The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-03-20
DOG LORE.
DOG LORE.
An Animal FiguEdnp in the LeEends
of All Races.

An Animal FfguEdnp In the Legends
of All Races.
The folklore of England, Ireland and
Wales is full Of storiessin which hell dogs
pursue men and beasts though they diff
fered in appearance according to the coun-
try, but all were Of great size and strong
beyond nature, says the Philadelphia Times.
Their eyes shot flames and their mouths
emitted fire that scDrched all approaching
them, though they could be routed by a
call on the deity or blythe pursued turning
on them with a cross or the sign of one.
In Wales they were usually mastifrs
without tails, while In England they moved
in packs and hunting hounds.
In Charles Reade'sl Put Yourself in His
Place." the author makes reference to the
popular belief in a mysterious pack, known
as the Gabriel hounds, which fsw through
the air in full cry, presaging disaster, and
answering, especially to noble families, the
purpose of the Irish Banishee in foretelling
the deaths of the members. In Holland
there is a legend that death is always pre-
coded by a pale dog that runs %snuffing the
ground for a spot to dig the victims grave.
1t was this idea that gave rise to the an
cient dislike to a white dog in that country,
and if one of that color was seen near a
graveyard, 1t was put to death with a sill
yer bullet, over which a prayer had been
said.
In India a great god has a dogs head,
and the Dog Star (SiriuS) is so called from
the Egyptians, thinking it gave notice-be-
ing particularly conspicuous at that season
or the year-Of the rising of the Nile, as a
dog might the approach of danger The
Laplanders gave the bear the name of the
dog of God" and the NorWegianS declare
that it has the strength of ten men and the
cunning of twelve.
In oriental religion the noble youths who
slept 300 years were guarded in their cav
ern by a dog that neither ate, drank nor
slumbered during the period of it's vigil,
and for it's fidelity was given a place in
paradise by Mohammed, whose own dog en-
joyed a similar honor. To geographers are
known many islands called after dogs,
among which the best known are the Isle
of Dogs, found in the Thames; the Dog
Islands, in the Malayan Archipelago, and
the Great Dog, the George Dog and the
West Dog, lying near the Islands Of the
Virgin, or st. Thomas.
Il There is a curious legend connected with
an island on the coast of Kamchatka,
which is known as the Island of the Talk
ing Dogs" In prehistoric times, so the
inhabitants will tell you, the natives of the
main land did not employ dogs to perform
and mental labor, but lived with them on
terms of equality and drew their sleds
themselves, caught their own game and
hunted the walrus alone. The dogs, which
were gifted with speech, grew naughty
and tried to assume dominion over the
men, when the latter, aWakning to the dan
ger, overthrow the animals, attempting to
enslave them. This induced the dogs to
abandon the main land and establish a
colony on the island referred to. but the
game here becoming scarce from the anger
of the gods, they turned cannibals at last,
and soon they were all killed except seven,
which survived of all the many which had
rebelled.
Then the Kamchatkans sailed over to
the island, which they had not dared mo-
lest before, and attempted to persuade the
dogs to return to them, but they refused
to comply with the request, asking: 'What
people are you? We have no knowledge of
you," and in punishment for this denial
the dog god took away their gift of speech,
leaving only the bark and whine, when
they were easily subjugated by the men.