242 CARNIVORA. 



man who killed a hyaena — next morning he had become a giil; I knew 

 another whose leg withered after he had slain one of these magicians. 

 Refrain, O my brother," he continued, addressing the traveler ; " point 

 not thy musket at what thou deemest a beast; for it is a son of the 

 accursed one." 



The appearance of the hyaenas justifies the dislike of mankind ; they 

 resemble dogs, and yet are repulsively dissimilar. The fore-legs which 

 are used for digging are powerful, the liind-legs short ; the disproportion 

 between the limbs gives them a shambling, slouching gait, and the slop- 

 ing line of the back has a sneaking, cowardly look. The teeth and jaws 

 are remarkably strong, and crash through the thigh bones of an ox with 

 savage force; the muzzle is short, the tongue rough like a tiger's; che 

 feet have four claws. 



The hyaena is nocturnal, and usually avoids populous neighborhoods. 

 It is in darkness and solitude that the traveler hears the peculiar cry of 

 the prowling troop that makes night hideous till the dawn is breaking. 

 A piece of stinking carrion attracts them in numbers, but they seldom, 

 attack powerful animals ; and never unless the latter take to flight. 

 Thus they often destroy healthy cattle that can run away, but are afraid 

 to touch the sickly or maimed ones which are forced to stand at bay. 

 Schweinfurth the African traveler, however, says that in the country of 

 the Njam-njams they pursue and run down the antelope as wolves run 

 down their prey. But this must be quite an exception. The voracity 

 of the hya-na is frightful to witness, and the noise made by a pack over 

 their favorite carrion, scarcely to be described. The screams, the growls, 

 the piercing shrieks of laughter easily suggest to the natives that hell 

 has broken loose. They are useful as scavengers by removing decay- 

 ing animal matter, especially in the interior of Africa where the corpses 

 are simply flung outside the villages. Further to the South in the 

 Hottentot country, they dig up the remains of the dead which are 

 interred in shallow graves. They everywhere follow the caravans 

 that cross the deserts, as they know some victim will fall into their 

 clutches. 



THE STRIPED HY^^NA. 



The Striped Hy^NA, Hycena striata (Plate XIII), is distinguished by 

 its peculiar stripes. The general color is grayish-brown with blackish 

 stripes running along the ribs ; a large black patch covers the front of 



