The Boston Terrier and All About It | Page 3

years ago, on paying a visit to Mr. Burnett at
Deerfoot Farm, Southboro, he told me that in the early days he
possessed thirteen white Boston terrier dogs that used to accompany
him in his walks about the farm, and woe to any kind of vermin or
vagrant curs that showed themselves. From Judge and Gyp descended
Well's Eph, a low-stationed, dark brindle dog with even white markings,
weighing twenty-eight pounds. Eph was mated to a golden brindle,
short-headed, twenty pound bitch, having a three-quarter tail, named
Tobin's Kate. From this union came a red brindle dog with a white
blaze on one side of his face, white collar, white chest, and white feet,
weighing twenty-two pounds, and possessing the first screw tail, named
Barnard's Tom. I shall never forget the first visit I made to Barnard's
stable to see him. To my mind he possessed a certain type, style and
quality such as I had never seen before, but which stamped him as the

first real Boston terrier, as the dog is today understood. I was never
tired of going to see him and his brother, Atkinson's Toby. Tom was
mated to a dark brindle bitch, evenly marked, weighing twenty pounds.
She had a good, short, blocky head, and a three-quarter tail, and known
as Kelley's Nell. The result of this mating was a dog destined to make
Boston terrier history, and to my mind the most famous Boston terrier
born, judged by results. He was known as "Mike," commonly called
"Barnard's Mike." He was a rather light brindle and white, even
mouthed, short tailed dog, weighing about twenty-five pounds, very
typical, but what impressed me was his large, full eye, the first I had
ever seen, and which we see so often occurring in his descendants. I
owned a grandson of his named "Gus," 48136, who was almost a
reproduction of him, with eyes fully as large. Unfortunately he jumped
out of a third-story window in my kennels and permanently ended his
usefulness. Chief among the direct descendants from Hooper's Judge
were the noted stud dogs, Ben Butler, Hall's Max, O'Brien's Ross,
Hook's Punch, Trimount King, McMullen's Boxer, and Ben, Goode's
Ned, and Bixby's Tony Boy. The two dogs that impressed me the most
in that group were Max, a fairly good sized, beautiful dispositioned dog
that could almost talk, belonging to Dr. Hall, then a house doctor at the
Eye and Ear Infirmary, Charles street. He was used, I am told, a great
deal in the stud, and sired a great many more puppies than the doctor
ever knew of. Bixby's Tony Boy was the other. I had a very handsome
bitch by him out of a Torrey's Ned bitch, and liked her so much that I
offered Mr. Bixby, I believe, $700 for Tony, only to be told that a
colored gentleman (who evidently knew a good thing when he saw it)
had offered him $200 more.
Of the line of early bitches of the same breeding may briefly be
mentioned Reynold's Famous, dam of Gilbert's Fun; Kelley's Nell, dam
of Ross and Trimount King; Saunder's Kate, dam of Ben Butler;
Nolan's Mollie, dam of Doctor, Evadne and Nancy.
Quite a number of other small dogs were subsequently introduced into
the breed, which had now been somewhat inbred. These were largely
imported from the other side, and were similar in type to Hooper's
Judge. One of the most noted was the Jack Reede dog. He was an

evenly marked, reddish brindle and white, rather rough in coat,
three-quarter tail, weighing fourteen pounds. Another very small dog
was the Perry dog, imported from Scotland, bluish and white in color,
with a three-quarter straight tail, and weighing but six pounds. I have
always felt very sorry not to have seen him, as he must have been a
curiosity. Still another outside dog, also imported, and very
quarrelsome, white in color, weighing eighteen pounds, with a good,
large skull, and an eye as full as Barnard's Mike, but straight tail, was
Kelley's Brick. Another outside dog (I do not know where he came
from), was O'Brien's Ben. He was a short, cobby, white and tan brindle
color, three-quarter tail, with a short head and even mouth. It will be
observed that practically all these outside dogs were small sized, and
were selected largely on that account. By the continued inbreeding of
the most typical of the sons and daughters of Tom, the present type of
the dog was made permanent.
[Illustration: Barnard's Tom]
[Illustration: Hall's Max]
[Illustration: Champion Halloo Prince]
[Illustration: Bixby's Tony Boy]
Perhaps this somewhat restricted review of the breed, going back over
thirty-six or seven years and showing the somewhat mixed ancestry of
our present blue-blooded Boston terrier of today, may afford some
explanation of the diversity of