Cumberland Sheep Dogs

An occasional accompllihment r Cumberland sheep doga is Chat of Bading sheep baríed In the inow. John Soott luis poi¦I doirs wliicli ly üieir peculiar instinct have been the mana ot' rescuing hundreds of buried slieep. The snmv iliilts sonietimes cover the sneep beyond reach of the Bhèpherd'a snow-poles; still the dog detecta their whereaboutk A dog has oever been known to acqulre the valuable gift which renden hlm a ebeep-flnder except when young Mr. DicKin.'iOi) irivcs a case in liis "FarmIngof l'umberlaml," whëreabout tOOsheep were ruleascii mdet the dstecdng nnsé of ¦ i yoani dog - almost a puppy - who acqulredthe art apob the spot. while the olderdog stood listleealy by, leaving the honor of polntlng out the sneep entlrely to liiin. In the Martlmus snow-fal] of 1807, belng the heavlest of the present cenlury, a Hoek ot'4i)() Herdwicks was buried, which Mr. Dicklnaon blmself assUted in recoverhtg: They had been turned apon tlie oommon "out lield late iu the avening, and o verteken by the sudden storm 6ir from tlie sheltered portions ot tlicir run. Darkne8s come on,aml the inow fallinghcavily. the liock was taken at B disadvantage, and almost all of them were covered upbeneath wal la or in hollows where they bad endeavored to lind shelter. After a ntght of tempest day broke, and the family the flock belonged to oeued thcir forebodingg, and came out to Dnd tlieir slieep. Not one COIlld be found. All hands werc sent to work to probe the drifts with poles. with sliirht success till the youug Qog jolned m the pruccwJiog! Dcsbting from liis gambil, he took a serious interest in what was golng on smelliogtlie ands of the broblng poles, umi Bnlffling at tlie lióles made in the snow. He was very properly left alone, so that his attention might notbe diverted, and the liual ratultot his patiënt pozzling was that the light broke suddenly upon him ai:d lic eoinuienced scratcliing aagerly in the snow. He hád all at once becoene a Bneep-flnder, aud whlle the older dogs stood indolently by, tliis young animal contiuued to pointOUt the s)miIs liei.eath which the slieep were buriel!, barklng and howlini; with delijfht at every release ot' the endangered Herdwicks. ïhe ibeeplaygenerally in clusters, tive or six together and at each iresh discovery of aburied heap of them the dog would seratch eagerry in the endeavor to get at them ; but he soon found the fruitlessiiess of such efforts, and, after brief experience, was content with merely indicating to the gearcuen the neiyhborhood of the buricd shecp, leavini; them to dig them out. At the end of the first day'l labor, closed from the sheer exhaustion of the persons engaged, two hundred sheep bad been extii'a!eil ulive. On the IblldWing day, with the aid of the young dojr, others were extricated - some living, many dead. At legnth all were extricated 1" the last blieeo'liii .. --- &"; "."ll1 ituv i ear'8 Day, It had reniamed sinee Nov, lb in a hollow beneath a furze bush, gupporting Ufe on the canty herbage of this shrub. The losses in Cumberland on occasion of that dreadful storm were terrible, thOUgh they were very much mitigated in the case of those farmers who possessed a dog endowed with the gift of "making." The same Bheep Qnder uhowed his intelllgence in making time as well as .-her].. His master went eoiistantly to the parigh chureb, which was about a mile distani, and as constantly the dog, taking note of Suuday, met his matter at a particular spot, one-third part ot the distan oe home. Another Cumberland sheep dog acquired the power of reseuing his master's shcep from the rising tide. Hestliolin Marsh, near Muncaster Cast Ie, s usually covered twice a day by the tule, and the stupid aheep pastured on it, with higher grouod to retire to lf they had only possessed a grato of sense, were sonietiincs mrprised and confounded by the tide. The (z' services were then required tbr the rescue, and tluis helearned to avoid the ezpendltureoftime and (TOUbla liy Clearing the marsh of his Own aeemil at the rising of the tide. Mr. Walker, of (iill, near I mout, possessed a dog and a buil, the lastnained creature belng so unruly that he could not be ventured out to water without thestrictguardianshipof the dog. In the absence of the colley the buil was never taken out; and such was the dog's complete aseendancy, and so thoroughly was he aware of it. that he allowed no wandering cm the road The buil was coustrained to travel in a straight line, not swerving in the least. At the drinking place the thirety animal would plonge bis in the water, and the dqg would sit on a stone near tlie trough, not more than a yard from the bulráhead'. The latter had to B&tlafyhii thireï at a single draiight, for the moment he liftcd his head, home he must go, whether he liad done or not.