WE have already observed that there were in Peru and Mexico, before the arrival of the Europeans, domestic animals called alco, which were of the same size, and nearly of the same disposition, as our small dogs; and which the Spaniards called Mexican or Peruvian dogs, from this similitude, and from their having the same attachment and fidelity to their masters. In fact, the species of these animals does not seem to be essentially different from that of the dog; and besides, the term alco may probably be a generic and not a specific term. Recchi has left us the figure of one of these alcos, which is called ytzcuinte porzotli in the Mexican tongue; it was prodigiously fat, and probably degenerated from its domestic state and too great an abundance of food. The head is represented so small, that it has not any proportion to the size of the body; its ears are hanging, which is another mark of domesticity. The muzzle resembles that of a dog; the fore-part of the head is white, and the ears are partly yellow. The neck is so short as to leave no interval between the head and shoulders. The back is curved and covered with yellow hair. The tail is white, short and pendulous, but does not descend lower than the thighs. The belly is large, tense, and marked with black spots; it has six very apparent tits. The legs and feet are white, and the toes, like those of a dog, are armed with long and pointed claws. Fabri, who has given this description, concludes, after a very long dissertation, that this animal is the same as that called alco, and I think his assertion well founded; but we must not look upon it as conclusive, for there is still another race of dogs in America, to which it applies equally as well. ”Besides the dogs, says Fernandes, which the Spaniards have transported into America, we met with three other species, which resemble ours both in their natures and manners, and which do not essentially differ in figure. The first and the largest of these American dogs is called xoloiztcuintli. This is frequently three cubits long, and what is particularly remarkable, he is entirely without hair, and only covered with a soft, close skin, marked with yellow and blue spots. The second is cloathed with hair, and in size resembles our little Maltese dogs. He is marked with white, black, and yellow. His deformity is singular but not disagreeable. His back is arched, and his neck so exceedingly short, that the head seems to shoot immediately out of the shoulders; in his own country he is called michuacanens, from the name of his country. The third, which also resembles our little dogs, is called techichi, but his look is dull and savage. The Americans eat his flesh.”
From comparing the testimonies of Fabri and Fernandes, it is clear that the second dog the last author calls michuacanens, is the same as the ytzcuinte portzotli, and that this species of animal existed in America before the arrival of the Europeans; and it must have been the same with the techichi. I am therefore persuaded that this word alco was a generic name, which equally applied to both, and perhaps to more races or varieties which still remain unknown to us. But with respect to the first, Fernandes seems to be deceived both with regard to the name and subject. No author has spoken of any naked dogs in New Spain. This race, commonly called Turkish dogs, comes from the Indies, and other warm climates of the Old Continent; and it is probable that those which Fernandes saw in America, were transported thither, especially as he expressly mentions that he had seen this species in Spain, before his departure for America. What further proves it to be so is, that this animal had no American name, and Fernandes, in order to give it one, borrowed that of xoloitzcuintli, which is the name of the Mexican wolf. Thus of three species or varieties of American dogs, there only remain two, which are indiscriminately called by the name of alco; for independently of the fat alco, which served as a lap dog for the Peruvian ladies, there was a lean and melancholy alco, used for the purpose of hunting, and it is not impossible that these animals, though very different to all appearance from that of our dogs, nevertheless spring from the same stock. The Lapland, Siberian, and Iceland dogs, may, like the wolves and foxes, have passed from one continent to the other, and afterwards degenerated by the influence of climate and a domestic state. The first alco, with a short neck, approaches the Iceland dog; and the techichi of New Spain, is probably the same animal as the koupara, or crab-dog of Guiana, which resembles the fox in its shape and the jackal in its hair. He is denominated the crab-dog, because he principally feeds upon crabs and other crustaceous animals. I have only seen a skin of one of these Guiana animals, and I am unable to decide whether it be a particular species, or whether it be related to those of the dog, fox, or jackal.
THIS animal, of which Mr. Brown has given a figure and description, is about the size of a small rabbit, and greatly resembles the weasel or marten. He burrows in the earth, and his fore-feet are very strong, but considerably shorter than those behind. His muzzle is long, a little pointed, and adorned with whiskers; the under jaw is much shorter than the upper. He has six incisive and two canine teeth in each jaw, without reckoning the grinders. His tongue is rough, like that of a cat. His head is oblong, as are also the eyes, which are at an equal distance from the ears and the extremity of the muzzle. His ears are flat, and resemble those of a man. His feet are strong and made for digging; the metatarsus is elongated, and he has five toes on each foot. His tail is long and decreases gradually to a point. His body is oblong, and greatly resembles that of a large rat. He is covered with brown hairs, some of which are pretty long, and others much shorter. This animal appears to be a small species of marten or pole-cat. Linnæus, with some probability, supposed, that the black weasel of Brasil, might be the galera of Mr. Brown, and in fact, the two descriptions sufficiently agree to give us reason to presume it. This black weasel of Brasil is also found in Guiana, where it is called tayra, and it is supposed that the word galera is a corruption derived from tayra, the true name of this animal.