The Washington herald., 1914-03-08


With horss's breast. with depth Of chest,
with breath Of loin. and curve in groin,
And naps set far behind the head
Such were the dos. that Finsal brud.
-rfanslsted from the Gaelic
The Irish wolfhound. OF which Cham
pion Ivo Dennis In a good specimen. ID
probably the progenitor of more large
breeds of dogs than any known to canine
history. Practically all the large breeds
Of Russia. Norway. Denmark, Tartary.
Scotland and England undoubtedly owe
their origin to the great wolf dog Of Ire
land whose deeds of valor have been
immortalized in song and story. These
dogs were the companions of the last
Pagan King Of Ireland, who died at the
foot Of the Alps. while pursuing the hes-
ing legions of Rome.
Oliver Goldsmith. writing OF them IN
17o gave the following description Of
the breed: The last variety and the most
wonderful of all that shall mention is
the great Irish wolf dog, that may be
considered as the finest OF the canine
species. He Is extremely beautiful and
majestic in appearance. being the great
est Of the dog kind to be seen in the
world"
That the Irish wolfhound was a useful
animal as late as the reign OF Oliver
Cromwell is evidenced by the following
edict issued on April q. 1852: ''Forasmuch
az we are credibIy informed that wolves
do much increase and many destroy
cattle in several parts OF this dominion.
and that some Of the enemy's party
have laid down their arms and have
liberty to go beyond the seas, and others
do attempt to carry away several such
great dogges as are commonly called
wolf logges. whereby the breed of them
which is useful in destroying wolves
would, II not prevented speedily. suffer
decay. these are therefore to prohibit all
persons whatsoever from exporting any
of the said dogges out of this dominion"
The dog was used principally in hunting
the wolf and elk Both species have now
become extinct in Ireland. No one not
having seen a skeleton OF the Irish elk
can have any idea of what the strength
Of dogs used in hunting them must have
been.
At Bishopscourt, County Kildare, the
home Of the Right Hon. the Earl of Clon-
NELL in Ireland. with whom the writer
spent several months, there is a pair OF
elk horns which measure ten feet four
inches from tip 10 tip, which were found
in the bog Of Allen where the hunted
elk must have taken refuge when pur-
sued by these great dogs, preferring to
meet death in that dangerous morass.
to being torn to pieces by the ferocious
dogs.
Hundreds of these skeletons have been
taken from the bogs, which were evil
IDENTIFY the center OF the territory over
which great herds of elk must have
roamed in prehistoric times.
The Great Dane.
He who alone there was deemed host Of all
The war dog Of the Danefolk. well worthy Of man.
-Hel-Ride Of BDnhead.
This magnificent animal owes its origin
10 cross between the Irish wolf dog and
some native breed. While II is of Danish
origin, as its name implies, II owes its
present state Of perfection to the Ger
mans, who have adopted it as their own. |
md named 1t the "Deutche Dogge."
There have been numerous controver-
'ies between able writers concerning its |
,rigin. but the facts remain as above |
Itated.
The great Dane has all the sporting in |
'tincts Of its Irish progenitor. and where |
Wild game abounds IL is still used for /
uniting: being possessed of great strength, |
courage and intelligence. it is ever
Erowing in popularity. Porthos OF Esper- /
mol is a typical specimen of the breed
The Russian woIfholnd.
OF the dog in ancient story.
Many pleasant tale il told.
The Russian wolfhound or Borzoi. for
s one Of the most beautiful of the large
ween the Irish wolfhound and the grey
ion. taking Its rought coat from the