We will now enter into details. The accurate and sagacious Richardson says, "The resemblance between the Northern American wolves (Canis lupus, var. occidentalis) and the domestic dogs of the Indians is so great that the size and strength of the wolf seems to be the only difference. I have more than once mistaken a band of wolves for the dogs of a party of Indians; and the howl of the animals of both species is prolonged so exactly in the same key that even the practised ear of the Indian fails at times to discriminate them.' He adds that the more northern Esquimaux dogs are not only extremely like the grey wolves of the Arctic circle in form and colour, but also nearly equal them in size. Dr. Kane has often seen in his teams of sledge-dogs the oblique eye (a character on which some naturalists lay great stress), the drooping tail, and scared look of the wolf. In disposition the Esquimaux dogs differ little from wolves, and, according to Dr. Hayes, they are capable of no attachment to man, and are so savage that when hungry they will attack even their masters. According to Kane they readily become feral. Their affinity is so close with wolves that they frequently cross with them, and the Indians take the whelps of wolves "to improve the breed of their dogs." The half-bred wolves sometimes (Lamare- Picquot) cannot be tamed, "though this case is rare;" but they do not become thoroughly well broken in till the second or third generation. These facts show that there can be but little, if any, sterility between the Esquimaux dog and the wolf, for otherwise they would not be used to improve the breed. As Dr. Hayes says of these dogs, "reclaimed wolves they doubtless are." (1/14. The authorities for the foregoing statements are as follow: — Richardson in 'Fauna Boreali-Americana' 1829 pages 64, 75; Dr. Kane 'Arctic Explorations' 1856 volume 1 pages 398, 455; Dr. Hayes 'Arctic Boat Journey' 1860 page 167. Franklin's 'Narrative' volume 1 page 269, gives the case of three whelps of a black wolf being carried away by the Indians. Parry, Richardson, and others, give accounts of wolves and dogs naturally crossing in the eastern parts of North America. Seeman in his 'Voyage of H.M.S. "Herald"' 1853 volume 2 page 26, says the wolf is often caught by the Esquimaux for the purpose of crossing with their dogs, and thus adding to their size and strength. M. Lamare-Picquot in 'Bull. de la Soc. d'Acclimat.' tome 7 1860 page 148, gives a good account of the half- bred Esquimaux dogs.)
North America is inhabited by a second kind of wolf, the prairie-wolf (Canis latrans), which is now looked at by all naturalists as specifically distinct from the common wolf; and is, according to Mr. J.K. Lord, in some respects intermediate in habits between a wolf and a fox. Sir J. Richardson, after describing the Hare Indian dog, which differs in many respects from the Esquimaux dog, says, "It bears the same relation to the prairie-wolf that the Esquimaux dog does to the great grey wolf." He could, in fact, detect no marked difference between them; and Messrs. Nott and Gliddon give additional details showing their close resemblance. The dogs derived from the above two aboriginal sources cross together and with the wild wolves, at least with the C. occidentalis, and with European dogs. In Florida, according to Bartram, the black wolf-dog of the Indians differs in nothing from the wolves of that country except in barking. (1/15. 'Fauna Boreali-Americana' 1829 pages 73, 78, 80. Nott and Gliddon, 'Types of Mankind' page 383. The naturalist and traveller Bartram is quoted by Hamilton Smith in 'Naturalist Lib.' volume 10 page 156. A Mexican domestic dog seems also to resemble a wild dog of the same country; but this may be the prairie-wolf. Another capable judge, Mr. J.K. Lord ('The Naturalist in Vancouver Island' 1866 volume 2 page 218), says that the Indian dog of the Spokans, near the Rocky Mountains, "is beyond all question nothing more than a tamed Cayote or prairie-wolf," or Canis latrans.)
Turning to the southern parts of the new world, Columbus found two kinds of dogs in the West Indies; and Fernandez (1/16. I quote this from Mr. R. Hill's excellent account of the Alco or domestic dog of Mexico, in Gosse's 'Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica' 1851 page 329.) describes three in Mexico: some of these native dogs were dumb — that is, did not bark. In Guiana it has been known since the time of Buffon that the natives cross their dogs with an aboriginal species, apparently the Canis cancrivorus. Sir R. Schomburgk, who has so carefully explored these regions, writes to me, "I have been repeatedly told by the Arawaak Indians, who reside near the coast, that they cross their dogs with a wild species to improve the breed, and individual dogs have been shown to me which certainly resembled the C. cancrivorus much more than the common breed. It is but seldom that the Indians keep the C. cancrivorus for domestic purposes, nor is the Ai, another species of wild dog, and which I consider to be identical with the Dusicyon silvestris of H. Smith, now much used by the Arecunas for the purpose of hunting. The dogs of the Taruma Indians are quite distinct, and resemble Buffon's St. Domingo greyhound." It thus appears that the natives of Guiana have partially domesticated two aboriginal species, and still cross their dogs with them; these two species belong to a quite different type from the North American and European wolves. A careful observer, Rengger (1/17. 'Naturgeschichte der Saugethiere von Paraguay' 1830 s. 151.), gives reasons for believing that a hairless dog was domesticated when America was first visited by Europeans: some of these dogs in Paraguay are still dumb, and Tschudi (1/18. Quoted in Humboldt 'Aspects of Nature' (English translation) volume 1 page 108.) states that they suffer from cold in the Cordillera. This naked dog is, however quite distinct from that found preserved in the ancient Peruvian burial-places, and described by Tschudi, under the name of Canis ingae, as withstanding cold well and as barking. It is not known whether these two distinct kinds of dog are the descendants of native species, and it might be argued that when man first migrated into America he brought with him from the Asiatic continent dogs which had not learned to bark; but this view does not seem probable, as the natives along the line of their march from the north reclaimed, as we have seen, at least two N. American species of Canidae.
Turning to the Old World, some European dogs closely resemble the wolf; thus the shepherd dog of the plains of Hungary is white or reddish-brown, has a sharp nose, short, erect ears, shaggy coat, and bushy tail, and so much resembles a wolf that Mr. Paget, who gives this description, says he has known a Hungarian mistake a wolf for one of his own dogs. Jeitteles, also, remarks on the close similarity of the Hungarian dog and wolf. Shepherd dogs in Italy must anciently have closely resembled wolves, for Columella (vii. 12) advises that white dogs be kept, adding, "pastor album probat, ne pro lupo canem feriat." Several accounts have been given of dogs and wolves crossing naturally; and Pliny asserts that the Gauls tied their female dogs in the woods that they might cross with wolves. (1/19. Paget 'Travels in Hungary and Transylvania' volume 1 page 501. Jeitteles 'Fauna Hungariae Superioris' 1862 s. 13. See Pliny 'History of the World' (English translation) 8th book ch. 40 about the Gauls crossing their dogs. See also Aristotle 'Hist. Animal.' Lib. 8 c. 28. For good evidence about wolves and dogs naturally crossing near the Pyrenees, see M. Mauduyt 'Du Loup et de ses Races' Poitiers, 1851; also Pallas in 'Acta Acad. St. Petersburgh' 1780 part 2 page 94.) The European wolf differs slightly from that of North America, and has been ranked by many naturalists as a distinct species. The common wolf of India is also by some esteemed as a third species, and here again we find a marked resemblance between the pariah dogs of certain districts of India and the Indian wolf. (1/20. I give this on excellent authority, namely Mr. Blyth (under the signature of Zoophilus) in the 'Indian Sporting Review' October 1856 page 134. Mr. Blyth states that he was struck with the resemblance between a brush-tailed race of pariah-dogs, north-west of Cawnpore, and the Indian wolf. He gives corroborative evidence with respect to the dogs of the valley of the Nerbudda.)
With respect to Jackals, Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1/21. For numerous and interesting details on the resemblance of dogs and jackals see Isid. Geoffroy St. — Hilaire 'Hist. Nat. Gen.' 1860 tome 3 page 101. See also 'Hist. Nat. des Mammiferes' par Prof. Gervais, 1855 tome 2 page 60.) says that not one constant difference can be pointed out between their structure and that of the smaller races of dogs. They agree closely in habits: jackals, when tamed and called by their master, wag their tails, lick his hands, crouch, and throw themselves on their backs; they smell at the tails of other dogs, and void their urine sideways; they roll on carrion or on animals which they have killed; and, lastly, when in high spirits, they run round in circles or in a figure of eight, with their tails between their legs. (1/22. Also Guldenstadt 'Nov. Comment. Acad. Petrop.' tome 20 pro anno 1775 page 449. Also Salvin in 'Land and Water' October 1869.) A number of excellent naturalists, from the time of Guldenstadt to that of Ehrenberg, Hemprich, and Cretzschmar, have expressed themselves in the strongest terms with respect to the resemblance of the half-domestic dogs of Asia and Egypt to jackals. M. Nordmann, for instance, says, "Les chiens d'Awhasie ressemblent etonnamment a des chacals." Ehrenberg (1/23. Quoted by De Blainville in his 'Osteographie, Canidae' pages 79, 98.) asserts that the domestic dogs of Lower Egypt, and certain mummied dogs, have for their wild type a species of wolf (C. lupaster) of the country; whereas the domestic dogs of Nubia and certain other mummied dogs have the closest relation to a wild species of the same country, viz. C. sabbar, which is only a form of the common jackal. Pallas asserts that jackals and dogs sometimes naturally cross in the East; and a case is on record in Algeria. (1/24. See Pallas in 'Act. Acad. St. Petersburgh' 1780 part 2 page 91. For Algeria, see Isid. Geoffroy St. — Hilaire 'Hist. Nat. Gen.' tome 3 page 177. In both countries it is the male jackal which pairs with female domestic dogs.) The greater number of naturalists divide the jackals of Asia and Africa into several species, but some few rank them all as one.
I may add that the domestic dogs on the coast of Guinea are fox-like animals, and are dumb. (1/25. John Barbut 'Description of the Coast of Guinea in 1746.') On the east coast of Africa, between latitude 4 deg and 6 deg south, and about ten days' journey in the interior, a semi-domestic dog, as the Rev. S. Erhardt informs me, is kept, which the natives assert is derived from a similar wild animal. Lichtenstein (1/26. 'Travels in South Africa' volume 2 page 272.) says that the dogs of the Bosjemans present a striking resemblance even in colour (excepting the black stripe down the back) with the C. mesomelas of South Africa. Mr. E. Layard informs me that he has seen a Caffre dog which closely resembled an Esquimaux dog. In Australia the Dingo is both domesticated and wild; though this animal may have been introduced aboriginally by man, yet it must be considered as almost an endemic form, for its remains have been found in a similar state of preservation and associated with extinct mammals, so that its introduction must have been ancient. (1/27. Selwyn, Geology of Victoria; 'Journal of Geolog. Soc.' volume 14 1858 page 536 and volume 16 1860 page 148; and Prof. M'Coy in 'Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.' (3rd series) volume 9 1862 page 147. The Dingo differs from the dogs of the central Polynesian islands. Dieffenbach remarks ('Travels' volume 2 page 45) that the native New Zealand dog also differs from the Dingo.)
From this resemblance of the half-domesticated dogs in several countries to the wild species still living there, — from the facility with which they can often be crossed together, — from even half-tamed animals being so much valued by savages, — and from the other circumstances previously remarked on which favour their domestication, it is highly probable that the domestic dogs of the world are descended from two well-defined species of wolf (viz. C. lupus and C. latrans), and from two or three other 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 jackal; and perhaps from one or more extinct species. Although it is possible or even probable that domesticated dogs, introduced into any country and bred there for many generations, might acquire some of the characters proper to the aboriginal Canidae of the country, we can hardly thus account for introduced dogs having given rise to two breeds in the same country, resembling two of its aboriginal species, as in the above- given cases of Guiana and of North America. (1/28. These latter remarks afford, I think, a sufficient answer to some criticisms by Mr. Wallace, on the multiple origin of dogs, given in Lyell's 'Principles of Geology' 1872 volume 2 page 295.)
It cannot be objected to the view of several canine species having been anciently domesticated, that these animals are tamed with difficulty: facts have been already given on this head, but I may add that the young of the Canis primaevus of India were tamed by Mr. Hodgson (1/29. 'Proceedings Zoological Soc.' 1833 page 112. See also on the taming of the common wolf, L. Lloyd 'Scandinavian Adventures' 1854 volume 1 page 460. With respect to the jackal, see Prof. Gervais 'Hist. Nat. Mamm.' tome 2 page 61. With respect to the aguara of Paraguay see Rengger's work.), and became as sensible of caresses, and manifested as much intelligence, as any sporting dog of the same age. There is not much difference, as we have already shown and shall further see, in habits between the domestic dogs of the North American Indians and the wolves of that country, or between the Eastern pariah dogs and jackals, or between the dogs which have run wild in various countries and the several natural species of the family. The habit of barking, however, which is almost universal with domesticated dogs, forms an exception, as it does not characterise a single natural species of the family, though I am assured that the Canis latrans of North America utters a noise which closely approaches a bark. But this habit is soon lost by dogs when they become feral and is soon reacquired when they are again domesticated. The case of the wild dogs on the island of Juan Fernandez having become dumb has often been quoted, and there is reason to believe (130. Roulin, in 'Mem. present. par divers Savans' tome 6 page 341.) that the dumbness ensued in the course of thirty-three years; on the other hand, dogs taken from this island by Ulloa slowly reacquired the habit of barking. The Mackenzie-river dogs, of the Canis latrans type, when brought to England, never learned to bark properly; but one born in the Zoological Gardens (1/31. Martin 'History of the Dog' page 14.) "made his voice sound as loudly as any other dog of the same age and size." According to Professor Nillson (1/32. Quoted by L. Lloyd in 'Field Sports of North of Europe' volume 1 page 387.), a wolf-whelp reared by a bitch barks. I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire exhibited a jackal which barked with the same tone as any common dog. (1/33. Quatrefages 'Soc. d'Acclimat.' May 11, 1863 page 7.) An interesting account has been given by Mr. G. Clarke (1/34. 'Annals and Mag of Nat. Hist.' volume 15 1845 page 140.) of some dogs run wild on Juan de Nova, in the Indian Ocean; "they had entirely lost the faculty of barking; they had no inclination for the company of other dogs, nor did they acquire their voice" during a captivity of several months. On the island they "congregate in vast packs, and catch sea-birds with as much address as foxes could display." The feral dogs of La Plata have not become dumb; they are of large size, hunt singly or in packs, and burrow holes for their young. (1/35. Azara 'Voyages dans l'Amer. Merid.' tome 1 page 381; his account is fully confirmed by Rengger. Quatrefages gives an account of a bitch brought from Jerusalem to France which burrowed a hole and littered in it. See 'Discours, Exposition des Races Canines' 1865 page 3.) In these habits the feral dogs of La Plata resemble wolves and jackals; both of which hunt either singly or in packs, and burrow holes. (1/36. With respect to wolves burrowing holes see Richardson 'Fauna Boreali-Americana' page 64; and Bechstein 'Naturgeschichte Deutschlands' b. 1 s. 617.) These feral dogs have not become uniform in colour on Juan Fernandez, Juan de Nova, or La Plata. (1/37. See Poeppig 'Reise in Chile' b. 1 s. 290; Mr. G. Clarke, as above; and Rengger, s. 155.) In Cuba the feral dogs are described by Poeppig as nearly all mouse-coloured, with short ears and light-blue eyes. In St. Domingo, Col. Ham. Smith says (1/38. Dogs, 'Nat. Library' volume 10 page 121; an endemic South American dog seems also to have become feral in this island. See Gosse 'Jamaica' page 340.) that the feral dogs are very large, like greyhounds, of a uniform pale blue-ash, with small ears, and large light-brown eyes. Even the wild Dingo, though so anciently naturalised in Australia, "varies considerably in colour," as I am informed by Mr. P.P. King: a half-bred Dingo reared in England (1/39. Low 'Domesticated Animals' page 650.) showed signs of wishing to burrow.
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