94 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



"The Dingo, the wild dog of Australia," says Mrs. Bowdich 

 "roams in packs through that vast country; has a broad 

 head; fierce oblique eyes; acute muzzle; short, pointed, 

 erect ears; tail bushy, and never raised to more than a 

 horizontal position. He does not bark, but howls fearfully; is 

 extremely sagacious, and has a remarkable power of bearing 

 pain. When beaten so severely as to be left for dead, 

 he has been seen to get up and run away. A man pro- 

 ceeded to skin one, not doubting that life was extinct, 

 and after proceeding a little way with the operation, he 

 left the hut to sharpen his knife. When he returned, the 

 poor animal was sitting up, with the loose skin hanging over 

 one side of his face." The Dhole of India, similarly himts in 

 packs, attacking and destroying even the tiger. Their sense 

 of smell is very acute, their bark similar to that of a hoimd, 

 their colour red or sandy. They have long heads, oblique 

 eyes, long erect ears ; and very powerful limbs. The Aguaras 

 of South America, says Mrs. Bowdich, resemble foxes. " They 

 are silent if not dumb, and appear to congregate in families 

 rather than packs. They have a peculiar propensity to steal 

 and secrete without any apparent object in so doing." 



The Dog. The dog divides with the horse the honour of 

 being the most intimate and devoted of the servants of 

 mankind. " His origin, " says Mr. Jesse " is lost in antiquity. 

 We find him occup)dng a place in the earliest pagan worship; 

 his name has been given to one of the first-mentioned stars 

 of the heavens, and his effigy may be seen in some of the 

 most ancient works of art. Pliny was of opinion that there 

 was no domestic animal without its imsubdued counterpart, 

 and dogs are known . to exist absolutely wild in various parts 

 of the old and new world." Whether the dog of civilization 

 is a descendant of these wild dogs, or whether the wild dog 

 is the progeny of domestic varieties relapsed into a condition 

 of savagery, and whether both are descended from the wolf 

 and the jackal has often been discussed. Certain it is that 



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