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National Geographic : 1936 Feb
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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Photograph by Caroline Robinson HELPING TO DO THE WORK OF THE WORLD Polar regions are not the only parts of the earth where dogs serve as valuable beasts of burden. This dog express is in service near Salzburg, Austria, and similar sights can be seen in Newfoundland and elsewhere. In Ponta Delgada, in the Azores, big shaggy dogs are trained to carry a basket and a list to market and do the family shopping. quarry; its jaws and pluck would be of no avail against the ripping and disemboweling claws on the hind feet of an "old man" kangaroo. The greyhound was to hold the animal at bay until the hunters could come up and kill it with their crude spears, just as they must have done thousands of years ago in the prehistoric stage of the time honored man-dog relationship. As the hair from a lion's mane is an in signia of the greatness of the Ethiopian em peror or noble who wears it; as the leopard's skin in all its spotted beauty may be worn only by Zulus of royal blood, so the hair of a dog is a mark of chieftainship among the Maoris of New Zealand. "When our fathers, in their canoes, were lost at sea for weeks and were starving, they would not slaughter and eat their dogs," a Maori told me. "They reasoned that, wherever they might be driven ashore, the dogs would warn them against the presence of hostile humans and wild animals," he said. "Such faithful guards could not be spared." Men of all nationalities I have encoun- tered, the hunters especially, are dog lovers and dog dealers under the skin. In Africa I once was the only white man in a "gallery" of Zulus and observed their choices among a score or so of whippets. In their analysis of the build and probable speed of these fleet dogs, they were as keen and shrewd as trained judges in the dog shows of civilization. Of course, in parts of Africa and Asia swift greyhound like coursing dogs have been used for centuries. HOUND-AIREDALE CROSS FOR LION HUNTING No doubt men early realized that by breeding they could produce different kinds of dogs, each suited to a specific purpose. In later years this process has been carried to remarkable lengths of refinement. An intelligent breeder, if given time, of course, can produce almost any type of dog. He can choose not only physical features a strong jaw, a good nose, long legs for speed, or short legs and long body for fol lowing prey into holes-but traits of char acter, such as courage and persistence. 250
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