CHAPTER IV

THE ST. BERNARD

The stories

THE St. Bernard, both before and since its introduction into England, has been surrounded with a halo of romance. related of these magnificent dogs, their picturesque appearance, noble bearing, and romantic history, so appeal to the imagination, that it seems natural they should claim the title of "holy breed" as belonging to a grander group than other varieties of the canine race.

Before speaking more fully of the introduction of the St. Bernard into England, it will be as well to give in detail an interesting account furnished by H. Schumacher, of Switzerland, at one time the largest breeder and exporter of these animals, and whose thorough knowledge of the subject was to be relied upon at the time. Mr. Schumacher writes in 1886 as follows:

"Compiled from Traditions of the Monks of the Hospice and Recollections of Heinrich Schumacher.

"In kynological circles there prevails the erroneous idea that the so-called St. Bernard breed of dogs died out in 1815. This depends upon the way in which the matter is regarded, because a double explanation is possible. The first notion, that the breed of dogs does not exist in the same purity as before 1815, arose from a belief that in the great snowstorms which then prevailed the breed was destroyed. Although, indeed, in the Maison St. Bernard, in Martigny, and in the monastery on Simplon, stocks were always kept up, from which the losses sustained in the mountains were made good, yet the monks of that time observed that the breed of dogs deteriorated through continual in-breeding, and there was a loss in strength which incapacitated the dogs from developing the activity and endurance needed in the difficult service of the mountains in winter time. In the beginning of 1830 the monks tried, therefore, to renew the old breed by crossing with strong, intelligent dogs, to recover the weakened good qualities-size, strength, and endurance. This crossing was done with long-haired Newfoundland females, which are recognised as the strongest and

most suitable dogs. The crossing was also tried with German or Danish dogs.

"The assumption that the breed, as it existed for five hundred years, still exists, is in relation to the outward signs and to the usefulness and performances. Even to-day the Monastery of Great St. Bernard could not exist without the services of its dogs. In winter the daily service of the dogs consists in tracing the passes. On one series, from the Cantine au Proz (on the Swiss side) to the Hospice and back, and the other series, from the Hospice to St. Remy and back (on the Italian side), the peculiar formation of the mountains causes mistakes, so that the most experienced monks and their servants have to be guided after every fresh fall of snow by the sharp senses, especially that of smell, of the dogs. I give this explanation to show that the breed of St. Bernard dogs, with the necessary strength of body and intellectual qualities, still exists as it has existed for centuries, and that the old breed was improved by crossing with Newfoundland dogs, with systematically strict choice of the offspring, giving preference to those which most resembled the parents in hair, colour, and build. The result of the first crossing showed a disadvantage in the long hair proving unsuitable to the winter service, because it collected so much snow that the dogs could not move about, and thus lost their lives. This is why the long-haired puppies were sold as unserviceable, or were presented to benefactors of or donors to the monastery.

"The celebrated Barry, now in the Natural History Museum at Berne, was taken alive to Berne in 1815, and afterwards stuffed. Barry is a representative of the old breed before crossing with the Newfoundland dogs, and he must remain the purest type of the original St. Bernard breed of dogs. Whence come the number of so-called St. Bernard dogs which are to be found in the middle of Switzerland, and nearly always of the long-haired type? It is this question that I am happy partly to answer. Amongst the most prominent donors to the Hospice who received as presents dogs resulting from the long-haired crossing with Newfoundland dogs were Mr. Pourtales, Berne; Mr. Rougement, Morat; Prince Von Russland, Berne; a breeder at Bussy; Colonel Risold, Berne; and Messrs. Cornaz, Morat. These dogs, presented from the St. Bernard Hospice, and their offspring I have known mostly since 1838. All of these were red, with white marks, black face, black neck, and double wolf-claws, and of a height not since attained, strongly built, deep chested, and with large and noble heads. The dogs in Mettlen were long-haired, with fine, high-worn feather tail, and their offspring, I have observed since 1850, were trained in the same way as the parents had been. From these were bred the dogs of Marchligen, Deisswyl, and Riggisberg. Most of the long-haired so-called St. Bernard dogs are to be found in a degenerate state

in Berne. The dogs of Bussy were short-haired, red, with white marks. Amongst them was the most beautiful and most powerful female I ever saw, which I knew from 1846 to 1849. I tried to get puppies from the owner, but could not do so. Its offspring are to be found on the Nauenburgischen estate, La Chaux de Fonds, etc. Colonel Risold, of Berne, had only one dog from 1830 to 1840-short-haired, the same colour and markings as the others, and with an enormous head. It was so courageous as to be the terror and master of all other dogs in Berne. The dogs of Prince Von Russland were similar to those of Mettlen, with similar offspring and similarly dispersed. The dogs of Messrs. Cornaz I did not recognise as being amongst the progenitors received from the Hospice. Their offspring I knew from 1845 to 1856. These were erect, long-haired, double-clawed, white, with reddish brown. heads. Several were stump-tailed, from which descended the Utzenstorf breed, which exists still in Bernese Oberaargau, and are owned by the peasant proprietors, and distinguished for their size and beauty. The dogs from Lowenberg I have known since 1838, passing some time in Murten. There have been several generations, always long-haired like the others.

In 1854 my Barry I. was born in Lowenberg-short-haired, white, with red head. As he resembled neither in hair nor colour the preceding generation, the owners thought him a mongrel, and sold him as valueless to Mr. Klopfenstein of Neuenegg, from whom I acquired the dog in 1855, because so like the Barry of 1815 in the Berne Museum, and because I knew his pedigree. From Barry I bred magnificent pups, which were mostly sold to Russia, until Mr. Baron Judd, of Glockenthal, near Thun, bought Barry from me in 1858, on condition that pups should be given to me. Mr. Baron Judd experienced difficulty in finding females of similar breed. The Rev. Mr. Weyerman, Interlachen, possessed a large long-haired female, resulting from the crossing with a Hospice dog, which female, by Barry I., produced Sultan I., the only offspring from this pair. Favorita I. and Toni I. are from Sultan and Diana I. Mr. Judd gave up to me Sultan I. in 1862. From him I obtained Diana I. of the St. Bernard stock, from which I have received up to date, with the help of blood renewal, not only strong and pure, but improved dogs, of which my present breeding dogs, Apollo I., Bernice I., Apollo II., Bernice II., and Juno, testify.

The deterioration of the breed is not only the result of want of kynological skill, and of the difficulty in bringing up puppies, but also from financial causes. The majority of owners have made the breeding of these noble animals a trade, only considering profit. Moreover, foreign buyers desire long-haired animals, so that breeders cross the original breeds with long-haired dogs without making

the right choice, only to meet the demand. I do not assert that long-haired animals have depreciated, but through unsuitable crossings depreciation has been facilitated. The long-haired animals are more imposing and handsomer than the short-haired, but the latter have the advantage of less perspiration, and are hardier. Besides, I adhere to the principle that the race ought to be reared parallel with the parents, so that it may acquire the same reputation. For this reason I have asked the St. Bernard Club section of the Swiss Kynological Society to make the pure breeding of short-haired dogs one of its features.

In conclusion, I give you explanations about the best-known dogs in England. From 1862 I sold puppies from Sultan I., Diana I., Leo I., Barry II., Favorita I., and Toni I. for England without registration. Before 1867 I learned that the dogs sold by me won the first prizes in the various dog shows, and I decided to exhibit my Sultan I., Favorita I., and Leo I. at the Paris Show in 1867, for which purpose the monks of St. Bernard gave me a certificate testifying to the purity of my breed, which contributed to my dogs winning first prize. In 1866 the Rev. J. C. Macdona bought his first three St. Bernard dogs from Mr. Schindler, Berne. Amongst these was a fine, long-haired specimen-red, with white marks, and double wolf-claws. With this dog the Rev. J. C. Macdona obtained his first success in England, and many of his offspring are considered the best in England. In 1865 I sold the Rev. Mr. Dillon, in Berne, the dog Tell and the female Hero. The Rev. Mr. Macdona bought Tell, and it is well known that he was considered the best short-haired dog. In 1871 I sold Mr. Murchison Thor and Jura. These two, up to recent date, were considered to be the best long-haired St. Bernards, and their offspring are well known in England. I sold Mr. Murchison, in 1882, Sirius and Bellona. Sultan and Medar are also great prize winners in England. This proves that Englishmen have drawn their St. Bernards from well-known Swiss breeders, and have not, as the Germans assert, manufactured the breed. To the English belongs the merit of first recognising and ennobling the breed, especially by new blood, by which they have contributed to the improvement of the race. In 1867 I started the register for my St. Bernards, and this contains the oldest pedigrees. There were many attempts to cross between German and Newfoundland dogs to produce a short-haired breed similar to St. Bernards, under the impression that the original breed has been thus obtained. These crossings gave no brilliant results. It must remain for later investigation whether the St. Bernard breed is not one which is still to be found in the isolated Rhone valleys, because the first peasants who took part in the wars of liberation five or six centuries ago took with them into battle a species of dog of enormous dimensions, probably of the

same origin as the present St. Bernard; at least, this assumption is worthy of investigation.

HOLLIGEN, August 24th, 1886."

HEINRICH SCHUMACHER.

Here a further reference to Mr. Schumacher's Barry I., often styled the regenerator of the breed, may be made. Though modern St. Bernard breeders are ever ready to acknowledge their indebtedness to Barry I., yet few have any idea what the dog was like. Fig. 23 will, however, show present-day fanciers that massiveness and depth of head at least characterised this dog of

other days. It was not until 1891 that the present generation of fanciers were enabled to see what manner of dog, as judged by head properties, Barry I. was like. In that year Mr. Schumacher came across, by accident, an old daguerreotype that had been taken of himself and his wife, with Barry I. lying at their feet, and that had been buried for thirty-five years. This Mr. Schumacher placed at the disposal of the late Mr. Hugh Dalziel, and the half-tone illustration (Fig. 23) is the result.

Without entering into controversy as to the origin of the St. Bernard, or whether the breed had existed in its purity for five hundred years, as stated by H. Schumacher in 1886, his communication will always prove interesting to the true St. Bernard lover,