The ravagers were either the native wild dogs of the island, or those that had escaped from their owners. They seemed to have apportioned the country into different districts, each troop having its allotted range. At length the evil became so great that a general meeting of the colonists was convened. The concluding sentences of the speech of Lieutenant Hill forcibly express the extent of the evil. "The country is free from bush-rangers: we are no longer surrounded and threatened by the natives. We have only one enemy left in the field; but that enemy strikes at the very root of our welfare, and through him the stream of our prosperity is tainted at its very source." The colonists were then few, but they cordially united in the endeavour to extirpate this formidable enemy; and, although the wild dog is still found in the interior of the island, he is comparatively seldom seen, and his ravages have nearly ceased. THE CANIS AUSTRALIS--KARÁRAHÉ, NEW ZEALAND DOG. A tradition exists in New Zealand of this dog having been given to the natives two or three centuries ago by a number of divinities who made their descent on these shores, probably Juan Fernandez and his companions. The sagacious animal has, however, dwindled down to the lowest rank of his family, but ill usage has not altogether destroyed his worth. In New Zealand he is the safeguard of every village. Should the slightest alarm exist, he is the first to ascertain the cause of it, and many families have saved themselves by flight, or have taken arms in self-defence against the incursions of predatory bands. The New Zealanders are therefore kind in their treatment of the dog, except that they occasionally destroy him for his hide. The name formerly given to the New Zealand dog was 'pero', which in some measure substantiates the supposition of Juan Fernandez having visited the country--'perro', in the Spanish language, being the name of a dog. We will now turn to the northern parts of America. The races of wild dogs are there considerably limited, both in number and the districts which they occupy. In the elevated sandy country north of the source of the Missouri, inhabited by the "Stone" and the "Black Foot" Indians, is a doubtful species of dogs--wolves they used to be called--who hunt in large packs and are exceedingly swift; whose bark is similar to that of the domestic dog, but who burrow in the ground, and eagerly run to their holes, when the gun of the hunter is heard.