interior of the island, he is comparatively seldom seen,
and his ravages have nearly ceased.
THE CANIS AUSTRALIS--KARÁRAHÉ, NEW ZEALAND DOG.
A tradition exists in New Zealand of this dog having been given to the
natives two or three centuries ago by a number of divinities who made
their descent on these shores, probably Juan Fernandez and his
companions. The sagacious animal has, however, dwindled down to the
lowest rank of his family, but ill usage has not altogether destroyed
his worth. In New Zealand he is the safeguard of every village. Should
the slightest alarm exist, he is the first to ascertain the cause of it,
and many families have saved themselves by flight, or have taken arms in
self-defence against the incursions of predatory bands. The New
Zealanders are therefore kind in their treatment of the dog, except that
they occasionally destroy him for his hide.
The name formerly given to the New Zealand dog was 'pero', which in
some measure substantiates the supposition of Juan Fernandez having
visited the country--'perro', in the Spanish language, being the
name of a dog.
We will now turn to the northern parts of America. The races of wild
dogs are there considerably limited, both in number and the districts
which they occupy.
In the elevated sandy country north of the source of the Missouri,
inhabited by the "Stone" and the "Black Foot" Indians, is a doubtful
species of dogs--wolves they used to be called--who hunt in large packs
and are exceedingly swift; whose bark is similar to that of the domestic
dog, but who burrow in the ground, and eagerly run to their holes, when
the gun of the hunter is heard.
[Our author evidently, in the above remarks, confounds the Louisiana
marmot, Arctomys Ludovicianus or Prairie dog, with the Canis Latrans of
Say, as he certainly would not make us believe that such harmless
animals as the marmot should associate themselves in packs to hunt the
deer or other quadrupeds; neither would he tell us that so different an
animal as the Canis Latrans could burrow in the ground and retreat to
their holes when surprised by the hunter. The Louisiana Marmot,
improperly called Prairie dog, is about sixteen inches long, and lives
in extended villages or excavations surmounted by mounds. These
communities often comprise several thousand inhabitants, whose sole food
consists in the scanty herbage surrounding the settlement, as they
seldom extend their excursions beyond a half-mile from their burrows for
fear of the wolves, and many other enemies.
The Canis Latrans, on the other hand, is quite a large and savage
animal, and frequently unites in bands to run down deer or buffalo
calves, but as for living under ground in burrows, it is quite out of
reason to suppose such a thing possible with this quadruped, who
secretes himself in the depths of the forest, and appears on the open
plain only when in pursuit of game.--L.] The habit of selecting large,
open, sandy plains, and burrowing there, extends to the greater part of
the American wild dogs.
[We have been credibly informed by several gentlemen, familiar with the
country of Mexico, that there is a diminutive species of dog running
wild, and burrowing in the ground as rabbits, in the neighbourhood of
Santa Fe and Chihuahua. A gentleman who has seen these animals, states
that there is no doubt as to their identity, having met with them in a
state of domestication, when they exhibited all the actions and manners
of a French lap dog, such as come from Cuba or other West India Islands.
They are of every variety of hue, and resort to their burrows whenever
disturbed in their natural haunts. What they subsist on it is difficult
to say, as they are too harmless and insignificant to attack any other
animal beyond a mouse or a snail. They are represented as being very
difficult to tame, but when domesticated show no disposition to return
to their former mode of life. The lady of the Mexican Minister, when in
this city, had one of these dogs as a boudoir pet; it was lively and
barked quite fiercely. We have not been able to ascertain whether they
bark in their natural state. The breed of dog cultivated in China for
food alone, are fed entirely upon rice meal and other farinaceous
articles, having no relish whatever for flesh or other strong
aliment.--L.]
In some parts of North America whole troops of horses are guarded and
kept together by dogs. If any of the troop attempt to steal away, the
dog will immediately fly after the horse, head him, and bring him back
to his companions.
[To show the necessity of having dogs for this purpose, as well as to
guard the flocks of sheep, we need only mention that it is no uncommon
thing for a Mexican to own several thousand horses, besides an immense
number of cattle.
Mr. Kendall, in his Santa Fé expedition, states that the proprietress of
one hacienda, a widow, and comparatively poor when the wonderful wealth
of her ancestors is considered, now owns fifty thousand horses and
mules, beside herds of cattle and sheep, and that the pasture ground
extended for fifty miles on either side of the road.
One of the former owners of this immense estate, a short time previous
to the revolution, sent as a present to a Spanish colonel, just arrived
with his regiment of dragoons, a thousand white horses, nearly all of
the same age, and every one raised on this prolific hacienda.--L.]
The wild dogs abound in many parts of South America. In some of the
forests on the banks of the Oronoko they multiply to an annoying degree.
The Cayotte of Mexico, described by some as a wolf, and bearing no
slight resemblance to that animal, belongs to the South American wild
dogs, as do also the Aguara dogs of every kind. These wanderers of the
woods are, however, diminished in numbers in every part of that
continent, and are replaced by other kinds, many of which have been
imported from Europe and domesticated.
[There is no country in the world more cursed with worthless curs than
that of Mexico and the other southern republics; the cities and villages
actually swarm with these animals, and produce no little vexation to
travellers, who speak of their eternal yelping and barking in the most
indignant terms.
Mr. Kendall, on entering San Antonio, says,
"From every house some half dozen Mexican curs would jump forth and
greet us with a chorus of yelps and barks, and before we had fairly
entered the town the canine hue and cry was general. Those who have
for the first time entered a Mexican town or city must have been
struck with the unusual number of dogs, and annoyed by their incessant
barking; but the stranger soon learns that they spend all their
courage in barks--they seldom bite."--L.]
Many of the Indian tribes have succeeded in reclaiming the dog of the
woods, and have made him a useful although not a perfectly attached
servant.
The dogs of the Falkland Islands, and the Indian North American dogs
generally, are brown or gray-coloured varieties of the wild dog; but as
they are nearly exterminated, will occupy little space. It has already
been stated that in Egypt and in Nubia we have the first records of the
dog. Many superstitious notions were connected with him, and divine
honours were paid to him. Those times are passed away, and he is
regarded with aversion by the Moslem of the present day. He is an
outcast. He obtains a scanty living by the offal which he gathers in the
towns, or he is become a perfect wild dog, and scours the country for
his prey. His modern name is the 'deab'. He is of considerable size,
with a round muzzle, large head, small erect ears, and long and hairy
tail, spotted with black, white, and yellow, and having a fierce wolfish
aspect. These dogs are not, however, numerous; but the mischief which
they do is often great, whether in pairs they burrow in the earth, or
associate with others and hunt in troops. [7]
In Nubia is a smaller dog of the same kind, which never burrows. It
lives on small animals and birds, and rarely enters any of the towns. A
similar dog, according to Colonel Hamilton Smith, inhabits the
neighbourhood of the Cape, and particularly the Karroo or Wilderness. It
is smaller than either of the others, and lives among bushes or under
prominent rocks. Others, although not identified with the jackal, yet
associating with him, inhabit the Uplands of Gambia and Senegal.
On the Gold Coast, the dog is used and prized as an article of food. He
is fattened and driven to market as the European drives his sheep and
hogs. The dog is even more valued than the sheep for human subsistence,
and is deemed the greatest luxury that can be placed even on the royal
table.
In Loango, or Lower Guinea, is a town from which the African wild dogs
derive their name--the 'dingo'. They hunt in large packs. They
fearlessly attack even the elephant, and generally destroy him. In the
neighbourhood of the Cape, the country is nearly cleared of wild beasts;
but in Cape Town there are a great number of lean and miserable dogs,
who howl about the streets at night, quitting their dens and
lurking-places, in quest of offal. No great while ago, the wolves and
hyaenas used to descend and dispute the spoil with the dogs, while the
town resounded with their hideous howlings all the night long.
This will be a proper place to refer to the numerous accounts that are
given both in ancient and modern times of the immolation of dogs, and of
their being used for food. They were sacrificed at certain periods by
the Greeks and Romans to almost all their deities, and particularly to
Mars, Pluto, and Pan, to Minerva, Proserpine, and Lucina, and also to
the moon, because the dog by his barking disturbed all charms and
spells, and frightened away all spectres and apparitions. The Greeks
immolated many dogs in honour of Hecate, because by their baying the
phantoms of the lower world were disturbed. A great number of dogs were
also destroyed in Samothrace in honour of the same goddess. Dogs were
periodically sacrificed in February, and also in April and in May; also
to the goddess Rubigo, who presided over the corn, and the Bona Dea,
whose mysterious rites were performed on Mount Aventine. The dog
Cerberus was supposed to be watching at the feet of Pluto, and a dog and
a youth were periodically sacrificed to that deity. The night when the
Capitol had nearly been destroyed was annually celebrated by the cruel
scourging of a dog in the principal public places, even to the death of
the animal.
[As on a certain occasion, the dogs who had the Capitol in custody, did
not bark and give warning when the Gauls attempted to scale the wails,
there is a custom annually observed at Rome, to transfix certain dogs to
forks, and thus crucified, hang them on an elder tree as examples of
justice. (Book 29, chap. IV. Pliny.)-L.]
Many of the Greek and Roman epicures were strangely fond of the flesh of
the dog, and those who ought to have known much better encouraged the
use of this food. Galen speaks of it in the strongest terms of praise.
Hippocrates says that the meat of old dogs is of a warm and dry quality,
giving strength to the eater. Ananias, the poet, speaks of dog's flesh
served up with that of the hare and fox. Virgil recommends that the
fatted dog should be served up with whey or butter; and Dioscorides, the
physician, says that they should be fed on the whey that remains after
the making of cheese.
[Independent of the many useful and interesting qualities that
necessarily endeared this animal to the ancients, he had yet stronger
claims upon them, in the prophylactic properties of different portions
of his body. Pliny, Hippocrates, Aristotle and others, speak of various
preparations made of his flesh, for the cure of many distempers. The
first-mentioned writer observes, that the ashes of burnt dogs, made into
a liniment, with oil, will make an excellent application to the
eye-brows, to turn them black. We doubt not that an analogous compound,
if proved to be really efficacious, might he introduced to the notice of
the belles of our own time, or meet with extensive sale for dyeing the
pagoties and mustachios of the modern dandy. This quaint philosopher
also recommends the same substance as a healing salve, for malignant
wounds, and the internal use of the same article as a preventive or cure
of hydrophobia and other distempers. (Book 28, chap, XI. and X.)--L.]
Before Christianity was established among the Danes, on every ninth year
at the winter solstice, a monstrous sacrifice of 99 dogs was effected.
In Sweden the sacrifice was still worse. On each of 9 successive days,
99 dogs were destroyed. This sacrifice of the dog, however, gave way to
one as numerous and as horrible. On every 9th year, 99 human victims
were immolated, and the sons of the reigning tyrant among the rest, in
order that the life of the monarch might be prolonged. [8]
On the other hand, the dog was frequently the executioner; and, from an
early period, whether in the course of war or the mock administration of
justice, thousands of poor wretches were torn to pieces by animals
trained to that horrible purpose.
Many of the Indians of North America, and almost of the present day, are
fond of the flesh of the dog.
Captain Carver, in his Travels in North America in 1766, 1767, and 1768,
describes the admission of an Indian into one of the horrible societies
of that country.
"The dishes being brought near to me," says he, "I perceived that they
consisted of dog's flesh, and I was informed that at all their grand
feasts they never made use of any other food. The new candidate
provides fat dogs for the festival, if they can be procured at any
price. They ate the flesh; but the head and the tongue were left
sticking on a pole with the front towards the east. When any noxious
disease appeared among them, a dog was killed, the intestines were
wound between two poles, and every man was compelled to pass between
them."
The Nandowepia Indians also eat dog's flesh as an article of luxury, and
not from any want or scarcity of other animal food; for they have the
bear, buffalo, elk, deer, beaver, and racoon.
Professor Keating, in his interesting work on the expedition to Peter's
River, states that he and a party of American officers were regaled in a
large pavilion on buffalo meat, and 'tepsia', a vegetable boiled in
buffalo grease, and the flesh of three dogs kept for the occasion, and
without any salt. They partook of the flesh of the dogs with a mixture
of curiosity and reluctance, and found it to be remarkably fat, sweet,
and palatable, divested of any strong taste, and resembling the finest
Welsh mutton, but of a darker colour. So strongly rooted, however, are
the prejudices of education, that few of them could be induced to eat
much of it.
The feast being over, great care was taken to replace the bones in their
proper places in the dish, after which they were carefully washed and
buried, as a token of respect to the animals generally, and because
there was the belief among them that at some future time they would
return again to life. Well-fattened puppies are frequently sold; and an
invitation to a feast of dog's meat is the greatest distinction that can
be offered to a stranger by any of the Indian nations east of the Rocky
Mountains.
[Notwithstanding the Indians occasionally eat their dogs either through
necessity or when they wish to pay a marked tribute of respect to their
gods, or prepare a feast of friendship with strangers, they value them
very highly, and do not by any means consider their flesh superior to
that of the buffaloes or other animals of the chase. Mr. Catlin remarks,
that "the dog, amongst all Indian tribes, is more esteemed and more
valued than amongst any part of the civilized world: the Indian, who has
more time to devote to his company, and whose untutored mind more nearly
assimilates to that of his faithful domestic, keeps him closer company
and draws him nearer his heart: they hunt together and are equal sharers
in the chase--their bed is one; and on the rocks and on their coats of
arms they carve his image as the symbol of fidelity." (Vol. I., p. 230.)
On visiting the Sioux, they prepared for this gentleman as a token of
regard a dog feast, previous to partaking of which they addressed him in
a manner that plainly exhibits the veneration in which they held these
faithful animals, at the same time forcibly demonstrating the peculiar
circumstances under which they alone are willing to destroy them:
"My father, I hope you will have pity upon us; we are very poor. We
offer you to-day not the best we have got; for we have a plenty of good
buffalo hump and marrow; but we give you our hearts in this feast, we
have killed our faithful dogs to feed you, and the Great Spirit will
seal our friendship. I have no more to say." (Vol. I., p. 229.)--L.]
As a counterpart to much of this, the ancient Hyrcanians may be
mentioned, who lived near the Caspian Sea, and who deemed it one of the
strongest expressions of respect to leave the corpse of their deceased
friends to be torn and devoured by dogs. Every man was provided with a
certain number of these animals, as a living tomb for himself at some
future period, and these dogs were remarkable for their fierceness.
[Not only the Hyrcanians but most of the people dwelling on or near the
Caspian sea, preserved this race or a similarly formidable one, more
particularly to devour their dead; it being considered more propitiatory
to the Gods, and more flattering to the spirits of the deceased, to make
this disposition of the corpse, than consigning it to the gloomy grave
or funeral pile.
This custom is noticed by Theodoret as being pursued by the inhabitants
of those parts, and was not abolished till after their adherence to
Christianity.--L.]
DOMESTICATED DOGS OF THE FIRST DIVISION
Some of the readers of this work may possibly recollect three beautiful
dogs of this species in the gardens of the Zoological Society of London,
which afforded a perfect illustration of the elongated head of the dogs
belonging to Cuvier's first section. Mr. Bennett, the Secretary of the
Society, gave an interesting account of them in 1835, derived from the
observation of Sir John Franklin and Dr. Richardson.
The elongation and sharpness of the muzzle, and the small capacity of
the skull, first attract attention. The dog was doubtless fitted for its
situation, where its duty is to hunt by sight after the moose or
rein-deer, but would have been comparatively worthless if he was to be
guided by the scent. Its erect ears, widened at the base and pointed at
the top, gave it an appearance of vivacity and spirit. Its depth of
chest, and tucked-up flank, and muscular quarters, marked it as a dog of
speed, while its light frame, and the length of the toes, and wideness
of web between them, seem to depict the kind of surface over which it
was to bound. It is not designed to seize and to hold any animal of
considerable bulk; it bounds over the snow without sinking, if the
slightest crust is formed upon it, and eagerly overtakes and keeps at
bay the moose or the rein-deer until the hunters arrive. This animal
furnishes a beautiful illustration of adaptation for a particular
purpose.
The hair of these dogs is white, with patches of grayish-black and
brown. They are known only in the neighbourhood of the Mackenzie River
and of the Great Bear Lake in North America They appear to be
good-tempered and easily manageable, and soon become familiar even with
strangers. They are most valuable to the Indians, who live almost
entirely on the produce of the chase. In their native country they never
bark, but utter a whine and howl resembling that of the Esquimaux dog;
yet one of the three, who was born a few days after its parents arrived
at the gardens, while it whined and howled occasionally with its
parents, at other times uttered the perfect bark of its companions of
various breeds around it.
[It is the general belief among the Indians and others who are familiar
with this dog, that his origin is connected, in some way, with the
Arctic Fox, Canis Lagopus, as he so much resembles this animal in his
general appearance and habits.
This fox when taken is easily tamed, a few days of captivity being often
sufficient to render him quite docile, and ample opportunities have thus
been afforded for studying his peculiarities.
Although the cross between the wolf and dog may be considered
established beyond controversy, the testimony is not so very conclusive
as regards the fox. The most authentic instances on record are perhaps
those mentioned by Mr. Daniel, who states that Mr. Tattersall had a
terrier bitch, who bred by a fox, and the produce again had whelps by
dogs, also that the woodman of Mongewell manor had a bitch, the
offspring of a tame dog-fox, by a shepherd's cur, and she again had
puppies by a dog; he does not state, however, that he knew these facts
personally; but concludes from these two instances, that the fox species
may be fairly added to the other supposed original stocks of dogs.
(Daniel's Rural Sports, vol. 1. p. 15.)
Mr. Collinson also states, that it is certain that the Siberian dog not
only copulates with the wolf, but with the fox also. Notwithstanding
this assertion, he is not able to cite a single instance, but on the
other hand is forced to acknowledge, that he never met with any person
who had seen the coupling of these two animals. The peasants of that
country have a small dog, which, from their foxy appearance, they term
fox-dogs. Our Indian dogs, also, resemble somewhat the wolves and foxes,
the original inhabitants of this continent, while the canine family
throughout the east is strongly marked with the jackal, the wild
aborigines of that portion of the world.
These dogs, when fighting, do not shake their antagonists, like the
perfectly domesticated dog; their teeth are extremely sharp, and when
snarling, the skin is drawn from the mouth; their bite is more severe,
and they show but little disposition to attack the wolves, although
quite eager in the pursuit of all other game. The Indians had no dogs
previous to the coming of the whites, but depended in a great measure,
when hunting, upon the presence of the wolves, who, by their howlings,
indicated the position of the herds of buffalo or deer, knowing full
well that after the general carnage, they would come in for a full share
of the garbage of these animals.
Harlan, in his Fauna Americana, says,
"we have very little doubt that the various species of domestic dogs
are mere varieties of prolific hybrids, produced by the union of the
wolf with the fox or jackal. A prolific hybrid of this kind once
produced, the progeny would more readily unite with the congeners of
either parent, and with each other, and in this manner give rise to
the innumerable varieties which at the present day are found scattered
over the face of the earth." (Page 77.)
It is somewhat strange, that no naturalist has, as yet, succeeded in
causing a union between the fox and dog, if the thing be possible. We
ourselves are cognizant of an instance, where every effort was made to
produce an offspring from such a connexion, but to no purpose, although
the terrier bitch was thrice in heat while confined with the fox, and
lived on the most amicable terms with him. We agree with Doct. Godman,
that if a litter has ever been generated by these two animals, they were
hybrids, as nothing to the contrary of an authentic character has been
brought forward, whereas it is well known that the fox always exhibits a
great antipathy and instinctive repugnance to such an union. It is also
reasonable to suppose that if prolific hybrids had at any time been
produced, the breed, from its singular character, would have been
propagated by the fortunate possessor, either from curiosity or utility.
The intestines of the fox are shorter than those of the dog or wolf--L.]
THE ALBANIAN DOG
can be traced to a very remote period of history. Some of the old
authors speak of it as the dog which in the times of ancient mythology
Diana presented to Procris. Pliny describes in enthusiastic terms the
combat of one of them with a lion, and afterwards with an elephant. A
dog very much resembling the ancient stories is yet found in Albania,
and most of the districts of Greece. He is almost as large as a mastiff,
with long and silky hair, the legs being shorter and stronger than those
of the greyhound. He is gentle and tractable with those whom he knows,
and when there is no point of duty at stake; but no bribe can seduce him
from his post when any trust is committed to him.
[This dog, it is very probable, was highly impregnated with molossian
blood, and like that animal, was trained both for war and the chase. It
is rather doubtful, whether the dogs presented to Alexander the Great by
the king of Albania, were those of his own country or some that he had
obtained from other parts. We are inclined to believe that they were
imported dogs, for Pliny distinctly states, that these two were all that
the generous monarch possessed, and if destroyed could not be replaced.
From this circumstance it is natural to suppose that, if these dogs had
been native Albanians, the king would have been able to supply any
reasonable quantity of them, and, therefore, not necessitated to send
this message to Alexander. On the other hand, if these dogs had been of
the pure molossian type, such as were raised in Epirus, it is probable
that their huge dimensions would not have surprised this monarch so
much, as it is reasonable to believe that Alexander would certainly have
seen, if not heard, of dogs so remarkable, belonging to a kingdom in
immediate contiguity with his own. We are, therefore, forced to look to
some other source, from whence came these proud dogs, who alone deigned
to contend with the lion and elephant, and must yield to Strabo, who
states that these animals were of the Indian breed.--L. 15.]
THE GREAT DANISH DOG, CALLED ALSO THE DALMATIAN OR SPOTTED DOG.
The difference between these two breeds consists principally in the
size, the Dalmatian being much smaller than the Danish. The body is
generally white, marked with numerous small round black or reddish-brown
spots. The Dalmatian is said to be used in his native country for the
chase, to be easily broken, and stanch to his work. He has never been
thus employed in England, but is chiefly distinguished by his fondness
for horses, and as being the frequent attendant on the carriages of the
wealthy. To that its office seems to be confined; for it rarely develops
sufficient sense or sagacity to be useful in any of the ordinary offices
of the dog.
[This dog is, perhaps, the tallest of the canine species in existence;
the smaller Dane, or "le braque de Bengal," of the French writers, is
perhaps a cross of this animal with the pointer or hound, or the
original dog degenerated by removal from his native soil. Although these
dogs generally display little or no intelligence, and are, in fact,
denounced by many writers as being incapable of acquiring sufficient
knowledge to make them in any way serviceable for hunting, still we are
led to believe that these latent qualities might be developed in this
breed as well as any other of his particular physical construction.
We had a little Dane in our possession, whom we instructed, with little
trouble, in a variety of tricks; although at first surly and stupid, he
soon exhibited great aptness and pleasure in repeating the various
lessons which we taught him. If he had been younger we might have given
him an opportunity of displaying himself in the field, as we are
confident, from his tractable disposition, that he might have been
tutored, with perseverance, even sufficiently well to stand upon game.
The dogs of Epirus were supposed to have been spotted like the
Dalmatian, if not of the same breed. These dogs may also be the "spotted
hounds" given by Pan to Diana.
Let the little Dane's intellectual abilities be what they may, long
habit and association have so intimately connected him with the stable
and its occupants that he seems no longer fit for any other purpose than
that of following in the wake of the carriages of the wealthy. This he
does with peculiar fondness and singular ingenuity; for, although
constantly by the side or at the heels of the horses, or under the
tongue of the vehicle, his sure retreat when attacked by other dogs, who
seem to have an antipathy for these pampered and fancy attendants on the
affluent, he seldom or never is trod upon, or otherwise injured.
The little Dane is often a good ratter; and a gentleman of this city
informs me that his dogs not only exhibit an attachment to horses in
general, but that one of them has a particular partiality for an old
carriage-horse, with whom he has been intimately associated for many
years, and always greets his return to the stable with every
demonstration of delight, by jumping up and kissing him, &c.--L.]
THE FRENCH MATIN.
('Canis laniarius'). There is considerable difficulty in describing this
variety. The French consider it as the progenitor of all the breeds of
dogs that resemble and yet cannot be perfectly classed with the
greyhound. It should rather be considered as a species in which are
included a variety of dogs,--the Albanian, the Danish, the Irish
greyhound, and almost the pure British greyhound. The head is elongated
and the forehead flat, the ears pendulous towards the tips, and the
colour of a yellowish fawn. This is the usual sheep-dog in France, in
which country he is also employed as a house-dog. He discharges his duty
most faithfully; and, notwithstanding his flat forehead, shows himself
to possess a very high degree of intelligence.
[The French matin we have seen of every variety of colour, being mostly
patched with brown, yellow, grey, black, or white. He is employed both
in France and Germany in hunting the boar and wolf; which savage animals
he fearlessly attacks with courage equal to any dog they possess.--L.]
THE GREYHOUND.
We find no mention of this dog in the early Grecian records. The
'pugnaces' and the 'sagaces' are mentioned; but the 'celeres'--the
swift-footed--are not spoken of as a peculiar breed. The Celtic nations,
the inhabitants of the northern continent of Europe and the Western
Islands, were then scarcely known, and the swift-footed dogs were
peculiar to those tribes. They were not, however, introduced into the
more southern parts of Europe until after the dissolution of the Roman
commonwealth.
The dog is, however, mentioned by Ovid; and his description of coursing
the hare is so accurate that we cannot refrain from inserting it. We
select a translation of it from Golding.
"I gat me to the knap
Of this same hill, and there behelde of this strange course the hap,
In which the beaste seemes one while caught, and ere a man would thinke
Doth quickly give the grewnd [9] the slip, and from his biting shrinke;
And, like a wilie fox, he runs not forth directly out,
Nor makes a winlas over all the champion fields about,
But, doubling and indenting, still avoydes his enemie's lips,
An turning short, as swift about as spinning-wheele he wips,
To disappoint the snatch. The grewnd, pursuing at an inch,
Doth cote [10] him, never loosing. Continually he snatches
In vaine, but nothing in his mouth, save only hair, he catches."
There is another sketch by the same poet:
"As when th' impatient greyhound, slipped from far,
Bounds o'er the glade to course the fearful hare,
She in her speed does all her safety lay,
And he with double speed pursues the prey;
O'erruns her at the sitting turn, but licks
His chaps in vain, yet blows upon the flix;
She seeks the shelter, which the neighbouring covert gives,
And, gaining it, she doubts if yet she lives." [11]
The English, Scotch, and Irish greyhounds were all of Celtic derivation,
And their cultivation and character correspond with the civilization of
the different Celtic tribes. The dogs that were exported from Britain to
Rome were probably of this kind. Mr. Blaine gives an account of the
progress of these dogs, which seems to be evidently founded on truth.
"Scotland, a northern locality, has long been celebrated for its
greyhounds, which are known to be large and wiry-coated. They are
probably types of the early Celtic greyhounds, which, yielding to the
influences of a colder climate than that they came from, became coated
with a thick and wiry hair. In Ireland, as being milder in its
climate, the frame expanded in bulk, and the coat, although not
altogether, was yet less crisped and wiry. In both localities, there
being at that time boars, wolves, and even bears, powerful dogs were
required. In England these wild beasts were more early exterminated,
and consequently the same kind of dog was not retained, but, on the
contrary, was by culture made finer in coat, and of greater beauty in
form."
[The canis leporarius, or greyhound of the present day, is quite an
inferior animal in point of size, when compared with his forefathers,
who alone were occupied in the chase of the boar, wolf, bear, deer, and
other animals both powerful and savage.
As these wild animals gradually disappeared under the hand of
civilization, these hardy dogs were less wanted; and thus, by slow
degrees, have degenerated into the less powerful, but more beautiful and
symmetrical proportions that we now see. This change, however, has
better adapted him for speed, and the coursing of such quadrupeds as
depend upon nimbleness and activity of motion, to secure their escape.
Owing, in some measure, to the climate, but more particularly to the
inactive life that they lead in this country, so much at variance with
that of England, we can lay claim to but few dogs that would be
considered above mediocrity among British sportsmen. We have seen
several of these dogs which, living in a state of idle luxury, have
degenerated considerably even in the third generation; and we cannot now
recall but one dog, in the possession of a young lady in Philadelphia,
that would at all come up to the English standard of perfection; and
this one is a descendant from a fine imported stock in the second
generation. The ancient Greeks were much devoted to coursing, but
previous to the time of Arrian, their hounds were not a sufficient
match, in point of speed, for the hare, and it was seldom that their
sports were attended with success in the actual capture of this fleet
animal by the dogs alone. If taken at all, it was generally by running
them down in a long chase, or driving them into nets, toils, and other
similar contrivances, as forcibly described in the following lines of
the ancient poet, when extolling the pleasures of a country life.
"Aut trudit acres hinc et hinc multâ cane
Apros in obstante plagas,
Aut amite levi rara leiidit retia,
Turdis edacibus dolos;
Pavidumve leporem, et advenam laqueo gruem,
Jucunda captat præmia."
(Horace, 'Epode ii.', v. 31.)
Even after the introduction of the Celtic hound, who, as before stated,
was far inferior as regards speed to the present race, it was no easy
matter to take the hare, it being necessary to carry several couples of
dogs into the field, and let them slip at certain intervals in the
chase, so that the fresh dogs might, in this way, overtake the little
animal, already frightened and fatigued by previous exertion.
In reference to this mode of coursing, the younger Xenophon particularly
enjoins that to prevent confusion in the field, naturally arising from
the hunters letting their dogs loose at improper intervals, from
eagerness to see them run,
"that a steward should be appointed over the sport, should match the
dogs, and give orders to the field:--if the hare start on this side,
you and you are to slip, and nobody else; but if on that side, you and
you: and let strict attention be paid to the orders given."
(Arrian, chap. xx.)
Alciphron, in his familiar epistles descriptive of the domestic manners
of the Greeks, gives a lively description of a course not very different
from those of the present day, as will be seen in the following extract:
"In trying whether the young dogs were fit for the chase, I started a
hare from a little bush; my sons loosed the dogs from the slips. They
frightened her confoundedly, and were very near taking the game. The
hare, in her flight, climbed a steep place, and found a retreat in
some burrow. One of the more spirited of the dogs, pressing close upon
her, gasping, and expecting to take her in his gripe, went down with
her into the hole. In endeavouring to pull out the hare, he broke one
of his fore-legs. I lifted up my good dog, with his lame leg, and
found the hare half devoured: thus, when I hoped to get something, I
encountered a serious loss."
(Letter ix.)
We will close our remarks upon this subject by introducing a few
descriptive lines, selected from one of the very rare English authors
who have attempted a versification of this exciting sport.
"Yet if for silvan sport thy bosom glow,
Let thy fleet greyhound urge his flying foe.
With what delight the rapid course I view!
How does my eye the circling race pursue!
He snaps deceitful air with empty jaws;
The suttle hare darts swift beneath his paws;
She flys, he stretches, now with nimble bound
Eager he presses on, but overshoots his ground:
Then tears with goary mouth the screaming prey."
('Gay's Poems', vol i.--'Rural Sports', v. 290),--L.]
Mr. Richardson, in his History of the Greyhound, gives a different
derivation of the name of this dog. He says that the 'greyhound' was of
Grecian origin--'cannis Græcus',--that 'Græcus' was not unfrequently
written 'Græius', and thence was derived the term 'greyhound'. This
derivation, however, is somewhat too far-fetched.
Mention occurs of the greyhound in a very early period of the British
history. He was an inmate of the Anglo-Saxon kennels in the time of
Elfric, king of Mercia. There are paintings of him that can be
satisfactorily traced to the ninth century. In the time of Canute he was
reckoned first in degree of rank among the canine species, and no one
under the degree of a gentleman, 'liberalis', or more properly, perhaps
a 'freeholder', was allowed by the forest laws to keep them. Even he
could not keep them within two miles of a royal forest, unless two of
the toes were cut off and for every mile that an uncut dog was found
within this distance a fine of a shilling was levied on the owner. The
nobleman was rarely seen abroad without his hawk upon his fist, and his
greyhound at his side.
Henry II was passionately fond of them. John spared no expense to
procure good horses and swift hounds, and appears frequently to have
received greyhounds in lieu of money on the issue or removal of grants.
For the renewal of a grant in the year 1203 he received five hundred
marks, ten horses, and ten leashes of greyhounds, and for another, in
1210, one swift running horse and six greyhounds.
The Isle of Dogs, now devoted to purposes of commerce, received its name
from its having been, at this period, the receptacle of the greyhounds
and spaniels of this monarch. It was selected on account of its
contiguity to Waltham and the other royal forests where coursing was a
frequent amusement. For the same purpose he often took up his abode at
Greenwich. [12]
Blount's Ancient Tenures abound with instances of the high repute in
which this dog has ever been held in Great Britain. The holders of land
in the manor of Setene in Kent were compelled, as the condition of their
tenure to Edward I and II, to lend their greyhounds, when this king went
into Gascony, "so long as a pair of shoes of 4d price would last."
Edward III was partial to greyhounds; for when he was engaged in war
with France he took with him sixty couples of them, besides other large
hunting dogs.
Charles I was as fond of the greyhound as his son Charles II was of the
spaniel. Sir Philip Warwick thus writes of that unfortunate monarch;
"Methinks, because it shows his dislike of a common court vice, it is
not unworthy the relating of him, that one evening, his dog scratching
at his door, he commanded me to let in Gipsy; whereupon I took, the
boldness to say, Sir, I perceive you love a greyhound better than you
do a spaniel. Yes, says he, for they equally love their masters, and
yet do not flatter them so much."
On most of the old tombs in the sculpture of which the dog is
introduced, the greyhound is represented lying at the feet of his
master; and an old Welsh proverb says that a gentleman may be known by
his hawk, his horse, and his greyhound.
The following poetical record of the fidelity, prowess, and ill-fate of
Gêlert, the favourite greyhound of Llewellyn Prince of Wales, and
son-in-law to King John, will he read with interest:
The spearman heard the bugle sound
And cheerly smiled the morn,
And many a brach and many a hound
Obeyed Llewellyn's horn.
And still as blew a lowder blast,
And gave a louder cheer,
"Come, Gêlert! why art thou the last
Llewellyn's horn to hear?"
"Oh, where does faithful Gêlert roam?
The flower of all his race!
So true, so brave; a lamb at home,
A lion in the chase?"
'Twas only at Lewellyn's board
The faithful Gêlert fed,
He watched, he served, he cheered his lord,
And sentinel'd his bed.
In sooth he was a peerless hound,
The gift of royal John;
But now no Gêlert could be found,
And all the chase rode on.
And now as over rocks and dells
The gallant chidings rise,
All Snowdon's craggy chaos yells
With many mingled cries.
That day llewellyn little loved
The chase of hart or hare;
And scan and small the booty proved,
For Gêlert was not there.
Unpleased Llewellyn homeward hied,
When near the portal seat
His truant Gêlert he espied,
Bounding his lord to greet.
But when he gained the castle-door,
Aghast the chieftan stood;
The hound was smeared with gouts of gore--
His lips and fangs ran blood.
Llewellyn gazed with wild surprise:
Unused such looks to meet,
His favourite check'd his joyful guise
And crouched and licked his feet.
Onward in haste Llewellyn pass'd,
And on went Gélert too;
And still where'er his eyes he cast,
Fresh blood-gouts shocked his view.
O'erturned his infant's bed he found,
The blood-stained covert rent;
And all around the walls and ground,
With recent blood besprent.
He called his child--no voice replied--
He searched with terror wild:
Blood! blood! he found on every side,
But nowhere found the child.
'Hellhound! by thee my child's devoured!'
The frantic father cried;
And to the hilt his vengeful sword
He plunged in Gélert's side.
His suppliant, as to earth he fell,
No pity could impart;
But still his Gélert's dying yell
Passed heavy o'er his heart.
Aroused by Gélert's dying yell,
Some slumberer wakened nigh:
What words the parent's joy can tell
To hear his infant cry!
Concealed beneath a mangled heap
His hurried search had missed,
All glowing from his rosy sleep,
His cherub boy he kissed.
Nor scratch had he, nor harm, nor dread,
But the same couch beneath,
Lay a great wolf, all torn and dead,
Tremendous still in death.
Ah, what was then Llewellyn's pain!
For now the truth was clear:
The gallant hound the wolf had slain,
To save Llewellyn's heir.
Vain, vain was all Llewellyn's wo:
"Best of thy kind, adieu!
The frantic deed which laid thee low,
This heart shall ever rue."
And now a gallant tomb they raise,
With costly sculpture decked;
And marbles, storied with his praise,
Poor Gélert's bones protect.
Here never could the spearman pass,
Or forester, unmoved;
Here oft the tear-besprinkled grass
Llewellyn's sorrow proved.
And here he hung his horn and spear;
And oft, as evening fell,
In fancy's piercing sounds would hear
Poor Gêlert's dying yell!
It will be evident, however, from the story of the noble hound whose
history is just related, that the greyhounds of the time were very
different from those which are used at the present day. There are no
Gêlerts now to combat successfully with the wolf, if these ferocious
animals were yet to be met with in our forests. The greyhound of this
early period must have resembled the Irish wolf-dog of the present day,
a larger, stronger, fiercer dog than we are accustomed to see.
The owner of Gêlert lived in the time of John, in the early part of the
thirteenth century; but, at the latter part of the fifteenth century,
the following singular description is given of the greyhound of that
period. It is extracted from a very curious work entitled "The Treatise
perteynynge to Hawkynge, Huntynge, &c., emprynted at Westmestre, by
Wynkyn de Werde, 1496."
A greyhounde should be headed lyke a snake,
And neckyd lyke a drake,
Fotyd lyke a cat
Tayled lyke a ratte,
Syded like a teme
And chyned like a bream.
The fyrste yere he must lerne to fede,
The seconde yere to feld him lede.
The thyrde yere he is felow lyke.
The fourth yere there is non syke.
The fifth yere he is good ynough.
The syxth yere he shall hold the plough,
The seventh yere he will avaylle
Grete bytches for assayle.
But when he is come to the ninth yere
Have him then to the tannere;
For the best hounde that ever bytch had
At the ninth yere is full bad.
As to the destiny of the poor animal in his ninth year, we differ from
the author; but it cannot be denied that few dogs retain their speed
beyond the eighth or ninth year.
There can scarcely be a better description of the greyhound of the
present day; but it would not do for the antagonist of the wolf. The
breed had probably begun to degenerate, and that process would seem to
have slowly progressed. Towards the close of the last century, Lord
Orford, a nobleman enthusiastically devoted to coursing, imagined, and
rightly, that the greyhound of his day was deficient in courage and
perseverance. He bethought himself how this could best be rectified, and
he adopted a plan which brought upon him much ridicule at the time, but
ultimately redounded to his credit. He selected a bull-dog, one of the
smooth rat-tailed species, and he crossed one of his greyhound bitches
with him. He kept the female whelps and crossed them with some of his
fleetest dogs, and the consequence was, that, after the sixth or seventh
generation, there was not a vestige left of the form of the bulldog; but
his courage and his indomitable perseverance remained, and, having once
started after his game, he did not relinquish chase until he fell
exhausted or perhaps died. This cross is now almost universally adopted.
It is one of the secrets in the breeding of the greyhound.
Of the stanchness of the well-bred greyhound, the following is a
satisfactory example. A hare was started before a brace of greyhounds,
and ran by them for several miles. When they were found, both the dogs
and the hare lay dead within a few yards of each other. A labouring man
had seen them turn her several times; but it did not appear that either
of them had caught her, for there was no wound upon her.
A favourite bitch of this breed was Czarina, bred by Lord Orford, and
purchased at his decease by Colonel Thornton: she won every match for
which she started, and they were no fewer than forty-seven. Lord Orford
had matched her for a stake of considerable magnitude; but, before the
appointed day arrived, he became seriously ill and was confined to his
chamber. On the morning of the course he eluded the watchfulness of his
attendant, saddled his favourite piebald pony, and, at the moment of
starting, appeared on the course. No one had power to restrain him, and
all entreaties were in vain. He peremptorily insisted on the dogs being
started, and he would ride after them. His favourite bitch displayed her
superiority at every stroke; she won the stakes: but at the moment of
highest exultation he fell from his pony, and, pitching on his head,
almost immediately expired. With all his eccentricities, he was a kind,
benevolent, and honourable man.
In the thirteenth year of her age, and in defiance of the strange verses
just now quoted, Czarina began to breed, and two of her progeny, Claret
and young Czarina, challenged the whole kingdom and won their matches.
Major, and Snowball, without a white spot about him, inherited all the
excellence of their dam. The former was rather the fleeter of the two,
but the stanchness of Snowball nothing could exceed. A Scotch greyhound,
who had beaten every opponent in his own country, was at this time
brought to England, and challenged every dog in the kingdom. The
challenge was accepted by Snowball, who beat him in a two-mile course.
Snowball won the Mailton cup on four successive years, was never beaten,
and some of his blood is now to be traced in almost every good dog in
every part of the kingdom, at least in all those that are accustomed to
hunt in an open country. The last match run by Snowball was against Mr.
Plumber's celebrated greyhound Speed; and, so severely contested was it,
that Speed died soon afterwards. A son of the old dog, called Young
Snowball, who almost equalled his father, was sold for one hundred
guineas.
The speed of the greyhound has been said to be equal to that of the
fleetest horse. A singular circumstance, which occurred at Doncaster,
proved that it was not much inferior. A mare cantering over the
Doncaster course, her competitor having been withdrawn, was joined by a
greyhound bitch when she had proceeded about a mile. She seemed
determined to race with the mare, which the jockey humoured, and
gradually increased his pace, until at the distance they put themselves
at their full speed. The mare beat her antagonist only by a head. The
race-horse is, perhaps, generally superior to the greyhound on level
ground, but the greyhound would have the advantage in a hilly country.
Lord Rivers succeeded to Major Topham and Colonel Thornton, the owners
of Major and Snowball, as the leading man on the course. His kennels at
Strathfieldsaye were the pride of the neighbouring country. At first he
bore away almost every prize, but breeding too much in and in, and for
speed more than for stoutness, the reputation of his kennel considerably
declined before his death.
In 1797 a brace of greyhounds coursed a hare over the edge of a
chalk-pit at Offham, in Sussex. The hare and both the dogs were found
dead at the bottom of the pit.
On another occasion a hare was chased by a brace of greyhounds: she was
killed at the distance of seven miles from the place at which they
started. Both of the dogs were so exhausted, that every possible
assistance being given, they were with difficulty recovered.
The English greyhound hunts by sight alone; not because he is altogether
devoid of scent, but because he has been taught to depend upon his
speed, and that degree of speed which is utterly incompatible with the
searching out of the scent. It is like a pack of hounds, running breast
high, with the game in view. They are then running by sight, and not by
scent, almost doubling their usual pace, and sometimes, from an
unexpected turning of the fox or hare, thrown out for a little while.
The hound soon recovers the track by his exquisite sense of smell. The
English greyhound is never taught to scent his game, but, on the
contrary, is called off the moment he has lost sight of the hare, the
re-starting of which is left to the spaniel.
The English greyhound is distinguished by its peculiarly long and
attenuated head and face, terminating in a singular sharpness of the
nose, and length of the muzzle or month. There are two results from
this: the length of the mouth gives a longer grasp and secures the prey,
but, as the nasal cavities and the cavity of the skull are
proportionately diminished, there is not so much room for the expansion
of the membrane of the nose, there is less power of scent, and less
space for the development of the brain.
There is little want of extraordinary acute hearing, and the ears of the
greyhound are small compared with his bulk. Markham recommends the ears
to be close, sharp, and drooping, neither protruding by their bulk, nor
tiring by their weight.
The power of the eye is but of little consequence, for the game is
rarely distant from the dog, and therefore, easily seen.
The neck is an important portion of the frame. It should be long, in
order to correspond with the length of the legs, and thus enable the dog
to seize and lift the game, as he rapidly pursues his course, without
throwing any undue or dangerous weight on the fore extremities. In the
act of seizing the hare the short-necked dog may lose the centre of
gravity and fall.
The chest is a very important part of the greyhound, as well as of every
other animal of speed. It must be capacious: this capacity must be
obtained by depth rather than by width, in order that the shoulders may
not be thrown so far apart as to impede progression.
The form and situation of the shoulders are of material consequence; for
on them depends the extent of the action which the animal is capable of
exerting. The shoulders should be broad and deep, and obliquely placed.
They are so in the horse, and the action of the dog depends entirely on
this conformation.
The fore legs should be set on square at the shoulder: bulging out at
the elbow not only gives a clumsy appearance, but makes the dog slow.
The legs should have plenty of bone, and be straight, and well set on
the feet, and the toes neither turned out nor in. The fore arm, or that
portion of the leg which is between the elbow and the knee, should be
long, straight and muscular. These are circumstances that cannot be
dispensed with. The length of the fore arm, and the low placing of the
pastern, are of essential importance.
With regard to the form of the back and sides of the greyhound, Mr.
Thacker says, with much truth, that
"It is the strength of the back which is brought into requisition, in
particular, in running over hilly ground. Here may be said to rest the
distinction between long and short backs, supposing both to be good
and strong. The more lengthy the back, and proportionately strong, the
more the greyhound is calculated to beat the shorter-backed dog on the
flat; but on hilly ground one with a shorter back will have the
advantage." [13]
The ribs should also be well arched. We would perhaps avoid him with
sides too decidedly outswelling, but still more would we avoid the
direct flat-sided dog.
Without really good haunches and muscular thighs, it has been well
remarked that the odds are against any dog, be his other points whatever
they may. It is by the propulsatory efforts of the muscles of the loins
and thighs that the race is won. The thighs should be large, and
muscularly indented; the hocks broad, and, like the knee, low placed.
These are very important points; for, as Mr. Blaine has properly
remarked, "on the extent of the angles formed between these several
portions of the hinder limbs, depends the extent of the space passed
over at each bound."
The colour of the greyhound varies exceedingly. Some are perfectly black
and glossy. In strength and endurance, the brindled dog, or the brown or
fawn-coloured one, is the best. The white greyhound, although a
beautiful animal and swift, is not, perhaps, quite so much to be
depended on.
The greyhound is said to be deficient in attachment to his master and in
general intelligence. There is some truth in the imputation; but, in
fact, the greyhound has, far less than even the hound, the opportunity
of forming individual attachments, and no other exercise of the mind is
required of him than to follow the game which starts up before him, and
to catch it if he can. If, however, he is closely watched he will be
found to have all the intellect that his situation requires. [14]
As to the individual attachment which the greyhound may form, he has not
always or often the opportunity to acquire or to exhibit it. The keeper
exercises over him a tyrannical power, and the owner seldom notices him
in the manner which excites affection, or scarcely recognition; but, as
a plea for the seeming want of fondness, which, compared with other
breeds, he exhibits, it will be sufficient to quote the testimony of the
younger Xenophon, who had made the greyhound his companion and his
friend.
"I have myself bred up," says he, "a swift, hard-working, courageous,
sound-footed dog. He is most gentle and kindly affectioned, and never
before had I any such a dog for myself, or my friend, or my
fellow-sportsman. When he is not actually engaged in coursing, he is
never away from me. On his return he runs before me, often looking
back to see whether I had turned out of the road, and as soon as he
again catches sight of me, showing symptoms of joy, and once more
trotting away before me. If a short time only has passed since he has
seen me or my friend, he jumps up repeatedly by way of salutation, and
barks with joy as a greeting to us. He has also many different tones
of speech, and such as I never heard from any other dog. Now really I
do not think that I ought to be ashamed to chronicle the name of this
dog, or to let posterity know that Xenophon the Athenian had a
greyhound, called Hormé, possessed of the greatest speed, and
intelligence, and fidelity, and excellent in every point."
[The Greek sportsmen held their dogs in peculiar estimation; they were
not only their attendants in the field, but their constant companions in
their houses, were fed from their tables, and even shared their beds. It
is with some degree of pleasure that the patrons of this noble animal
will witness, in the following remarks, the tender solicitude with which
this people watched over their dogs.
"There is nothing like a soft and warm bed for greyhounds, but it is
best for them to sleep with men, as they become thereby affectionately
attached, pleased with the contact of the human body, and as fond of
their bed-fellow as of their feeder. If any ailing affect the dog the
man will perceive it, and will relieve him in the night, when thirsty,
or urged by any call of nature. He will also know how the dog has
rested. For if he has passed a sleepless night, or groaned frequently
in his sleep, or thrown up any of his food, it will not be safe to
take him out coursing. All these things the dog's bed-fellow will be
acquainted with."
(Arrian, chap. ix. Trans.)
It was also not an unusual circumstance for the most polished Greeks,
when sending notes of invitation to their friends, requesting their
presence in celebration of some festive occasion, to extend the same
civilities to their favourite dogs, by desiring them to be brought
along, as will be seen by the following paragraph selected from a letter
of this kind addressed by one friend to another.
"I am about to celebrate the birth-day of my son, and I invite you, my
Pithacion, to the feast. But come not alone; bring with you your wife,
children, and your brother. If you will bring also your bitch, who is
a good guard, and by the loudness of her voice drives away the enemies
of your flocks, she will not, I warrant, disdain to be partaker of our
feast, &c."
(Letter xviii., Alciphron's Epistles.)--L.]
The greyhound has within the last fifty years assumed a somewhat
different character from that which he once possessed. He is
distinguished by a beautiful symmetry of form, of which he once could
not boast, and he has even superior speed to that which he formerly
exhibited. He is no longer used to struggle with the deer, but he
contends with his fellow over a shorter and speedier course.
The rules for breeding and breaking-in of greyhounds are very simple.
The utmost attention should be paid to the qualities of the parents; for
it is as certain in these dogs as in the horse that all depends upon the
breeding. The bitch should be healthy and of good size; the dog
muscular, stanch, and speedy, and somewhat larger than the bitch. Both
should have arrived at their full vigour, and with none of their powers
beginning to fail. Those as much as possible should be selected whose
peculiar appearance bids fair to increase the good qualities and
diminish the bad ones on either side. The best blood and the best form
should be diligently sought. Breeding from young dogs on either side
should, generally speaking, be avoided. With regard to older dogs,
whether male or female, there may be less care. Many greyhounds, both
male and female, eight, nine, and ten years of age, have been the
progenitors of dogs possessing every stanch and good quality.
On no consideration, however, should the bitch be put to the dog before
she is two years old. Little can be done to regulate the period of
oestrum; but the most valuable breed will be almost invariably that
which is produced during the spring, because at that time there will
often be opportunity for that systematic exercise on which the growth
and powers of the dog so materially depend. A litter of puppies in the
beginning or even the middle of winter will often be scarcely worth the
trouble or expense of rearing.
The age of the greyhound is now taken from the first day in the year;
but the conditions of entry are fixed at different periods. It seems,
however, to be agreed that no dog or bitch can qualify for a puppy cup
after two years of ago.
One principle to be ever kept in mind is a warm and comfortable
situation, and a plentiful supply of nourishment for the mother and for
the puppies from the moment of their birth. The dog that is stinted in
his early growth will never do its owner credit. The bitch should be
abundantly supplied with milk, and the young ones with milk and bread,
and oatmeal, and small portions of flesh as soon as they are disposed to
eat it; great care, however, being taken that they are not over-gorged.
Regular and proper feeding, with occasional exercise, will constitute
the best preparation for the actual training. If a foster-mother be
required for the puppies, it should, if possible, be a greyhound; for it
is not at all impossible that the bad qualities of the nurse may to a
greater or less degree be communicated to the whelps. Bringing up by
hand is far preferable to the introduction of any foster-mother. A glass
or Indian-rubber bottle may be used for a little while, if not until the
weaning. Milk at first, and afterwards milk and sop alternately, may be
used.
There is a difference of opinion whether the whelp should be kept in the
kennel and subjected to its regular discipline, or placed at walk in
some farm-house. In consequence of the liberty he will enjoy at the
latter, his growth will probably be more rapid; but, running with the
farmers' dogs, and probably coursing many hares, he will acquire, to a
certain degree, a habit of wildness. It is useless to deny this; but, on
the other hand, nothing will contribute so much to the development of
every power as a state of almost unlimited freedom when the dogs are
young. The wildness that will be exhibited can soon be afterwards
restrained so far as is necessary, and the dog who has been permitted to
exert his powers when young will manifest his superiority in more
advanced age, and in nothing more than his dexterity at the turn.
When the training actually commences, it should be preceded by a couple
of doses of physic, with an interval of five or six days, and, probably,
a moderate bleeding between them; for, if the dog begins to work
overloaded with flesh and fat, he will suffer so severely from it that
possibly he will never afterwards prove a game dog. In the course of his
training he should be allowed every advantage and experience every
encouragement. His courses should be twice or thrice a-week, according
to their severity, and as often as it can be effected be should be
rewarded with some mark of kindness.
In the 'Sportsman' for April, 1840, is an interesting account of the
chase of the hare. It is said that, in general, a good greyhound will
reach a hare if she runs straight. He pursues her eagerly, and the
moment he is about to strike at her she turns short, and the dog, unable
to stop himself, is thrown from ten to twenty yards from her. These
jerking turns soon begin to tell upon a dog, and an old well-practised
hare will seldom fail to make her escape. When, however, pursued by a
couple of dogs, the hare has a more difficult game to play, as it
frequently happens that when she is turned by the leading dog she has
great difficulty in avoiding the stroke of the second.
It is highly interesting to witness the game of an old hare. She has
generally some brake or thicket in view, under the cover of which she
means to escape from her pursuers. On moving from her seat she makes
directly for the hiding-place, but, unable to reach it, has recourse to
turning, and, 'wrenched' by one or the other of her pursuers, she seems
every moment almost in the jaws of one of them, and yet in a most
dexterous manner she accomplishes her object. A greyhound, when he
perceives a hare about to enter a thicket, is sure to strike at her if
within any reasonable distance. The hare shortens her stride as she
approaches the thicket, and at the critical moment she makes so sudden,
dexterous, and effectual a spring, that the dogs are flung to a
considerable distance, and she has reached the cover and escaped.
The isle of Cyprus has for many years been celebrated for its breed of
the greyhound. On grand days, or when the governor is present, the sport
is conducted in a curious manner. When the hare is ready to become the
prey of its enemies, the governor rushes forwards, and, throwing before
the greyhounds a stick which he carries, they all instantaneously stop.
The hare now runs a little distance; but one of the swiftest greyhounds
is then let loose. He pursues the hare, and, having come up with it,
carries it back, and, springing on the neck of the governor's horse,
places it before him. The governor delivers it to one of his officers,
who sends it to the park, where he maintains many prisoners of the same
kind; for he will not destroy the animal that has contributed to his
amusement. [15]
The following, according to Mr. Blaine, an ardent courser in his youth,
is the best mode of feeding greyhounds at regular work:
"The dogs had a full flesh meal every afternoon or evening, as more
nutriment is derived from night-feeding than by day, and when sleeping
than when waking. In the morning they were let out, and either
followed the keeper about the paddock, or the groom in his horse
exercise, and then had a trifling meat of mixed food, as a quieting
portion, until the evening full meal. Such was our practice on the
days when no coursing was contemplated, and, with the exception of
lowering the quantity and quality of the evening meal, the same plan
was pursued throughout the year. On the day previous to coursing, if
we intended anything like an exhibition of our dogs before company
engaged to meet us on the marshes, we gave a plentiful meal early the
previous day, some exercise also in the afternoon, and a light supper
at night, of meal with either broth or milk, with a man on horseback
going a gentle trot of six or seven miles an hour." [16]
Mr. Thacker orders the greyhounds out on the fore part of every day;
but, instead of being loose and at liberty, they would be much better
two and two; then, when he meets with a proper field to loose them in,
to give them a good gallop. This will be a greater novelty than if they
had been loose on the road, and they will gallop with more eagerness.
Four days in a week will be enough for this exercise. On one day there
should he a gallop of one or two miles, or even a course for each brace
of dogs.
The young dog has usually an older and more experienced one to start
with him. That which is of most importance is, that his leader should be
a thoroughly stout and high-mettled dog. If he shrinks or shies at any
impediment, however formidable, the young one will be sure to imitate
him, and to become an uncertain dog, if not a rank coward. Early in
November is the time when these initiatory trials are to be made. It is
of consequence that the young one should witness a death as soon as
possible. Some imagine that two old dogs should accompany the young one
at its first commencement. After the death of the leveret, the young dog
must be coaxed and fondled, but never suffered to taste the blood.
In kennels in which the training is regularly conducted, the dog should
be brushed all over twice every day. Few things contribute so much to
health as general cleanliness, and friction applied to the skin. Warmth
is as necessary for greyhounds as for horses, and should not be
forgotten in cold weather. Body-clothing is a custom of considerable
antiquity, and should not be abandoned. The breeder of greyhounds for
the purpose of coursing must reckon upon incurring considerable expense;
but, if he loves the sport, ho will be amply remunerated by the speed
and stoutness of his dogs.
A question has arisen whether, on the morning of the coursing, any
stimulant should be given to the dog. The author of this work would
unhesitatingly approve of this practice. He has had abundant experience
of the good effect of it; but the stimulus must be that which, while it
produces the desired effect, leaves no exhaustion behind. [17]
THE SCOTCH GREYHOUND
has the same sharpness of muzzle, length of head, lightness of ear, and
depth of chest, as the English dog; but the general frame is stronger
and more muscular, the hind quarters more prominent, there is evident
increase of size and roughness of coat, and there is also some
diminution of speed. If it were not for these points, these dogs might
occasionally be taken for each other. In coursing the hare, no
north-country dog will stand against the lighter southern, although the
southern would be unequal to the labour often required from the
Highlander.
The Scotch greyhound is said--perhaps wrongly--to be oftenest used by
those who look more to the quantity of game than to the fairness and
openness of the sport, and in some parts of the country this dog is not
permitted to be entered for a sweepstakes, because, instead of depending
on his speed alone, as does the English greyhound, he has recourse to
occasional artifices in order to intercept the hare. In sporting
language he runs sly, and, therefore, is sometimes excluded.
THE HIGHLAND GREYHOUND, OR DEER-HOUND
is a larger, stronger, and fiercer dog, and may be readily distinguished
from the Lowland Scotch greyhound by its pendulous, and, generally,
darker ears, and by the length of hair which almost covers his face.
Many accounts have been given of the perfection of its scent, and it is
said to have followed a wounded deer during two successive days. He is
usually two inches taller than the Scotch greyhound. The head is carried
particularly high, and gives to the animal a noble appearance. His limbs
are exceedingly muscular, his back beautifully arched. The tail is long
and curved, but assumes the form of an almost straight line when he is
much excited. The only fault which these dogs have is their occasional
ill-temper, or even ferocity; but this does not extend to the owner and
his family.
It appears singular that the English greyhound exhibits so little power
of scent; but this is simply because he has never been taught to use it,
or has been cruelly corrected when he has attempted to exercise it.
Holinshed relates the mischief that followed the stealing of one of
these dogs:
"Divers of the young Pictesh nobilitye repaired unto Craithlint, King
of the Scots, for to hunt and make merie with him; but, when they
should depart homewards, perceiving that the Scotish dogs did far
excel theirs, both in fairnesse, swiftnesse, and hardinesse, and also
in long standing up and holding out, they got diverse both dogs and
bitches of the best kind for breed, to be given them by the Scotish
Lords: and yet not so contented, they stole one belonging to the King
from his keeper, being more esteemed of him than all the others which
he had about him. The maister of the leash, being informed hereof
pursued after them that had stolen the dog, thinking, indeed, to have
taken him from them: but they not being to part with him fell at
altercation, and at the end chanced to strike the maister of the leash
through with their horse spears, so that he did die presently.
Whereupon noise and crie being raised in the country by his servantes,
divers of the Scots, as they were going home from hunting, returned,
and falling upon the Picts to revenge the death of their fellow, there
ensued a shrewed bickering betwixt them; so that of the Scots there
died three score gentlemen, besides a great number of the commons, not
one of them understanding what the matter meant. Of the Picts there
were about 100 slaine."
Mr. H.D. Richardson describes a cross between the greyhound and British
bloodhound:
"It is a tall muscular raw-boned dog, the ears far larger, and more
pendulous, than those of the greyhound or deer-hound. The colour is
generally black, or black and tan; his muzzle and the tips of the ears
usually dark. He is exceedingly swift and fierce; can pull down a stag
single-handed; runs chiefly by sight, but will also occasionally take
up the scent. In point of scent, however, he is inferior to the true
deer-hound. This dog cannot take a turn readily, but often fails at
the double." [18]
THE IRISH GREYHOUND.
This dog differs from the Scotch, in having shorter and finer hair, of a
pale fawn colour, and pendent ears. It is, compared with the Scotch dog,
gentle and harmless, perhaps indolent, until roused. It is a larger dog
than the Scottish dog, some of them being full four feet in length, and
proportionately muscular. On this account, and also on account of their
determined spirit when roused, they were carefully preserved by some
Irish gentlemen. They were formerly used in hunting the wolf when that
animal infested the forests of Ireland. Mr. Bell says that the last
person who kept the pure breed was Lord Altamont, who in 1780 "had eight
of them." [19]
THE GASEHOUND,
the 'agasaeus' of former times, was probably allied to, or connected
with, the Irish greyhound. It hunted entirely by sight, and, if its prey
was lost for a time, it could recover it by a singular distinguishing
faculty. Should the deer rejoin the herd, the dog would unerringly
select him again from all his companions:
"Seest thou the gasehound how with glance severe
From the close herd he marks the destined deer?" [20]
There is no dog possessed of this quality at present known in Europe;
but the translator of Arrian thinks that it might be produced between
the Irish greyhound and the bloodhound.
THE IRISH WOLF-DOG
This animal is nearly extinct, or only to be met with at the mansions of
one or two persons by whom he is kept more for show than use, the wild
animals which he seemed powerful enough to conquer having long
disappeared from the kingdom. The beauty of his appearance and the
antiquity of his race are his only claims, as he disdains the chase of
stag, fox, or hare, although he is ever ready to protect the person and
the property of his master. His size is various, some having attained
the height of four feet, and Dr. Goldsmith stales that he saw one as
large as a yearling calf. He is shaped like a greyhound, but stouter;
and the only dog which the writer from whom this account is taken ever
saw approaching to his graceful figure, combining beauty with strength,
is the large Spanish wolf-dog: concerning which he adds, that, showing
one of these Spanish dogs to some friends, he leaped through a window
into a cow-house, where a valuable calf was lying, and seizing the
terrified animal, killed it in an instant; some sheep having in the same
way disappeared, he was given away. The same writer says that his
grandfather had an Irish wolf-dog which saved his mother's life from a
wolf as she was paying a visit attended by this faithful follower. He
rushed on his foe just when he was about to make his spring, and after a
fierce struggle laid him dead at his mistress's feet. His name was Bran.
[21]
THE RUSSIAN GREYHOUND
is principally distinguished by its dark-brown or iron-grey colour--its
short semi-erect ears--its thin lanky body--long but muscular legs--soft
thick hair, and the hair of its tail forming a spiral twist, or fan,
(thence called the fan-tailed dog,) and as he runs having a very
pleasing appearance. He hunts by scent as well as by sight, and,
therefore, small packs of this kind are sometimes kept, against which
the wolf, or even the bear, would stand little chance. He is principally
used for the chase of the deer or the wolf, but occasionally follows the
hare. The deer is the principal object of pursuit, and for this he is
far better adapted than to contend with the ferocious wolf. His
principal faults are want of activity and dexterity. He is met with in
most parts of Russia, where his breed is carefully preserved by the
nobility, with whom coursing is a favourite diversion.
Some dogs of this breed were not long ago introduced into Ireland.
THE GRECIAN GREYHOUND
The author is glad that he is enabled to present his readers with the
portrait of one now in the menagerie of the Zoological Society of
London. It is the dog whose image is occasionally sculptured on the
friezes of some of the ancient Grecian temples, and was doubtless a
faithful portrait of one of the dogs which Xenophon the Athenian valued,
and was the companion of the heroes of Greece in her ancient glory.
The principal difference between the Grecian and the English greyhound
is, that the former is not so large, the muzzle is not so pointed, and
the limbs are not so finely framed.
THE TURKISH GREYHOUND
is a small-sized hairless dog, or with only a few hairs on his tail. He
is never used in the field, and bred only as a spoiled pet, yet not
always spoiled, for anecdotes are related of his inviolable attachment
to his owner. One of them belonged to a Turkish Pacha who was destroyed
by the bowstring. He would not forsake the corpse, but laid himself down
by the body of his murdered master, and presently expired.
THE PERSIAN GREYHOUND
is a beautiful animal. He is more delicately framed than the English
breed; the ears are also more pendulous, and feathered almost as much as
those of a King Charles's spaniel. Notwithstanding, however, his
apparent slenderness and delicacy, he yields not in courage, and
scarcely in strength, to the British dog. There are few kennels in which
he is found in which he is not the master.
In his native country, he is not only used for hunting the hare, but the
antelope, the wild ass, and even the boar. The antelope is speedier than
the greyhound: therefore the hawk is given to him as an ally. The
antelope is no sooner started than the hawk is cast off, who, fluttering
before the head of the deer, and sometimes darting his talons into his
head, disconcerts him, and enables the greyhound speedily to overtake
and master him. The chase, however, in which the Persians chiefly
delight, and for which these greyhounds are mostly valued, is that of
the 'ghoo-khan', or wild ass. This animal inhabits the mountainous
districts of Persia. He is swift, ferocious, and of great endurance,
which, together with the nature of the ground, renders this sport
exceedingly dangerous. The hunter scarcely gives the animal a fair
chance, for relays of greyhounds are placed at various distances in the
surrounding country; so that, when those by which the animal is first
started are tired, there are others to continue the chase. Such,
however, is the speed and endurance of the ghoo-khan, that it is seldom
fairly run down by the greyhounds, its death being usually achieved by
the rifle of some horseman. The Persians evince great skill and courage
in this dangerous sport, galloping at full speed, rifle in hand, up and
down the most precipitous hills, and across ravines and mountain
streams, that might well daunt the boldest rider. [22]
The Persian greyhound, carried to Hindoostan, is not always to be
depended upon; but, it is said, is apt to console itself by hunting its
own master, or any one else, when the game proves too fleet or escapes
into the cover.
THE ITALIAN GREYHOUND
possesses all the symmetry of the English or Persian one, on a small
scale. So far as beauty can recommend it, and, generally speaking, good
nature, it is deservedly a favourite in the drawingroom; but, like the
large greyhound, it is inferior in intelligence. It has no strong
individual attachment, but changes it with singular facility. It is not,
however, seen to advantage in its petted and degraded state, but has
occasionally proved a not unsuccessful courser of the rabbit and the
hare, and exhibited no small share of speed and perseverance. In a
country, however, the greater part of which is infested with wolves, it
cannot be of much service, but exposed to unnecessary danger. It is bred
along the coasts of Italy, principally for the purpose of sale to
foreigners.
In order to acquire more perfect beauty of form, and more activity also,
the English greyhound has received one cross from the Italian, and with
decided advantage. The speed and the beauty have been evidently
increased, and the courage and stoutness have not been diminished.
It has been said that Frederick the Great of Prussia was very fond of a
small Italian greyhound, and used to carry it about with him under his
cloak. During the seven years' war, he was pursued by a party of
Austrian dragoons, and compelled to take shelter, with his favourite,
under the dry arch of a bridge. Had the little animal, that was
naturally ill-tempered and noisy, once barked, the monarch would have
been taken prisoner, and the fate of the campaign and of Prussia
decided; but it lay perfectly still, and clung close to its master, as
if conscious of their mutual danger. When it died, it was buried in the
gardens of the palace at Berlin, and a suitable inscription placed over
its grave.
[Footnote 1: 'Annals of Sporting', vol. vi. p. 99.]
[Footnote 2: The superstition of the Arabians and Turks with regard to
dogs is somewhat singular: neither have they much affection for these
animals, or suffer them to be in or near the camp, except to guard it in
the night. They have, however, some charity for the females that have
whelps. As for other dogs, they feed them well, and give them good
words, but never touch them nor go near them, because dogs are regarded
as unclean animals. They particularly drive them away in wet weather;
for, if one drop of water from a dog should fall on their raiment, their
devotion would be interrupted and useless. They who are fond of hunting
make their religion subservient to their pleasure, and say that
greyhounds and setters are excepted from the general rule, because when
not running these dogs are tied up where nothing unclean can reach them,
and they are never suffered to eat any thing unclean. Their opinion is
the same with regard to small dogs, which are kept with great care, and
no one willingly injures a dog, or, if he should injure purposely, or
destroy one of them, the law would punish him. Chevalier Darvieux's
'Travels in Arabia Deserta', 1718, p. 155.]
[Footnote 3: 'Heber's Narrative', p. 500.]
[Footnote 4: 'Histoire du Chien', par Elzear Blaze, p. 54.]
[Footnote 5: 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society', Part I. 833.]
[Footnote 6: Williamson's 'Oriental Field Sports']
[Footnote 7: Poiret, in his 'Travels in Barbary' asserts that
"the dog loses in the East a great part of those good qualities that
make him the friend of man. He is no longer a faithful domesticated
animal, faithfully attached to his master, and ever ready to defend
him even at the expense of his own life. He is cruel and
blood-thirsty, his look is savage, and his appearance revolting;
carrion, filth, anything is good enough for him if he can but appease
his hunger. They seldom bite one another, but they unite against a
stranger who approaches the Arab tents, and would tear him to pieces
if he did not seek his safety in flight."
Vol. i. p. 353.
Denon, when in the city of Alexandria, in Egypt, says,
"I have no longer recognised the dog, that friend of man, the attached
and faithful companion--the lively and honest courtier. He is here a
gloomy egotist, and cut off from all human intercourse without being
the less a slave. He does not know him whose house he protects, and
devours his corpse without repugnance."
Travels in Lower Egypt, p. 32.]
[Footnote 8: 'Histoire du Chien', p. 200. The Voyage of Dumont
d'Urville, vol. ii. p.474.]
[Footnote 9: Greyhound.]
[Footnote 10: Overcast, or overrun.]
[Footnote 11: Ovid, 'Metamorph.', lib. i. v. 353.]
[Footnote 12: A singular story is told of Richard II, and one of these
dogs. It is given in the language of Froissart.
"A grayhounde called Mithe, who always wayted upon the kynge, and
would knowe no man els. For when so ever the kynge did ryde, he that
kept the grayhounde dyd lette him lose, and he wolde streyght runne to
the kynge and faune uppon hym, and leape with his fore fete uppon the
kynge's shoulders. And, as the kynge and the Erle of Derby talked
togyder in the courte, the grayhounde who was wonte to leape uppon the
kynge, left the kynge and came to the Erle of Derby, Duke of
Lancastre; and made to him the same friendly continuance and chere as
he was wonte to do to the kynge. The duke, who knewe not the
grayhounde, demanded of the kynge what the grayhounde wolde do?
'Cousin,' qoud the kynge, 'it is a greate goode token to you, and an
evyl signe to me.' 'How knowe you that?' quod the duke. 'I knowe it
well,' quod the kynge. 'The grayhounde acknowledgeth you here this
daye as Kynge of England, as ye shall be, and I shal be deposed; the
grayhounde hath this knowledge naturally: therefore take hyme to you,
he wyll followe you and forsake me.' The duke understood well those
words, and cheryshed the grayhounde, who would never after followe
kynge Richarde, but followed the duke of Lancastre."]
[Footnote 13: 'Thacker on Sporting'.]
[Footnote 14: The writer of this work had a brace of greyhounds as
arrant thieves as ever lived. They would now and then steal into the
cooking-room belonging to the kennel, lift the lid from the boiler, and,
if any portion of the joint or piece of meat projected above the water,
suddenly seize it, and before there was time for them to feel much of
its heat, contrive to whirl it on the floor, and eat it at their leisure
as it got cold. In order to prevent this, the top of the boiler was
secured by an iron rod passing under its handle of the boiler on each
side; but not many days passed ere they discovered that they could gnaw
the cords asunder, and displace the rod, and fish out the meat as
before. Small chains were then substituted for the cords, and the meat
was cooked in safety for nearly a week, when they found that, by rearing
themselves on their hind legs, and applying their united strength
towards the top of the boiler they could lift it out of its bed and roll
it along the floor, and so get at the broth, although the meat was out
of their reach. The man who looked after them expressed himself heartily
glad when they were gone; for, he said, he was often afraid to go into
the kennel, and was sure they were devils, and not dogs.]
[Footnote 15: Scott's 'Sportsman's Repository', p. 97.]
[Footnote 16: Blaine's 'Encyclopedia of Sporting'.]
[Footnote 17: For a set of laws for Coursing Matches. see Appendix.]
[Footnote 18: 'Sportsman', vol. xi. p. 314]
[Footnote 19: Bell's 'British Quadrupeds', p. 241.]
[Footnote 20: Tickell's 'Miscellanies']
[Footnote 21: 'Sporting Mag.' 1837, p. 156.]
[Footnote 22: 'New Sports. Mag.' xiii. 124.]
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