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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
246
CHAPTER
XXXI
THE
BULL-TERRIER
The
Bull-terrier
is
now
a
gentlemanly
and
respectably
owned
dog,
wearing
an
immaculate
white
coat
and
a
burnished
silver
collar;
he
has
dealings
with
aristocracy,
and
is
no
longer
contemned
for
keeping
bad
company.
But
a
generation
or
two
ago
he
was
commonly
the
associate
of
rogues
and
vagabonds,
skulking
at
the
heels
of
such
members
of
society
as
Mr.
William
Sikes,
whom
he
accompanied
at
night
on
darksome
business
to
keep
watch
outside
while
Bill
was
within,
cracking
the
crib.
In
those
days
the
dog's
ears
were
closely
cropped,
not
for
the
sake
of
embellishment,
but
as
a
measure
of
protection
against
the
fangs
of
his
opponent
in
the
pit
when
money
was
laid
upon
the
result
of
a
well-fought
fight
to
the
death.
For
fighting
was
the
acknowledged
vocation
of
his
order,
and
he
was
bred
and
trained
to
the
work.
He
knew
something
of
rats,
too,
and
many
of
his
kind
were
famed
in
the
land
for
their
prowess
in
this
direction.
Jimmy
Shaw's
Jacko
could
finish
off
sixty
rats
in
three
minutes,
and
on
one
occasion
made
a
record
by
killing
a
thousand
in
a
trifle
over
an
hour
and
a
half.
The
breed
is
sufficiently
modern
to
leave
no
doubt
as
to
its
derivation.
In
the
first
quarter
of
the
nineteenth
century
attention
was
being
directed
to
the
improvement
of
terriers
generally,
and
new
types
were
sought
for.
They
were
alert,
agile
little
dogs,
excellent
for
work
in
the
country;
but
the
extravagant
Corinthians
of
the
time--the
young
gamesters
who
patronised
the
prize-ring
and
the
cock-pit--desired
to
have
a
dog
who
should
do
something
more
than
kill
rats,
or
unearth
the
fox,
or
bolt
the
otter:
which
accomplishments
afforded
no
amusement
to
the
Town.
They
wanted
a
dog
combining
all
the
dash
and
gameness
of
the
terrier
with
the
heart
and
courage
and
fighting
instinct
of
the
Bulldog.
Wherefore
the
terrier
and
the
Bulldog
were
crossed.
A
large
type
of
terrier
was
chosen,
and
this
would
be
the
smooth-coated
Black
and
Tan,
or
the
early
English
White
Terrier;
but
probably
both
were
used
indifferently,
and
for
a
considerable
period.
The
result
gave
the
young
bucks
what
they
required:
a
dog
that
was
at
once
a
determined
vermin
killer
and
an
intrepid
fighter,
upon
whose
skill
in
the
pit
wagers
might
with
confidence
be
laid.
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