A Narrow Escape. Sparrman tells an amusing story of the daring and the fright of a hyæna, as follows: "One night, at a feast near the Cape, a trumpeter who had made himself drunk with liquor was carried out of doors and laid on the grass, in order that the air might both cool and sober him. The scent of the man soon attracted a spotted hyæna, which threw him on his back, and carried him away towards Table Mountain. The hyæna doubtless supposed that the senseless drunkard was a corpse, and consequently a fair prize. In the meantime the musician awoke, and was at once sufficiently sensible to know the danger of his situation, and to sound the alarm with his trumpet, which he fortunately carried at his side. The hyæna, as it may be imagined, was greatly frightened in its turn, and immediately ran away, leaving the trumpeter, it is to be hoped, 'a wiser man' for his extraordinary ride. It is remarkable that the soldier was not seriously injured by the hyæna, for the teeth of the animal were fortunately fastened in the coat and not in the flesh of the man."
Animals of the Dog Kind. Animals of the dog kind, are neither so numerous, nor, in general, so ferocious as those of the panther or cat kind. The principal species are the wolf, the jackal, the fox, and the dog. This class may be principally distinguished by their claws, which have no sheath like those of the cat kind, but are placed at the point of each toe, without the capability of being stretched forward or drawn back. The nose, as well as the jaw, of all the dog kind, is longer than in the cat; the body in proportion more strongly made, and covered with hair instead of fur. They also far exceed the other kind in the sense of smell, the olfactory nerves being diffused upon a very extensive membrane within the skull, which accounts for their surprising acuteness in this sense.
The Wolf. The Wolf is about three feet and a half long, and about two feet and a half high, larger than our great breed of mastiffs, which are seldom more than three feet by two. He bears a great resemblance to the dog, but is much stronger, and the length of his hair contributes still more to his robust appearance. The feature which principally distinguishes the visage of the wolf from that of the dog, is the eye, which opens slantingly upwards in the same direction with the nose; whereas, in the dog, it opens more at right angles with the nose, as in man. The colour of the eyeballs in the wolf, is a fiery green, giving his visage a fierce and formidable air. He generally hides by day in the thickest coverts, and only ventures out at night; when, sallying forth over the country, he keeps peering round the villages, and carries off such animals as are not under protection—attacks the sheep-fold, scratches up and undermines the thresholds of doors where the sheep are housed, enters furiously, and destroys all before he begins to fix upon and carry off his prey. The wolf has great strength, particularly in his foreparts, and the muscles of his neck and jaws. He carries off a sheep in his mouth without letting it touch the ground, and runs with it much faster than the shepherds who pursue him; so that nothing but the dogs can overtake and oblige him to quit his prey. Notwithstanding his great strength, cunning, and agility, the wolf being the declared enemy of man, is often hard pressed for subsistence; he has always a gaunt and starved appearance, and, indeed, often dies of hunger. He has been hunted down, and is now rarely to be found in civilized countries.
The Fox. The Fox is of a much more slender make than the wolf, and not nearly so large, being little more than two feet long. The tail is longer and more bushy, the nose smaller, approaching nearer to that of the greyhound, and its hair softer. Its eyes, however, are obliquely set, like those of the wolf. The fox has long been famous for cunning; he is patient and prudent, and gains by address what is denied to his courage or strength. He is most destructive to poultry. When he gets into a farm-yard, he begins by levelling all the poultry without remorse, and carrying off a part of the spoil, he hides it at some convenient distance. Returning, he carries off another fowl, which he hides in like manner, but not in the same place; and this he repeats several times, until the approach of day, or the noise of the domestics, warns him to retire to his hole. He often destroys a large quantity of game, seizing the partridge and quail while sitting on their nests. He even eats rats, mice, serpents, toads, and lizards. In vain does the hedge-hog roll itself up into a ball to oppose him; he teases it until it is obliged to appear uncovered, and then devours it. Besides the common Fox (Vulpes Vulgaris), there are numerous varieties, of which the Tahaleb or Egyptian Fox and the Fennec (Feneca Zaarensis) of North Africa, the Kit Fox, the Red, the Grey and the Silver Fox of North America, and the Arctic Fox (Leucocyon lagopus) are the best known.
The Jackal. The Jackal, one of the most common of wild animals in the East, is about the size of the fox, but in shape it more nearly resembles the wolf. Its colour is a bright yellow, or sorrel. Its cry is a howl, mixed with barking, and a lamentation resembling that of human distress. The jackal may be considered as the vulture of the quadruped kind; the most putrid substances that once had life, are greedily devoured. Like the hyæna, the jackals scratch up with their feet the new-made grave, and devour the contents, however decomposed. While at this dreary work, they make a mournful cry, like that of children under chastisement, and having thus dug up the body, they amicably share it. In countries, therefore, where they abound, the people are obliged to beat the earth over the grave, and mix it with thorns, to prevent the jackals from scraping it away. The jackal never goes alone, but always in packs of forty or fifty together. They watch the burying-grounds, follow armies, and keep in the rear of caravans. The jackal, after having tired down its prey, is often deprived of the spoil by the lion, the panther, or the tiger, whose appetites are superior to their swiftness; these attend its call, and devour the prey which it has run down by its unceasing perseverance; and this circumstance has given rise to the erroneous opinion, that the jackal is the lion's provider. The jackal is found in some parts of Europe and abounds in most parts of Asia. Those of the warmest climates are the largest, and their colour is rather of a reddish brown than of that beautiful yellow by which the smaller jackals are distinguished. Like the Fox it forms burrows in the earth and emits an offensive odour.
The Wolf's Mode of Attack. "The Wolf," says Professor Duncan in "Cassell's Natural History", "usually lives in solitary places in mountains; but in Spain he is said sometimes to make his lair in corn-fields, in close proximity to inhabited dwellings. Here he lives with his wife and family, usually caché during the day, and issuing forth at night to take his prey. During the warmer periods of the year wolves, as a rule, hunt each one for himself, but in winter they often unite into great packs, and pursue their prey over the snow at a rapid pace and with indomitable perseverance. Swift and untiring must be the animal which, on an open plain, can escape from them; even the horse, perfectly constructed as he is for rapid running, is almost certain to succumb, unless he can reach a village before his pace begins to flag. They never spring upon an animal from an ambush—the nearest approach ever made to such a mode of attack being their practice of attacking sheepfolds by leaping into the midst of the flock and killing right and left; when they reach their prey, too, the first onslaught is made with their teeth, and never by a blow of the paw. Thus, a wolfs attack—like that of all members of the genus Canis—is entirely different from a cat's. The cat lies in ambush all alone, springs upon the passing prey, which if he misses he scarcely ever pursues, and kills by a blow of the paw. The dog and wolf attack openly, sometimes alone, but oftener in company, pursue their prey with unflagging energy until it falls a victim, and give the death-wound at once with their teeth."
The Wolf's Cunning. That the wolf sometimes employs cunning as well as savagery in seeking his prey is shown by the following story from "Broke's Travels in the North of Sweden": "I observed, on setting out from Sormjole, the last post, that the peasant who drove my sledge was armed with a cutlass; and, on inquiring the reason, was told that, the day preceding, while he was passing in his sledge the part of the forest we were then in, he had encountered a wolf, which was so daring, that it actually sprang over the hinder part of the sledge he was driving, and attempted to carry off a small dog which was sitting behind him. During my journey from Tornea to Stockholm, I heard everywhere of the ravages committed by wolves, not upon the human species or the cattle, but chiefly upon the peasants' dogs, considerable numbers of which had been devoured. I was told that these were the favourite prey of this animal; and that, in order to seize upon them with the greater ease, it puts itself into a crouching posture, and begins to play several antic tricks, to attract the attention of the poor dog, which, caught by these seeming demonstrations of friendship, and fancying it to be one of his own species, from the similarity, advances towards it to join in the gambols, and is carried off by its treacherous enemy. Several peasants that I conversed with mentioned their having been eye-witnesses of this circumstance."
The Wolf's Cowardice. Mr. Lloyd in his "Field Sports in the North of Europe" gives a remarkable illustration of the cowardice of the wolf when caught in a trap. "A peasant near St. Petersburg," says Mr. Lloyd, "when one day in his sledge, was pursued by eleven of these ferocious animals. At this time he was only about two miles from home, towards which he urged his horse at the very top of his speed. At the entrance to his residence was a gate, which happened to be closed at the time; but the horse dashed this open, and thus himself and his master found refuge within the court-yard. They were followed, however, by nine out of the eleven wolves; but, very fortunately, at the instant these had entered the enclosure, the gate swung back on its hinges, and thus they were caught as in a trap. From being the most voracious of animals, the nature of these beasts—now that they found escape impossible—became completely changed: so far, indeed, from offering molestation to any one, they slunk into holes and corners, and allowed themselves to be slaughtered almost without making resistance."
Hunted by Wolves