THE DOG FAMILY— DOG. 



207 



mountains of debris. These mounds serve as habi- 

 tations for the Dogs that have run wild. The ani- 

 mals are all of one breed, and are of the size of 

 a Shepherd Dog, but have an ungainly shape and 

 a repulsive expression of countenance. The tail is 

 long, rather bushy, and usually pendent; and the 

 color of their coarse, matted hair is a dingy, reddish 

 brown, sometimes merging into gray or yellow. 

 Other colors, more particularly black and light yel- 

 low, are sometimes seen, but not often. These 

 Dogs live on the elevations just described in a 

 condition of complete independence. There they 

 spend the greater part of the day in sleep, and 

 prowl around, at night. Each one of these Dogs has 

 his own habitation, which is arranged with peculiar 

 care, his home consisting of two holes, one of which 

 faces east and the other west. If the situation of 

 the mountain is such that the holes on both sides 

 are exposed to the north wind, each of the animals 

 digs for himself another 

 excavation, into which 

 he moves when the cold 

 wind annoys him in his 

 morning and evening re- 

 treat. In the morning 

 the Dogs can always be 

 found in the holes that 

 face toward the east un- 

 til about eleven o'clock, 

 for in these recesses 

 they await the first rays 

 of the sun to warm them 

 after the cold of the 

 night. The sunshine, in- 

 creasing in intensity, at 

 last becomes too warm, 

 and one Dog after an- 

 other arouses himself, 

 climbs over the summit 

 and slinks into his hid- 

 ing place on the other 

 side. When the after- 

 noon sun begins to an- 

 noy them in this retreat 

 the colony returns to the 

 holes on the east side 

 and stays there until 

 sunset. 



Then life begins in the 

 mountains. Large and 

 small troops and some- 

 times packs are formed. 

 Sounds of barking, howl- 

 ing, or quarreling are 



heard, according to the mood the animals are in. A 

 large carcass always causes them to collect in great 

 numbers; a dead Ass or Mule is eaten up even to 

 the largest bones by the hungry pack. If they' are 

 very hungry, they go to the carrion even in the day- 

 time, especially if their most disagreeable rivals, the 

 Vultures, should come down, and they fear their 

 competition. They are possessed of professional 

 envy to a high degree, and enter into violent com- 

 bats with all uninvited guests. Vultures are not 

 easily driven away and of all carrion-eaters offer 

 the most determined and courageous resistance, and 

 therefore it is from the competition of these birds 

 that the Dogs sustain the greatest loss. Carrion 

 forms the chief part of their food under all circum- 

 stances ; but these Dogs may sometimes be seen 

 mounting guard before a Mouse-hole like Cats, or to 



attack a bird, like Jackals or Foxes. When carrion 

 fails them, they undertake long journeys, enter cities 

 and prowl through the streets. As they clear away 

 vast quantities of filth they are tolerated though not 

 welcome guests, and nowadays it is probably very 

 seldom that a pious Moslem mentions them in his 

 will, as is said to have happened not infrequently in 

 former times. 



When resting in their proper abode these Dogs 

 are rather cautious and timid, and especially shun 

 people in European attire who may endeavor to 

 approach them. If one of the Dogs is attacked a 

 genuine uproar begins. A head appears at every 

 hole and in a few minutes the tops of the mounds 

 are covered with Dogs, which keep up an uninter- 

 rupted yelping. . I have hunted these Dogs several 

 times, partly for the purposes of observation, partly 

 with a view to procuring their flesh, which I used 

 either as bait for wild Vultures or to feed my cap- 



Afe 



DINGO. The wild Dog of Australia, known as the Dingo, is generally disliked by the present white inhabit- 

 ants because of the damage it causes among the flocks in the great Sheep ranges. The aborigines, however, frequently 

 tamed it sufficiently to make it an important assistant to them in the chase, ft is about as large as a medium-sized 

 domestic Dog, has a shaggy coat and a bushy tail, and makes its living by hunting the marsupials and rodents of the 

 southern continent. (Cants dingo.) 



tive Vultures and Hyaenas. During such hunting 

 expeditions I saw how these animals keep and live 

 together and I also observed the fact that they soon 

 learned to know and fear me. In Khartum, for 

 instance, it was impossible for me to shoot one of 

 these masterless Dogs, as they would not permit me 

 to approach them nearer than four hundred paces, 

 and they were so wary that they baffled every at- 

 tempt to get within gunshot. 



Sometimes the masterless Dogs increase in such 

 numbers as to become a plague. In order to get 

 rid of these pests Mohammed Ali once freighted a 

 ship with them and threw them overboard into the 

 deep sea. Fortunately cases of hydrophobia are 

 extremely rare among these animals, and instances 

 of persons having been bitten by a mad Dog are 

 nearly unknown. 



