Natural History in Anecdote Part 8

The Arctic Fox, which is of a beautiful white colour, is found, according to Captain James Ross, in the highest northern lat.i.tudes, even in the winter. In the late autumn the younger generation make their way south and congregate in the neighbourhood of Hudson's Bay, returning north in the early spring of the following year. They are gregarious, living in companies in burrows in sandy places.

Wild Dogs.

Wild dogs abound in various parts of the world, of which the Dingos of Australia, the Dholes of India and the Aguaras of South America are examples. The wild dogs of the East are familiar to all readers of Eastern travels. A writer in the Times newspaper describes the dogs of Constantinople, as "omnipresent, lawless, yet perfectly harmless dogs,"

which perform valuable but ill requited service as scavengers of the city. He says:--"In shape, in countenance, in language, in their bandy legs, pointed noses, p.r.i.c.ked up ears, dirty yellow coats, and bushy tails, they could be hunted as foxes in Gloucestershire. They are," he continues, "up and doing from sunset to sunrise, and enjoy the refreshment of well-earned, profound sleep almost throughout the day.

They are not only homeless and masterless but have also a sovereign contempt for bed or shelter. There is a time it would seem, when sleep comes upon them--all of them--like sudden death; when all squat down, coil themselves up, nose to tail, wherever they chance to be--on the footpath, in the carriage way, in the gutter--and there lie in the sunshine, in the pelting rain, yellow bundles, hardly distinguishable from the mud. The Constantinople dog never learns to wag his tail; he never makes up, never looks up to a human being, never encourages or even notices men's advances. He is not exactly sullen, or cowed, or mistrustful; he is simply cold and distant as an Englishman is said to be when not introduced."

"The Dingo, the wild dog of Australia," says Mrs. Bowdich "roams in packs through that vast country; has a broad head; fierce oblique eyes; acute muzzle; short, pointed, erect ears; tail bushy, and never raised to more than a horizontal position. He does not bark, but howls fearfully; is extremely sagacious, and has a remarkable power of bearing pain. When beaten so severely as to be left for dead, he has been seen to get up and run away. A man proceeded to skin one, not doubting that life was extinct, and after proceeding a little way with the operation, he left the hut to sharpen his knife. When he returned, the poor animal was sitting up, with the loose skin hanging over one side of his face."

The Dhole of India, similarly hunts in packs, attacking and destroying even the tiger. Their sense of smell is very acute, their bark similar to that of a hound, their colour red or sandy. They have long heads, oblique eyes, long erect ears; and very powerful limbs. The Aguaras of South America, says Mrs. Bowdich, resemble foxes. "They are silent if not dumb, and appear to congregate in families rather than packs. They have a peculiar propensity to steal and secrete without any apparent object in so doing."

The Dog.

The dog divides with the horse the honour of being the most intimate and devoted of the servants of mankind. "His origin," says Mr. Jesse "is lost in antiquity. We find him occupying a place in the earliest pagan worship; his name has been given to one of the first-mentioned stars of the heavens, and his effigy may be seen in some of the most ancient works of art. Pliny was of opinion that there was no domestic animal without its unsubdued counterpart, and dogs are known to exist absolutely wild in various parts of the old and new world." Whether the dog of civilization is a descendant of these wild dogs, or whether the wild dog is the progeny of domestic varieties relapsed into a condition of savagery, and whether both are descended from the wolf and the jackal has often been discussed. Certain it is that many of the species which now obtain are in certain characteristics at least the result of artificial breeding. In its domestic state, the dog is remarkable for its usefulness, obedience, and attachment to its master; and the great variety of breeds that are trained and educated for our benefit or amus.e.m.e.nt, are almost too numerous to be mentioned. The princ.i.p.al are, the _greyhound_, noted for his speed; the _Newfoundland dog_, remarkable for his size, sagacity, and benevolence; the _shepherd's dog_, perhaps the most useful of all; the _spaniel_, the _barbel_, and the _setter_, useful in hunting; the _pointer_, the staunchest of all dogs; the _Dalmatian_ or _coach-dog_, with a skin beautifully spotted; the _terrier_, useful for destroying vermin; the _blood-hound_, formerly used for tracing criminals; the _harrier_, _beagle_, and _foxhound_, distinguished for their quick sense of smell; and the _bull-dog_, and _mastiff_, which are our watch-dogs.

The Dog's Understanding.

Many marvellous instances are on record of the dog's capacity for understanding not only the direct commands of his master, to which of course he may be easily trained, but also, sometimes, the drift of conversations in which his master may engage.

The Rev. James Simpson of Edinburgh had a fine Newfoundland dog of which some good stories are told. On one occasion, however, Mr. Simpson happening to remark to a friend in the dog's hearing that, as he was about to change his residence, he would have to part with his dog, the dog took the hint, left the house and was never heard of again. Sheep dogs have been known to take very apparent interest in conversations upon the subject of their profession, and to antic.i.p.ate the word of command by their perception of the drift of the remarks. Mr. St. John, in his "Highland Sports", gives a remarkable ill.u.s.tration of the way in which a shepherd's dog understood the conversation of his master:--"A shepherd once, to prove the quickness of his dog, who was lying before the fire in the house where we were talking, said to me, in the middle of a sentence concerning something else, 'I'm thinking, sir, the cow is in the potatoes.' Though he purposely laid no stress on these words, and said them in a quiet, unconcerned tone of voice, the dog, who appeared to be asleep, immediately jumped up, and leaping through the open window, scrambled up the turf roof of the house, from which he could see the potato field. He then (not seeing the cow there) ran and looked into the byre, where she was, and finding that all was right, came back to the house. After a short time the shepherd said the same words again, and the dog repeated his look-out; but on the false alarm being a third time given, the dog got up, and wagging his tail, looked his master in the face with so comical an expression of interrogation, that we could not help laughing aloud at him, on which, with a slight growl, he laid himself down in his warm corner, with an offended air, as if determined not to be made a fool of again."

The well known story of Sir Walter Scott's dog, supplied by him to Captain Brown, is another ill.u.s.tration. "The wisest dog I ever had,"

said Sir Walter, "was what is called the bull-dog terrier. I taught him to understand a great many words, insomuch that I am positive that the communication betwixt the canine species and ourselves might be greatly enlarged. Camp once bit the baker, who was bringing bread to the family.

I beat him, and explained the enormity of his offence; after which, to the last moment of his life, he never heard the least allusion to the story, in whatever voice or tone it was mentioned, without getting up and retiring into the darkest corner of the room, with great appearance of distress. Then if you said, 'the baker was well paid,' or, 'the baker was not hurt after all,' Camp came forth from his hiding-place, capered, and barked, and rejoiced. When he was unable, towards the end of his life, to attend me when on horseback, he used to watch for my return, and the servant would tell him 'his master was coming down the hill, or through the moor,' and although he did not use any gesture to explain his meaning, Camp was never known to mistake him, but either went out at the front to go up the hill, or at the back to get down to the moor-side. He certainly had a singular knowledge of spoken language."

One of the most remarkable ill.u.s.trations of the dog's capacity for understanding is probably that given by Mrs. Bowdich, as follows:

"Professor Owen was walking with a friend, by the side of a river, near its mouth, on the coast of Cornwall, and picked up a small piece of sea-weed. It was covered with minute animals; and Mr. Owen observed to his companion, throwing the weed into the water, 'If this small piece affords so many treasures, how microscopically rich the whole plant must be! I should much like to have one.' The gentlemen walked on, but hearing a splashing in the water, turned round, and saw it violently agitated. 'It is Lion!' both exclaimed; 'what can he be about? He was walking quietly enough by our side a minute ago.' At one moment they saw his tail above the water, then his head raised for a breath of air, then the surrounding element shook again, and at last he came ash.o.r.e, panting from his exertions, and laid a whole plant of the identical weed at Mr.

Owen's feet. After this proof of intelligence, it will not be wondered at, that when Lion was joyfully expecting to accompany his master and his guest on an excursion, and was told to go and take care of and comfort Mrs. Owen, who was ill, he should immediately return to the drawing-room and lay himself by her side, which he never left during the absence of his owner, his countenance alone betraying his disappointment, and that only for a few minutes."

The Dog's Sense of Locality.

Dogs have a remarkable sense of locality, and will find their way to a spot they have once visited with an unerring instinct under circ.u.mstances which make it impossible for them to rely entirely upon their sense of scent. Some of the stories told of the extraordinary journeys made by dogs, apparently without anything to guide them but their natural instinct, seem almost incredible.

Captain Brown tells a story of a gentleman of Glasgow, who was unfortunately drowned in the river Oder while bathing during a continental tour. A Newfoundland dog, who was his travelling companion, made every effort to save him, but failing to do so, found his way either to Frankfort, or Hamburgh, where he went on board a vessel bound for England, from which he landed somewhere on the coast, finding his way ultimately to the person from whom he had been originally purchased, and who lived near Holyrood palace.

Another dog who, on arriving in England from Newfoundland, was given to a gentleman in London, was sent by him to a friend in Scotland, by water. The dog, however, made his escape and found his way back to his old master at Fish Street Hill, London, though as Mr. Jesse puts it "in so exhausted a state that he could only express his joy at seeing his master and then die."

This instinct seems to be common to many varieties of dogs. Captain Brown tells of a Dalmatian or coach-dog which Lord Maynard lost in France, and which he found at his house on his return to England, though how it had got there he never could trace. It is not necessary, says Captain Brown, that the dog shall have previously travelled the ground by which it returns. A person who went by sea from Aberdeen to Leith, lost his dog at the latter place, and found it on his return at Aberdeen. It must have travelled over a country unknown to it, and have crossed the firths of Forth and Tay.

Ill.u.s.trations might easily be multiplied. Mr. Jesse tells of a dog which was presented to the Captain of a collier by a gentleman residing at Wivenhoe in Ess.e.x and which on being landed at Sunderland found its way back to its old master, and also of a spaniel belonging to Colonel Hardy which after accompanying him from Ess.e.x to Bath in a post chaise, found its way back through London, a distance of 140 miles in three days.

Perhaps a more remarkable instance is that recorded of his dog by M.

d'Obsonville. This animal accompanied his master and a friend from Pondicherry to Bengalore, a distance of more than nine hundred miles. M.

D'Obsonville says, "Our journey occupied nearly three weeks; and we had to traverse plains and mountains, and to ford rivers, and go along bypaths. The animal, which had certainly never been in that country before, lost us at Bengalore, and immediately returned to Pondicherry.

He went directly to the house of my friend, M. Beglier, then commandant of artillery, and with whom I had generally lived. Now, the difficulty is not so much to know how the dog subsisted on the road (for he was very strong, and able to procure himself food), but how he should so well have found his way after an interval of more than a month! This was an effort of memory greatly superior to that which the human race is capable of exerting."

Dog Friendships and Enmities.

That dogs make very strong friendships among themselves is attested by many an affecting story. A Radnorshire lady, who married and went to reside in Yorkshire, afterwards paid a visit to her old home where her father, before her marriage, had kept two or three sheep-dogs of whom she was very fond. Having retired from business, her father had disposed of all but one dog, and upon her arrival this one met the lady with every demonstration of delight and, that same night, went a distance of seven miles to a farmhouse where one of the other dogs who had become blind, then lived. In the morning when the lady went to the door she saw not only the dog which had given her such a glad reception on the previous day, but also the old blind one, which had evidently been brought by the other dog to welcome her. When the second night came the old blind dog was taken back to its home by the same dog, which afterwards returned, having travelled a distance of twenty-eight miles to give pleasure to his old blind friend.

Instances might easily be multiplied but we must content ourselves with one of a very different character from Colonel Hamilton Smith's "Cyclopaedia of Natural History." "In the neighbourhood of Cupar, in the county of Fife, there lived two dogs, mortal enemies to each other, and who always fought desperately whenever they met. Capt. R---- was the master of one of them, and the other belonged to a neighbouring farmer.

Capt. R----'s dog was in the practice of going messages, and even of bringing butchers' meat and other articles from Cupar. One day, while returning, charged with a basket containing some pieces of mutton, he was attacked by some of the curs of the town, who, no doubt, thought the prize worth contending for. The a.s.sault was fierce, and of some duration; but the messenger, after doing his utmost, was at last overpowered and compelled to yield up the basket, though not before he had secured a part of its contents. The piece saved from the wreck he ran off with, at full speed, to the quarters of his old enemy, at whose feet he laid it down, stretching himself beside it till he had eaten it up. A few snuffs, a few whispers in the ear, and other dog-like courtesies, were then exchanged; after which they both set off together for Cupar, where they worried almost every dog in the town; and, what is more remarkable, they never afterwards quarrelled, but were always on friendly terms." This story also ill.u.s.trates another characteristic of the dog family. Dogs combine for purposes of offence and defence. Cats stand or fall alone.

Dog Language.

The foregoing is also a proof of the faculty by which animals can communicate their ideas to each other which in dogs is particularly remarkable. There are many curious anecdotes recorded, ill.u.s.trative of this faculty. "At Horton, England, about the year 1818, a gentleman from London took possession of a house, the former tenant of which had moved to a farm about half a mile off. The new inmate brought with him a large French poodle dog, to take the duty of watchman, in the place of a fine Newfoundland dog, which went away with his master; but a puppy of the same breed was left behind, and he was instantly persecuted by the poodle. As the puppy grew up, the persecution still continued. At length, he was one day missing for some hours; but he did not come back alone; he returned with his old friend, the large house-dog, to whom he had made a communication; and in an instant the two fell upon the unhappy poodle, and killed him before he could be rescued from their fury. In this case, the injuries of the young dog must have been made known to his friend; a plan of revenge concerted; and the determination to carry that plan into effect formed and executed with equal prompt.i.tude. The following story, which ill.u.s.trates, even in a more singular manner, the communication of ideas between dogs, was told by a clergyman, as an authentic anecdote. A surgeon of Leeds found a little spaniel who had been lamed. He carried the poor animal home, bandaged up his leg, and, after two or three days, turned him out. The dog returned to the surgeon's house every morning, till his leg was perfectly well.

At the end of several months, the spaniel again presented himself, in company with another dog, who had also been lamed; and he intimated, as well as piteous and intelligent looks could intimate, that he desired the same kind a.s.sistance to be rendered to his friend, as had been bestowed upon himself. A similar circ.u.mstance is stated to have occurred to Moraut, a celebrated French surgeon."

The Dog's Intelligence.

Many instances have been chronicled of the actions of dogs, which seem clearly the result of a process of reasoning. Mr. Jesse tells of a dog who was sent to fetch two hats which had been left lying upon the gra.s.s. After several unsuccessful attempts to carry the two together in his mouth, he laid them on the ground, placed the smaller within the larger, pressed it down with his foot, and then easily carried them to his master. Instances are recorded of dogs who while always ready to perform a useful service, absolutely refused to act for the amus.e.m.e.nt of on-lookers or to discharge unnecessary duties. Thus a dog who would go into the water to retrieve a wild duck would refuse to fetch anything that had been thrown in for the purpose of displaying his agility, and another who was accustomed to ring the servants' bell at the bidding of his mistress refused to do so when told while the servant was in the room, and if repeatedly commanded to do so, would lay hold of the servant's coat and attempt to drag him to his mistress. These ill.u.s.trations seem to show a power of discrimination not usually credited to animals. Of the intelligence shown by dogs which have been trained, the following story from the "Percy Anecdotes" is at once a remarkable and an amusing ill.u.s.tration. "One day, when Dumont, a tradesman of the Rue St. Denis, was walking in the Boulevard St. Antoine with a friend, he offered to lay a wager with the latter, that if he were to hide a six-livre piece in the dust, his dog would discover and bring it to him. The wager was accepted, and the piece of money secreted, after being carefully marked. When the two had proceeded some distance from the spot, M. Dumont called to his dog that he had lost something, and ordered him to seek it. Caniche immediately turned back, and his master and his companion pursued their walk to the Rue St.

Denis. Meanwhile a traveller, who happened to be just then returning in a small chaise from Vincennes, perceived the piece of money, which his horse had kicked from its hiding-place; he alighted, took it up, and drove to his inn, in the Rue Pont-aux-Choux. Caniche had just reached the spot in search of the lost piece when the stranger picked it up. He followed the chaise, went into the inn, and stuck close to the traveller. Having scented out the coin which he had been ordered to bring back in the pocket of the latter, he leaped up incessantly at and about him. The traveller, supposing him to be some dog that had been lost or left behind by his master, regarded his different movements as marks of fondness; and as the animal was handsome, he determined to keep him. He gave him a good supper, and on retiring to bed took him with him to his chamber. No sooner had he pulled off his breeches, than they were seized by the dog; the owner conceiving that he wanted to play with them, took them away again. The animal began to bark at the door, which the traveller opened, under the idea that the dog wanted to go out.

Caniche s.n.a.t.c.hed up the breeches, and away he flew. The traveller posted after him with his night-cap on, and literally _sans culottes_. Anxiety for the fate of a purse full of gold Napoleons, of forty francs each, which was in one of the pockets, gave redoubled velocity to his steps.

Caniche ran full speed to his master's house, where the stranger arrived a moment afterwards breathless and enraged. He accused the dog of robbing him. 'Sir,' said the master, 'my dog is a very faithful creature; and if he has run away with your breeches, it is because you have in them money which does not belong to you.' The traveller became still more exasperated. 'Compose yourself, sir,' rejoined the other, smiling; 'without doubt there is in your purse a six-livre piece, with such and such marks, which you have picked up in the Boulevard St.

Antoine, and which I threw down there with the firm conviction that my dog would bring it back again. This is the cause of the robbery which he has committed upon you.' The stranger's rage now yielded to astonishment; he delivered the six-livre piece to the owner, and could not forbear caressing the dog which had given him so much uneasiness, and such an unpleasant chase."

Dogs' Mistakes.

That dogs sometimes make mistakes in the exercise of their intelligence, with somewhat ludicrous results, is of course true. A dog once accompanied a gentleman's servant to a tailor's with a coat of his master's which needed repair. Having his suspicions with regard to the transaction, the dog watched his opportunity, seized the coat from the counter and carried it back with evident satisfaction to his master.

Another dog caused great amus.e.m.e.nt at a swimming match by insisting upon the rescue of one of the compet.i.tors. Dogs have also been known to cause both amus.e.m.e.nt and consternation by leaping upon the stage to rescue the defenceless characters of the melodrama from the hands of the heavy villain of the play. The story of the dog who failed to recognise his master who had been bathing, and who therefore refused to allow him to have his clothes, is probably apochryphal, but if true is another ill.u.s.tration of the awkwardness of dogs' mistakes.

The Eskimo Dog.

Colonel Hamilton Smith in his cla.s.sification of dogs begins with those which belong nearest to the arctic circle, and it will be convenient to follow his order in so far as s.p.a.ce will allow. Speaking of the Eskimo dog Captain Lyon says:--"Having myself possessed during our hard winter a team of eleven fine dogs, I was enabled to become better acquainted with their good qualities than could possibly have been the case by the casual visits of the Esquimaux to the ships. The form of the Esquimaux dog is very similar to that of our shepherd's dog in England, but it is more muscular and broad-chested, owing to the constant and severe work to which he is brought up. His ears are pointed, and the aspect of the head is somewhat savage. In size a fine dog about the height of the Newfoundland breed, but broad like a mastiff in every part except the nose. The hair of the coat is in summer, as well as in winter, very long, but during the cold season a soft, downy under-covering is found, which does not appear in warm weather. Young dogs are put into harness as soon as they can walk, and being tied up, soon acquire a habit of pulling, in their attempts to recover their liberty, or to roam in quest of their mother. When about two months old, they are put into the sledge with the grown dogs, and sometimes eight or ten little ones are under the charge of some steady old animal, where, with frequent and sometimes severe beatings, they soon receive a competent education. Every dog is distinguished by a particular name, and the angry repet.i.tion of it has an effect as instantaneous as an application of the whip, which instrument is of an immense length, having a lash from eighteen to twenty-four feet, while the handle is one foot only; with this, by throwing it on one side or the other of the leader, and repeating certain words, the animals are guided or stopped. When the sledge is stopped they are all taught to lie down, by throwing the whip gently over their backs, and they will remain in this position even for hours, until their master returns to them. A walrus is frequently drawn along by three or four of these dogs, and seals are sometimes carried home in the same manner, though I have in some instances seen a dog bring home the greater part of a seal in panniers placed across his back. Cold has very little effect on them; for although the dogs at the huts slept within the snow pa.s.sages, mine at the ships had no shelter, but lay alongside, with the thermometer at 42 and 44, and with as little concern as if the weather had been mild. I found, by several experiments, that three of my dogs could draw me on a sledge, weighing one hundred pounds, at the rate of one mile in six minutes; and as a proof of the strength of a well-grown dog, my leader drew one hundred and ninety-six pounds singly, and to the same distance, in eight minutes. At another time seven of my dogs ran a mile in four minutes, drawing a heavy sledge full of men. Afterwards, in carrying stores to the Fury, one mile distant, nine dogs drew one thousand six hundred and eleven pounds in the s.p.a.ce of nine minutes. When the dogs slackened their pace, the sight of a seal or bird was sufficient to put them instantly to their full speed; and even though none of these might be seen on the ice, the cry of 'a seal!'--'a bear!'--or 'a bird!' &c., was enough to give play to the legs and voices of the whole pack. The voice and long whip answer all the purposes of reins, and the dogs can be made to turn a corner as dexterously as horses, though not in such an orderly manner, since they are constantly fighting; and I do not recollect to have seen one receive a flogging without instantly wreaking his pa.s.sion on the ears of his neighbours. The cries of the men are not more melodious than those of the animals; and their wild looks and gestures when animated, give them an appearance of devils driving wolves before them. Our dogs had eaten nothing for forty-eight hours, and could not have gone over less than seventy miles of ground; yet they returned, to all appearance, as fresh and active as when they first set out."

A Hard Lot.

The unhappy condition of the Eskimo dogs under native treatment is pathetically referred to in "Ca.s.sell's Natural History," edited by Professor Duncan. The writer says "the horrible savagery of those poor wretches can hardly be wondered at; they live in a country where there is hardly a chance for them in any independent foraging expedition; they are half-starved by their masters, being fed chiefly on frozen walrus hides in the winter, and allowed to shift for themselves in the summer when their services are not required, and are in so perennial and acute a state of hunger that they are ready at any time to eat their own harness if allowed to do so. It is generally stated that they are perfectly insensible to kindness, and only to be kept in order by a liberal application of the lash, or even of a more formidable weapon; for the Eskimo, if their dogs are refractory, do not scruple to beat them about the head with a hammer, or anything else of sufficient hardness which happens to be at hand. They will even beat the poor brutes in this horrible manner until they are actually stunned.

Notwithstanding the absolute dependence of the Eskimo on their dogs, little or no care is taken of them; they receive nothing in any degree approaching petting, and spend all their time in the open air. The chief use of the Eskimo dog is to draw the sledges, which are the only possible conveyances in that frozen land. In all the Arctic expeditions which have been sent out at various times, a good supply of sledge dogs has been one of the greatest _desiderata_, as without them it would be absolutely impossible to proceed far. No other animal would answer the purpose, both horses and cattle being quite useless in journeys over ice and snow, amongst which the pack of light, active dogs make their way with wonderful ease and safety." The Siberian dogs render equally valuable services to their masters with about an equal measure of appreciation.

The Newfoundland Dog.

The dog known as the Newfoundland dog is one of the handsomest and best beloved of the dog family. He is distinct from the Labrador dog, which is more slender in make, has a sharper muzzle and is generally "black in colour with a tawny nose and a rusty spot over each eye". The Labrador dog and the Eskimo have been credited with the parentage of the Newfoundland species. At home the Newfoundland is made useful for the purpose of drawing loads, being harnessed to small carts and sleighs for carrying wood and other commodities. Abroad like the prophet who "is not without honour save in his own country", he has been found capable and worthy of much more honourable service, and his fidelity and sagacity have won for him universal esteem. He is an expert swimmer, his feet being webbed and so peculiarly adapted for the exercise. He takes to the water as though it were his natural element, and has so often carried the line to sinking ships, and rescued persons about to drown that such incidents have become quite common. The tribute paid to him by Sir Edwin Landseer, when he named his famous picture of him "a distinguished member of the humane society", was no more poetical than just. Volumes might be filled with stories of his intelligence and prowess, and it is difficult within present limits to select a due variety of characteristic anecdotes.

The Newfoundland's Generosity.