326 



ANIMALS OF 



and run off with what they had not time to 

 swallow. 



They not only attack the living but the dead. 

 They scratch up with their feet the new-made 

 graves, and devour the corpse how putrid soe- 

 ver. In those countries, therefore, where they 

 abound, they are obliged to beat the earth over 

 the grave, and mix it with thorns, to prevent 

 the jackals from scraping it away. They al- 

 ways assist each other, as well in this employ- 

 ment of exumation, as in that of the chase. 

 While they are at this dreary work, they ex- 

 hort each other by a most mournful cry, re- 

 sembling that of children under chastisement ; 

 and when they have thus dug up the body, 

 they share it amicably between them. These, 

 like all other savage animals, when they have 

 once tasted of human flesh, can never after re- 

 frain from pursuing mankind. They watch 

 the burying-grounds, follow armies, and keep 

 in the rear of caravans. They may be consi- 

 dered as the vulture of the quadruped kind ; 

 every thing that once had animal life, seems 

 equally agreeable to them ; the most putrid 

 substances are greedily devoured ; dried lea- 

 ther, and any thing that has been rubbed with 

 grease, how insipid soever in itself, is sufficient 

 to make the whole go down. 



They hide themselves in holes by day, and 

 seldom appear abroad till night-fall, when the 

 jackal that has first hit upon the scent of some 

 large beast gives notice to the rest by a howl, 

 which it repeats as it runs ; while all the rest 

 that are within hearing, pack in to its assist- 

 ance. The gazelle, or whatever other beast 

 it may be, finding itself pursued, makes off 

 towards the houses and the towns ; hoping, by 

 that means, to deter its pursuers from follow- 

 ing : but hunger gives the jackal the same de- 

 gree of boldness that fear gives the gazelle, 

 and it pursues even to the verge of the city, 

 and often along the streets. The gazelle, how- 

 ever, by this means, most frequently escapes ; 

 for the inhabitants sallying out, often disturb 

 the jackal in the chase ; and as it hunts by the 

 scent, when once driven off, it never recovers 

 it again. In this manner we see how expe- 

 rience prompts the gazelle, which is naturally 

 a very timid animal, and particularly fearful 

 of man, to take refuge near him, considering 

 him as the least dangerous enemy, and often 

 escaping by his assistance. 



But man is not the only intruder upon the 



jackal's industry and pursuits. The lion, the 

 tiger, and the panther, whose appetites are su- 

 perior to their swiftness, attend to its call, and 

 follow in silence at some distance behind/ 

 The jackal pursues the whole night with un- 

 ceasing assiduity, keeping up the cry, and with 

 great perseverance at last tires down its prey ; 

 but just at the moment it supposes itself going 

 to share the fruits of its labour, the lion or the 

 leopard comes in, satiates himself upon the 

 spoil, and his poor provider must be content 

 with the bare carcass he leaves behind. It is 

 not to be wondered at, therefore, if the jackal 

 be voracious, since it so seldom has a sufficien- 

 cy ; nor that it feeds on putrid substances, 

 since it is not permitted to feast on what it has 

 newly killed. Besides these enemies, the jack- 

 al has another to cope with, for betw een him 

 and the dog there is an irreconcileable antipa- 

 thy ; and they never part without an engage- 

 ment. The Indian peasants often chase them 

 as we do foxes ; and have learned, by expe- 

 rience, when they have got a lion or a tiger in 

 their rear. Upon such occasions they keep 

 their dogs close, as they would be no match 

 for such formidable animals, and endeavour to 

 put them to flight with their cries. When the 

 lion is dismissed, they more easily cope with the 

 jackal, who is as stupid as it is impudent, and 

 seems much better fitted for pursuing than re- 

 treating. It sometimes happens that one of 

 them steals silently into an out-house to seize 

 the poultry, or devour the furniture, but hear- 

 ing others in full cry at a distance, without 

 thought, it instantly answers the call, and thus 

 betrays its own depredations. The peasants 

 sally out upon it, and the foolish animal finds, 

 too late, that its instinct was too powerful for 

 its safety. 



THE ISATIS. 



As the jackal is a sort of intermediate spe- 

 cies between the dog and the wolf, b so the isa- 

 tis may be considered as placed between the 

 dog and the fox. This animal has hitherto 

 been supposed to be only a variety of the lat- 

 ter ; but from the latest observations, there is 

 no doubt of their being perfectly distinct. The 



Linnsei Systema, p. 60. 



t> In this description I have followed Mr. Buffoo. 



