72 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
course him, shoot him, bait him, entrap him, and skin 
him; and yet he is, without exception, the most useful lit- 
tle wretch in Hindoostan. Without him, the kite, and the 
argeela, in all probability that horrid scourge, the plague, 
would, before now, have paid us a visit. 
The night was a clear twilight, and taking up our guns, 
we left the budjrow at ten o’clock, and took up a position 
behind some felled timber, which lay on an open common, 
between the river and a vast track of woodland in front. 
We waited in silence and suspense for nearly an hour, 
though the spirit of locomotion was evidently stirring 
amongst the quadrupeds of the forest. First a few solitary 
howls were heard from the distant jungle; then the yelp- 
ing became louder and louder; and finally settled into one 
general chorus: 
“ ’Twas uproar all, 
From Niger eastward, to the affrighted Nile.” 
This dreary discord, which nightly disturbs the Indian 
woods, is so wild and melancholy, that it is not by any 
means agreeable to a stranger. Louder and louder grew 
the yells of the jackals, — and the long whining moan of 
the hyaena on the right, left, and to the front; they seemed 
to encompass us; we cocked both barrels, kneltdown, and 
prepared for action. On reaching the skirt of the jungle, 
the different packs appeared to separate in various direc- 
tions; and a troop of more than fifty made directly for our 
ambuscade, open-mouthed, and yelling like a legion of 
devils. It was a moment of delightful and thrilling sus- 
pense; we could not see the approaching enemy, but we 
could hear the hoarse barks of the old, and the shrill tre- 
ble of the young ones, coming down upon us like the 
wind. They were evidently on the scent of something — 
whether of ourselves, or otherwise, we could not guess; 
but we rested our guns over the trunk of a tamarind tree, 
and made ready to dispute the passage. In a second we 
could descry the dusky figures of the jackals, galloping 
towards us through the gloom; they drew nearer and 
nearer — three were a-head, the rest in a compact body 
behind — their noses to the ground, and their pace a long 
slouching gallop. “ A little nearer yet,” said I. “Fire!” 
Four barrels flashed and thundered through the darkness 
in a sharp and sudden volley: — the yells were hushed in a 
moment on every side; and we sallied from our ambush 
to return a list of the killed and wounded. 
One jackal lay struggling upon the ground, and soon 
gave up the ghost; — another lay motionless a few yards 
off, apparently quite dead; hut when I went to pick him 
up, the cunning brute gave a desperate gripe at my 
leg. Luckily for me, he seized the gun-barrel, and the 
deep mark of his fangs will remain impressed on it till it 
ceases to be a gun-barrel. 
From the dark forests arSund, the wild yellings of the ani- 
mals on all sides, and the Jonely solitude of the hour, 
jackal-shooting, by twilight, is not without its charms. 
Shikaree. 
SHEEP KILLED BY CATS. 
The last Lancaster Pa. Examiner says: — “Incredible 
as this may sound, we have good authority for saying the 
deed has actually been perpetrated in this county. Seve- 
ral cats of the common species, with their progeny, have 
for three or four years past made an old stone quarry in 
Marti c township their abiding place, and in that time, it 
would seem, have relapsed to the wild state, and ac- 
quired the ferocious and predatory habits natural to their 
tribe. A short time ago some of them were seen in pur- 
suit of a full-grown sheep belonging to the flock of Mr. 
Martin Herr, of that vicinity. The 5 r soon overtook it, 
dragged it to the ground, and before the person who wit- 
nessed the scene could reach the spot, they succeeded in 
so lacerating the poor animal’s throat, that it bled to death 
in a short time. It required considerable exertion to 
drive them off. A dog, subsequently sent in pursuit of 
them, caught one, but would probably have been himself 
worsted in the conflict that ensued, had not the owner 
come to his rescue. It is said they also pursued a small 
boy some time ago, and followed him a considerable dis- 
tance, as is now supposed, with deadly intent.” 
RECIPE TO CURE THE MANGE IN DOGS. 
Take 7 parts flower of sulphur, 
2 do. carbonate of ammonia, 
1 do. sulphate of copper. 
Pulverize the two latter ingredients to a fine powder, 
and mix the whole together with hog’s lard, to the consist- 
ency of soft paste. The dog should be rubbed well with 
this over all the parts affected with the mange, and repeat- 
ed on the third day. Once rubbing will generally suffice; 
but a second application of the ointment will certainly ef- 
fect a cure. D. 
