189 



CHAPTEE XXII. 



HUNTING IN THE INDIES. 

 I. THE QUARRY. 



" In India," said the immortal Mr Jorrocks, '' they 

 hunt the jackall (sic) — not at all a sportin' animal 

 I should say, from the specimen in the Zoologicals." ^ 



In spite of the denunciation of so great a sporting 

 authority, I venture to enter a plea for the jackal 

 as a beast of chase. Moreover, as Sur tees' immortal 

 work was published half a century ago, the above 

 quotation proves that even then our Anglo-Indian 

 predecessors made the jackal take the place of 

 reynard of the land of their birth. To this day 

 the existence of the Bombay Hunt, the Poona 

 Hounds, and other regular packs in the East, prove 

 that the "jack" is considered his not altogether 

 unworthy representative. 



Not that it must be supposed that there are no 

 foxes in India. Two varieties of the species divide 

 the Indian peninsula. To the south it is the Indian 

 fox who holds sway, while, commencing on the north- 

 ern borders of Central India, the desert fox replaces 

 him in Scinde, the Punjaub, and North- West. In 



1 Handley Cross, chap. vii. p. 67, original edition. 



