The last quadruped that we shall mention under this head, though very far from being the least in worth, is the Newfoundland dog, a valuable and faithful friend to man, and an implacable enemy to sheep. When born or reared from an early age under the roof of man, this dog is the most useful animal in the island as a domestic. He answers some of the essential purposes of ahorse; is docile, capable of strong attachment, and easy to please in the quality of his food; he will live upon scraps of boiled fish, whether salted or fresh, and on boiled potatoes and cabbage; but, if hungry, he will not scruple to steal a salmon, or a piece of raw salt pork from the tub in which they have been left to steep; he is likewise fond of poultry of the larger kind; but, as a beverage, nothing is equal in his estimation to the blood of sheep. The Author had purchased a puppy of the true breed, which had been brought from the northward of the island to Harbour-Grace. This puppy grew up to the size of a small donkey, as strong and fit for hard work, as he was tractable and gentle, even with the children of the family, of whom he seemed to be particularly fond; nor was he ever known, in any one instance, to disagree with the cats of the house, whom he treated rather with a kind of dignified condescension. But the dog, unless closely watched, would run after sheep wherever he could trace them, even drive them from high cliffs into the water, and jump in after them; not, however, without first considering the elevation of the cliff; for, if he thought it too great, he would run down and take the nearest more convenient place to continue his pursuit. The owner of that dog had, at one time, some domesticated wild geese, one of which would frequently follow him in his morning walks, side by side with Jowler: they seemed to live together on the best terms. Unfortunately the servant neglected one night to confine them, according to custom; the next morning the feathers of the favourite goose were found scattered in a small field adjoining to the grounds. The dog was soon after found concealed in a corner of the wood-yard, and on his master looking at him, exhibited evident signs of conscious guilt: his master took him to the field, and pointed out to him the feathers: the dog, staring at him, uttered a loud growl, and ran away with all the speed of which he was capable; nor could he bear his master's sight for some days afterwards. At another time, the Author had three young sheep, for whom in the day-time the dog seemed to affect the utmost indifference: the servant neglected one evening to take them into their shed, and to confine the dog; and the next morning the sheep were found stretched in the back-yard, lifeless, and without any other mark of violence than a small wound in the throat, from which the dog had sucked their blood. It is a remarkable circumstance, that the Newfoundland dog, when pursuing a flock of sheep, will single out one of them, and, if not prevented, which is a matter of considerable difficulty, will never leave off the pursuit until he has mastered his intended victim, always aiming at the throat; and, after having sucked the blood, has never been known to touch the carcase.
The natural colour of this dog was a perfect black, with the exception of very few white spots. As soon as winter approached, he acquired a coat which grew to the depth of about one inch, of close coarse, wool deviating from the original colour only by an inclination to red; the long, thick, glossy hairs preserved the same colour up to the surface of the coat, and then turned generally to a perfect white: it is probable that a more constant exposure to the weather would have made the change of colour more complete. The sagacity of this animal was astonishing; on many occasions he appeared to want only the faculty of speech to make himself fully understood.
To mention another remarkable instance, which also came within the Author's observation: one of the magistrates of Harbour-Grace, had an old animal of this kind who was in the habit of carrying a lantern before his master at night, as steadily as the most attentive servant could do, stopping short when his master made a stop, and proceeding when he saw him disposed to follow him. If his master was absent from home, on the lantern being fixed to his mouth, and the command given, "Go, fetch thy master," he would immediately set off and proceed directly to the town, which lay at the distance of more than a mile from the place of his master's residence; he would then stop at the door of every house which he knew that his master was in the habit of frequenting, and laying down his lantern, growl and strike the door, making all the noise in his power until it was opened; if his master was not there, he would proceed farther, in the same manner, until he had found him. If he had accompanied him only once into a house, this was sufficient to induce him to take that house in his round.
The principal use of this animal, in addition to his quality of a good watch-dog, is to assist in fetching from the woods the lumber intended either for repairing the stages, or for fuel, which has been there cut and laid up in piles; and this is done either by dragging it on the dead, that is, on the bare snow and ice, the ends being fastened together with a rope fixed to the tackling of the dog; or on sledges, or catamarans. These are formed of two pieces of plank, shoed underneath with hoops of iron or of hard wood, joined by thick pieces from two feet to two feet and a half in length, and supporting four strong long knees, two at each end, fastened in an opposite direction: to this sledge the dog is harnessed, whilst the servant who accompanies him directs his motions, and, by the addition of his own efforts and weight, modifies, as far as he is able, the rapidity of the sledge down steep hills. In the vicinity of rivers, the wood is thrown into them in the spring, and carried down the stream into the harbour, through which great quantities generally find their way into the ocean, where the currents carry them to Greenland, Iceland, the islands of Scotland, and even Norway.
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 growling, 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, bow, wow; and here he stops, unless it ends in a howl, in which he will instantaneously be joined by all the dogs within hearing. This happens frequently, and, in a still calm night, produces a noise particularly hideous. The Newfoundland dog resembles the Greenland dog in several respects; but the two following facts establish some essential differences between them.
The first of these facts is recorded in a General History of Quadrupeds, and cited in the "Critical Review, October, 1790, p. 417;" the second, in the public prints of the time, and, among the rest, in "Bell's Weekly Messenger, 1818, p. 102."
In December, 1784, a Greenland dog was left by a smuggling vessel near Boomer, on the coast of Northumberland: finding himself deserted, he began to worry sheep, and in that way did so much damage, that he became the terror of the country within a circuit of above twenty miles. When he caught a sheep, he bit a hole in its right side, and after eating the fat about the kidneys, left it: several of them thus lacerated were found alive by the shepherds, and being taken proper care of, some of them recovered, and afterwards had lambs. The farmers frequently pursued him with hounds, greyhounds, &c. but when the dogs came up with him, he laid down on his back as if supplicating for mercy, and in that position they never offered to hurt him: when the hunters approached, he made off without being followed by the hounds, till these were again excited to the pursuit, which always terminated unsuccessfully. Having been one day thus driven from Howick to upwards of thirty miles distance, he actually returned thither and killed sheep the same evening. After many fruitless attempts, he was at last shot, in the month of March following, upon a rock on the Heugh-hill, near Howick, where he had fixed his residence during the day, and where he had a view of four roads that approached it.
In the month of March, 1818, a dog, supposed to be of the mastiff species, infested the neighbourhood of Roehampton, and committed great ravages among the sheep and lambs, of which he destroyed forty-two in the course of three weeks. It was observed that his attacks were always made in the night, and that he used to seize his victim by the throat and suck the blood; but it did not appear that he ever eat any part of the flesh. The farmers and labourers in the neighbourhood were indefatigable in their endeavours to find out his haunt, but without success. Whether he was ultimately destroyed, or properly secured by his owner, we are not informed ; but there is sufficient ground to suppose that this ferocious beast, as he is called in the account of this fact, was a Newfoundland dog.
The Greenland dog is said exactly to resemble the dogs of the Esquimaux of the Labrador, frequently to snarl and howl, but never to have been heard to bark. He is also described as naturally timorous, at the same time that, if not tamed when young, he becomes remarkably wild. The Author's Newfoundland dog never manifested any sign of a timorous disposition. After many hard-fought battles until he had attained to his full growth, he soon established his character and superiority. He was not quarrelsome; he treated the smaller species with a great degree of patience and forbearance: but when attacked by a dog of his size, or engaged in restoring peace among other dogs, he would set-to most vigorously, and continue the struggle until submission was obtained or peace completely re-established: he would then leave the field of battle with a haughty look and a warning growl, and be afterwards as quiet as a lamb. His master was perfectly secure in his company: for the least appearance of an attack on his person roused at once the dog's attention, and produced a tremendous growl, accompanied with evident signs of being prepared to act in his master's defence, if the case required it.
Both species, however, in a wild state, agree in the dispositions and habits of the wolf: they hunt in packs the animals of the country for the sake of prey ; and this circumstance has led to the supposition, which by others is deemed groundless, of there being wolves in the island of Newfoundland.
The well-known partiality of the Newfoundland dog for the water, in which, whether salt or fresh, he appears as if he were in his proper element, diving and keeping his head under the surface for a considerable time, as well as his being web-footed, seem to give him some connexion with the class of amphibious animals: the several instances of his superior sagacity on record, and the essential services which he has frequently been known to render to humanity, give him a distinguished rank in the scale of the brute creation. The beautiful species generally known in England by that name is only half bred.