"Smut."

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 246, 14 March 1888, Page 5

"Smut."

(By His Master.)

" Tho friends thou hasL, and thoir adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel." Smut has stood by me through many an "our of adversity, and has always proved true as steel ; and this is why 1 love him. There is no trace of base metal in his composition — nothing bub fino gold. And yeb I hardly know why this should be, for there is little of ton about him. " Sir Windem," our other dog", came to us with a pedigree as long as his silky tail, but he was badly lacking in moral qualities. Smut, however, has no pedigree to speak of — cannot even get on the paternal track of his father ; and yet ho has a capital nose. So far as we can mako out, there was only one being in the world who ever cared for Smut, and that was his mother. She belonged to a bachelor, and, like Bartle Massey's "Vixen," brought disgrace upon herself by bringing Smut into the world. But if this was feminine folly, Smut waa none to blame, and we never mention it. When he was only a few months old he had developed several remarkable characteristics. Ho seems to have had some subtle means of analysing character, and so greatfaich did we have in his powers of discrimination that, whenever ho seemed disposed to withhold his confidence, we generally withheld ours ; and subsequent events showed that he was right. But, with all his active intelligence, he is very much a creature of habit. For instance, just before lying down he will turn round and round and scratch the floor, even when the latter is perfectly smooth and hard. This action, meaningless in itself, is probably an inherited trait from Smut's remote ancestors when they lived in a wild state, and it is practised now by jackals and other allied animals in the Zoological Gardens. The action is intended to trample down the grass or scoop out a hollow before lyingj down for tho night, and in this manner the animals just indicated treat their straw. Smut's kennel companion, Sir Windem, a laverock setter, is even more a dog of habit than Smut. And this is somewhat strange, as he is come of an amtocratic line through Grouse, Heather Ranger, Sir Percival, Lord Raglan, Count Howard, and the rest of them. Sir "Windem's fine feathering in the field — his pointing, backing, down charging— is only an elaboration of what Smut does daily. j Smut is what the sporting ones call " death "on cats. If a strange pussy preI sents herself on the garden fence, lie watches her intently, invariably keeping one of his forelegs doubled up the while. Most dogs do this, and it is doubtless so that they may be ready for the next cautious step when they see or hear what they consider their | legitimate prey. But that this is often meaningless may be deduced from the fact that Mr Darwin has s>een a dog at fche foot of a high wall listening attentively to a sound on tho opposite side, with one leg doubled up, and when of course there could be no intention of making a cautious approach. Seeing that Smut's supply of bones is constant, it might be thought that there was I no reason to bury them, yet this ho regularly does. An apparent practiser of thrift, ! his "rainy day" has nob yeb come, nor is it likely. And although he buries bones with the greatest assiduity, he was never known to disinter one. Consequently his bone- burying can hardly be an economical quality. Indeed, lam constrained to think that it is as useless as many of his selfimposed task 3, and that if it implies anything, it is tho Darwinian suggestion that after all Smut may have descended from long-gone doggy ancestors that were once wolves, and jackals, and fennecs. And if this be so, it brings us face to face with the fact that Smut's pedigree may be as long and respectable as even that of the silky-coated Sir Windem himself. But, although this is speculation, I have a notion that. there is some truth in the idea of Smut's unwritten pedigree from something I saw recently. We were out shooting, and the dogs were of the party. Sir Windem was working quietly and gravely ; Smut noisily, and bustling about. A herd of cows, which before hud been quietly feeding, now made towards us, forming a queue as it came. As our party progressed the cows followed, always keeping their heads to the canine intruders ; nor did they desisb until the latter disappeared through the fence. Smut's ancetfcors, wild dogfl or wolves, were doubtless inveterate foes of cow^kind, and, by reason of inherited instinct the antipathy is kept up to the present day— vaguely perhaps, bub it is none the less there. This slumbering and almost unconscious antipathy remains, and common headway is made against the intruder. When Smufc returns home after a hard day's work in the open, he generally curls himself up and goes to sleep before fche fire. Bub often the more exciting incidents of the day arc repeated again in his dreams. First his muscles twitch, and Uis evident that there ia excitement within. Then he half pricks his ears, and indulges in ghorb, sharp "yaps," and barks. It is evident he has gob on the track of a hare, and as bho scent becomes warmer his body »eems hardly able to conbain his emotions. But tho crisis comes when Smut sights the hare* and with a bark he bounds to his feet. And then cornea the delusion. We all laugh ; and Smut cannob bear to be laughed at. He slinks away with tucked tail, the very picture of utter _ humiliation and self-abasement. Bub hia happy hunting grounds are nob fche only things of wakefulness of which he dreams. Sometimes in his sleep he gives out a low guttural growl, the 3cruff of his neck is raised, and wo knowthat he is about to meet Tartar. These " fcwa dogs " always assume a hosbilo attitude when they meet, calling for a prompt interference merely for the friendly purpose of preserving the peace. This special antipathy to Tartar is somewhat surprising, for Smut is kindly disposed in all his domestic relations, even to Tabibha. She may hiss and curl up her back, but he only looks on With a grave kind of contempt. Like most dogs, Smut scratches himself by a rapid movement of on© of his hind teet ; and, when his back 'is rubbed with a stick, ao strong is this habit that he canno^helprapidly scratching the air or the«ground in a uaeles andludicrpus manner^ Sometime^' he will ".Show hia delight by .another habitual movement, riamely, by licking the air as if ifc were my hind. He has a language' of his own, ' and it is' quite easy for" anyone acquainted , with him to . infcorprofr bis barks. He has a peculiar bark inj answer fcb * friendly greeting! rom another dog across' the fields, and he emits a liar nipinff .soandiu hismdre plaintive mdoda. Intruders he uXWto by > b>rk ! in which;; there is nolh&& bub'walrninfc, <i«tte different; from thai Ky which hV»how* hia^leasW, -Whmr-h<«*«e4*''l*rfci^li^

back and laid flab upon his head. Upon such occasions the dogs have evil intentions towards each other, and instinctively pntecb the moro delicate parts by rendering them inconspicuous. A movement with a like object is shown by the tail being tucked in between the legsSmut has just come into the room where I write, and an insignificant act shows how greutly he, in common with most dogs, is dependent upon the sense of smell. As he entered tho door he threw up his nose, and, after momentarily sniffing tho air, made a rush to whero I usually sib. A dog searching for his master in a crowd invariably sniffs at the legs of all with whom he comes in contact, trusting co his sense of smell* and hardly using his eyes until he has discovered the object of his search. Smut's paternal responsibility upon one occasion came out in a truly remarkable manner. He was on terms of acquaintance with a black collie bitch, and, at the busy time of sheep gathering on tho fells, she gave premature birth to five puppies in ay bracken bed many miles from home, Oneof these she carried in her mouth over the whole distance, and deposited it among the hay in the barn. And ab the same time, by some subbile means, she acquainted Smufc with the critical situation, and the two trotted back to the hills. Nor did they desist until every puppy was safely housed in the barn. So, just us sheep and deep have the means of communicating the presence ot good pasturage, do doga tell their friends of carcases upon the fells. Of all inherited instincts the love of dogs to man is one of the most pronounced. And of this statement Smut is a bright example. There is a quiet gravity about him that is almost human. Jdis expressive movements constitute silent speech, and if one of these, act 3 fail to convey his particular want, he tries another. Tbafr he reasons upon cause and effect is beyond question, in pro»f of which a hundred examples might be given. His life haa its sunshine and its shade, or, it» other words, its rats and its master's displeasure. On the whole, Smut is a good dog, without making much profession. If there is any after- reward, Smut will have it abundantly. For he is a sympathetic and faithful friend, and what can dog be more ?