> aw e ¥ a TIONAL CORNELL UNIVERSITY THE Hlower Ueterinary Library FOUNDED BY ROSWELL P. FLOWER for the use of the N. Y. STATE VETERINARY COLLEGE 1897 This Volume is the Gift of Dr. P. A. Fish. ornell Universit: SULA ANUU _ a Nation ok (re oO YA ae PS ‘DO C 1@ / a THE BOOK OF DOGS AN INTIMATE STUDY OF MANKIND’S BEST FRIEND BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES AND OTHERS Illustrated with 73 Natural Color Portraits from Original Paintings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY WASHINGTON, D. C. U.S. A. ERIN = ANN UUM A UT CoPyYRIcGHT, 1919 BY THE NarionaL GroGRAPHIC Socrery Wasuineton, D.C. Press oF Jupp & DETWEILER, INc. MANKIND’S BEST FRIEND Companion of His Solitude, Advance Guard in the Hunt, and Ally of the ‘lrenches By Ernest Harortp Baynes HEN the intellectual gulf be- gan to widen, in the author’s tancy, the man stood on one side and the rest of the animals on the other. The man looked upward at the sky, and all the other animals walked off, each about his own business. “All,” did I say? All but one! The little dog sat on the very edge of the widening gulf, ears cocked, tail moving, and watching the man. Then he rose to his feet, trem- bling. “I want to go to him,” he whined, and crouched as if to leap. The pig grunted and went on rooting in the ground; the sheep nibbled a tus- sock of grass; the cow chewed her cud in calm indifference. It was none of their business whether he went or stayed. “Don’t try that jump,” said the friendly horse; “you can’t possibly make it; I couldn’t do that myself.” “Oh, let him try it,” sneered the cat; “he'll break his silly neck and serve him right.” ; But the dog heard none of them; his eyes were on the man, and he danced on the edge of the gulf and yelped. And the man heard him and looked across and saw what he wished to do. “Come!” shouted the man. “I’m coming,” yelped the dog. And then he gathered himself and leaped. But the gulf was very wide— almost too wide for a little dog. Only his brave forepaws struck the farther edge of the chasm, and there he hung without a whimper, looking straight into the eyes of the man. And then there came to the man a strange feeling he had never had before, and he smiled, stooped and lifted the dog firmly and placed him by his side, where he has been ever since. And this was the very beginning of the movement which, ages later, led to the foundation of the first humane society. And the dog went frantic with joy and gratitude, pledged his loyalty to the man, and he has never broken his pledge. TIIE BEGINNINGS OF THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN DOGS AND MEN The dog is the oldest friend man has among the animals—very much the old- est. Compared with him the cat and the horse are new acquaintances. Probably we shall never know when the friendship began, but the bones of dogs lying side by side with the bones of primitive men tend to show that it was in very, very re- mote times. And perhaps in the beginning of their acquaintanceship they were not friends ; probably not. Probably primitive man THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE had to fight the wild dogs as he doubtless had to fight all the other wild animals he came in contact with, And no mean foes would these wild dogs prove them- selves. Their speed, strength, courage, and ferocity, coupled with their probable habit of fighting in packs, must have made them very formidable enemies to unarmed men, no matter how strong the latter may have been. Doubtless in those early days the encount- ers would often end in favor of the dogs, and the man would go down and be torn to pieces by the overwhelming pack. But the man had two arms and prehensile fingers and toes, and so could climb trees which the dogs could not, and prob- ably he often escaped his ca- nine enemies in this way. We can imagine him, out of breath and badly bitten, perhaps, sit- ting up in a tree gazing fear- fully at the leaping dogs below, and wondering when he would be able to descend to get some food. Perhaps it was while sitting thus that some great prehis- toric genius conceived the idea that by means of a branch broken from the tree he sat in he could strike the dogs with- out descending to the ground. And perhaps he carried out this idea, drove the dogs away yelping, and the next day leaped into fame as the in- ventor of the club, the original “big stick.” antryman in the world war would here messenger dogs were tended but many an inf ” if his rest billet had been as clean, as dry, and as sanitary as these kennels, w x British official photograph, from Associated Illustration Agencies, Ltd. MESSENGER DOGS BILLETED BEHIND THE FRONT-LINE TRENCHES ” once was an opprobrious description g hat they might be in perfect physical condition when called upon to carry a message, upon the delivery of which f an offensive (see pages 17, 55, and 73). e@ rather than a human bein: a HOW THE DOG’S RESPECT FOR MAN CREW And somewhat later, when the dogs had learned to dodge, the blows of the club, to snatch it out of the hands of the man, perhaps, we can believe that another great genius came along and proved that by reatest care in order t “Quarters fit for a dog have felt as “comfy as a king might depend the success o with the g THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Ge British official photograph, by Associated Illustration Agencies, Ltd. A CANINE COURIER OF THE GREAT WAR This dog as a dispatch-bearer is three and a third times as efficient as a man, for in three minutes it will deliver to local headquarters the message being written by the officer, whereas a human courier would require ten minutes to make the trip. Only one man is allowed to feed this dog—its keeper at headquarters. Soldiers are not allowed to pet the animal, as its affection for its keeper must be undivided. means of a stone, skilfully hurled, dogs could be killed before they were near enough to bite. And here began the art of throwing missiles at an enemy, which has culminated in the invention of great guns which hurl projectiles for 60 miles. Under such convincing tutelage, no doubt the dogs gradually came to have a great and healthy respect for man, the one mysterious creature who could fight them with something more formidable than his teeth and claws, and while they were still at a distance, where they could not use their own. Perhaps there came to be a mutual respect. Both of these powerful races were largely carnivorous and hunted for a living. Sometimes when the man was hunting, probably the dogs would follow at a re- spectful distance, and when he had made his kill with a club or a stone, or later with a spear, they would clean up the parts of the carcass which he did not carry off. Sometimes perhaps the dogs would run down and bring to bay some dangerous quarry which would have been too fleet for the man, and while they were circling about trying to avoid the death which was. sure to come to some of them before the rest could break their fast, the man would come up and with his crude weapons kill their enemy, take what he needed for his own use, and yet leave them an ample feast. And because they were useful to one another in this way, we can easily imagine that the man and the dog would gradually form a sort of partnership in the chase. Again, when man lived in caves he was doubtless an untidy, not to say filthy, creature, who after feeding would toss 4 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE "i hs j uy Photograph by Associated Illustration Agencies, Ltd. A PHIDIPPIDES OF MODERN WARFARE Like the famous Greek athlete who ran from Athens to Sparta to summon aid in the repulse of Persian invaders, this dog scurries over shell holes and mined areas, wriggles through barbed wire, and braves an artillery barrage to carry a vital message to headquarters when telephone wires have been shot away and communicating trenches have been made impassable for men (see pages 17 and 73). the bones and other refuse just outside his home, until the place looked like the outside of a fox burrow when the hunt- ing is good. Wild dogs when they had been unsuc- cessful in the chase, perhaps, and conse- quently hungry, would be attracted by the odor of this waste food and would come and carry it off. They would come fur- tively at first, but as they found they were not molested they would come boldly, and by thus disposing of refuse that would otherwise become offensive even to prim- itive man they performed a service in ex- change for benefits received. In this way man would become used to, and would even encourage the presence of, dogs in the vicinity of his home. ‘Then, with so many wild dogs living near by, it is certain that occasionally their dens would be found by the man and the puppies carried home to amuse the children. Such puppies would grow up with little fear of their human hosts, and by their playful, friendly ways would probably win for themselves at least tol- erance, 1f not actual affection, and dogs would become a recognized part of the household. The puppies of these dogs would be a little tamer than their parents, and those of the next generation a little tamer still, until some of them became so domesti- cated as to have no thought of ever re- turning to the wild state. SHARING MAN’S COMFORTS When fire was invented or discovered, no doubt such dogs shared with man its comforts and its protection, and this may have strengthened their determination to throw in their lot with the mysterious beings who could create such comfort and protection for them. THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 5 Official photograph taken on the British front in France ‘OAKING HIS MESSAGE TO GARCTA” While the soldier in the world war was actuated by motives of patriotism, the main- spring of the dog’s service in the great conflict was dauntless fidelity to its master. Neither hazards of terrain nor of battle could stop the dumb courier when bearing a message from the front-line trenches to the keeper in the rear, The illustration shows a British war messenger dog in the front area swimming across a canal to reach his master and deliver a message. Sooner or later man would discover that certain individual dogs were swifter or stronger than their fellows and there- fore more useful in the hunt. These would be encouraged to accompany him; the others would be left at home. The less useful dogs would gradually be elim- inated—driven away from the home or killed—and the swifter, stronger dogs re- tained. We can imagine that this process of weeding out might continue until a distinct breed of hunting dogs was devel- oped. As dogs were required for other pur- poses—for guarding property, or even for household pets—other qualities might be encouraged and other breeds evolved. The varieties produced in different re- gions would be likely to differ from one another partly by reason of the differ- ence in the wild forms from which they sprang, partly because of the difference in the lines along which they were devel- oped. In the inevitable intercourse between peoples from different regions there would surely be an exchange of dogs, ac- cidental or otherwise, and the result would be new varieties which in the course of ages and under widely varying conditions, including finally selective breeding, might eventually produce the many widely differing breeds we see to- day. THE ANCESTORS OF OUR DOMESTIC DOG Have you ever been to a dog show? I mean a big one like the Westminster Kennel Club show in New York, with 3,000 dogs on the benches and over a hun- dred different breeds represented? If you have, perhaps you have been im- pressed, as I have been, with the marvel- ous variety of forms to be seen. @ ~ THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE FRENCH WAR DOG: A COURSER WHOSE WINGED FEET SPURN THE EARTH A remarkable “flight” picture of one of the liaison couriers trained and used by the French for emergencies when the telephone system in the front-line trenches was put out of commission by enemy artillery (see pages 17, 55, and 73). Let us recall for a moment some of the dogs we have noticed and see how widely they differ in appearance. For instance, compare a giant Saint Bernard, weighing between 250 and 300 pounds, with a tiny Chihuahua, which may barely tip the scales at a pound and a half and which can stand on the outstretched hand of a lady. Or look at the tall, lithe wolfhounds and greyhounds, built to move like the winds of heaven, and then turn toward the short-legged, crooked-jointed bassets and dachshund, and you will surely smile and probably laugh out loud. Compare a Newfoundland or, better still, an Eskimo dog, whose thick, dense coat can withstand even the rigors of an Arctic winter, with a hairless dog of Mexico or Africa, which looks cold even in the middle of summer. And we note that such striking com- parisons can be made not only in the gen- eral appearance of the dogs, but in almost every feature of them. We see ears that stand straight up like those of the Ger- man shepherd, ears that fall forward at the tips, like those of the collie, and ears long and pendulous, like those of the bloodhound, which extend far beyond the tip of the nose and sometimes touch the ground when the animal is on the trail. These and the endless other compari- sons of the many different breeds may make us hesitate to accept the conclusion which naturalists, led by Darwin, have arrived at, namely, that all domestic dogs are descended from a few wild forms, namely, wolves, jackals, and_ possibly dingos (page 10). Yet it seems that the naturalists are correct in their conclu- sions,.and that the many varieties found at the bench show are but so many proofs of what Maeterlinck, and Cuvier before him, point out, namely, that the dog is the one animal which can follow man all over the earth and adapt himself to every cli- THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 7 mate and to every use to which his master chooses to put him. THE DOG DOES NOT BOAST OF THE FOX ON HIS FAMILY TREE For a long time it was thought that foxes should be included among the an- cestors of the dog. They are very dog- like in general appearance and in many of their habits. I have had many American red foxes in captivity, and one which I reared from a puppy became almost as tame as a dog. He followed me on my walks and had the tun of the house. Foxes of this species whine, yelp, and bark, and, like dogs and wolves, smile and wag their tails when pleased, bury food which they cannot eat at the time, and turn round and round on their beds before lying down. But in spite of these similarities, and in spite of the fact that they will sometimes make friends with domesticated dogs, and even with wolves, it seems that they are not closely related to either. As far as I am aware, no one has ever succeeded in obtaining a cross between a fox andadog. The late Mr. A. D. Bart- | lett, for years superintendent of the Zoo- logical Gardens in London, after a long series of experiments and observations, not only failed to procure a cross himself, but states that he never heard of a single well-authenticated case of such a cross having been made. WOLVES, JACKALS, DINGOS, AND DOGS INTERBREED On the other hand, wolves, jackals, and dingos cross freely with domestic dogs and the progeny is fertile. I have myself seen many crosses between American tim- ber wolves and dogs. Some shown me by Superintendent Benson, of Norum- bega Park, near Boston, some years ago, were the offspring of a great Dane dog and a female wolf. ‘They were finely built, high-strung, very wolfish-looking dogs, the characteristics of the wild par- ent distinctly predominating. In Kansas I once saw two well-grown puppies whose mother was a coyote and father an unknown dog. One was gray- ish, somewhat like the mother; the other was black. They had wolfish heads and snarled like coyotes. They were very nervous and at every opportunity ran away from me with their tails between their legs. Both the American gray wolf and the smaller prairie wolf, or coyote, are easy to domesticate, though it has been my ex- perience that they never become quite as tame and tractable as domestic dogs. I had one coyote, which we named Romulus, for six years, and a good part of the time he was loose. He followed my wife and me on our tramps through the woods and over the mountains, some- times at heel, sometimes ranging out in front. He would come at a call, and if within hearing would respond instantly to an imitation of the long-drawn howl of the coyote. A PLAYFUL, AFFECTIONATE COYOTE He was very affectionate and would smile and wag his tail to express his joy at meeting us, and throw himself on his back as an invitation to us to caress him. He was playful, too, and given one end of a rope or strap would do his best to pull it away from us. While in this play- ful mood he would catch up the skirt of a coat or dress and walk along with us, proudly smiling and wagging his tail. But he was very high-strung and nervous, and if we attempted to hold him in the presence of strangers he would bite and get away as quickly as possible. Once loose he was no longer afraid and would often run right in and tear the stranger’s clothing. Most writers refer to the coyote as cowardly, but I have seen nothing which seems to justify this estimate of his char- acter. He simply isn’t foolhardy. He's like the Irishman who said he preferred to have his enemies call him a coward to- day to having his friends say “How nat- ural he looks” tomorrow. I will give an example of what I mean. One bitter winter day I was tramping on snow-shoes through a New Hampshire forest with a coyote at my heels. As we were passing a deserted cabin, three fox-hounds which had taken refuge from the recent storm came leaping out in full cry. The coyote, outnumbered and taken by surprise, drifted away over the snow like a puff of gray smoke, the hounds in pur- 8 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Photograph by William Henry A COLLIE OF ROYAL ANCESTRY BECAME THE MASCOT OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS Before he “joined the army,” this dog of blooded lineage bore the name of “Bum.” Now he answers to the more appropriate title of “Bullets.” suit. But they were no match for him in speed, and after floundering along in his wake for less than half a mile they stopped, turned round, and started back. The coyote, who had been running eas- ily only a few feet ahead of them, seemed to be completely in touch with the situa- tion. No sooner had the tired dogs turned than he wheeled about, pitched into the rear guard of the enemy, and in a running counter attack decisively whipped all three of the hounds and finally drove them back yelping into the old house from which they had come, That didn’t look like cowardice; it looked like good generalship. And it isn’t cowardice for an animal the size of a covote to run away from an animal the size of a man, especially when the little wolf knows that in some mysterious man- ner his enemy can kill him when he is still a quarter of a mile away. That’s a com- THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 9 bination of common sense and good judg- ment. THE FIDELITY OF ROMULUS My coyote, Romu- lus, was very destruc- tive to poultry, and even to the wild deer, and I finally gave him to a zoological garden, where he died six years later, at the age of twelve. I made a point of going to see him once or twice a year, and he never forgot me. As soon as he saw me he would begin to exe- cute a strange little rocking dance, mean- while smiling and waving his brush. The keeper would unlock the door of his pen, and as I entered the wolf would rush to greet me and roll over on his back like a friendly puppy. Then he would throw him- self upon me, lap my face and hands, hang onto my clothing as Jo” though to detain me, and when finally I had to leave him, he would raise his muzzle in the air and howl discon- solately. My experience with domesticated timber wolves would tend to show that they are not so demonstratively affectionate as the coyotes. As puppies, they are rather playful, but as they get older they are apt to take themselves very seriously. They differ greatly in character. Some I have had became so savage that it was necessary to get rid of them; others were gentle and friendly as long as they lived. One big, powerful wolf I owned some times showed marked affection for me, A DOG AND HIS MASTER PROTECTED ALIKE FROM POISON GAS AT THE BATTLE FRONT (SEE PAGE 55) Every living creature—man, dog, horse, and mule—had to be equipped with a gas mask in order to pass through the areas deluged with poisonous fumes during the world war. are seen stretcher-bearers carrying a wounded man to safety. The war dogs were frequently employed in finding the sorely wounded in No Man’s Land and in leading rescuers to them. In the background but it was only occasionally, and then only when we were entirely alone. ‘The presence of a third person made him grimly aloof. Nevertheless, he did not resent the friendly advances even of strafigers, and when I took him with me on lecture trips, as I often did, he would follow me through the audience, and the smallest child present might put its arms about his neck without fear of being hurt. But he simply tolerated these ad- 10 vances; he never responded to them with so much as a smile. He was not so tolerant of dogs, how- ever, and woe to any dog that ventured to cross his path. As a joke I once en- tered him as a “buffalo hound” at one of the big bench shows. He was accepted, benched, and behaved himself perfectly, though I did take the precaution to put a wire screen between him and the public, Only once did he even threaten trouble. That was when I was leading him past a bench of the Russian wolf hounds, who instantly leaped to the ends of their chains, eyes blazing, teeth bared, while their savage barking brought every dog in the show to its feet. The great wolf whirled about facing the. foremost dog, Champion Bistri o’ Valley Farm. The calmness of the wild brute was in marked contrast to the excitement of the dogs. As he stood there firmly on his four legs, the hair on his back and neck rising in a tall mane, menacing fangs unsheathed, and those cold, merciless eyes gazing straight into the face of his sworn enemy, I wondered what was going on in the back of that big gray head. Perhaps he was wondering how many dogs of that caliber he could account for in a fair open fight, taking one ata time. Then I dragged him off, mane tossing and with many a backward glance at the splendid dogs who were just as eager as he was to come to grips. Jackals, which in many respects re- semble our own coyotes, are found in Asia and Africa. If taken as puppies they are easily tamed. My father, who lived for many years in India, had a tame jackal which showed many doglike traits. It would wag its tail when pleased, and throw itself upon its back in affectionate submission. THE WILD DOG OF AUSTRALIA The dingo is the wild dog of Australia and may have been one of the ancestors of our domestic breeds. There is still some doubt about this, however, as it is not quite certain whether the animal orig- inated in Australia or whether it is de- scended from the dogs of Asia and was introduced by man at some very remote THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE time. In any case, it is a true dog and is easily tamed. The native name for the animal is “warrigal,” “dingo” being the name given by the natives to any domesticated dog of the settlers. The dingos I have seen were tawny brown in color and about the size of a smooth-coated collie, but of more stocky build and more pow- erful jaws. I once had a dingo puppy, a lovable ball of soft rich brown fur, but alas! he died before I had a chance to study him. In the wild state dingos hunt in packs, and formerly were so destructive to sheep that the stockmen began a war of ex- termination, aided by a government bounty of five shillings for every dingo killed. Strychnine was the principal weapon used, and it was so effective that the ranks of the wild dog were thinned to a point where they were no longer a menace. TRAINING THE DINGO On the Herbert River the natives find dingo puppies and bring them up with the children. A puppy is usually reared with great care; he is well fed on meat and fruit and often becomes an important member of the family. His keen scent makes him very useful in trailing game, and his fleetness of foot frequently en- ables him to run it down. His master never strikes him, though he sometimes threatens to do so. “he threats often end in extravagant caresses. And he seems to respond to this kindly treatment, for the dingo is said to be a “one-man” dog, refusing to follow any one but his master. Never- theless, the call of the wild, especially in the mating season, often proves too strong for him, and he will rejoin the pack never to return to his human friends. When we consider, then, the doglike friendliness of which these wild forms are capable, even in the first generation, it is not difficult to believe that they are the ancestors of our domestic dogs, with which they freely interbreed. Our belief is still further strengthened if we consider how closely many of the domesticated dogs resemble the wild forms of the same regions. The resem- THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 11 WEARING THE CHEVRONS OF HONOR FOR SERVICE OVERSEAS A ship’s mascot is as truly essential in the maintenance of morale among bluejackets as are clean quarters, good food, and strict discipline. These tiny tykes, with their blankets bearing service stripes, are important units of the United States battleship Oklahoma's com- plement of fighters. blance is nowhere stronger than in the Eskimo dogs of Greenland and Alaska, which are believed to be simply domesti- cated wolves. Some of the Arctic ex- plorers have called attention to the diffi- culty of distinguishing them from the wild wolves of the same region. Captain Parry, in the journal of his second voyage, speaks of a pack of 13 wolves which came boldly within a few yards of his ship, The Fury, but which he and his men dared not shoot, because they could not be quite sure that they were not shooting sledge dogs and thus doing the Eskimos an irreparable injury. A few years ago Admiral Peary kindly conducted me over Flag Island, in Casco Bay, that I might see the pure-bred North Greenland Eskimo dogs which he brought back after his discovery of the North Pole. When these animals carried their tails curled over their backs, as they usually do, there was no mistaking them for anything else but dogs, but the mo- ment they lowered their tails, as they often did, to all appearances they were gray wolves. Another striking example of this simi- larity between Eskimo dogs and wolves is shown in a photograph by Donald B. 12 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE MacMillan of one of his female Eskimo dogs, standing with lowered tail watch- ing a litter of puppies which she is nurs- ing. The puppies, which are spotted, are evidently not pure breed, but the mother looks as much like a timber wolf as any timber wolf I ever saw. In the same way some of the dogs which in former years were found among the Indians farther south closely resem- bled coyotes. Many of the pariah dogs of India look much like the wolves of that country; in southeastern Europe and the south of Asia many of the breeds of dogs bear a close resemblance to the jackals of the same districts, and some of the South American dogs show a marked similarity to the small South American wolves. It was such considerations which led Dar- win to the following conclusion: “Tt is highly probable that the domestic dogs of the world are descended from two well-defined species of wolf, namely, Canis lupus and Canis latrans, and from two or three doubtful species, namely, the European, Indian, and North African wolves; from at least one or two South American canine species; from several races or species of jackals, and perhaps from one or more extinct species.” HISTORICAL SKETCH As we have noted, there is good evi- dence that men and dogs were associated in very remote times. Among the re- mains left by the ancient cave-dwellers, half-petrified bones, some human, some canine, are found lying together. Rem- nants of dog bones have been found in the Danish “‘kitchen-middens”—heaps of household rubbish piled by the people of the newer Stone Age—and dog bones of later periods have also been found in Denmark. Of course, it is often impossible to form any idea of the appearance of these dogs in life; but in Switzcrland there have been found records which show that a large dog differing widely from the wolf and the jackal, and which is said to have borne a resemblance to our hounds and setters, was at least partially domes- ticated by the lake-dwellers. That the men of the so-called Reindeer period had dogs which they used in the chase, and perhaps for other purposes, is evidenced by the crude pictures which they cut in the rocks to record their mighty deeds and adventures. One such picture, 5 feet high by 12 feet long, cut thousands of years ago in the solid quartz at Bohuslau, on the shores of the Cattegat, depicts what seerns to be a hunting party consisting of men, dogs, and horses, just landed from a boat and engaged in the pursuit of reindeer. Other prehistoric artists have engraved rude figures of dogs on the surface of bones and horns; and these, no doubt, were aboriginal dogs. In fact, with the exception of a few islands, namely, the West Indies, Madagascar, some of the islands of the Malay Archipelago, New Zealand, and the Polynesian Islands, there are few parts of the world where we can- not find evidence that the dog in some form existed as an aboriginal animal. THE DOG DOMESTICATED IN EARLY TIMES In most parts of the world the dog has been more or less domesticated from very early times, though it is not until we be- gin to study the records of such highly civilized peoples as the ancient Assyrians and Egyptians that we find dogs which we can recognize as belonging to distinct breeds. The Assyrians had at least two, the greyhound and the mastiff, the former much like our coursing dogs, the latter a large, heavy-built, powerful beast, but evidently much more active than the mas- tiffs seen in modern kennels and at the bench shows. In the Nimrod Gallery of the British Museum may be seen a bas-relief tablet showing Assur-bani-pal and his attend- ants with Assyrian mastiffs straining at the leash, and another showing similar mastiffs hunting wild horses. The ancient Egyptians seem to have been at least as familiar with dogs as we are, and on the Egyptian monuments of 5,000 years ago are figured several widely differing breeds, showing that even in those days dogs were used not only in the chase, but as companions and household pets. DOGS OF THE CHASE 2,500 YEARS AGO Among the ruins of Nineveh have been found marble slabs upon which are carved such scenes as this, which shows attendants with nets holding the leashes of the hunting dogs of Assur-bani-pal, the grand monarque of Assyria, magnificent patron of art and literature and creator of the great library of Nineveh. This panel proves that the hunting dogs of twenty- five centuries ago were much the same as those of today. I3 Photograph by Paul Thompson AT THE DOG SHOW: THE SMALLEST AND THE LARGEST EXHIBITS The astonishing differences in the various species of the dog family are strikingly de- picted in this picture. Wonderful Tiny, the Yorkshire terrier, in his mistress’ hands, weighs only 10 ounces, while Boy Blue, the great St. Bernard, weighs 250 pounds. 14 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Some of the Egyptian greyhounds bore a striking resemblance to modern Eng- lish greyhounds. Others had fringed tails and had doubtless been introduced from Persia, where this breed, unchanged in form, is used today (see page 22). Another hound kept by the Egyptians was not unlike our great Dane, and there was a short-legged toy dog which carried its tail curled over its back. It is in- teresting to note that one kind of hunt- ing dog kept by the ancient Egyptians was called “unsu,” or “ungau,” meaning “wolves,” perhaps indicating a knowl- edge of its descent from the wild form. WORSHIPED BY THE EGYPTIANS But to the Egyptians dogs were much more than either assistants in the chase or household pets. They were objects of veneration and worship. They appear in the friezes of the temples and were re- garded as divine emblems. Herodotus tells us that when a dog be- longing to an Egyptian family died, the members of the household shaved them- selves as an expression of their grief, and adds that this was the custom in his own day. An interesting explanation of this ven- eration associated it with the annual over- flowing of the Nile. The coming of the great event, on which depended the pros- perity of Lower Egypt, was heralded by the star Syrius, which appeared above the horizon at this time. And as soon as this star was seen the inhabitants be- gan to remove their flocks to the higher pastures, leaving the lower ones to be fertilized by the rising waters. The warn- ing was so timely and unfailing that the people called Syrius the “dog star,” be- cause it seemed to show the friendly watchfulness and fidelity of a dog. A feeling of gratitude for this service was no doubt gradually replaced by the stronger feeling of veneration and wor- ship. The dog came to be regarded as a god—the genius of the river—and was represented with the body of a man and the head of a dog. As Anubis, it became a great figure in Egyptian mythology, and its image was placed on the gates of the temples. 15 At a later period Cynopolis, the city of the dog, was built in honor of Anubis, to whom priests celebrated great festivals and sacrificed earthly dogs—black ones and white ones alternately. These dogs, and others of a reddish color, were em- balmed, and many dog mummies have been found. EGYPTIAN DOG WORSHIP SPREAD TO OTHER LANDS Dog worship spread from Egypt to many other countries, where it took dif- ferent forms. The Romans. sacrificed dogs to Anubis, to the lesser dog star, Procyon, and to Pan, and the Greeks made similar offerings to propitiate Pros- erpine, Mars, Hecate, and other imagi- nary beings of whom they stood in fear. Plutarch says: “The circle which touches and separates the two hemis- pheres, and which on account of this di- vision has received the name of horizon, is called Anubis. It is represented under the form of a dog because this animal watches during the day and during the night.” Out of this idea it seems there arose two mythical personages—Mercury, or Hermes, and Cerberus, the three-headed dog supposed to guard the gates of hell. But there were humbugs even in those days, and they humbugged the dog wor-. ' shipers even as charlatans often hum-_- bug Christians today. Perhaps the limit of deception was practiced on a certain nation in Ethiopia, which is said to have been bamboozled into actually setting up. a dog for its king. Clad in royal robes and with a crown upon his head, he sat upon his throne and received the homage of his subjects. He signified his approval by wagging his tail and his disapproval by barking. He conferred honors upon a person by licking his hand, and a growl might condemn a man to captivity or death. Even so, since he was a dog, his sub- jects might have expected justice and possibly mercy had it not been for the “advisers” by whom he was surrounded. These gentlemen, of course, had their own interests to serve, and no doubt served them by skilfully juggling the in- terpretations of the “king’s” commands. ‘sjulod yO wisio1q119 pue SUOI}dIIosap ul pasn AJUOUITIOD se Sop oy} yo sqsed jeonmojeue ay} lle sMmoys Surmeip sry yz, Loafanas Ww sv CNWIGNNOAMAN SUL ONISN “Od V JO LXYVHO ANITIOO NV Sa}ony ZIssesy sino’y]