CHAPTER VIII.
THE DOG FAMILY.—DOGS OF SAVAGES—DOGS OF CIVILISED NATIONS—WILD DOGS.
[THE HARE INDIAN DOG]—Its Characters, Disposition, &c.—[THE ESKIMO DOG]—The Dependence of the Greenlanders on its Existence—The Probability of its Speedy Extinction—Its Characters and Savage Disposition—Its Uses—[DOMESTIC DOGS OF OTHER SAVAGE TRIBES]—African Breeds—South American Breeds—[THE DALMATIAN DOG]—[THE GREYHOUND]—[THE SCOTCH GREYHOUND]—[THE DEERHOUND]—[THE TURKISH GREYHOUND]—[THE GRECIAN GREYHOUND]—[THE PERSIAN GREYHOUND]—[THE ITALIAN GREYHOUND]—[THE COCKER]—[THE SPRINGER]—[THE KING CHARLES’S SPANIEL]—[THE BLENHEIM SPANIEL]—[THE CHINESE PUG-DOG]—[THE WATER-SPANIEL]—[THE POODLE]—[THE MALTESE DOG]—[THE LION-DOG]—[THE TURKISH DOG]—[THE ST. BERNARD DOG]—[THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG]—[THE SHEEP-DOG]—[THE POMERANIAN DOG]—[THE CUR]—[THE LURCHER]—[THE BEAGLE]—[THE HARRIER]—[THE FOXHOUND]—[THE STAGHOUND]—[THE BLOODHOUND]—[THE SETTER]—[THE POINTER]—[THE RETRIEVER]—[THE OTTER-HOUND]—[THE TURNSPIT]—[THE DACHSHOUND]—[THE BULL-DOG]—[THE BULL-TERRIER]—[THE MASTIFF]—[THE CUBAN MASTIFF]—[THE TIBET DOG]—[THE ENGLISH TERRIER]—[THE SCOTCH TERRIER]—[PARIAH DOGS]—[THE INDIAN WILD DOG]—[THE DINGO].
NOT only has civilised man his endless breeds of Dogs, but nearly every savage tribe of any degree of intelligence has, to a greater or less degree, succeeded in producing a race exhibiting well-marked characters, useful to them as a guardian of flocks or a beast of burden. Then, in many parts of the world there are to be found troops of Dogs which have become wild, though not sufficiently so to be actually dangerous, and which act as scavengers in those countries which, like Turkey, are not blessed with a particularly stringent code of sanitary regulations. We shall first consider the Dogs kept by savages.
THE HARE INDIAN DOG.
This interesting variety ([see figure on p. 104]) is found only in North America, in the region of the Great Bear Lake and the Mackenzie River, where it is kept as a Hunting-dog by the Hare Indians and one or two other tribes. As we mentioned above, it deserves great interest from the fact that it closely resembles the Prairie-wolf, from which it is very probably descended.
“The Hare Indian Dog has a mild countenance, with, at times, an expression of demureness. It has a small head, slender muzzle, erect thickish ears, somewhat oblique eyes, rather slender legs, and a broad, hairy foot, with a bushy tail, which it usually carries curled over its right hip. It is covered with long hair, particularly about the shoulders; and at the roots of the hair, both on the body and tail, there is a thick wool. The hair on the top of the head is long, and on the posterior part of the cheek it is not only long, but being also directed backwards, it gives the animal, when the fur is in prime order, the appearance of having a ruff round the neck. Its face, muzzle, belly, and legs are of a pure white colour, and there is a white central line passing over the crown of the head and the occiput. The anterior surface of the ear is white, the posterior yellowish-grey, or fawn-colour. The end of the nose, the eyelashes, the roof of the mouth, and part of the gums, are black. There is a dark patch over the eye. On the back and sides there are larger patches of dark blackish-grey, or lead-colour, mixed with fawn-colour and white, not definite in form, but running into each other. The tail is bushy, white beneath and at the tip. The feet are covered with hairs, which almost conceal the claws. Some long hairs between the toes project over the soles; but there are naked callous protuberances at the root of the toes and on the soles, even in the winter time, as in all the Wolves described in the preceding pages. The American Foxes, on the contrary, have the whole of their soles densely covered with hair in the winter. Its ears are proportionably nearer each other than those of the Eskimo Dog.
“The Hare Indian Dog is very playful, has an affectionate disposition, and is soon gained by kindness. It is not, however, very docile, and dislikes confinement of every kind. It is very fond of being caressed, rubs its back against the hand like a Cat, and soon makes an acquaintance with a stranger. Like a wild animal, it is very mindful of an injury, nor does it, like a Spaniel, crouch under the lash; but if it is conscious of having deserved punishment, it will hover round the tent of its master the whole day, without coming within his reach even when he calls it. Its howl, when hurt or afraid, is that of the Wolf; but when it sees any unusual object, it makes a singular attempt at barking, commencing by a kind of growl, which is not, however, unpleasant, and ending in a prolonged howl. Its voice is very much like that of the Prairie-wolf. The larger Dogs, which we had for draught at Fort Franklin, and which were of the mongrel breed in common use at the fur-posts, used to pursue the Hare Indian Dogs for the purpose of devouring them; but the latter far outstripped them in speed, and easily made their escape. A young puppy, which I purchased from the Hare Indians, became greatly attached to me, and when about seven months old ran on the snow by the side of my sledge for nine hundred miles without suffering from fatigue. During this march, it frequently, of its own accord, carried a small twig, or one of my mittens, for a mile or two; but, although very gentle in its manners, it showed little aptitude in learning any of the arts which the Newfoundland Dogs so speedily acquire, of fetching and carrying when ordered. This Dog was killed and eaten by an Indian on the Saskatchewan, who pretended that he mistook it for a Fox.”[110]
THE ESKIMO DOG.
The importance of this half-tamed variety ([see figure on p. 105]) to the cold stunted beings who keep it can hardly be over-estimated. An undoubted authority, Dr. Robert Brown, F.L.S., observes:—
“When the Greenland Dogs die off, the Greenlander must become extinct: more certainly even than must the ‘Plain’ Indian when the last Buffalo is shot. It is impossible for him to drag home the Seals, Sharks, White Whales, or Narwhals which he may have shot in the winter at the ‘strom-holes’ in the ice without his Dogs; or for the wild native in the far North to make his long migrations, with his family and household goods, from one hunting-ground to another without these domestic animals of his. Yet that sad event seems to be not far distant. Several years ago, a curious disease, the nature of which has puzzled veterinarians, appeared among the Arctic Dogs, from high up in Smith’s Sound down the whole coast of Greenland to Jakobshavn (69° 13′ N. lat.), where the ice-fjord stops it from going farther south; and the Government uses every endeavour to stop its spread beyond that barrier by preventing the native Dogs north and south from commingling. Kane and Hayes lost most of their Dogs through this disease; and at every settlement in Danish Greenland the natives are impoverished through the death of their teams. It is noticed that whenever a native loses his Dogs he goes very rapidly down-hill in the sliding scale of Arctic respectability, becoming a sort of hanger-on of the fortunate possessor of a sledge-team.