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| The
Legendary Barry at the Natural History Museum |
As was mentioned before, Barry
(1800 - 1814) is the most famous Saint Bernard Dog. The Hospice
continues to honor Barry by always having one dog at the Hospice named
Barry. Even so, none of Barry's descendants have achieved similar
notoriety.
The mounted Barry, as put on exhibit at the Natural History Museum
Berne, shows a large and strong dog, but much smaller than the modern
Saint. While modern Saints weigh 65 to 85 kg., Barry weighed under 50 kg
(probably between 40 kg and 45 kg). Barry's mounted height is
approximately 64 cm, but the living Barry was probably slightly smaller.
His markings are very similar to those on a painting by Salvatore Rosa,
a painting that remains in the Hospice.
The stuffed Barry shows a compromise between what the taxidermist (or
his boss, the director of the Museum) thought was a good representative
of the Saint Bernard Dog and the way Barry actually looked. Further,
skull shape was altered to represent that which was popular in 1923. In
reality, Barry's skull was rather flat with a moderate stop. In other
words, Barry was a true "Küherhund" (cowherd's dog). For some
unknown reason the taxidermist was convinced to model a larger head with
a more pronounced stop.
However Barry did not gain fame as model for the perfect Saint. He was
heralded for his deeds in rescue work, having saved 40 or so lives. This
number is disputable. For the monks at the monastery, caring for
travelers was an everyday task and detailed records of successful
rescues were not kept. Furthermore, it would have been difficult to
assess each case and whether travelers would have arrived safely without
the aid of the dogs.
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The inscription on the
Barry-monument (which by the way shows a long-haired dog with no
apparent resemblance to a Saint Bernard!) in Asnière near Paris states:
"Il sauva la vie à 40 personnes. Il fut tué par le 41ème"
(He saved the lives of 40 persons. He was killed by the 41st). As
mentioned earlier, this is not true.
Barry was brought to Berne by a monk in 1812. This is a fact that the
old Prior confirmed to Heinrich Schumacher in 1866. Barry remained in
Berne and finally died at the age of 14. His body was stuffed and put on
exhibit. The taxidermist gave Barry a rather humble and meek attitude
because the Prior wanted Barry to serve as a reminder of constant
servitude to future generations. In 1923, the old mounted Barry was
refurbished. Barry had become rather brittle and his coat had dissolved
into over 20 pieces. It is thanks to the craftsmanship of the next
taxidermist, Georg Ruprecht that Barry was so expertly preserved. |
| Today, 180
years after his death, Barry still has the honor of being exhibited in
the main entrance of the Museum. He is an eternal reminder of the
unselfish work performed by so many dogs on the Great Saint Bernard
Pass. |
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