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from a species very nearly allied, if not actually belonging, to the

same section.

"If," says the last named author, "domestic dogs were merely wolves modified by the influence of man's wants, surely the curs of Mohammedan states, refused domestic care, left to roam after their own free will, and only tolerated in Asiatic cities in the capacity of scavengers, would long since have resumed some of the characters of the wolf; there has unquestionably been sufficient time for that purpose, since we find allusion made to these animals in the laws of Moses; they were then already considered unclean, for all cattle worried, injured, or not killed as the law prescribed, were ordered to be flung to them."*

It is well known that the streets and suburbs of eastern towns are still greatly infested by these animals, to which reference was no doubt made by King David, when he prays to be delivered from his enemies. "They return at evening; they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city." Ps. liv. 6. Their savage nature is further illustrated by the fate of Jezebel; and a race of wild dogs is reported to have particularly infested the banks of the Kishon, and the district of Jezreel.†

Even in recent times, a very dangerous canine animal is said to follow the caravans from Bassora to Aleppo. It is called Sheeb by the Arabs, and all who are bitten by it are believed to die of the wound. Dr. Russel endeavours to explain this fatal result by supposing the creature to be in a state of madness, that is, labouring under hydrophobia; but he forgets that these wild animals are gregarious, several travelling together, which mad dogs never do. It has indeed been questioned whether hydrophobia exists at all in Western Asia. Colonel Hamilton Smith states it to be unknown there among the cur dogs of the cities.+

It is, however, by no means unlikely that the larger, fiercer, and more powerful dogs of the East may have had some cross of the true wolf, because, although the latter animal is not now found in Judea, it is well known in Asia Minor, and the gorges of Cilicia. The Syrian wolf, at least of modern times, is a

* Naturalist's Library, Mammalia, vol. ix., p. 97. + Encyc. of Biblical Literature, I., 570.

Naturalist's Library, Mammalia, vol. ix,, p. 175. Although other species, when bitten, may be infected by this rabies, it seems to originate solely in animals of the dog kind, or those nearly allied. Ín India, hyænas, wolves, jackals, and foxes are subject to it, as well as domesticated dogs. When it attacks wild animals, it seems to deprive them of all fear of man. The European wolf, in a state of madness, instead of avoiding rather seeks out the human race as his victims ; and in France even foxes, under that strange and mysterious influenco, have ruu into and been killed in the midst of crowds assembled in a market-place.

jackal. The geographical distribution of animals, we need scarcely here notice, has been greatly changed in consequence of the alterations on the condition of the earth's surface, produced by man himself. Hence, not only the wolf, but the beaver and the bear have ceased to be numbered among the inhabitants of Britain, and the zeeb of Hebrew and Arabian writers, the ravening wolf of our translations of the Sacred Scriptures, does not now occur in the countries of Palestine.

The genuine jackals are somewhat less in size than those above referred to, and differ likewise in their distribution, being not only found like the others in Africa and Western Asia, but also in the east of Europe and Southern India. They form burrows in the earth, assemble together in numerous troops, and have an offensive odour. They howl almost incessantly, and their melancholy cry, which commences at sunset, and seldom ceases till the morning, is a well-known nuisance in eastern lands. They follow the footsteps of the greater feline animals, such as the lion and tiger, for the sake, as some suppose, of securing the remnants of their prey; but assuredly, so far from providing for the king of beasts, it is believed that they often do all in their power to circumvent and disappoint him. In regard at least to the tiger, it is well known in India, that while on ordinary occasions the nocturnal cry of a jackal is responded to by all his companions around, till the leafy woods become as the howling wilderness, there is a peculiar note of warning uttered by one of these creatures on the approach of the feline monster, which sinks the voices of all the others into the profoundest silence.

These lesser jackals (there are several species) also enter into cities after dark for the purpose of preying upon offal, or whatever else they can obtain. They devour carrion whether exposed or subterranean, that is to say, they will exercise their activity in digging into sepulchres, if these have not been properly protected. But during the fruit season they skulk about the vineyards, and grow fat on grapes. Although the offensive smell of the genuine jackals renders them unpleasant inmates in a family, they are by no means difficult to tame. We knew one which went about the house like a lank long-legged terrier, and showed his difference of disposition chiefly in an uncurable habit of gnawing the legs and arms of handsome mahogany chairs, to the great destruction of French varnish, and every other kind of polish. There is no doubt that these animals are also entitled to an important place in the genealogical tree of our domestic dogs.

"They associate readily with dogs, and hybrid offspring is not uncommon; nor is there a doubt that these mules are again prolific. The domestic cur-dogs of all the nations where the jackal is found,

Red Dogs of the Old World.

43

bear evidence of at least a great intermixture of their blood in the native races. The fact is strikingly exemplified in the greater number of the cur pariahs of India, and the home breeds of Turkish Asia, as well as of the negroes and the inhabitants of the great islands of the Indian Seas. M. Jeannon Naviez, mayor of Coire, is or was lately in possession of a hybrid dog, produced by a cross of the smaller wolf dog (Pomeranian) and jackal. It was of small size, but so quarrelsome and fierce that all other dogs were afraid to associate with it. Voracious in the extreme,-ducklings, chickens, all that came within reach, it devoured; and of such activity, that it sprung upon walls, and bounded along them with the security of a cat. It was very affectionate to the owner; but not a good watcher,―seldom barking, and very fond of digging in the ground."*

But besides the jackals, there is another important group of wild canine animals, known by the general name of "Red Dogs," which are extensively spread over many regions of the Old World, and are represented in the New by the Aguara Wolf already mentioned, and in Australia by the Dingho of New South Wales. In Asia they may be traced from the southern slopes of the Himalaya mountains as far south as Ceylon, and from the shores of the Mediterranean eastwards into the Chinese dominions. They usually want the second tubercular tooth of the lower jaw, are rather long-bodied, with the eyes somewhat oblique, and the soles of the feet hairy. They are believed not to burrow, and lead a retired life in the jungles. Their natural cry resembles a kind of barking; and they hunt both by night and day, in small packs. Although fearful of the human race, they attack all other creatures courageously, even the savage and more powerful kinds, such as the wild boar and the buffalo, and are said, by acting in co-operation, to brave the strength and ferocity of the tiger. They seem indeed to bear as inherent a hatred towards all the larger feline animals as so many of the dogs of Europe do to our domesticated cats; and they are described as being incessantly on the watch to destroy their cubs. The union of concert and courage which they display in their encounters with the adults, is assigned by Indian sportsmen as as the chief cause of the alarm which a tiger exhibits at the sight of a dog, even of a domestic spaniel.

To the group of red dogs belongs that peculiar and highly interesting species discovered in the Nepaul country, by Mr. Hodgson, and described by him under the title of Canis primavus. Its native name is buansa. This kind hunts both by day and night, assembled in small packs of from six to ten individuals, and

* Naturalist's Library, Mammalia.- Vol. ix. p. 212.

follows its game more by scent than sight, as may be inferred from the nature of the localities which it inhabits, and wears it out by continuous perseverance. Although irreclaimable in the adult state, its puppies, when captured early, and shown a good example by being reared along with our domesticated kinds, are both gentle and sagacious. The species inhabits wooded and rocky mountain ranges between the Sutledj and Brahmapootra, and, under certain modifications, seems to extend far southwards to the Ghauts, the Nielgherries, and the coast of Coromandel. Mr. Hodgson was long resident in Nepaul, and was, we believe, the first to give us a distinct account of the buansa. He maintains it to be the original source of all domesticated dogs throughout the world, and hence his Adamic-looking designation of canis primavus. Having all the habits of the hound, it may naturally be presumed, amongst hunting nations, to have been early reclaimed, and easily educated for the chase- -a pleasant pastime, and may no doubt in this way have originated the hunting races of different and very distant tribes. But as Mr. Low has observed, "there is nothing in the characters of this, more than in those of any other given species, that can enable us to conclude that it can have produced all the dogs of the world. There is no more resemblance between this mountain hound of Nepaul, and the sledge-dog of Greenland, than between the greyhound of Persia, and the terrier of England."* We may here briefly mention, that the wild dog called Kolsun, described by Col. Sykes, the Dhole (so called) discovered by Mr. Wooler among the Mahablishwar hills, and the Quihee, as identified by Dr. Spry, are all referable to the Buansa race.

The wild dog of Beloochistân is both shy and ferocious, and keeps aloof from all human habitations. It is referred to by Colonel Hamilton Smith, as being one of two species of wild canines which occur in the woody mountains of south-eastern Persia, and probably extend along the lofty lands west of the Indus into Cabul. It hunts in packs of twenty or thirty, and when thus congregated will attack a bullock or a buffalo, and tear it in pieces in a few moments.

Allied to these are the dogs called Dholes in India, so named from an ancient Asiatic root, signifying recklessness. The true Dhole (Chryseus scylax of Hamilton Smith) is described as intermediate in size between the wolf and the jackal, slightly made, of a light bay colour, with a sharp face, and fierce keen eyes. In form it approaches the greyhound; the tail is straight, not bushy, the ears wide, pointed, open, and triangular; the skin

* Domesticated Animals, p. 649.

Dholes and Pariah Dogs of India.

45

is dark, with the nose, muzzle, back of the ears, and feet, of a sooty hue. It is reported to hunt in large packs, and to utter a while on the scent, resembling that of a fox-hound, intercry, mingled with snarling yelps. Dr. Daniel Johnston saw a pack attack a wild boar. The Dholes have been sometimes domesticated, and employed in the chase. Captain Williamson admits their fleetness, but says that they are not to be depended upon for coursing, being apt to give up during a severe run, and turn aside to goats or sheep. They are, however, valuable in hog hunting. The true Dhole, we understand, is a rare species, and seems to occur chiefly in the Rhamghany hills, and sometimes in the Western Ghauts. The wild dog of Ceylon (Canis Ceylonicus of Shaw) is likewise a Dhole.

The Pariah dogs of India now demand a brief notice. It has been long a vexed question whether these Pariah races were a mongrel breed, descended from domesticated species of a higher class, or the offspring of indigenous wild animals, themselves native to the jungles. Naturalists (misled, it may be, in this, as in other instances, by the brilliant, though not seldom foundationless, discourses of Buffon) have generally inferred as a fact, that where wild and domesticated races, nearly allied, were found to occur in the same country, the former were only the emancipated or bewildered descendants of the latter.

In the present case, however, the wild Pariah is found in numerous packs, not only in the jungles of India proper, but also in the lower ranges of the Himalaya mountains, and is possessed of all the characteristics of primeval independence, without having assumed the similitude of wolves or jackals, which sytematists seem to think must be the result of returning from slavery to freedom. There is nowhere any notice taken that they burrow, apparently resembling in this respect the rest of the present group; they associate in large numbers, and thereby approximate jackals; but their voice is totally different. In form, the wild Pariah is more bulky than the last mentioned species, but low in the legs, and assuming the figure of a turnspit; and the tail of a middling length, without much flexibility, is more bushy at the end than at the base; the ears are erect, pointed, and turned forward; the eyes hazel; the density of fur varies according to latitude, and the rufous colour of the whole body is darker in the north than in the south, where there is a silvery tinge, instead of one of black, upon the upper parts. They are said to have five claws upon all the feet, but whether there be a molar less in the lower jaw is not known. This species is in general so similar to the domestic, that if it were not ascertained that they existed in great numbers in the wildest forests at the base of the Himalayas, all possessing uniform colours, they would be considered, in the lower provinces, as of the domestic breed, and are often mistaken for them when they follow armies. The domestic Pariahs, however, are less timid, generally more mixed with

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