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May 18, 1871] 
__ The Arabs in the Tih and in Morocco, as well as the Fellahin 
‘in Egypt, eat the lynx, and esteem it a delicacy, bnt, as some 
of them eat hyzenas, jackals, foxes, vultures, and ravens, they 
can hardly be quoted as epicurean authorities. 
Many animals have in Arabic a large number of names, more 
than 560, for instance, being applied to the lion. The following 
story current among them will illustrate this fact with reference 
to the cat. A Bedawiwas out hunting one day, and caught a 
eat, but did not know what animal it could be. As he was car- 
rying it along with him, he met a man, who said, ‘‘ What are 
you going to do with that Szaur?” then another asked him, 
“* What is that Aw/¢ for?” <A third called it Azrv, and others 
styled it succesively dhayitn, khaidad, and khaital. So the Be- 
dawi thought to himself, this must be a very valuable animal, 
and took it to the market, where he offered it for sale at 100 
dirhems. At this the people laughed and said, ‘* Knowest thou 
not, O Bedawi, that it would be dear at half adirhem?” He 
was enraged at having his dream of wealth thus rudely dispelled, 
and flungit away, exclaiming, ‘‘ May thy house be ruined, thou 
beast of many names, but little worth.” 
The Arabs say that the occasion of the cat’s first appearance 
was as follows. The inhabitants of the ark were much troubled 
with mice: Noah, in his perplexity, stroked the lion’s nose, and 
made him sneeze, whereupon a cat appeared and cleared off the 
“mice. 
_ Inthe East, as in Europe, a black cat is regarded as ‘‘ un- 
canny,” and various parts of it are used for magical and medicinal 
purposes ; its claws, for instance, are said to be a charm against 
the nightmare. 
Coney (Hyrax Syriacus) Ar. Wader (lit. fur, from the thickness 
of their coats) ghanem bent Israé—sheep of the sons of Israel. 
Some Arabs say that this animal may be eaten, but others, as in 
Sinai, declare that it is unlawful, and call it Abu Salman, or else 
the brother of man, and say that it was originally a man who was 
metamorphosed for his sins, and they believe that any one who 
eats him will never see his house again. It is a common joke 
“among the Hajjis and people of Mecca to say ‘‘ A good digestion 
to you who have eaten Abu Salman.” 
+ Dog, Ar. Xe/b (in Morocco jevo, which properly signifies 
puppy, whelp), is the ordinary dog. A large kind of rough grey- 
hound is called Sv/zh7, from the town Seluk, in Yemen.* This 
dog much resembles the Scotch deerhound (cf. Gaelic name, 
slogie). In Syria and east of the Jordan there is a variety which 
is smooth, but has its ears, tail, and legs feathered like a setter ; 
the females are said to be keener for hunting than the males, 
and black dogs are said to be the most patient. The dogs in 
Eastern towns live in communities, and have distinct bounds, 
usually ending at a street corner, and woe betide any dog who 
wanders beyond his own proper limits. I have often, when living 
at Cairo, amused myself by watching these animals. No sooner 
does a strange dog appear than all the rightful owners of the soil 
rush at him ; the intruder takes to his heels, but the moment he 
has reached his own frontier, he turns round and snarls defiantly 
at his pursuers, and if they do not quickly retire his friends come 
to his assistance and drive them back in turn. 
Dogs are said to have an intense hatred of hyzenas, so much 
-so that if a dog is smeared with the fat of a hyzna, he will go 
mad ; and—which seems inconsequent—if a person carries a 
hyzna’s tongue the dogs will not bark at him. This certainly 
would be most useful on entering an Arab encampment, 
for there a stranger is immediately surrounded by a pack of 
snarling brutes, who seem to sleep all day with one eye open, 
and at night to be continually awake and barking, either to 
frighten away some prowling jackal or lynx, or to repress some 
errant sheep or goat, who may wish to wander outside the circle 
of tents. 
The Arabs believe that a dog can tell a dead person from one 
feigning death, and say that the Greeks (A’007) never bury a person 
till they have exposed him to the dogs. It is, however, of only 
one breed that this is asserted, namely, the kind called e¢ Kalu, 
and which is of small size, with very short legs. It is also 
called the Chinese dog. Of the origin of this story Iam quite 
ignorant. The following is almost identical with a well-known 
Northern legend :— 
A king had a favourite dog, whom he left at home one day 
while he went out hunting. Having ordered his cook to prepare a 
dish of /ebex (sour milk) for him on his return, the cook 
obeyed the order, but carelessly left the milk uncovered, and a 
snake came and drank of it and rendered it poisonous. On the 

* The usual derivation, however, is ‘* Seleucia.” 
sel 
NATURE 

53 
king’s return the dog tried to prevent him from touching it ; at 
this moment the cook came in with some bread, which the king 
took and became to dip into the Zedev, when the dog immediately 
bit his hand. Upon this the king was very angry, and stretched 
out his hand again to the bowl ; the dog, however, was before 
him, and began to lap the sop, whereupon it straightway fell 
down dead. The king then became aware of the sagacity and 
faithfulness of the beast, whose loss he mourned ever after, and 
erected a splendid tomb to his memory. 
Donkey, Ar. Himdr, The donkey, much used by the Arabs, 
(for it will thrive in the desert where a horse could not exist) 
chiefly for carrying waterskins, as the Bedawin often encamp 
several miles from water, and the women bring up a supply every 
two or three days.* At Damascus there are three breeds of 
donkeys—(1) The white, which is most valuable, being sometimes 
worth 30/7. or 40/., and in Egypt I have heard of 60/. being 
given for a fine animal of this kind ; (2) the ordinary donkey, 
which is used for riding, &c. ; (3) A large donkey, standing from 
13 to 14 hands, which is used for carrying burdens in the town ; 
in the country, however, it is useless, as unlike the other breeds, 
it is far from sure-footed. 
The Wild Donkey, Ar. Air, fera, or himar wahshi, is found to 
the east of Damascus ; it is said to be very long-lived. 
Dugong (Halicore Hemprichi), Ar. otum (called by Dr. 
Robinson ¢#). This curious mammal is found in the Red Sea, 
and harpooned by the fishermen as it basks on the surface on the 
water. The skin is used by the Sinai Bedawin to make sandals 
of, for which purpose it is admirably adapted. In some parts of 
Arabia, it is said, that £4¢/af, or boots to protect the camels’ feet 
from the rocks, are made of it. Some commentators take the 
Heb. ¢achash, which is translated “ badger-skins,” to mean the 
otum, and there is an Arabic word, Zwkkas, applied to the 
dolphin species generally. 
Fox, Ar. Zudleb, Abou'l Husein. In the East, as in Europe, 
this animal is looked upon as the type of cunning, and number- 
less stories are current concerning it. The following are 
examples :— 
When a fox is over much troubled with fleas, he plucks out a 
mouthful of his hair, and then he takes to the water, holding the 
tuft in his mouth ; all the fleas creep up on to this to escape 
drowning, and the fox then drops it into the stream and retires, 
freed from his enemies. 
The celebrated Arabic author and theologian, Esh Shafiey, 
relates that when in Yemen, he and his fellow travellers prepared 
two fowls for dinner one day, but the hour of prayer coming on, 
they left them on the table and went to perform their devotions ; 
meanwhile a fox came and stole one. After their prayers were 
finished, they saw the fox prowling about with their chicken in 
his mouth, so they pursued him and he dropped it ; on coming 
up nearer to it, however, they found it only to be a piece of palm 
fibre, which the fox had dropped to attract our attention, and 
had, in the meantime, crept round and carried off the second 
chicken and left them dinnerless. 
The fox is said to feign death, and to inflate his body, and 
when any animal, prompted by curiosity, comes to look at him, 
he springs up and seizes it. 
The fable of the fox and stork is changed to the fox and raven ; 
the former invites the latter to dinner, and gives him soup in a 
shallow wooden bowl; the raven returns the compliment, and 
pours out some wheat over a s//eh bush. The szdleh is one of 
the most thorny of the desert plants. 
Another story told of the fox is, that one day he met five 
slaves, who were travelling with a large supply of food and other 
goods ; he joined them, and after a time they reached a well, but 
had no rope wherewith to draw up the water. The fox suggested 
that they should throw down the meal and that one of their 
number should go down and knead it, which was accordingly 
done. After a while the fox said to the four who remained above, 
*‘Your comrade must have found a treasure, why don’t you go 
down and share it?” This hint was enough, and they all hurried 
down, while the fox decamped with their goods and chattels. 
A fox’s gall is said to be a specific for epilepsy, and his fat for 
the gout. 
Gazelle (Gazella dorcas), Ar. male ’ard., fem. ghazaleh, also 
(chiefly in poetry) Dhabyeh (cf. Tabitha, Acts ix. 36). This 
gazelle is found in the more open parts of the country between 
Sinai and the Lebanon; their haunts vary much with the dif- 
ferent seasons. Though we never found any in the centre of the 

* A tribe in the Desert, towards the Euphrates, is said to use donkeys only, 
and to possess neither horses nor camels, 
