Text: Edgar Allan Poe (rejected), “A Chapter on Field Sports and Manly Pastimes [Part 05],” Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine (Philadelphia, PA), Vol. IV, no. 6, June 1839, pp. 349-352

[page 349, unnumbered:]

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THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG.

THE Newfoundland Dog is of the largest Arctic breed, that is to say, of that of the Northern frozen climes. In he head, countenance, and pendulous ears, he resembles both the hound and the spaniel, and in his nature, partakes of the qualities of both. He has the long shaggy hair and web- feet of the water dog, and may indeed be almost pronounced amphibious, no other of the canine race being able to endure the water so long, or swim with so great facility and power. His tail is curled, or fringed, and his fore legs and hinder thighs are also fringed. He is not at all remarkable for symmetry in his form, or in the setting on of his legs, whence his progression is somewhat awkward, and loose, and by consequence, he is not distinguished for speed; a defect which might bo remedied in breeding, were an improvement, in that particular, desirable.

No risk is incurred by pronouncing this dog the most useful of the whole canine race, as far as hitherto known, upon the face of the earth. His powers, both of body and of intellect, are unequalled, and he seems to have been created with an unconquerable disposition to make the most benevolent use of those powers. His services are voluntary, ardent, incessant, and his attachment and obedience to man, natural and without bounds. The benignity of his countenance is a true index of him disposition, and nature has been so partial to this paragon of dogs, that while he seems to be flee from [page 350:] their usual enmities and quarrelsomeness, he is endowed with the most heroic degree of courage, whether to resent an insult, or to defend, to his last gasp, his master or companion when in danger. His sagacity likewise, surpasses belief, as do the numerous and important services rendered to society by this invaluable race, in lives saved, persons defended, and goods recovered, which by no other possible means could have been recovered. The list of his qualifications is extensive indeed : he is one of the ablest, hardiest, and most useful of draught dogs; as a keeper or defender of the house, he is far more intelligent, more powerful, and more depended upon, than the Mastiff, and has been frequently of late years substituted for him, in England Indeed, he may with much propriety, entirely supersede that breed, the old Ban dog being now nearly or entirely worn out. As a water dog, and for his services upon navigable rivers, none can come in competition with the Newfoundland; and various sportsmen have introduced him into the field, and shot to him with great success, his naturally kind disposition, and great sagacity, rendering his training an easy task. The usual fate attends this generous race, among us: they are too often degraded and deteriorated by inferior crosses; one piece of good fortune however attends them — they are not, in this country, bred beyond the demand; thence, we do not, with respect to them, witness the disgusting sight of abandonment and starvation in the streets.

Habitually inclined to industrious employment, such dogs are as useful to the traders of the coast from which they are brought, as our ponies and galloways are to us. It is easy to accustom them to daily labor, From three to five of them are harnessed to a sledge or other vehicle, containing a load of wood or lumber, amounting to three or four hundred pounds, which they steadily draw for miles with else. This they do without the aid of a driver, when they are acquainted with the road, and having delivered their burden, they return home to their master, and receive as a reward for their labor their accustomed food, which generally consists of dried ash, of which they are said to be extremely fond.

The Newfoundland dog seldom barks, and only when strongly provoked; it then appears like an unnatural and painful exertion, which produces a noise between barking and howling, longer and louder than a snarl, and more hollow and less sharp than barking, still strictly corresponding to the sounds expressed by the familiar words how wow; and here he stops, unless it ends in a bowl, in which he will instantaneously be joined by all the dogs within hearing. This happens frequently, and, in a calm, still night, produces a noise particularly hideous.

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THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN DOG.

Whether the numberless breeds of dogs, which are the companions of the human race in every region of the globe, were originally descended from one common stock, and owe their infinite varieties solely to their complete domestication, the modifications by which they are distinguished having been gradually produced by the influence of circumstances: whether, on the contrary, they are derived from the intermixture of different species, now so completely blended together as to render it impossible to trace out the line of their descent: and whether, on either supposition, the primeval race or races still exist irks state of nature, are questions which have baffled the ingenuity of the most celebrated naturalists. Theory after theory has been advanced, and the problem is still as eagerly debated as ever, and with as little probability of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion. In the investigation of this difficult subject, however, as in the search after the philosopher’s stone, many curious facts have been brought to fight, which would otherwise in all probability have remained buried in obscurity; [page 351:] and the causes which are continually operating to produce a gradual change of character, both in outward form and in intellectual capacity, among the brute creation, have received considerable elucidation. It is thus that theories, however erroneous in themselves, are frequently made subservient to the advancement of science, by the important facts which are incidentally developed by their authors in the ardor of their zeal for the establishment of a favorite hypothesis.

It is by no means our intention to enter upon the discussion of so extensive a question. But while we purposely abstain from inquiring what was the original dog, before he was reclaimed (if such a period ever existed) to the service of man, we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that in the specimen now before us we have him in that condition in which he may be supposed to approach most nearly to a state of nature. From the observation of the characters, physical and moral, which he presents rn this first stage of cultivation, some idea may perhaps be deduced of what a dog would be without any cultivation whatever; but it should always be borne in mind that even amongst the most savage nations the dogs are as distinct in character as the tribes they serve, and that their degree of intellectual development frequently outstrips that of the masters who hold them in subjection.

Dr. Richardson suspects that the original North American Indian dog is the breed now in the possession of the Hare Indians and other tribes frequenting the banks of the Mackenzie River and Great Bear Lake. It was, perhar formerly generally spread over the northern parts of America; but being fitted only for the chase, it has since the introduction of guns, gradually given way to the mongrel race sprung from the Esquimaux, Newfoundland, and this very breed, with occasional intermixture of other kinds.

The Hare-Indian dog is not so large as the prairie wolf, but exceeds the red American fox; and yet it bears a greater resemblance to the former than to the latter. Its muzzle is narrow, elongated, and pointed; its ears broad at the belie, pointed at the tip, arid perfectly erect; its legs rather long and delicate; and its tail thick, bushy, and curved slightly upwards, but not by any means with the decided curl of the Esquimaux. Ita body is covered with long straight hairs, the ground-color of which is white, marked with large irregular patches of grayish black intermingled with various shades of brown. The ears are covered on the outside with short brown hair, which becomes blackish towards the margin and at the base; that of the inside is longer and white. On the muzzle the hair is white and very short, as also on the legs, but becomes thicker and somewhat longer on the feet, and is continued to the very extremities of the toes.

The Hare-Indian dog has neither courage nor strength to fit it for pulling down any of the larger animals; but its broad feet and light make enable it to run over the snow without sinking, if the slightest crust is formed on it, and thus easily to overtake and tease the moose or reindeer, and keep them at bay until the hunters come up.

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THE SHEPHERD’S DOG.

This is the species which Buffon selected as the foundation of his hypothesis, and which he assumed to be the archetype of the canine genus, the Adam of dogs, from which every species and variety has descended. Other speculators have supposed the sheep-dog derived from the wolf, a conjecture in all probability, founded on appearance merely, and indeed not of the moat fortunate kind, the very opposite dispositions of the two animals considered; that the shepherd’s-dog is the most ancient race of the genus, is well ascertained from history, and at the same time, the most universal; the shepherds of all nations of the old world, having been provided with dogs of similar species and qualification with those we now describe. [page 352:]

If we may give credit to the position which seems to have passed current through a number of books, this dog is a heaven-born genius, coming into this world fully qualified by nature for his business, and requiring no training whatever, like other animals. The truth we apprehend to be. that this race has a strong natural instinct or predisposition to keeping, or watching and preserving any thing that comes under its observation, which joined with its patience, mildness, and gentleness of disposition, indicated to the inquiring faculties of men their use as keepers of sheep. Their sagacity, docility, and powerful attachment to home and to their master and protector, aided by their grand natural propensity, render the teaching them their duty an easy and pleasant task, that which with other breeds of dogs, is generally so laborious, and attended with such disgusting severity. The young sheep dogs, in truth, will generally be entered and instructed by their elders, with very little extra instruction from the shepherd. The drovers’ dog, is a race of animals well known in England, a sort of mixed breed between the shepherd, cur, mastiff, and lurcher, a very useful breed no doubt, but of qualities varying in proportion to their mixture of breeds, and considerably different from those of the parent stock.

The shepherd’s dog is said to have been preserved in its original purity of species, is the Highlands of Scotland, and is the most uncultivated parts of Wales. In fact, such is most likely to be the case, in all open countries, where the sheep husbandry necessarily predominates, and where this dog is of the greatest account, his services being indispensable, and the trust reposed in him so great. He is truly a wonder of his species; with an appearance of somnolency, of heaviness and indolence, he is all alive, and active, and energetic, when inspired by a sense of duty, or directed by the commands of his master, the slightest indications of which, are sufficient for his ready comprehension. He is the most contented of all the canine race, the least given to wandering, or attention to strange pursuits or to strangers, his whole faculties appearing completely absorbed in that employment to which he is destined. Withal. t the external signs of robustness, he is able to endure the greatest hardships, defying hunger, wet, and cold, and the shivering blasts of winter, in the wilderness, upon the mountain, and in those dreary wilds, where if the shepherd ventures, he treads with cautious and perilous steps.

This species has generally, but not universally, one or two supernumerary toes upon the hinder feet. sometimes on one foot only. The same peculiarity attends some of the larger spaniels and pointers. These spare toes are quite useless, being void of muscular power, and hanging from the hinder part of the leg. They are somewhat of an impediment, and likely to be torn by briars; it is well, therefore, to dip them off with sharp scissors, before the whelp can see.