224 MAN-EATING HYENAS. 



The Hyena is too vexatious a neighbor not to be persecuted, and frequently falls a 

 victim to the treacherous spring-gun, in spite of the benefits which he confers on man- 

 kind by his unfailing energy in devouring every scrap of eatable food. 



To set a gun for the purpose of Hyena shooting is an easy matter, and is managed as 

 follows. The loaded musket is fixed horizontally to a couple of posts, about the height 

 of a Hyena's head. A string is then fastened to the trigger, one end of which is passed 

 behind the trigger guard, or through a ring placed for the purpose, and the other is firmly 

 tied to a piece of meat, which is hung on the muzzle of the gun. When a passing Hyena, 

 prowling about in search of prey, is attracted by the meat, he seizes it between his teeth, 

 and thus draws the trigger of the gun, lodging the bullet in his head. Tenacious of 

 life as is the Hyena, he falls dead on the spot. 



In order to attract the notice of the Hyenas, a piece of putrid flesh is dragged along 

 the ground so as to leave an odoriferous trail leading to the treacherous weapon. 



Taught by experience, the Hyenas have become so suspicious of an object which 

 they do not understand, and to which they are not accustomed, that the very sight of a 

 piece of string alarms them, and guards them from self-immolation in many a trap. So the 

 farmers, who chiefly set these explosive traps, match the creature's cunning by their own 

 superior intellect, and substitute the stems of creeping plants for the hempen cord or 

 leathern strings. These objects are regarded without suspicion, and by their assistance 

 the outwitted Hyena is laid low. 



In chasing living animals the Hyena employs the same caution that characterises 

 his ordinary proceedings. When they seize their prey the Hyenas carefully avoid those 

 spots where the affrighted animal might reach them with its hoofs, teeth, or horns. 

 They never seem to spring on the animal's neck, but hang on to its flanks, dragging 

 it to the ground by the mingled weight of their body and the pain of the wound. Many 

 veteran oxen and horses are deeply scarred in the flanks by the teeth of the Hyaena, 

 which has made its attack, but has been scared away or shaken off. 



The eyes of the Hyenas are singularly repulsive in their expression, being round, 

 dull, and almost meaningless. 



There are man-eaters among the Hyenas, and these hominivorous animals are greatly 

 dreaded, on account of the exceeding stealthiness and craft with which they achieve 

 their object. 



They very seldom endeavor to destroy the adult men and women, but limit their at- 

 tacks to the young and defenceless children. On dark nights the Hyena is greatly to be 

 feared, for he can be guided to his prey by the light of the nocturnal fires which do not 

 daunt an animal that is possessed by this fearful spirit of destructiveness, and at the 

 same time can make his cautious approaches unseen. As the family are lying at night, 

 buried in sleep, the Hyena prowls round the inclosure, and on finding a weak spot the 

 animal pushes aside the wattle bands of which the fence is made, and quietly creeps 

 through the breach. 



Between the human inhabitants and the fence, the cattle are picketed by night, and 

 would fall an easy prey to the Hyena if he chose to attack them. But he slips cau- 

 tiously amid the sleeping beasts, and makes his way to the spot where lies a young child, 

 wrapped in deep slumber. Employing the same silent caution, the Hyena quietly with- 

 draws the sleeping child from the protecting cloak of its mother, and makes its escape 

 with its prey before it can be intercepted. 



With such marvellous caution does this animal act, that it has often been known to 

 remove an infant from the house without even giving the alarm. 



It has already been mentioned that the Hyena is in no wise fastidious in its diet, 

 and that it will habitually consume the most indigestible of substances. Yet there seems 

 to be something capricious about the function of assimilating food, which, even in the 

 Hyena, is subject to remarkable fluctuations. To one of these animals, after a fast of 

 thirty-six hours, a dead rat was given, which, as might be expected, it immediately swal- 

 lowed. In fifteen minutes, the creature rejected the skin and bones of the rat, though 

 the same animal would have eaten with impunity the heavy bones or tough hide of a 

 veteran ox, or even would have made a satisfactory meal on a few yards of leathern strap. 



The following anecdotes of the Cape Hyena and its habits are taken from the MS. of 

 Captain Drayson, R.A., to which reference has already been made. 



