CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. CARNIVORA. 197 



The Pariah is the half-domesticated dog of the towns and villages in the East. He is tolerated, 

 but as an outcast: he belongs to no one, dares to enter no house, and goes roaming about and 

 picking up a living in any way he can. He is of a mongrel breed, but yet has some of the 

 amiable qualities of his civilized relatives. Captain "Williamson tells us that, in some of the 

 ditches of the Carnatic forts, alligators are purposely kept, and all the pariah dogs found in the 

 forts are thrown into them as provision for these monsters. Some persons who have kept tigers 

 in cages have adopted the same means of supply for their royal captives, putting the poor 

 pariah through an aperture made for the purpose in the cage ; and they justify themselves by 

 asserting that they thus get rid of a troublesome breed of curs, most of which are unappropriated, 

 and which, being numerous, are very annoying to passengers, often wantonly biting them, and 

 raising a yelling noise at night, that sets all attempts to rest at defiance. 



It does not always happen, however, that the tiger kills the pariah put into his cage. M I 

 knew an instance," says Captain Williamson, "of one that was destined for the tiger's daily meal, 

 standing on the defensive in a manner that completely astonished both the tiger and the spectator. 

 He crept into a corner, and whenever the tiger approached, seized him by the lip or the neck, 

 making him roar most piteously. The tiger, however, impelled by hunger — for all supply of food 

 was purposely withheld — would renew the attack. The result was ever the same. At length the 

 tiger began to treat the dog with more deference, and not only allowed him to partake of the 

 mess of rice and milk furnished daily for his subsistence, but even refrained from any attempt to 

 disturb him. The two animals at length became reconciled to each other, and a strong attach- 

 ment was formed between them. The dog was then allowed ingress and egress through tin- 

 aperture ; and, considering the cage as his own, he left it and returned to it just as he thought 

 proper. When the tiger died, he moaned the loss of his companion for a considerable period." 



It is a curious fact, illustrative of the influence of climate, that in the East, all dogs of European 

 breed become, after every successive generation, more and more similar to the pariah or indi- 

 genous dog of that country. The hounds are the most rapid in their decline, and, except in the 

 form of their ears, they are very much like many of the village curs. Greyhounds and pointers 

 also rapidly decline, although with occasional exceptions. Spaniels and terriers deteriorate less, 

 and spaniels of eight or nine generations, and without a cross from Europe, are not only as good 

 as, but far more beautiful than, their ancestors. 



In Egypt, Constantinople, and throughout the whole of the East, there are in every village. 

 troops of wandering dogs which belong to no particular person. Each troop has its own quarter of 

 the place ; and if one wanders into a part which does not belong to him, its canine inhabitants 

 unite together and chase him out. At the Cape of Good Hope there are many dogs, half-starved. 

 On going from home, the natives induce two or more of these animals to accompany them and 

 warn them of the approach of any ferocious animal. If any of the jackals come near the walls 

 of the town during the night, uttering their piercing cries, the dogs sally out at the signal,, 

 and, uniting together, put the jackals to speedy flight. 



A wild variety of the pariah exists in Sumatra. It is described by Cuvier as " possessing the 

 countenance of a fox, the eyes oblique, the ears rounded and hairy, the muzzle of a foxy-brown 

 color, the tail bushy and pendulous, very lively, running with the head lifted high, and the ears 

 straight." This animal can scarcely be rendered tractable, and even when he is apparently 

 tamed, can rarely be depended upon. 



As we proceed through the Indian Archipelago, toward Australasia, we skirt the coast of Java. 

 Every Javanese of rank has lanre packs of dogs with which he hunts the muntjak, the deer of 

 that country. These are the indigenous breed of the island,— the body lank, the ears erect, 

 ferocious in their disposition, and with very little attachment to their mast rs. 



Egypt and Nubia present us with the first historical records of the dog ; here it was ancient]} 

 prized and honored ou account of its noble qualities, but the aversion of the Jews has passed to 

 the moderns, and at the present day it is held in general contempt and aversion not only through- 

 out these countries, but other parts of Africa. Here, as in India, there are troops of halt-wild. 

 outcast dogs in the towns and villages, scouring the streets for offal, and occasionally sweeping in 

 bands over the country in search of prey. The name of this species in Egypt is Dcub ; he is 



