THE SPOTTED HY^NA. 241 



from whence they sometimes carry off even the 

 children. One of them coming into a Negro's 

 house, on the coast of Guinea, kid hold of a girl; 

 threw herein spite of her resistance, on his back, hold- 

 ing fast by one of the legs ; and was makmg off with 

 her ; when the men, whom her screams had roused 

 from sleep, came to her relief. The beast dropped 

 her, and made his escape , but she was considerably 

 lacerated in different parts of her body by his 

 teeth *. 



Numbers of them attend almost every dark night 

 about the shambles at the Cape, to carry away tlie 

 filth and offal left there by the inhabitants^, who 

 suffer these their scavengers to come and return un- 

 molested. The Dogs too, with which at other 

 times they are in continual enmity, do not now mo- 

 lest them ; and on these occasions, it has been 

 remarked, they are seldom known to do any mate- 

 rial mischief. Thunberg informs us, that they are 

 so excessively bold and ravenous, as sometimes even 

 to eat the saddle from under the traveller's head, 

 and gnaw the shoes on his feet, while he is sleep- 

 ing in the open air t. 



They utter the most horrid yells in the night, 

 while prowling about for prey ; and their propensity 

 to these cries is so implanted in them by nature, that 

 one which was brought up tame at the Cape, was 

 often heard in the night to emit this dreadful noise :{:. 

 — During the day, they remain concealed in holes 



* Barbot, v. 209.— Bosnian, Q95. j Tiiunbeig, ii. 57. % Church. 



Vol. I. R 



