The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-02-15
N Song and Story, from
Homer to the Present Day,
the Dog Has Been I'm
mortalized Theory that
He Is Descended from the.
Jackal Is Not Upheld.
u, ANDREW p. o.coNon. 7

the am mist of antiquity, but tradition.
with her thousand tongues, has attributed
his origin to the jackaI. and upon this
theory thousands of naturaiists have
based their arguments and thousands of
volumes have been written upon the sub
tect- The writer does not think that the
dog is descended from the jackal. for
the reason that dogs Nave been found in
all countries, OF various shapes and forms.
all having different characteristics. and
used by the natives for different purposes.
such az drawing vehicles trailing game,
guarding fiocks and herds and in the arts
of war. On account of his faithfulness.
he has been immortalized in song and
story, in history, science. art and litera-
ture. .
As 10 his origin. the modern dog lover
is satisfied to stop where the known and
the unknown begins, realizing that there,
are two horizons which have never been
passed by man; one Of which is origin,
and the other destiny.
In all the literature of the world there
is nothing more beautiful than the story
of fudishthira, who applied to Indra for
admission to heaven, with his dog. and
upon being refused, because dogs were
not admitted, replied: Then 1 go not
into heaven, for to abandon the faithful
and devoted is an endless crime like the
murder of a Brahmin. Never, Therefore,
come veal or woe, will 1 abandon that
faithful dog that hath trusted in my
power to save it."
In the British museum there are in
Vulnerable magnificent works OF scuip- |
tured art, showing the high esteem in |
which the dog was held by the Egyptians, |
Grecians, Romans, Assyrians. Phoenic- |
ians. Carthagenians, Scandinavians, Irish /
and other highly civilized races. The |
Hebrew alone, of all the ancient people /
looked upon the dog with contempt, and /
nowhere in their literature, except in the /
Book of Tahiti ". 49, can be found ia
vorable mention of mans best and truest
friend.
Fliad Often Refers to DOGS
The ancient poets lavishly praised him,
and while Homer frequently sneeringly
referred to Helen of Troy as a dog for
having caused a fearful war, in the Iliad
he redeems himself, at the same time
showing familiarity with hunting which
does justice to himself as a sportsman.
One passage reads:
As when dogs and sxains
In prime of manhood, from all quarters rush
Around boar, from his thicket bolts
The bright tusk whiting in his crooked Jaws:
They rrrss him on all sides. and frum beneath
Loud gnAshins hear. yet firm his threats def. 1
Nenophon refers to the usefulness of ,
dogs IN times of war. and that the dog ,
was an object OF veneration by the ,
Romans is evidenced by the story OF .
RobiGalia- in which dog was sacrificed ,
10 the God. Centuries afterward, Cortez
found the Peruvians practising the same
rites
When the Scandnavians, under Olaf
visited Ireland, they found dogs of I'M
usual size and intelligence. and in pre- :
sentIng one of these dogs TO Gunnar. the
old Viking said:
Il will give thee three things; a golden
bracelet: a Kirtle which belonged to .
Ayrkiarton, King of ireland, and a dog
which l got in the same country He is $
high of limb, and for follower. equal to r
an able man. Moreover. he hath a mans v
WI, and VIII bark at thine enemies. but &
never at thy friends. And he will see by b
each mans face whether he be well or h
iii disposed toward thee. and he will Law v
down his life for thee. Samr is his o
name" lie
Then he said to the hound: From
thls DAY, follow thou Gunnar, and help b
him when thou canst" In
So the hound went to Gunnar and Law o
down at his feet and fawned upon. him, b
the story reads. Il
When Caesar invaded Britain he found
dogs there which were used almost ex-
for sporting purposes. Claudian
thus refers to them: a
The British hound I.
That brings the bulls big forehead to the ground
In England today, St Hubert is the f.
patron saint OF dogs. He 1ourished in m
the seventh century, and his dogs have e,
been immOrtalized in the following verse:
ST. Hubert's breed.
Unmatched for courage, breath. and SPEED. n
Finest Dogs in England. p
There are probably more finely bred dogs v,
thar, in e.
rest of the world combined. The Brit n.
sher's love for the dog seems to be part "a
II his nature. A great many of the most F
popular breeds of dogs of the present ri
lime are of English, Irish, or Welsh ORR IL
i'm. Last year nearly 100000 was paid O
nto the English treasury for dog taxes
md more than 81, 100000 was expended
n the maintenance of the go hunt clubs
throughout the British Isles. which does Ju
Tot include its colonial possessions. In
Notwithstanding the wave of "emo- al
ional insanity which swept over this az
'ountry several years ago, threatening to
'Xterminate the entire breed of dogs as
precaution against rabies. the dog has az
ontinued to grow in popularity. Nearly ~
very town, hamlet and city on the
american continent boasts of its Kennel
Tub, with total membership of several "a
nillion, nearly all of whom can recite ~
he following lines, by Blackjack:
never narked Nhcn out OF season,
I never lit without a reason:
never insulted a weaker brother Nj
Never Wronsed by force or frand another.
Though brutes placed a rank below
Happy for man could he sag So :" ,
Several years sago while the rabies be
care seemed to terrify nearly everybody
n this country, the writer visited Com at
tantinople for the sole purpose of study RET
ig the history of the pariah dogs, which 7
we in state of semi-wildness through Ne
ut Turkey. Little could be Termed of Pa
ieir origin, or early history other Ma
nan that they had been there for /
enturies, and probably descended from CiI
ONE nomadic race in the dim and dis CHI;
ant past. \
They are a mongrel breed, carrying in Phi
Ze from the fox terrier to the mastiff: Fo
ne terrier type predominating. The diff
erert packs, however, seem to live and Mi
reed together. consequently they retain tar
heir characteristics, and the older ma Ma
YES can instantly tell to which pack a n
ertain type of dog belongs They have CHI
Ieir own sections, and seem to remain A
thin their boundry lines They in she
antly destroy any hapless stranger sec
hich may stray into their abode. A
Dogs Protected by the Law. n n'
Nhite they are considered unclean ami Ser
ais by the Turks, it is a violation of the "
in
m S.1l