Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1886-02-10
CANINE CRASssIsey.

ALAS, poor dog said Mr. Fred
erick A Lucas, the osteologiss, IS be
Kszed upon the skull which be had
taken from 8 long cotdn-like box
ihs; had jus; beea opened 10 his work
room ST the National Museum
What il it, asked the reporter,
who had penetrated 10 this cavern
Of osseous treasures in search Of news.
1T is the skull of an Esquimaux
dog-sn Esquimaux sledge dog,
said Mr. Lucas, putting down the
bleached and CHASTITY object. This
skull bears out the stories OF the
rough treatment which these dogs
receive. See there" pointing 10 8
spot over the eyes where portion OF
the bone had been broken of, 1t
took & heavy blow IN do that. And
look ST this leg. continued the bone
man. taking several long bones from
the box and deity putting them to-
gether. You see, that leg was
broken, and was never allowed TO
heal perfectly. That dog had TO
limp along very painfully after he
was injured. See how this joint was
deformed and how it must have
cresked," he continued, working one
of the bones against the other ike
pump handle to show the defect In
the Joint
Talking of dogs" began the re-
porter. prospecting for & lead TO
something interesting.
Il will show you something | am
doing with dogs" said Nr. Lucas,
taking up the theme. IT is hardly
more than a beginning now, q mere
sketch, but you can get the idea
from il, and the osteOlogist shut up
his work room and led the way TO
the hall in the museum building
given up to the department OF com
parstive anatomy. The huge frames
Of great whales were suspended
from the ceiling and seemed to be
swimming in the air overhead;
skeleton monkeys looked comicaliy
out of cases; the boDy remains OF
antediluvian monsters reared their
lofty crsniums high toward the roof;
in fact, the whole vertebrate creation
seemed 10 have stepped out of its
skin to sit q while in its bones.
Dodging under the huge skeleton OF
the giant sloth, Mr.. Lucas stopped in
front of a case ia which were dis
played a series of skulls arranged in
rows conveniently for purposes of
comparison.
The labels shedow that the two
skulls in the upper row, beginning
on the right, were those of Indian
dogs; next to them was that of an
Egyptian mummied dog, and then
in order the skulls of q Newfound-
land, of a common dog. q hairless
Chinese dog. a Lsversck setter,
St. Bernard, bulldog and an Eng
fish pug. In another row below
was q series of skulls of wild dogs
wolves. coyotes and foxes.
This series will show" said Mr..
Lucas, 'the effect of domestication
the development 81 the Uranium
under domestication. The skull of
the Indian dog there you see differs
very little from that of the wolf be-
low it. You see it has very little
forehead and a very long jaw. As
you go along now" he continued,
you find the facial angle increases,
the forehead is developed at the ex-
pense of the jaw, which becomes
shorter. This collection gives mere.
ly an outline. There are many in
termediate steps Dogs are CLASH
fed into mastiffs, hounds. spaniels
and wolf dogs. The wolf dogs, such
as these" continued Mr.. Lucas point.
ing to the Indian dogs and Egyptian
dogs, ''are nearer the original stock.
In fact, il is very difficult sometimes
to distinguish the skull of a vol
from that of an Indian dog. Yes
the teeth are the same, and you will
notice all along the line there is ,
similarity in the teeth. When yor
reach the pug at the end, the teetl
are crowded and the incisors leI
over Then the teeth of the pui
are not 50 large or strong. Ii ha
been raised on soft food, and had no
to rend or tear its prey. As you G,
up the scale the intelligence of tn
dogs increase, and as you go dow
toward the wolf. the animals in
crease in ferocity. Yes, the bulldo
has a high forehead" observed MI
Lucas in reply to remark of the r,
porter expressing surprise that a
animal which served in literature =
} a type of brute ferocity Shout
! stand so well in the scale of cranis
Development. 1T has high for,
head and will become very much a