CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. CARNIYORA. 
197 
The Pariah is the half-doinesticated dog of the towns and villages in the East. He is tolerated, 
but as an outcast: he belongs to no one, dares to enter no house, and goes roaming about and 
picking up a living in any way he can. He is of a mongrel breed, but yet has some of the 
amiable qualities of his civilized relatives. Captain Williamson tells us that, in some of the 
ditches of the Carnatic forts, alligators are purposely kept, and all the pariah dogs found in the 
forts are thrown into them as provision for these monsters. Some persons who have kept tigers 
in cages have adopted the same means of supply for their royal captives, putting the poor 
pariah through an aperture made for the purpose in the cage ; and they justify themselves by 
asserting that they thus get rid of a troublesome breed of curs, most of which are unappropriated, 
and which, being numerous, are very annoying to passeng-ers, often wantonly biting them, and 
raising a yelling noise at night, that sets all attempts to rest at defiance. 
It does not always happen, however, that the tiger kills the pariah put into his cage, " I 
knew an instance," says Captain "Williamson, " of one that was destined for the tiger's daily meal, 
standing on the defensive in a manner that completely astonished both the tiger and the spectator. 
He crept into a corner, and Avhenever the tiger approached, seized him by the lip or the neck, 
making him roar most piteously. The tiger, however, impelled by hunger — for all supply of food 
was purposely withheld — would renew the attack. The result was ever the same. At length the 
tiger began to treat the dog with more deference, and not only allowed hira to partake of the 
mess of rice and milk furnished daily for his subsistence, but even refrained from any attempt to 
disturb him. The two animals at length became reconciled to each other, and a strong attach- 
ment was formed between them. The dog was then allowed ingress and egress through the 
aperture; and, considering the cage as his own, he left it and returned to it just as he thought 
proper. AVlien the tiger died, he moaned the loss of his companion for a considerable period." 
It is a curious fact, illustrative of the influence of climate, that in the East, all dogs of European 
breed become, after every successive generation, more and more similar to the pariah or indi- 
genous dog of that country. The hounds are the most rapid in their decline, and, except in the 
form of their ears, they are very much like many of the village curs. Greyhounds and pointers 
also rapidly decline, although with occasional exceptions. Spaniels and terriers deteriorate less, 
and spaniels of eight or nine generations, and without a cross from Europe, are not only as good 
as, but far more beautiful than, their ancestors. 
In Egypt, Constantinople, and throughout the whole of the East, there are in every village, 
troops of wandering dogs which belong to no particular person. Each troop has its own quarter of 
the place ; and if one wanders into a part which does not belong to him, its canine' inhabitants 
unite together and chase him out. At the Cape of Good Hope there are many dogs, half-starved.. 
On going from home, the natives induce two or more of these animals to accompany them and 
warn them of the approach of any ferocious animal. If any of the jackals come near the walls 
of the town during the night, uttering their piercing cries, the dogs sally out at the- signal,, 
and, uniting together, put the jackals to speedy flight. 
A wild variety of the pariah exists in Sumatra. It is described by Cuvicr as " possessing the- 
countenance of a fox, the eyes oblique, the ears rounded and hairy, the muzzle of a foxy-brown 
color, the tail bushy and pendulous, very lively, running with the head lifted high, and the ears 
straight." This animal can scarcely be rendered tractable, and even when ho is apparently 
tamed, can rarel}' be depended upon. 
As we proceed through the Indian Archipelago, toward Australasia, we skirt the coast of Java. 
Every Javanese of rank has large packs of dogs with which he hunts the muntjak, the deer of 
that country. These are the indigenous breed of the island, — the body lank, the ears erect, 
ferocious in their disposition, and with very little attachment to their masters. 
Egypt and Nubia present us Avith the first historical records of the dog ; here it was anciently 
prized and honored on account of its noble qualities, but the aversion of the Jews has passed to 
the moderns, and at the present day it is held in general contempt and aversion not only through- 
out these countries, but other parts of Africa. Here, as in India, there are troops of half-wild, 
outcast dogs in the towns and villages, scouring the streets for offal, and occasionally sweeping in 
bands over the country in search of prey. The name of this species in Egypt is Dcah ; he is 
