THE DHOLE. 215 



water. This variety is very common in Assam, 

 the Terai, and the Central Provinces. There is 

 also a third, or intermediate, variety, from which 

 the village or pariah dog is said to be descended. 



The dhole, or red dog, is the most dreaded by 

 the natives, and many are the stories they tell of 

 its ferocity and determination. They say it will 

 even attack the tiger and drive it off from its kill. 

 The dholes hunt in packs of from six to eight 

 (members of one family parents and pups), but 

 several packs have been known to combine to run 

 down large game, such as a cow-bison with a very 

 young calf, or an aged buffalo. I was once witness 

 of an attack of the wild dog on a solitary wild 

 buffalo of the largest size, and from what I then 

 saw I can well believe many of the native stories 

 of the courage and determination of these creatures. 



We were encamped in an open glade in the great 

 elephant forest of Jorda, about fifteen miles west 

 of the town of Bonai, in Chota Nagpore. It 

 was early morning, and the table for chota 

 hazri (early breakfast) was laid outside the 

 tent, when, while partaking of tea, we heard 

 an occasional " yap ! yap ! ' in the forest some 

 distance away. On inquiry the native trackers 

 told us that the sound proceeded from wild dogs 

 on the trail, and that they were following up game 

 of some kind, most probably a sambhur. The 

 noise approached nearer and nearer, until now 

 there was a great rustling in the forest and a magni- 

 ficent bull-buffalo trotted leisurely into the glade. 

 When he caught sight of the tents he stopped 



