12 



HVADES HY.ENA. 



The Spartan* established yearly festivals 

 of the nephew of their king. 



liVADKS. The Hyade*, according to Ovid, were 

 ympht. daughters of Atlas anil jfcthra ; according 

 to others, daughters of Cadmus or Erecthetis. Their 

 Bmber was given differently. They bewailed the 

 death of their brother Hyas, who was lorn in jiiccc^ 

 by a lioness, with -u.-!i urn-casing anguish, that the 

 gods, moved with compassion, transferred them to 

 toe heavens, where they still weep. They form the 

 well known constellation in the head of Taurus. 

 According to the most probable account, these stars 

 derived their name from the Greek word M, to rain, 

 because rain usually follows their rising and setting. 

 On this account they have received the names of 

 <mrn/K/ (tritles) and the rain-bringing (Latin, suc- 

 /), which circumstances probably gave rise to the 

 Ixive-mentioneii fable. Some poets have confounded 

 them with the Pleiades. The chief of the Hyades 

 in the left eye of Taurus, is the bright star called 

 Aldebaran* by the Arabs. 



1 1 V .. N A (canit, Lin. , hyaena, Desm.) This well 

 known and savage genus of quadrupeds is distin- 

 guished by having no tuberculous or small teeth 

 behind the carnivorous. Its dental formula is, inci- 

 sors J, canine { f, molar 1 J=34. These teeth are 

 well adapted from their great thickness and strength, 

 to break bones. The head of the hyaena is of a 

 middle size, with an elevated forehead; the jaws are 

 shorter, in proportion, than those, of dogs, and longer 

 than those of cats ; the tongue is furnished with rough 

 papillae ; the eyes are large, and have longitudinal 



Supils ; the ears are long, pricked, very open, and 

 irected forwards. Beneath the tail is a glandulous 

 pouch. Naturalists have described three species of 

 the hyasna. 



The common or striped hyaena (H. vulgaris), which 

 is a native of Asiatic Turkey, Syria, Abyssinia, &c., 

 is about the size of a large dog, of a brownish gray 

 colour, and marked with transverse bands of dark 

 brown on the body, which become oblique on the 

 flanks and legs. The hair upon the line of the back 

 is much thicker and stronger than on any other part, 

 forming a sort of mane, extending from the nape of 

 the neck to the origin of the tail. This species was 

 well known to the ancients, who entertained many 

 absurd notions respecting it ; believing that its neck 

 consisted of but one bone ; that it changed its sex 

 every year ; that it could imitate the human voice ; 

 that it had the power of charming the shepherds, 

 and riveting them to the spot, as the serpent is said 

 to fascinate a bird. Lucan furnishes the Thessalian 

 sorceress with the neck of one of these animals* as a 

 potent spell. * The hyaina generally inhabits caverns 

 and rocky places, prowling about at night to feed on 

 the remains of dead animals, or on whatever living 

 prey it can seize. The common idea, that these ani- 

 mals tear newly buried bodies out of graves, is not 

 inconsistent with their insatiate voracity and the 

 peculiar strength of their claws. The courage of the 

 hyena is equal to his rapacity. Kampfer says, that 

 he saw one which had put two lions to flight. At 

 Darfur, a kingdom in the interior of Africa, the 

 hyaenas come in herds of six, eight, and often more, 

 to the villages at night, and carry off with them 

 whatever they are able to master. They will kill 

 dogi and asses, even within the enclosure of the 

 boose*, *nd fail not to assemble wherever a dead 

 camel or other animal is thrown ; nor are they much 

 alarmed at Uie sight of men or the report of fire-arms. 

 these attacks, if one of them should be wounded, 

 U companions instantly tear him in pieces and de- 

 - him. (Rroim.) A remarkable peculiarity in 



Km iirtt noHiu hfama irfuit. J/,b. vi. 611 



| this animal is, that when he is first obliged to run, he 

 always appears lame for a considerable distant e, and 

 that, in some cases, to such a degree, as to induce a 

 belief that one of his legs is broken ; but after run- 

 ning for some time, this halting disappears, and he 

 proceeds on his course very swiftly. (Bruce.) It 

 was formerly supposed that the hyaena was untamable, 

 and this assertion has been copied by mo>t writers on 

 natural history without investigation. But that it 

 can be completely tamed, there is not the shadow of 

 a doubt. The hyaena has lately been domesticated in 

 the Sneeuberg (South Africa), where it is considered 

 as one of the best hunters after game, and as faithful 

 and diligent as any of the common domestic dogs. 

 (Barrow.) A Mr Traill, in India, had one for many 

 years, which followed him about like a dog. (Heber.) 

 It is, in feet, exceedingly doubtful whether any ani- 

 mal is incapable of subjection to man. 



The spotted hyaena (C. crocuta, Lin., H. capensis, 

 Desm.) has a considerable resemblance to the former 

 species, but is larger, and is marked with numerous 

 round blackish-brown spots instead of stripes, nor is 

 the mane so large. This species inhabits many parts 

 of Africa, but is peculiarly numerous around the cape 

 of Good Hope, where it is much dreaded. One of 

 them entered a negro hut, laid hold of a girl, flung 

 her over its back, held her by one leg in its teeth, 

 and was making off with her, when her screams for- 

 tunately brought assistance, and she was rescued. 

 (Bosnian.) Those animals act the part of scaven- 

 gers in South Africa. At the cape, they formerly 

 came down into the town, unmolested by the inhabi- 

 tants, to devour the filth and offal. Among the savage 

 tribes in this part of Africa, the dead are never 

 buried after a battle, the birds and beasts of prey 

 relieving the living of that trouble ; even the bones, 

 except a few of the less manageable parts, finding a 

 sepulchre in the voracious maw of the hyajnas. 

 Thunberg informs us, that they are so excessively 

 bold and ravenous, as sometimes to eat the saddle 

 from under the traveller's head, and gnaw the shoes 

 on his feet, while he is sleeping in the open air. In 

 fact, every kind of animal substance is a prize to 

 them, and this gluttony seems a kind provision of 

 nature, to consume those dead and corrupting bodies, 

 which, in warm climates, might otherwise cause dis- 

 ease and death among the inhabitants. The follow- 

 ing curious incident is related by Sparmann : One 

 night, at a feast near the cape, a trumpeter, who had 

 become intoxicated, was carried out of doors, in order 

 to cool and sober him. The scent of him attracted 

 a hyaena, which threw him on his back, and dragged 

 him along like a corpse up towards Table mountain. 

 In the mean time the drunken musician revived suf- 

 ficiently to find the danger of his situation, and to 

 sound the alarm with his trumpet, which fortunately 

 he had not relinquished. The wild beast became 

 alarmed in turn, and fled. 



There is another species mentioned by Cuvier (the 

 H. brunnea, Thunberg; H. villosa, Smith), of which 

 little is known. It differs from the preceding, by hav- 

 ing stripes on the legs, the rest of the body being of 

 a dark grayish-brown. It inhabits the south of Africa, 

 and is known there under the name of sea-shore wolf. 

 The bones of a species of this animal have, of late 

 years, been found in a fossil state in various parts of 

 Europe, but more particularly in England. The 

 scientific world are indebted, in a great measure, to 

 professor Buckland, of Oxford, lor the information 

 we have on the subject. This fossil or extinct species 

 (H. speleea), according to Cuvier, was about one 

 third larger than the striped species, with the muzzle, 

 in proportion, much shorter. The teeth resemble 

 those of the spotted species, but ar considerably 

 larger. 



