PB S3 2 6 3.

Presented to the
library of the

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

Mrs.

Andrew Kellogg

Ziiars so.

IP iLl IL JX cS 0

Engmvedforthf.J'talziraUst'slihranj.

LONDON. HENRY G BOHN.

YORK STREET. GOVENT GARDEN.

THE

NATURALIST’S LIBRARY.

EDITED BY

SIR WILLIAM JARDINE, BART.,

E.R.S.E.j F.L.S., ETC, ETC.

*

VOL. XVIII.

MAMMALIA.

DOGS. YOL I.

BY LIEUT. COL. CHARLES HAMILTON SMITH,

K.H. AND K.W.,F.K., AND L.S., PRESIDENTOE THE DEVON AND CORNWALL
NATURAL HISTOEV SOCIETY, ETC. ETC.

LONDON :

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK ST., COYENT GARDEN.

CONTENTS

OF

THE FIRST VOLUME.

PAGE

Memoir op Pallas . . 1 7

Chronological List of some of his Works . . 72

Introduction . . . . .77

The Canine Family in general . . .111

The Diurnal Canidse . . . . .128

Sub-genus I. Chaon. — Section I. Lupus. The Wolves . 129

The Common Wolf.

Lupus vulgaris. Plate I. . . . .148

The Black Wolf.

Lupus lycaon. Plate II. . . . .150

The American Wolves . . . .154

The Dusky Wolf.

Lupus nubilus. Plate III. . . .157

Wolf of Southern States, North America.

Lupus Meocicanus. Plate IV. . . .158

Section II. Lyciscus. — The Lyciscan Dogs . ,160

North American Prairie Wolf.

Lyciscus latrans. Plate V. .163

CONTENTS.

The Caygotte of Mexico.

Lyciscus cagottis. Plate VI .

Section III. Chryseus. — The Red Dogs
The True Dhole.

Chryseus scylax. Plate VII.

Dhole of Ceylon.

Chryseus Ceylonicus. .Plate VIII.

The Pariah Dog.

Chryseus pahariah . .

Sumatran Chrysseus.

ChryscBus Sumatrensis. Plate IX.

The New Holland Dingo.

Chrysceus Australice. Plate X.
Chryseus Javanieus.

Cams Javanieus

Section IV. Thous. — The Thoa Wild Dogs
Thous Anthus.

Canis Anthus . . ,

The Thous of Nubia.

Thous variegatus. Plate XI.

The Yenlee, or Pied Thous.

Thous mesomelas. Plate XII.

Senegal Thous.

Thous Senegalensis. Plate XIII. ,
Thous Tokla . . «

Wild Dog of Natolia.

Thous acmon. Plate XIV.

Section V. Sacalius. — The Jackals
The Common Jackal.

Sacalius aureus. Plate X V.

The Barbary Jackal.

Sacalius Barbarus , .

Sacalius Procyonoides.

Canis procyonoides * . .

Section VI. Cynalopex . .

Corsac Dog-Fox.

Cynalopex corsac. Plate XVL

PAGE

164

167

179

181

184

186

188

191

193

195

L38

199

• 201
203,

204

206

214

218

221

222

. 223

CONTENTS.

The Kokree.

Cynalopex koltree .

•

•

PAGE

226

Fulvous- tailed Dog-Fox.

Cynalopex: chrysurus

•

227

The Pale Dog-Fox.

Cynalopex pallidus. Plate XVII.

•

228

The Isatis.

Cynalopex inseclivorus

•

229

The Turkish Dog-Fox.

Cynalopex Turcicus. Plate XVIII.

•

231

Section VII. Megalotis. — The Fennecs or Zerdas

233

The Anubis Zerda.

Megalotis famelicus

235

Caama Fennec.

Megalotis caama. Plate XIX.

•

236

Fennec of Bruce.

Megalotis zerda. Plate XX.

•

237

Section VIII. Chrysocyon. — The Aguara Wolves

241

The Maned Aguara.

Chrysocyon jubatus. Plate XXI. .

•

242

Section IX. Dusicyon. — The Aguara Dogs

•

248

Hoary Aguara Dog.

Dusicyon canescens. Plate XXII. .

•

•

250

Falkland Island Aguara Dog.

Dusicyon Antarticus. Plate XXIII.

•

•

252

Aguara Dog of the Woods.

Dusicyon sylvestris. Plate XXIV.

•

•

254

The Crabodage, or Surinam Aguara Dog.
Dusicyon sylvestris. Plate XXV.

•

•

256

Dun-footed Aguara Dog.

Dusicyon fulvipes. Plate XXVI. .

•

•

257

Section X. Cerdocyon. — The Aguara Foxes

•

•

259

White-barred Aguara Fox.

Cerdocyon mesoleucus. Plate XXVII.

•

•

260

Guaraxa Aguara Fox.

Cerdocyon guaraxa. Plate XXVIIL

•

•

262

CONTENTS.

Crabodago Aguara Fox. pags

Cerdocyon Azarce. Plate XXIX. . . 264

Magellanic Aguara Fox.

Cerdocyon Magellanicus. Plate XXX. . 266

Skulls of Hyaena, Fox, and Newfoundland Dog, Plate XXXI.

Portrait of Pallas ..... 2

Vignette Title-page ..... 3

In sdl Thirty-three Plates in this Volume.

MEMOIR OF PALLAS,

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

— — Juvat integros accedere fontes
Atque haurire, juvatque novos decerpere flores.

Lucret . de Nat. Rer. bib. iv

Pallas, the illustrious subject of the following
Memoir, was probably the most eminent scientific
Naturalist whose name adorns the latter half of the
eighteenth century. His discoveries, in almost every
department of Natural History, are perhaps more
frequently quoted than those of any other author ;
and hence the interest that is very generally and
naturally felt respecting the particulars of his life
and history. No detailed and regular account, how¬
ever, so far as we know, has hitherto enriched the
annals of biography ; and though the work might be
difficult, we cannot entertain a doubtfthat its accom¬
plishment would amply repay the best exertions of
any one competent to the task.

18

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

“ When a man,” says Baron Cuvier, “ devotes
his whole life to science ; when entirely occupied
in making observations and in recording them, the
only suspension in his researches being that required
for their publication, it will easily be imagined that
his life will not exhibit many striking incidents,
and will be read accurately only in the analysis ol
his works. But if, besides, working only for men
of science cf his own grade, he despises all orna¬
ment ; if to assist him in the accumulation of facts,
he always clothes them in the simplest and most
meagre expressions, and leaves to others the humble
merit of deducing the results, then this analysis be¬
comes almost impossible ; and to make known his
works, it is necessary that we should copy them.
These remarks apply to Pallas. Removed in youth
from his family and country, a third of his life
was spent in the desert, and the rest in his study ;
and in both these situations he made an immense
number of observations, and wrote a great many
memoirs and volumes. All his writings dry, and
not composed with the object of pleasing, are yet
filled with important and novel remarks : they have
elevated the name of the author to the first rank
among naturalists, who peruse them without ceas¬
ing, and quote them in every page ; they are studied
and consulted with pleasure by the historian and
the geographer, by those who study the philosophy
of language, and the moral condition of the different
races of mankind. But it is precisely this multitude
of his labours, and their diversity, which compels

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

19

me to make his Eloge a kind of 4 table of contents,’
for which I must crave the indulgence of my audi¬
tory.”*

This eminent naturalist, Peter Simon Pallas,
was born in Berlin, September 22d, in the year
1741. His father, Simon Pallas, a native of Jo-
hannisburg in Prussia, was surgeon-major in the
regiment of Doenhof, and in 1741 was appointed
professor of surgery at Berlin, and chief surgeon 0
the public hospital of that city. His mother, Susai
Leonard, was of French extraction, being bom i
the colony of French emigrants which had for som
time been established in the Prussian metropolis.

Young Pallas received the early part of his edu¬
cation at home from private tutors, and made most
satisfactory progress in his studies. His father,
who intended him to follow his own profession,
entertained the judicious purpose of familiarizing
him, when still almost a child, with many lan¬
guages ; and the boy made such proficiency, tha
he could soon write almost equally well in Latii
and French, in English and German. The manifolc,
advantages accruing from this accomplishment, usu
ally so easily acquired in youth, were very apparen

* See Recueil des Eloges Hist, par M. le Che v. Cuvier , t. i

109 _ Of course we shall freely avail ourselves of this masterl

eloge, so far as it goes. The Baron states he was much as
sisted by L'Essai Biographique sur Pallas , which was read b
M. Rudolphi to the Academy of Berlin in 1812. This v
have not seen.

20

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

in the subsequent history of Pallas ; and its great
utility to every student of science is so manifest,
that it is matter of surprise the example is not more
generally, not to say universally, followed. This
acquirement was so little troublesome to the learner,
that he still kept ahead of his youthful comrades in
his other studies; and not content with what was
taught by his masters, he employed his leisure hours
in the study of natural history ; and with such suc¬
cess, that at the age of fifteen, he sketched ingenious
classifications of several groups of animals.

It was in his fifteenth year that Pallas entered
seriously upon his professional pursuits, and com¬
menced attendance on lectures upon anatomy and
physiology, botany and medicine, under Professors
Meckel, Sproegel, Rolof, and his father. So apt a
scholar was he in these several branches of science,
that in the beginning of the year 1758 we find him,
according to the account he gave to Mr Coxe, ena¬
bled to read a course of public lectures on anatomy.*
Yet although thus occupied in his professional la¬
bours, he found leisure to prosecute, under the special
auspices of one of his preceptors, Martin Schoeling,
the study of entomology and other branches of
zoology. In the autumn of the same year he re¬
paired to the university of Halle, where he attended
the lectures of the celebrated Segner on mathematics

* See Coxe’s Travels, and Rees’s Cyclopedia, under “ Pal¬
las where may be found by far the best sketch of his history
we have seen in the English tongue.

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

and physics, and also improved his acquaintance
with mineralogy, in the environs of that city.

In the spring of the year 1759 young Pallas
removed to Gottingen ; and though prevented by a
long and dangerous illness from prosecuting his
studies with his wonted ardour, yet he reaped much
benefit from the instructions of the physicians Roe-
derer and Vcegel, and improved his general know¬
ledge by diligently availing himself of the many
rare books belonging to the library. During his resi¬
dence at this celebrated university, he made numer¬
ous experiments on poisons and the effects of the
most potent medicines, applied himself to the dis¬
section of animals, and made many observations on
worms. On the last named subject, he at this time
composed an ingenious treatise under the title “ De
infestis Viventibus intra viventia ”* in which he seems
to have taken great pains to discriminate these noxi¬
ous animals, and to have described many of them
with singular accuracy.

In July 1760 Pallas was attracted to the univer¬
sity of Leyden by the fame of its celebrated profes¬
sors, Albinus, Gaubius, and Muschenbroeck ; and
by them he was noticed as a young man of pro¬
mising genius and indefatigable application. In
December he took his Doctors degree, and distin¬
guished himself by his inaugural dissertation, in
which he defended by new experiments, the treatise

* See list in the Appendix, where we have given as com¬
plete an enumeration as Ave could of the titles of his works,
chronologically arranged.

22

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

mentioned above as composed at Gottingen. This
Thesis seems to have been his first work, and was
published in the nineteenth year of his age.

At this epoch, the possession of numerous colo¬
nies all over the world, as well as the first and
longest established rank in commerce, had accumu¬
lated a vast number of rare natural productions in
the several museums of Holland, and natural history
itself was receiving a new impetus, from the taste
and attention bestowed upon it by the gifted mother
of the last Stadtholder. We cannot be surprised,
therefore, that during his stay at Leyden, this
science should have become the predominant pas¬
sion of our enthusiastic student, who employed all
the time he could spare from his professional pur¬
suits in visiting the public and private museums,
and in carefully noting what was most worthy of
attention.

Having visited the principal cities of Holland,
Pallas directed his course to London, where he
arrived in July 1761 ; the ostensible objects of his
journey to England being to improve his know¬
ledge of medicine and surgery, and to inspect the
hospitals. He was now, however, so much absorbed
in his contemplations on zoology, that he neglected
every other pursuit, and gave himself up entirely to
his favourite branch of science. At this juncture
his zeal was so ardent, that after having passed the
day in curiously examining the various collections
of natural history, and perusing the principal works
he could procure on the subject, he would frequently

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

23

employ the greater part of the night, and occa¬
sionally even whole nights together, in devouring
some new publication, which either awakened his
curiosity, or which bore upon his more immediate
researches. With the view of extending his infor-
mation, he took several journeys to the sea-coasts,
and more especially into Sussex.

Being at length summoned by his father to return
home, the young naturalist quitted London with
regret, in the latter end of April 1762, and repaired
to Harwich, in order to embark for Holland. Here
he was detained by contrary winds ; and while most
men would have regarded this circumstance as a
grievous annoyance, he turned it to profit, and re-
oiced in the opportunity it afforded of examining
the coasts and shores, and collecting a variety of
marine productions. On the 13th of May he landed
in Holland, and passing through the Hague, Ley¬
den, and Amsterdam, arrived in Berlin on the 1 2th
of June.

Previous to commencing the practice of his pro¬
fession, his father sent him to Hanover, for the pur¬
pose of procuring the post of surgeon in the allied
army ; but as peace was soon concluded, he returned
to his native city, where he spent a year, employed
chiefly in preparing materials for a “ Fauna Insec-
torum” or “ A Description of the Insects in the
March of Brandenburg.”

Animated by his predilection for natural history,
and encouraged by the favour and patronage of the
great Gaubius, he at length prevailed with his father

24 MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

to allow him to go and settle in Holland. Thither
accordingly he went, and took up his abode at the
Hague. His reputation at this time was so well
established, that he was the same year, 1764, at the
age of 23, elected Fellow of the Royal Society of
London, and in the following year, Member of the
Academie des Curieux de la Nature , to both of which
Societies he had previously sent interesting and
ingenious papers.

The intimacy which Pallas now contracted with
the celebrated naturalists in Holland, and particu¬
larly with those of the Hague, who had commenced
the formation of a literary society, — the free access
he had to the great museum of the Prince of Orange,
and other valuable cabinets, — the systematic cata¬
logues of these collections which he drew up, and
several of which he published, — contributed much to
advance his knowledge of the productions of nature
in the various quarters of the globe, and to the
collection of those materials which gave birth to the
many works on zoology which have deservedly
distinguished their author as the first naturalist of
his time. One of the earliest treatises which ren¬
dered him conspicuous was his Elinchus Zoophyto¬
rum, or “ Tabular View of Zoophytes.”

This could not be considered but as an extraor¬
dinary production for the time, proceeding from the
pen of any one, and was still more remarkable as
coming from so young a man. Haller characterizes
it as Princeps in hac classe opus , quae limites utrius-
que regni confundit , and adds, totam classem per

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

25

ma genera accurate definite speciesque* In its com¬
position he availed himself of all that had been
done before him, including the labours of Marsigli
and Roemphius, of Peysonelli and Trembley, and
especially of the more recent discoveries of Linnaeus
and Ellis. In the volume we find an Elinchus
Auctorum ad Historiam Zoophytorum Spectantium
W e thence perceive that he consulted no fewer than
a hundred treatises on the subject, and in the rich
collections of Holland he found treasures more
varied and extensive than probably had ever fallen
under the examination of any other individual.
All these he handled as a master. He divided
those he considered as true zoophytes into 15 genera
and 250 species ; and added three genera which he
considered doubtful, genera ambigua , comprehending
22 species. The former included, 1st, the Hydra ;
2, Eschara ; 3, Cellularia ; 4, Tabularia ; 5, Brachi-
onus ; 6, Sertularia ; 7, Gorgonise ; 8, Antipathes ;
9, Isis; 10, Millepora; 11, Madrepora; 12, Tubi-
pora; 13, Alcyonium ; 14, Pennatula; and 15,
Spongia. The three ambiguous genera are Tenia,
Volvoces, and Corallina. His definition of sponge
is animal ambiguum , crescens , torpidissimum ; and
he distinctly says that corals are to be referred to
the class of vegetables. But we must not enter
upon any thing like criticism : Cuvier remarks of
the work generally, “ that the clearness of his de¬
scription, and the care with which he refers the

* Bill. Bot. t. ii. 566.

26

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

synonyms of authors to his species, was quite
emarkable for an author of twenty-five years of
ge, and his 4 Introduction’ was still more so. With
egard to corals, he pointed out the errors of the
prevailing opinion, as if they had been a mere hive
o to speak, to the polypes. He demonstrated that
heir trunk itself is living ; that it is a kind of ani-
aal tree, with its branches and heads ; a composite
mimal, the stony portion of which is nothing more
than the common skeleton which grows, as do the
animals, but is not fabricated by them. Linnasus
was the first who energetically supported these bold
views, which are now adopted by every one.”
Pallas’s ideas concerning true corals excited the
attention of our countryman Ellis, who wrote an
admirable essay in reply, which silenced, if it did
not convince, his able adversary. It is somewhat
curious, notwithstanding the advance which has
been made in this department,* how truly it might
still be remarked concerning these doubtful genera,
the sponges and coralines, in the very words of our
author, “ A t verum fabricam eruere , hoc opus , hie
labor est.”

The history of our rising zoologist, not to say
Zoology itself, was this same year (1766) distin¬
guished by another and scarcely less remarkable
production of his pen. In this goodly quarto, of
more than two hundred pages, adorned with four-

* See Dr. Johnston’s Paper on the Nat. Hist, of British
Zoophytes, in the Magazine of Zoology and Botany, vol.
p. 229 ; and his History of British Zoophytes, 1838.

MEMOIR OF PALLAS. 2J

teen plates, as its title Miscellania Zoologica would
lead us to infer, a great variety of subjects are
brought under review. The author particularly
describes several species of vertebral animals new
;o science, and a number of invertebral, not wholly
lisregarding either insects or plants. ITe was en-
aged, as he states in his preface, for several years
n its preparation, and was induced to undertake
t from the great attentions and facilities he had
experienced in Holland.*

Though we must not attempt any thing like an
extended analysis, yet we .cannot pass by this inte-
. resting volume without a few remarks. It contains
a minute description of a species of bat, concerning
which family Pallas remarks, much was required
at the time to perfect the history. From its resem¬
blance to the shrew-mouse, he named it Vespertilio
soricinus ; it is the Glosophaga soricina of systema- •
tists, G. of Pallas of Desmarest. It was not more
than two inches in length, but was in many re¬
spects remarkable. It had been procured both in
Surinam and the West Indies ; and yet, he remarks,
its natural history was quite a blank. We need
scarcely remark, that our author, both with pen
and pencil, amply supplied this defb ieney. Though
many species are now included in the genus, yet no

* In Belgium triennio fere abhinc advena summa humani-
tate a curiosis et Scientise patronis excerptus fui. Ditissima
abinde, quibus Batavse urbes gloriantur, rerum naturalium
musea in hoc genus studii ardentissirno milii liberaliter patu-
erunt,

28

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

one has received a more detailed description. - The
next animal of which he gives an account is the
great flying-squirrel from the islands of the Indian
archipelago, by him denominated Sciurus petaurista ,
from the enormous leaps it takes by means of its
wing-like membranes. It is the Pteromys petaurista
of our systems. After briefly alluding to the dimi¬
nutive species of Northern Asia and America, which
had long been known, and mentioning the very
little that had been recorded of the animal before
us, by Yalentyn and in the Lettres Edijiantes , he
states, that he drew his description from three spe¬
cimens in the respective museums of Leyden, the
Hague, and the Prince of Orange. These gave the
size equal to that of a small rabbit, about eighteen
inches long. The description is accompanied by
an excellent representation, which is still copied
into some of our most popular works. Another
animal, concerning which he states that naturalists
had preserved the most profound silence, and which
he describes at length, supplying good figures, is
his Cavia Capensis (Caliai). He is at pains to
distinguish it from the water-hog ( Hydrochoerus),
and the Guinea-pig ( Cabaya ) of South America;
he also distinguished it from the agouti and the
aperia and paca of Marcgraf, &c. This animal is
now arranged as the Hyrax of Hermann, the Duman
of Buffon, Desmarest, &c. ; it is the Israel of the
Arabs of Mount Lebanon, and is generally regarded
as the Coney of the Sacred Scriptures. We shall
next allude to his Apis AEtliiopicus% which at pre-

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

29

sent stands as the Phasiochcerus A fricanus of syste-
matists, “ I shall now,” says he, “ describe a new
species of boar which is peculiar to Africa, and
possesses a very peculiar form ;” a form now gene¬
rally known, which consists principally in several
great excrescences about the snout, and which has
procured for it the popular name of the marked or
wart-hog . It was by mere inference that he con¬
cluded that it was the same as the boar of Mada¬
gascar ( Sus larvatus). His words are, “ I scarcely
doubt that the African boar seen by Adanson was
this species, and hence we may conclude it is found
in the whole warmer regions of Africa, at least as
far as the Niger. It is probably, too, an inhabitant
of Madagascar, according to the testimony of Flac-
court ; hence I conclude I may apply to it the name
Aper ZEthiopicus. This name is probably unfortu¬
nate, as it would appear that the characters of that
species described by Ruppel, A. JEliani , as existing
in that country, are sufficiently distinct.”* Passing
by the short paper in which he maintains that the
opossum and ant-eaters are not confined to the New
World, we shall draw our account of the quadru¬
peds mentioned in this volume to a close, by stating
that there is a minute description first given in this
work, not in the Spicilegia Zoologica , as it is fre¬
quently stated, of the Grim, or Antilope grimmice :
this is preceded by a monograph of the antelopes,
in which they are divided into three genera and
seventeen species.

* See the Naturalist’s Library, Mammalia, vol v. n. 219.

30

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

We must not stay to make any remark on his de
scription of a crane, his Grus crepitans , the golden¬
breasted trumpeter of Linnaeus ; neither shall we say
a word on the insects he describes, species of Onisci ,
of a marine A car us, and of the Cicada ; nor shall
we dwell upon several zoophytes , actinia , and pen-
natulce , which he again introduced to notice ; but
shall add, that to more than any, or than to the
whole of the foregoing, inclusive, he directed his
attention to the great class Mollusca , which our
readers will remember immediately succeeds the
vertebral animals, and precedes insects ; and includes
shell-fish, worms, &c. We repeat, that more than
one half of the Miscellanea is devoted to this most
interesting and difficult class ; and with a degree
of acuteness and success 'which was scarcely inferioi
to that which attended his researches regardin;
zoophytes.

We dwell the longer on this volume, because w
conceive that, from a variety of causes, it has no
taken that rank in general estimation to which it
fully entitled. One reason of this appears to hav
been, that the author almost immediately afterward
brought out a second edition, we may call it, of tin
part of the volume which treated of quadrupeds i
his Spicilegia Zoologica , although much is omitte.
in this latter which appears in the former : and ano
ther and equally influential cause is to be found ir
the difficulty of the investigation connected with th(
mollusca. As our space does not allow us to dilate,
we shall simply state, that he dwells at considerable

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

31

length on the Anomies, Serpulcs, the Nereides and
Aphrodites, the Echiureee , Lumbrici , and Hydatids.
Instead, however, of passing any opinion of our own,
we will here adduce the sentiments of Cuvier: —
“ What would have excited the liveliest astonish¬
ment, if the public at the time had been in a condi¬
tion to appreciate it, was the sudden light which
Pallas threw on those classes of the animal economy
which were least known, and which had long been
huddled together under the common appellation of
worms. Not permitting himself to be imposed upon
by the errors of Linnaeus, any more than by those
of Buffon, he demonstrated that the presence or
absence of a shell could not furnish a satisfactory
basis for their arrangement, and that the whole ana¬
logy of their structure should be regarded ; that in
this respect the ascidia are properly analogous to
bivalve shells, * * *, that the univalves are more
nearly connected with snails, and that the Aphro¬
dites , whose anatomical structure he beautifully
elucidated, should be approximated to the nereides,
serpulse, and other articulated worms, whether they
have shells or not. Assuredly,” he continues, “ the
naturalist whose glance was so piercing, could have
dispelled the chaos which enveloped those inverte-
bral animals, if he had continued to prosecute his
investigations; but at the time he published his
views, they were not quite matured. Those errors
which a little trouble would have speedily corrected,
probably contributed to delay a necessary revolution
ot opinion till a subsequent period ; and we here

32

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

see how often progress is arrested by the slightest
circumstance. The most astonishing thing of all is,
that he himself neglected to prosecute these beauti¬
ful observations/’

To Cuvier’s remarks on this portion of the trea¬
tise, we must not omit to add his general estimate
of this too much neglected work. “ W e cannot,” he
observes, “ behold, without astonishment, so young
an author unite the merits of the two great masters
who then divided between them the empire of
science. He boldly took for his models the great
French naturalist and his assistant Daubenton ; he
charged himself with their double work, and with¬
out allowing himself to be dazzled by their authority,
he conjoined, with the profound sagacity of the one
and the patient accuracy of the other, those precise
and methodical views which were too much ne¬
glected by them both.”

After this brief critique and analysis, both of that
part of the work which treats of the mollusca, and
of the vertebrata, no one we apprehend can doubt
that this was a production of the rarest merit ;
which, appearing within a few months after tjie
JElinchus Zoophytorum, could not fail most deservedly
to raise the character of the author to the very first
rank among naturalists.

In the dedication prefixed to this work, the author
laid before the Prince of Orange a plan for a voyage
to the Cape of Good Hope and to the other Dutch
settlements in the East Indies, and which, impelled
by his wonted ardour for scientific knowledge, he

MEMOIR OP PALLAS.

offered to undertake and superintend. This project
was strongly recommended by Gaubius and ap¬
proved of by the Prince, but was prevented from
being carried into execution by the authors father,
who not only refused his consent to his taking such
a distant expedition, but even recalled him to Ber¬
lin. In obedience to his fathers wish, but with the
greatest reluctance, he quitted Holland in Novem¬
ber 1766.

On his return to his native city, his only consola¬
tion for his separation from his friends in Holland,
and in having lost so many opportunities of improv¬
ing himself, consisted in arranging the vast stock of
materials he had collected, and the observations he
was unceasingly making, and presenting them to the
public. This he did in that work so well known
and so often quoted, the Spicilegia Zoologica , which
was somewhat on the plan of our modem periodi¬
cals, coming out in successive numbers, though not
rigorously restricted as to time. It extended to thirty
or forty quarto pages letterpress, and was illustrated
with excellent engravings, both of the entire ani¬
mals, and of the parts of their structure which were
insisted upon. Four numbers only were at this
time brought out under his own eye at Berlin ; they
appeared, however, in less than six months, thus
supplying new proof of the unwearied energy of the
author.

As we have already remarked, this volume might
be regarded as an improved edition of a part of the
Miscellania. The first number is occupied wholly

C

34

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

with what we have designated a Monograph of
Antelopes. Here the general description is some¬
what altered, and sixteen species are enumerated ;
and to the minute account of the Grim, that of the
Cervicapra is added ; the second fasciculus contains
the Apis JEthiopicus and the coney or cavia, both
of which are somewhat further illustrated ; the third
is wholly occupied with bats, and another new
species is added, the Cephalotes of Geoffrey ; and
the last treats of the crane before mentioned, and
the crested and mitred guinea-fowls of Africa.

But the work, together with Pallas’s residence in
Berlin, were brought to a sudden close, by his being
invited by the Empress Catherine II. to accept of
the professorship of natural history in the Imperial
Academy of Sciences at St Petersburg ; and although
in this instance his father and other relatives again
refused their assent, yet his own ardent zeal for his
favourite science induced him, without a moment’s
hesitation, to accede to the invitation, and to hasten
his departure for a country where his curiosity was
so likely to be amply gratified. He accordingly
quitted his native land in June 1767, and arrived
in Petersburg on the 10th of August.

His stay, however, was likewise very short in
this capital, as his services were almost immediately
put in requisition in connexion with an important
and extended scientific expedition. The reigning
Empress was excited to promote this measure by a
somewhat curious circumstance. At the time of
the transit of Yenus over the sun’s disk in 1763, the

MEMOlrt OF PALLAS.

35

French government despatched the Abbe Chappe
d’Auteroche to Tobolsk to make the required ob¬
servations; and he, on his return, published an
account of what he had seen, the sarcastic tone of
which so irritated the Empress that she took the
trouble, it is stated, to refute him herself. On this
account, too, she was unwilling that foreigners should
again undertake the examination of a similar transit
of Venus in 1769, and she therefore appointed
astronomers of the Imperial Academy to undertake
it, conjoining with them naturalists also, who were to
examine and report on the face of the country. To
this latter project she was the more excited, from
her recently having made a progress down the V olga
and through the interior provinces of European
Russia. She had then become aware of the great
deficiencies of the existing topographical and geo¬
graphical information, and saw the advantages
which would accrue from deputing learned and
skilful men to visit the distant provinces of her
extensive dominions, with a view to enlarge the
boundaries of science and extend a knowledge of
the useful arts among the natives. On being made
acquainted with these plans, Pallas immediately
offered to accompany the expedition, and was
eagerly accepted. In consequence of the orders of
the sovereign, the Academy amongst others named
Messrs Pallas, Lepechen, Gmelin the nephew, Gul-
denstrasdt, and Georgi as members of the commis¬
sion, which upon the whole consisted of these five
naturalists and seven astronomers and mathemati-

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

36

cians, and of a great number of assistants, whose
services were to be devoted to the several objects of
pursuit. To Pallas was entrusted the preparing
the general instructions for the naturalists, and he
was gratified with the choice of his more immediate
associates : on him too was conferred, at his own
request, the conduct of the expedition to the east
of the Volga, and towards the extreme parts of
Siberia.

Pallas spent the winter previous to his departure
in Petersburg ; and in the midst of his innumerable
preparations, found time for a multitude of scientific
labours. He drew up a systematic catalogue of the
animals in the museum of the Academy of Sciences ;
he arranged the celebrated collection of Professor
Breyn of Dantzic, which has been lately purchased
by Prince Orlof ; and prepared for the press six
additional numbers of the Spicilegia Zoologica , which
were printed at Berlin, during his absence, under
the direction of Dr Martin.* The work, however,
which produced the liveliest sensations at the time,
was a memoir which was read to the Imperial Aca¬
demy concerning the bones of the great quadrupeds
which are so often found in Siberia ; among which
he recognized those of the elephant, rhinoceros, buf¬
falo, and many others belonging only to intertropical
countries, and in quantities which are quite enor¬
mous. These statements raised the attention of all
the naturalists in Europe to these astonishing ap-

* These we haver not been able to procure.

MEMOIR OF PALLAS. 37

pearances, and excited an interest which has since
yielded an abundant harvest.*

Our Naturalist set off from Petersburg in June
1768, and having passed through Moscow, and
crossed the plains of European Russia, spent the
winter at Simbirsk on the Volga, in the midst of
those Tartars who were originally masters in Russia,
but wdio have since devoted themselves to agricul-
ture. He then moved forwards to Orenburg, which
is the great rendezvous for the migratory hordes
who wander over the salt deserts on the north of
the Caspian, and who conduct the caravans which
convey the commerce of India across the deserts.
Descending the river Jaik, or Oural, he stopped at
Gurief, a small Russian fortress upon the Caspian,
and with much care examined that great sea, which
formerly, according to him, was much more exten¬
sive, and whose ancient shores may still be recog¬
nized at a great distance from its present waters
towards the north and west. Returning through
the province of Orenburg, he spent the second win¬
ter at Ufa.

The year 1778 was employed in visiting the two
slopes of the Oural mountains, and the numerou*
iron mines which have been worked among them ;
and which have supplied to many families, in a
few generations, fortunes equal to those of European
princes. In December he reached Tobolsk, the
capital of Siberia, and there wintered. I11 1771 he

* Nov. Com. Petro. t. xiii.

38

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

crossed the Altaisk mountains, followed the course
of the Irtish as far as Kolivan, where he inspected
the celebrated silver mines, and finally arrived at
Krasnoyarsk, a town upon the Enissey. In spring
1772 he set off for another district which is still
richer in mines, and which belongs to the crown,
on the northern slope of the Altay mountains, the
great chain which extends from east to west, and
which, by obstructing the south wind, imposes on
Siberia a climate much more rigorous than its lati¬
tude indicates. After advancing still farther east¬
ward, he crossed the great lake Baikal, and traversed
that mountainous country known under the name
of Daourie, which extends to the frontiers of China.
He here experienced so great a cold, that he wit¬
nessed the natural freezing of mercury, — which
phenomena lie minutely described. It was in these
regions that he for the first time began to witness a
complete difference from every thing seen in Europe :
the plants assumed new forms, and the animals, of
kinds altogether unknown to us, climbed the rocks,
having wandered from the immense deserts of cen¬
tral Asia. After having met with a great many
hordes who were half savage, he here at length
discovered a civilized nation, but one whose civi¬
lization is very different from any thing seen in
Europe ; and he could not prevent himself from con¬
cluding that the Chinese were a race distinct from
the others, so far back at least as the last great catas¬
trophe of the globe, and which in its developement
had followed a course alike isolated and peculiar.

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

39

Retracing his steps, after having passed a second
winter at Krasnoyarsk, our traveller returned in
1770 to the Oural and the Caspian, visited Astra-
kan, and there studied the manners and characters
of the Indians, Ruchares, and other inhabitants of
southern and central Asia who unite in composing
the extraordinary population of that city. He then
resorted to the Caucasus, the great nursery of the
white races of mankind, — as the mountains of Da-
aurie appear to be of those of a yellow hue. He
again passed the winter at the foot of that range
which separates the Volga from the Tana'is, and
finally returned to Petersburg on the 30th of July,
after an absence of six years. During the time that
he himself pursued the principal route, he was in
the habit of despatching several of his young asso¬
ciates in different directions to investigate whatever
was important, and then carefully availed himself
of their observations.

Five goodly quartos, with another of plates,*
were the immediate result of these travels. W e say
immediate, because their publication did not wait
the return of the author, but, on the contrary,
according to the plan prescribed by Count Orlof,
president of the Academy, the MSS. were sent
every year to Petersburg, and were published as
soon as they arrived. In consequence probably of
this plan, very different estimates have been made of

* See Appendix. Voyages da Pallas Traduits de U All&-
nuind. Paris, 1/88.

40

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

the character of these “ Travels and whilst some
have conferred on them the highest eulogiums, more
perhaps have bestowed only limited praise. As
exhibiting the sentiments of the former of these
classes, we shall adduce only the testimony of the
illustrious De Saussure, a no less competent than an
unexceptionable judge. “ The accounts,” he says,
“ of these long and painful journeys comprehend all
that can interest the naturalist and the statesman ;
and they are perhaps the grandest and most beauti¬
ful specimen of this kind of work which we possess.”
With this we connect the criticism of the judicious
Cuvier : — “ It may easily be supposed that thus
working in haste, and in these solitudes, without
books and every means of reference, the author must
necessarily have fallen into some errors, insisted
upon familiar matters as if they were unknown,
and been guilty of repetition. It must moreover be
conceded, that he might have infused more life into
his narrative, and given greater prominency to the
more interesting objects which he met. It can
scarcely be questioned that the long and dry enu¬
meration of mines and forges, and the often repeated
catalogues of common plants and birds he encoun¬
tered, do not supply agreeable reading. He does
not carry his readers along with him, nor, like more
fortunate authors, pourtray the features of Nature’s
grandeur to the eye, nor the singular peculiarities
of those who passed under his review. At the same
time, however, it must be allowed, that the circum¬
stances in which he wrote were any thing but

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

41

favourable. Long winters of six months duration,
spent in a miserable cabin, with black bread and
brandy for his only luxuries, at a temperature which
froze mercury, and a summers heat almost insup¬
portable the few weeks it lasted ; with his time
fully occupied in clambering rocks and fording mo¬
rasses, in pioneering a road through thick forests,
amidst myriads of insects which darken the air, and
almost devour you, amongst people who bear the
stamp of all the miseries of their country, generally
disgustingly dirty, often frightfully ugly, and always
dreadfully stupid, — all this could not but damp the
liveliest imagination.”

In encountering these very different estimates of
our author s most voluminous work, it will be well
to consider the real aim he had in view. He under¬
took a journey over regions which were almost
wholly unknown to the civilized world ; he did so
at the country’s expense, and under the most favour¬
able and illustrious auspices ; expectation was in the
last degree excited, and curiosity was impatient for
gratification, so that each volume was published as
it was filled. Under these circumstances the work
could only be considered as a journal or itinerary,
and it should never be regarded in any other light.
This was unquestionably the light in which the
author himself regarded it, as it was the view taken
by his contemporaries, and hence the high mead of
praise they so invariably bestowed upon it. As the
author himself remarks, “ the encomiums which
many learned men have bestowed on this treatise

42

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

have been most flattering to me ; and I can affirm
that the only knowledge I have of them is from their
works and general reputation. I regard their suf¬
frage as a most ample reward for all my fatigue and
suffering, though at the expense of my health ; and
I am content, because I have fulfilled the wishes of
my sovereign and the Academy.” His own apology,
and his plan, must we think be satisfactory to every
one : “ I shall mention only what appears to me the
most necessary, and I shall do it as laconically as I
can. I have bestowed the most scrupulous care on
all my observations ; in my estimation, truth is the
first requisite of the traveller, and it has been my
principal object in my own remarks, and in all the
observations of others which I repeat. If I had
had time at my disposal, and a library at my back,
my work would have been more beautiful and
richer. I may possibly have inserted some remarks
which will be regarded imperfections by many, but
I owe them to a class of readers who find them
agreeable : I have only had two months to prepare
this great volume, and I therefore anticipate indul¬
gence.”

Probably the most satisfactory method of enabling
the reader to form his own estimate of the style and
merit of this work will be to present him with some
extracts ; and though these must be necessarily few
and short, yet from the pervading uniformity, they
may prove sufficient. “ This day the ice broke up on
the Samara (a tributary of the Volga) ; on the 9th
of April the waters began to rise, and on the 11th

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

43

the Volga was so far cleared that two-thirds of its
bed was free of ice. The north wind which pre¬
vailed on the 13th very much hastened the descent
of the ice, till the 15th, when it was entirely free.
It rarely happens that the opening of the river is
later than this date, and sometimes it is accom¬
plished in March. The weather was beautiful and
the country was covered with flowers by the middle
of April. The willow and hazel-nut began to flower
on the 14th ; between the 15th and the 17th, all
the cleared spots were strewed with patentilla and
spring Adonis, and the star of Bethlehem. Violets
and anemonies surrounded the shrubs in full blos¬
som. The birch and service now put on their
summer garb, as did most other shrubs by the
20th. The almond-tree and the wild cherry, the
tulip and scented iris, blue and purple, yellow and
white valerians, astragulus, and very many other
flowers were in blossom before the 20th of April,
and formed an agreeable carpet upon all the hills.
The wild apple and the arbutus, which is very
common about Samara, were in flower by the end
of the month, as well as the fruit-yielding robinia
and the prickly cysticus, which generally affects all
the moist parts of the moors.

“ Birds of passage had made their appearance at
an earlier date. By the 19th of March we noticed
flocks of geese and wild swans ; by the 25th, quan¬
tities of all sorts of ducks appeared in the free parts
of the river ; lapwings did not show themselves till
the 26th, but before the end of March all the aqua-

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

44

tic birds had arrived. I have remarked, that not
only in these countries, but generally throughout
Europe, those birds of passage come from the west
and north-west ; whilst it is also true that the bit¬
tern and the stork, of which there is a species here
quite white, as also cranes and other land-birds,
come about the same time from the south. The
common and ash-coloured crow appeared about the
middle of March, and consequently were the first
visitors of that class : the wood-pigeon, the starling,
and the alpine lark appeared only towards the end
of the month ; they come in flocks, and are as com¬
mon as sparrows Among the latest visitants was
the beautiful hoopoe, and it too was in great num¬
bers. Insects appeared at the same time as the
flowers. Notwithstanding the extraordinary heat,
and the great number of insects, swallows did not
arrive before the 16th of April, though they pre¬
ceded the wasp. This is a proof that swallows are
really birds of passage ; because, if not, they should
have arrived at least at the same time with the
insects. The fable of swallows hybemating at the
bottom of the streams, is unknown in Russia;
although there is not a country in the world where
fishing is prosecuted with greater ardour, and where
the net is so much employed, both in winter and
spring.” — T. i. 224—227.

One other specimen we shall supply. “ It would
be difficult to find a more delightful locality than
the neighbourhood of Samara. It is rich in superb
forests of birch and aspens^ occasionally mixed with

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

45

firs, and varied by hills and rich meadows. Few
countries more deserve to be peopled. It abounds
in rich arable land and green valleys, and here are
found in great numbers every variety of the elk and
deer. These separate during the winter, in the
woods and thickets which skirt the rivers and
streams, as well as over the moors and mountains.
There the elks browse upon the young shoots and
bark of the aspen and poplar, which grow in great
luxuriance : they here also find excellent shelter in
summer, and abundant nourishment upon the moun¬
tains and heaths. The roe-buck thrives equally well,
as the wind sweeps the snow from the heights, and
they feed on the herbs thus exposed. The Cossacks
every year kill a great number of these animals.
They pursue them chiefly in March : at this period
the power of the sun melts the surface of the snow,
and the evening cold produces a layer of ice, which
enables them to move over it with wooden shoes,
whilst the poor animal sinks deep with its hard and
sharp hoofs. They track their footsteps into the
valleys where the snow is deep, and fire as soon as
within gunshot ; and the dogs, which can run won¬
derfully on the snowy crust, so arrest their flight,
that the hunters approach and despatch them with
their lances. The skins are greatly esteemed, and
sell at a high price ; they are beautiful, very light,
and almost water-proof.” — T. i. 304 — 305.

We mentioned in a former page that Pallas
prepared the instructions for the guidance of the
zoologists, and they were fully as ample as these

46

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

documents usually are. And now we may venture
to add, that with scarcely an exception, there was
not a single subject indicated, on which he did not
bestow a most enlightened and unceasing attention,
and accomplished all that could be desired, in a
way that is alike calculated to excite wonder and
admiration. The “ Travels” are filled with an in¬
finity of judicious and learned remarks, and present
much information of the highest value to history
generally, and to that of our race especially. Man,
and still more the various tribes he encountered,
receive a large share of attention; their natural
dispositions and habits ; their religions, supersti¬
tions, rites, and ceremonies ; their diseases, and
popular and peculiar remedies; along with their
languages, in their various affinities and contrasts ;
as also the important subject of antiquities, con¬
nected with architecture, sepulture, &c. ; likewise
their employments, whether in agriculture and hor¬
ticulture, including the rearing of cattle and horses,
the management of forests and vineyards, the pro¬
duction of dye-stuffs, drugs, cotton, mulberries,
silk-worms, bees, cochineal ; or in arts and manu¬
factures, as of leather, pottery, potash, soda, sulphur,
vitriol, ardent spirits, wines, &c. ; not forgetting
their fisheries, so requisite among those observing
the superstitions of the Greek church ; and their
trade and commerce generally ; — these, and similar
matters, obtain all due regard. Geology and mine¬
ralogy are scarcely second in his regards, and we
might extract volumes on this subject alone which

MEMOIR OP PALLAS.

47

could not be read but with the deepest interest.
He descants largely on salt lakes and mines, on
sulphur mines, lakes and rivers, on many of the
rarer minerals, and very largely on mining, espe¬
cially of iron, copper, and silver. Some of our
readers may remember that of those extraordinary
bodies the metallic stones, one of the most famous
has the name of Pallas attached to it, from his being
the first who made it generally known. It was
isolated on the surface, upon the top of a mountain,
far from every appearance of any volcano or mining
operation, and weighed 1600 pounds. The metal
was quite maleable when cold, was cavernous, and
studded with quartz. The Tartars declared it had
fallen from heaven, and regarded it as sacred. The
famous chemist Berzelius has lately devoted his at¬
tention to the composition of many of these stones,
which he divides into two species, and among others
to that of Pallas.* Our author’s minute and very
interesting details, we must altogether omit.

It is not because the author has given an inferior
attention in these Travels to natural history that we
notice it last, but for the very opposite reason : this
was certainly to have been expected, and in all its
departments there are never ending acute and most
interesting statements. In addition to all the in -
formation in the body of the work, he subjoins at
the end three supplements in Latin which contain
a classical description of three hundred and ninety-

* New Edin. Phil. Journ. vol. xxii. p. 1,

48

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

five quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, worms,
and plants which he had examined with care, and
many of which were new, or previously imperfectly
described.

It was here was supplied the first description of
an extinct rhinoceros which was found in December
1771, in the Yilui, a branch of the Lena, where
was found the somewhat similar fossil elephant in
1801. It was considerably advanced towards decay,
imbedded in a sandy bank, six feet above the water.
It measured about eleven feet in length and ten and
a half in height. The carcase of the animal, in all
its bulk, was still covered with skin ; but it was
so far gone that only the head and feet could be
removed. “ I saw the parts," says Pallas, “ at
Irkutsk, and at the first glance perceived they be¬
longed to a rhinoceros fully grown ; the head espe¬
cially was easily distinguished, since it was covered
with the hide, which had preserved its organization,
many short hairs remaining upon it. The country
watered by the Vilui,” he adds, “ is mountainous,
and the strata horizontal : they consist of sandy and
calcareous schists, and beds of clay mixed with
great quantities of pyrites. * * * Near the spot
and close to the river there is a little hillock of about
ninety feet elevation, and which, though sandy,
contains beds of grind or mill-stone. The body of
the rhinoceros was buried in a coarse sandy gravel,
near this hillock ; and the nature of the soil, which
is always frozen, must have preserved it. The ground
is never thawed to any great depth near the river

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

49

In the valleys, where the soil is half sand and half
clay, it is still frozen, at the close of summer,
two feet below the surface. Had it not been for
these circumstances, the skin and other soft parts
could not have been so long preserved. This crea¬
ture could not have been transported from the
torrid zone to these frozen regions, except at the
time of the deluge ; the ancient chronologies being
silent concerning any later change, to which might
be attributed these remains of the rhinoceros, mam¬
moth, &c. every where found throughout Siberia."
— T. iv. 130.

It is in this work likewise that we find the first
detailed account of the Dziggtar or wild horse of
Tartary, which the natives assert is the swiftest of
animals, the fleetest of horses not being able to
approach it. Its whole natural history is most
fully dwelt upon (T. iv. 306), but must here be
omitted, as must also many notices we had marked
about domestic cattle, sheep, goats, seals, ermines,
hares, &c.

And as with these mammalia, so must it be with
birds. His notice concerning the golden eagle
( Chryscetos ) is very curious, and we think new.
“ There is,” he remarks, “ another singular branch
of commerce : the Russians sell many golden eagles
in barter to the Tartars. These birds are very
much in request by the Kirguis, who train them to
. chase the wolf, the fox, and the gazelle. According
to certain markings and movements, these people
judge of the bird's excellence and its capability of

50

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

being trained. A Kirguis will often give a first-
rate horse for an eagle of good breed, whilst he will
not give a sheep, or a halfpenny, for one in which
he does not discover the requisite qualities. I have
sometimes seen them seated for hours over an eagle,
examining its merits and defects.” (T. i. 36 — 38.)
Some of his statements respecting the pelican are
also singular: — “They congregate in troops of
twenty on the banks of the rivers and bays ; and
on commencing their fishing in concert, they arrange
themselves in an extended line, and altogether beat
the water with their wings, to attract the fish,
which they then seize upon. They seek their food
principally before day-break and about mid-day,
and they entirely clear of fish every lake they visit.
When they do not find either lakes or ponds, which
they prefer, they resort to the Oural. They are of
a prodigious size, measuring five feet from beak to
tail and eight feet and a half across the wings, and
weighing from eighteen to twenty-five pounds. *
(76. 589.) With a curious remark concerning the
starling, we shall dismiss his notices on ornithology.
“ The river-starling, so common in Russia and
Liberia, and so rare elsewhere, frequents the terri¬
tories of the Oural in great numbers. We may
affirm with great certainty, that this bird dives,
without wetting itself, into the deepest streams, to
catch the water-snails and other worms which are
found in the bed of the river. When shot, but not
killed on the frozen edges of the stream, they imme¬
diately dive, and do not reappear on the surface till

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

51

they are dead. We are not, however, to conclude
that this bird swims, since it has not the necessary
instruments ; but it flies, so to speak, in the water ;
and it has probably the power of hooking itself to
the bottom of the river whilst searching for its prey/’
(lb. 146.)

We must now bring these extracts to a close, and
must altogether deny ourself and readers the plea¬
sure which might be derived from his numerous
notices on ichthyology , and the various modes in
which the fisheries are conducted ; as also on ento¬
mology \ including so many of the attractive wonders
of the insect world ; and so likewise, finally, must
we omit the whole wide field of botany , not one
specimen of which ever seems to have escaped his
piercing and scrutinizing glance.

But the many objects which during these six
years of travel Pallas had witnessed, and which
were alluded to in the work on which we have
been dwelling, had taken too strong a hold on his
imagination to permit him to be content with the
somewhat hasty sketches he supplied in this jour¬
nal ; he had extensively and deeply studied man
and animals, the crust of the earth, and whatever
is found upon it; and meditating on his remarks,
they became the subjects of so many distinct trea¬
tises, to which he devoted all his powers. He now
published “ The History of the more remarkable
Animals of Siberia, including the Musk Ox, the
Glutton, the Sable, the White Bear, &c. histories,
which are so full and admirably given, that, according

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

" V

O^.

to Cuvier, no animal, even the commonest among
ourselves, are so well known. He also introduced to
notice a new species of wild cat {Nov. Com. Pet.
ann. 1781), and supplied information on the wild
ass of the desert {Act. Petr, i.) ; also concerning
the small buffalo or yak, and regarding those small
yellow foxes {Cams corsac) of northern India which
some believe to be the pretended golden ants of
Herodotus. {Neve Nor dische Bey trag e, i. 29.) “It
is a pity,” remarks Cuvier, “ that Buffon did not
acquaint himself with these invaluable memoirs,
the simple translation of which would have made
an admirable addition to his work.” The Lepus
and Mus genera alone, including hares, rats, and
mice, supplied materials for a quarto of two hun¬
dred and sixty pages {Nor. Spe. Quadrup. e. Gli-
rium Ordine) with many beautifully illustrative
engravings ; a striking warrant and example for
our present work, and for those monographs we are
making it our business to supply. There are thirty-
two engravings of the genus Mus alone, frequently
illustrative not only of their general appearance,
but of their habits, layers, food, and capture. The
following is Cuvier’s estimate of this work : — “ The
history and anatomy of these animals are unfolded
with that rich amplification of which Buffon and
Daubenton alone had previously set the example ;
and although, from modesty, the author has not
established new genera, yet his descriptions are so
precise, that any intelligent systematist may easily
extract the o-eneric characters from them.”

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

53

In 1781, be began a work which he meant parti¬
cularly to dedicate to the insects of Russia ( leones
Insectorum , &c.), although only two numbers ap¬
peared. But it is quite impossible here to enume¬
rate in detail the numerous quadrupeds, birds,
reptiles, fishes, mollusca, worms, and zoophytes, of
which he at this time published the original descrip¬
tion. The simple enumeration of the memoirs which
he sent to the various academies to which he be¬
longed, would occupy much room. He was not
even alarmed at the prodigious project of a general
history of the animals and plants of the Russian
empire ; and he had really made great progress in
its execution, although the labour must have pre¬
sented innumerable difficulties.

Pallas’s circumstances, perhaps, still more than
his tastes, contributed to make him a devoted
botanist. Having in 1781 published “ A Cata¬
logue of the Plants in Mr Demidof's Garden at
Moscow,” ( Enumeration Plant., &c.), the Empress,
whose love of the magnificent was flattered with
the idea of a “ Flora Russica” directed all the her¬
baria which had been collected by previous travellers
to be sent him, and engaged him to undertake the
work, she becoming responsible for the expense.
Pallas himself had made very considerable collec¬
tions, and the work promised to extend widely our
knowledge of the vegetable kingdom. Two volumes
only, however, appeared, which contain principally
trees and shrubs ; and this because in Russia, as in
most other kingdoms, a change of ministry puts a

54

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

stop to those most important publications, when
the new government has no immediate interest in
them. Our author endeavoured subsequently to
exhibit part at least of his botanical discoveries, in
less magnificent works, and by foreign assistance.
These volumes of the Empress truly merit the appel¬
lation of magnificent ; so much so, that they are
almost beyond the attainment of private individuals.
They are of imperial folio size, and the coloured
plates amounting, if we remember right, to nearly
a hundred, of large dimensions and high finish, are
truly beautiful and satisfactory. Each plant is
exhibited in its different stages of growth, on diffe¬
rent branches, — the bud, leaf, flower, and fruit.
The last plate is a finely coloured representation of
specimens of most of the native woods which are
used for economic purposes, amounting, we think,
to about twenty-five varieties. His next work on
botany was the history of the Astraguli ; then
another on the Halophytes , and others on Absinthes
and the Armaises ; hut the progress of the last was
arrested by the miseries of the German war.

The interruption to the Professor s Flora Russica
did not prevent him from undertaking, as we before
hinted, a work equally extensive on the animals
( Fauna Asiat. Russica ) of the empire, a region
which nourishes nearly all those of Europe, the
greater part of those of Asia, and which possesses a
great number that are peculiar to itself. One volume
of this work was printed at Petersburg; hut for
several years at least it was not published. ( Elogey

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

55

135.) Pallas laboured at it till his last days, and
had completed the manuscript, including all the
vertebrate animals; and M. Rudolphi, who had
seen the work, states that it described many new
species and contained many interesting views.

Nor was Pallas engrossed only with his own
publications, but with much kindness and praise¬
worthy zeal he exerted himself to do justice to the
memories of his less fortunate associates. Though
during his travels and afterwards, much annoyed
with ophthalmia, one of his most distressing but
not most dangerous complaints, yet he had fared
better than most of the others, few of whom lived
to publish the relation of their adventures. Both
Gmelin and Guldenstredt had fallen victims in the
service, and Pallas, in 1784, undertook the task of
publishing their papers, and executed it with great
diligence and accuracy ; though we believe that
these works, like several more peculiarly his own,
but very partially saw the light.

It was about this time that our naturalist was
distinguished by a peculiar mark of imperial favour,
in being appointed member of the Board of Mines,
with a salary of £200 a-year, and honoured with
the order of Vlodimir. The Empress likewise pur¬
chased his ample collection of natural history, in a
manner highly flattering to the owner and honour¬
able to herself. Being informed that he was desirous
of disposing of the collection, the Empress informed
him that the country could not be deprived of so
excellent a museum ; that she would become the

56

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

purchaser, at the same time desiring him to make
out the catalogue and fix the price. He accordingly
named fifteen thousand rubles. Having examined
the catalogue, she subjoined, with her own hand,
“ Mr Pallas understands natural history much bet¬
ter than figures : he ought to have charged twenty
thousand instead of fifteen thousand rubles, for so
many valuable articles. The Empress, however,
takes upon herself to correct the mistake, and hereby
orders her treasurer to pay twenty thousand. At
the same time, Mr Pallas shall not be deprived of
his collection, which shall still continue in his own
possession during his life, as he so well understands
how to render it most useful to mankind.”

It has been acutely observed, that it rarely hap¬
pens that men who are very assiduously occupied in
such multifarious enterprises have the requisite op¬
portunities and powers for originating those master
ideas which effect great changes in the sciences ;
but Pallas was an exception to this rule. It has
already been noticed that he all but changed the
face of zoology ; and it has been stated upon high
authority, that he was really the instrument of
effecting a revolution in geology, concerning what
has been called the theory of the earth. An atten¬
tive examination of the two great mountain ranges
of Siberia, led him to the recognition of this general
rule, which has since been universally verified, that
there is a regular succession in the three primitive
orders of mountain rocks, viz. that there is a granite
in the middle, then schists lying upon it- and.

MEMOIR OF FALLAS. 57

lastly, limestone strata the most external. “ It may
be stated,” says Cuvier, “ that this great fact, clearly
expressed in 1777? in a memoir read to the Peters¬
burg Academy ( Art . Petro. 1778) in the presence
of Gustavus III. King of Sweden, gave birth to a
new view of geology; and that Saussure, Deluc,
and Werner, starting from this observation, arrived
at a correct knowledge of the true structure of the
earth, very different indeed from the absurd ideas
of previous writers.”

All the writings on which we have hitherto
dwelt, more especially belong to the department of
natural history in the more extended signification
of the term ; this, however, is not the case with
regard to our authors history of the Mongolian
nations.* A work which must interest every well
educated man, for it is perhaps the most classical
treatise on the varieties of our race that exists in
any language.

The name of Mongul might be extended to all
those tribes of the north and east of Asia, whose
oblique eyes, yellow complexion, black and lank
hair, slender beard, and projecting cheek bones,
make them appear so frightful to us; and one
tribe of which ravaged Europe, under Attila, in the
fifth century. At the same time the name belongs
more especially to another tribe, which, under
Gengis-Khan, in the eleventh century, established
the basis of the most formidable dominion which

* Collection of Documents concerning the Mongols, in
German, 2 vols. 4to. 1776, 1801.

58

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

the world lias ever seen. China, India, Persia, and
the whole of Tartary, were necessarily subjected to
its sway ; Russia, too, was rendered tributary, and
irruptions were made into Poland and Hungary.
In a very few ages, however, the fortunes of these
invaders became changed : they were driven from
China and Persia; they were extirpated in India,
subjugated by the Russians in the western part of
their ancient conquests, and by the Chinese in the
country of their origin; and since that time they
have been able to preserve only a few independent
establishments in some districts to the west of the
Caspian, where they follow a pastoral life, a great
number wandering, as did their ancestors, over the
immense deserts of central Asia, expecting that the
discord or the decay of neighbouring empires may
permit some enterprising adventurer again to sum¬
mon them to new conquests. It is this desire that
Russia and China seek to thwart, by sowing dis¬
sension among them, by reducing their number,
and by sometimes transplanting them to enormous
distances, when they have a pretext after a meeting
or rebellion. And, nevertheless, in this persecuted
state, these unfortunate men maintain all the pride
of rank and nobility ; they preserve their long gene¬
alogies, and their princes cabal against each other,
and intrigue at the court of their chief for the aug¬
mentation of authority. The grand Lama, too, who
rules over their consciences through the agency of
a religious corps, confers, by his patents, what is
esteemed a sacred character on this authority ; and

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

59

thereby subjects himself to much trouble and vexa¬
tion. We cannot convey a better idea of those
constant agitations, than by reciting an event nar¬
rated in detail by Pallas, and which gives an idea
of those famous migrations which formerly consti¬
tuted a remarkable epoch in the history of Europe.

An entire people, who, after the conquest of Kien-
Long, lately emperor of China, had fled for refuge
to the Russian territory, and who had been esta¬
blished since the year 1758, in the rural district of
Astrakan, having become dissatisfied, and, moreover,
influenced by the intrigues of their chief Lama,
resolved twelve years afterwards to return to the
country which had been subjugated by China. Their
preparations continued for many months without
their secret being divulged ; and, finally, on an ap¬
pointed day in the commencement of 1771, the whole
nation, men, women, and children, to the amount of
more than 60,000 families, marched off in three
divisions, with their tents, their flocks, their bag¬
gage, and all they could pick up in their route either
of men or wealth. Thus did they travel 1500 miles
without being arrested by the troops which pursued
them, nor by opposing rivers, nor by the interme¬
diate hostile tribes, nor by the mortality which
prevailed among them and their cattle. W e believe
that no other event of the sort, to the same extent,
had previously occurred, since the flight of the
Israelites from the land of Egypt.

Pallas does not treat only of the origin and physi¬
cal characters of these people, nor of their manners

GO

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

and government, but devotes a large portion of his
work to an account of their religion, which is truly
shocking and singular in its essence and history.
It is not a little astonishing that this work has not
been translated either into French or English, whilst
every day increases the number of travels which are
of infinitely less value. “ This is a work,” says
Mr Tooke in his Russia Illustrata , “ that will enrich
the stock of human knowledge with discoveries, the
greatest part entirely new, and which no person but
Professor Pallas is able to communicate.”

A most important part of the history of nations,
and one which enables us to penetrate farther into
the antiquity of their history than all written docu¬
ments, is the knowledge of their language. It is by
it we can judge of their origin, and can better follow
their genealogy than by all their traditions ; and
there is no government which can more promote this
important study than that of Russia, whose subjects
speak sixty different languages. Catherine II. con¬
ceived the ingenious idea of making a digest of the
vocabularies of all the tribes which yielded obedi¬
ence to her sceptre : she actually commenced this
work herself, and then charged Professor Pallas, who
was the individual who had seen most of these hordes,
and was best acquainted with their language, to col¬
lect together all the Asiatic vocabularies, at the same
time restricting him to a list of words which she
had drawn up. Hence the two quartos under the
title “ Linguarum totius Orbis Vocabularia Corn-
par ativa.” It is not matter of astonishment that a

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

61

woman and a sovereign did not happen to make the
best possible selection, nor act with as correct views
as a scholar would have done ; but it is difficult to
conceive how those she engaged to co-operate with
her, did not venture to point out to her the imper¬
fection of her plan, seeing it is very clear that a
dry vocabulary could never supply an idea of the
mechanism and genius of a language. But notwith¬
standing all this, the treatise before us is a truly
valuable work, and has been useful in promoting the
researches of other learned men.

The Empress seemed never to weary in giving
her favourite Naturalist fresh proofs of her partiality
and confidence. He was appointed a member of
the commission which wras selected in 1777 to pre¬
pare a new topography of the empire ; he was also
elected historiographer to the admiralty, an office
which obliged him to give attention to many scien¬
tific questions connected with the navy ; and the
Grand Duke Alexander, lately Emperor, and his
brother, the present Grand Duke Constantine, re¬
ceived his instructions on the subjects of natural
history and physics.

Thus employed in so truly an honourable manner
by government, distinguished by titles corresponding
to his employments, and esteemed by all the learned
men in Europe, Pallas enjoyed at Petersburg all
the consideration which could be paid to him in his
twofold character of a foreigner and a literary man :
but it would likewise appear that his long habit of

62

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

travelling, like that of a savage life, made him
impatient of a stated residence in a city

Equally tired of a sedentary life and of the influx
of the fashionable world, whether foreign or native,
for which the mansion of so celebrated a man was
the natural rendezvous, he eagerly seized the oppor¬
tunity which the conquest of the Crimea afforded of
visiting new countries, and spent the years 1793
and 1794 in travelling, at his own expense, over
the southern provinces of the empire. He was
accompanied by an able draftsman and other pro¬
fessional assistants, who afforded him all possible
facilities for improving his opportunities ; and hence
his published work is literally crowded with sketches
of all sorts, with views, maps, &c.

He again visited Astrakan, and travelled over
the frontiers of Circassia, — that mountainous region,
which supports some of the finest races of the
species. This country is also remarkable for the
great number of tribes, differing in language and
appearance, which it maintains in its ravines, — the
small remnants of those nations which traversed it
at the time of the vast migrations of mankind, —
the Huns, the Allans, the Bulgarians, and those
many other barbarians, whose very names were
almost as terrible as their cruelty, and who left
colonies amid the precipices of the Caucasus; and
hence it has been remarked, that we may here find
mankind in samples. An account of these travels
appeared in German in 1799, in French in 1801,

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

63

and in English in 1802. The plan pursued, and
the style of these -volumes, are very similar to those
of his earlier “ Travels,” already dwelt upon. As
this is the only work of our author, which we have
seen, to which the English reader can have access,
we shall quote a paragraph which may help him to
form his own estimate both of the original and the
translation, which, upon the whole, is excellent : —
“ The Asiatic method of rearing silk-worms is pre¬
ferable to the Russian. The Persian rears his mul¬
berry trees to about six feet high, which they attain
in four or five years. Pie then begins to lop their
tops and branches, which are given to the insects,
as soon as they have sufficient strength, by placing
them gently on their beds. By this means the
shoots remain fresh and succulent, and the worms
devour them even to the woody fibres, so that no
part of the nutritive foliage is wasted. As these
insects are every day supplied with food, the leafless
branches gradually form a kind of wicker-work,
through which the impurities pass ; so that the
cheerful worms preserve the requisite cleanliness
without trouble to the cultivator, and speedily
attain a vigorous state. In this manner they are
continually supplied with leaves till they prepare
to spin, when small dry brushwood is placed in all
directions over the leafless branches, and on this the
worms spin their silk.” — (Vol. i. p. 190.)

But Pallas did not wish to incur risk by remain¬
ing among a people who are no less dangerous than
they are interesting. He ere long, then, proceeded

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

6*4

to the Crimea or ancient Taurica, that singular
peninsula, which is flat and arid on the side next
the continent, and bristled on the opposite side with
mountains which enclose many a smiling valley. It
was in ancient times occupied by Grecian colonies,
then during the middle ages by the Genoese, and
afterwards inhabited by the Tartars, who speedily
acquired peaceable dispositions, and, finally, it had
lately fallen under the power of the Russians. It is
matter of history, in what more than regal splendor
Potemkin conducted his imperial mistress into this
new conquered region, and by what profligacy of
expense and despotism this favourite converted, for
some days, the sterile desert into the guise of a fertile
and flourishing country. It has been said that
Pallas partook of the delusion of his sovereign ; or
perhaps the contrast between the dreary plains of
the north, and those agreeable valleys, with tlieii
southern exposure, delightful sea view, and rich
vines and flowers, overcame him. He sketched a
most enchanting picture of Taurida ( Tableau Phy¬
sique, Sj-c. de la Tarida ) ; and the proof that his
genuine sentiments were therein expressed, is found
in his desire to retreat thither himself.

It is likewise, however, true, that repose, of which
he had long been deprived, was now become highly
necessary for him. In his latter travels, whilst
wishing to examine the banks of a river which was
frozen over, the ice gave way, and he was precipi¬
tated into the water. At a distance from every
convenience, he was transported many miles exposed

MEMOIR OP PALLAS

05

to great cold, with very insufficient covering. This
accident produced pains, which he hoped the mild
climate to which he was resorting would abate ; hut,
on the contrary, change of residence, far from assuag¬
ing, only added to his physical ailments more insup¬
portable sufferings, disappointments, and anxieties.

The Empress, on being informed of Pallas’s desire
to take up his abode in the Crimea, with much
kindness gave him a grant of two villages which
were situated in the richest district of the peninsula,
along with a large mansion in the town of Sympe-
ropol, at that time chief city of the district, along
with a considerable sum of money for his settlement.
He resorted to this “ scene of delights” at the end
of the year 1795 ; but the climate, which had ap¬
peared so delightful during a short journey, even¬
tually proved damp and variable; extensive marshes
rendered the beautiful valleys pestilential in autumn;
the winters also proved tempestuous, so that the in¬
conveniences of both a northern and southern climate
were experienced. Besides, the property which was
conferred somewhat unceremoniously, found other
claimants, which occasioned its new lord vexatious
disputes and lawsuits. Finally, and more than all,
Pallas had not sufficiently contemplated the void he
would experience when removed from well educated
men, and placed in a position where he could not
enjoy the interchange of thought. Accordingly, he
was now undeceived regarding his terrestrial para¬
dise, and in the preface of the second volume of his
u Travels,” he tJ w in the year 1801, expresses his

£

66

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

disappointment: — “ Were this the proper place to
inform my readers of the disquietude and hardships
which oppress me in my present residence, and em¬
bitter my declining days, I could easily apologise
for the late appearance of this volume/'

But notwithstanding these feelings, he remained
nine years longer in this country, occupied with the
.'ontinuation of his works, and labouring also to
accomplish a project which was very important for
Russia, the improved culture of the vine, quantities
of which he had planted in the valley of Sondac,
the ancient Saldaca of the Genoese. He had satis¬
fied himself that this country was the more suitable
for its growth, because he supposed he had found
the vine in its wild state, although probably it was
nothing more than the degenerated stock of the
ancient Grecian vineyards.

It was, when thus engaged, that he was visited
by our countryman, Dr Clarke, whose account is
interesting : — “ This city," he remarks, “ will long
be celebrated as the residence of Professor Pallas, so
well known to the literary world. His fame would
have been sufficiently established, if he had pub¬
lished no other work than that begun by him under
such favourable auspices, the “ Flora Rossica yet
the barbarity of the people, with whom he is com¬
pelled to live, is such, that they will not allow him
to complete the undertaking. The drawings are all
finished, and almost all the text. To the hospitality
and humane attentions of this excellent man we
.were indebted for comforts, equal, if not superior,

MEMOIR OF PALLAS. 6 7

to those of our own country, and for every literary
communication it was in his power to supply.
When we delivered our letters of recommendation
to him, he received us rather as a parent than a
stranger to whose protection we had been consigned.
We refused to intrude by occupying apartments in
his house : this had more the appearance of a palace
than the residence of a private gentleman ; hut one
day when we were absent upon an excursion, he
caused all our things to be moved, and upon our
return we found a suite of rooms prepared for our
reception, with every convenience for study and
repose. I consider myself indebted to him even for
my life. The fatigue of travelling, added to the
effect of bad air and unwholesome food, rendered a
quartan fever so habitual to me, that, had it not
been for his care and skill, I should not have lived
to make this grateful acknowledgment. He pre¬
scribed for me ; administered every medicine with
his own hands ; carefully guarded my diet ; and,
after nursing me as his own son, at last restored me
to health. When I recovered, he ransacked his
museum for drawings, charts, maps, hooks, anti¬
quities, minerals, and whatever else might gratify
our curiosity, or promote the object of our travels ;
he accompanied us upon the most wearisome excur¬
sions, in search not only of the insects and plants of
the country, hut also of every document likely to
illustrate either its ancient or its modern history.
His decline of life had been embittered by a variety
of afflictions, which he bore with stoical philoso-

MEMOIR OP PALLAS.

68

phy. We used every endeavour to prevail upon
him to quit the country and accompany us to Eng¬
land ; but the advanced period of his life, added to
the certainty of losing all his property in Russia,
prevented liis acquiescence. Our entreaties were to
no effect ; and perhaps before this meets the public
eve, our friend and benefactor will be no more.”*

These gloomy anticipations of Dr Clarke’s were
fortunately disappointed. But time and circum¬
stances, instead of reconciling Pallas to his lot, only
aggravated all the privations and annoyances to
which he felt himself subjected, and he could not be
reconciled to his mode of life. All the marks of
esteem, likewise, which he received from Europe,
only increased his chagrin, and recalled to his vivid
recollection the interests he had left behind. At
length, therefore, having made up his mind to re¬
move, he sold his property for a very inadequate
price, bid a final adieu to Russia, and, after an ab¬
sence of forty-two years, returned to his native land,
with the intention of there terminating his days.

This change, to a man who had lived fifteen
years in Little Tartary, was almost a return to ano¬
ther world. Some old friends, too, whom he rejoined,
seemed almost to renew his youth; and he was
always excited to warmth and eloquence when he
listened to the account of the advance of science,
the intelligence of which had penetrated most imper-

* See Dr Clarke’s Travels, quoted in Rees ; also Tooke’s
Review of the Russian Empire.

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

69

fectly into his solitude : his calmed mind now re
vived prodigiously under all these gratifications and
delights.

The young Naturalists who had been created by
his works, impressed with the admiration of his
genius, though he had been to them an invisible
oracle, listened to him as a superior being who was
come to make his estimate of their acquirements ;
for his long absence had multiplied time, and inter¬
posed many generations between them and him. In
the frank and ready approbation he bestowed on all
new discoveries, they recognised, in this excellent
old man, a mind above the common prepossessions
of his years ; and he always treated his new scho¬
lars, not as a churl, but as a father. It is true that he
had never been disposed severely to criticise, and that
in all his works he freely gave to his contemporaries
their due praise ; a practice which was not less me¬
ritorious as bestowed upon his pupils. It is likewise
true, that he is, perhaps, of all naturalists of the
eighteenth century, the one who has least been
criticised by others. He has sometimes, indeed,
been accused of a certain ardour in amassing from
all quarters, and almost of monopolizing the observa¬
tions and subjects of study selected by others ; a
conduct which is calculated to displease those whose
limited labours may readily be lost in the blaze of
glory which legitimately belongs to the man who
has conceived a vast plan, and without which an
immensity of facts, which become useful chiefly
from their approximation, would have been lost te

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

70

science. Besides, he had never borrowed from others
without rendering them explicit justice.

Thus restored to the country of his nativity, and
to a circle of admiring friends, and more especially
enjoying the society of a brother in whom long
separation had only caused the natural affection
more ardently to glow, and watched over by an only
daughter who loved him with the utmost tenderness,
Pallas looked forward to years of happiness. He
read with the deepest interest all new works on
natural history, and projected a visit to the towns
of France and Italy which were richest in museums ;
and anticipated no small happiness in making the
acquaintance of the eminent men he would neces¬
sarily have met with ; whilst he would collect new
materials which would enable him to put the last
finish to his own labours. The germs, however, of
those maladies which he had contracted during his
travels and his sojourn in the Crimea, developed
themselves with a severity and rapidity he had
little expected. They seemed soon to be beyond
the reach of medicine ; and, as he had ever been em¬
ployed, his closing days were spent in making-
arrangements for the continuation of those works
which he left incomplete, in a way which promised
the greatest utility and advantage.

He died on the 8th of September, 1811, having
almost attained the limit of seventy years.

He was twice married, and left behind him a
daughter, to whom we have just alluded. She
became the wife, and afterwards the widow, of

MEMOIR OF PALLAS.

71

Baron Wimpfen, lieutenant-general in the Russian
service, who died at Luneville in consequence of
wounds received at the battle of Austerlitz.

In the review of Pallas’s history, it is impossible
not to recognise great sagacity, and the most de¬
voted enthusiasm in his pursuits. The peace in
which he lived with his competitors, very decidedly
proclaims amiability, for it is difficult to attribute it
only to prudence ; and though nothing so much
disposes to the exercise of benevolence as the expe¬
riencing it, yet it does not always happen that where
a man is not assailed he does not attack others.
Those who were personally acquainted with him
commend the evenness and sprightliness of his dis¬
position. He had no objection to pleasure as a
relaxation, but would never allow it to interfere
with his usefulness or repose. He was all his life
greatly engrossed with his scientific pursuits, and
experienced in them his chief and most satisfactory
delights.

APPENDIX.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST

OF SOME or

THE WORKS OF PALLAS.

[The reader will please to remember, that we do not give the
following as a complete list of our author’s Works ; but,
having experienced the want of such a catalogue our¬
selves, we have been at some pains, even partially, to
supply the deficiency for the use of others. We trust
it may be useful, so far as it goes, and may lead to a
more perfect enumeration, which would be esteemed by
all Naturalists.]

1760. De Infestis Viventibus intra Viventia. Lugd.

Bat. This is his Thesis, on becoming
M. D.

1763. Fauna Insectorum Marchica. u A Descrip¬

tion of the Insects in the March of Bran¬
denburg.” So quoted in Rees.

1764. Pallas was this year elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of London. He had pre¬
viously presented a paper ; and we have

APPENDIX.

73

seen it noted that he sent three. The only-
one we have met is on the Siasna jacu-
lalrix. Thomson s Hist. Royal Society.
He also sent Memoirs to the Acad. Cceser.
Nat. Curiosorum. But we cannot supply
a list of them.

1766. Elinchus Zoophytorum , Sistens generum ad
umbrationes generaliores et specierum
cognitarum succinctas descriptiones. 8vo.
Hagae-Comitum.

1766. Miscellania Zoologica , quibus novae imprimi#
atque obscurae animalium species descri-
buntur. Hagae.

1767* Spicilegia Zoologica (Fascic. 4). 4to, Berlini.
1768-70. Spicilegia Zoologica (Fascic. 6). 4to. Berl.

1768. Rescriptio tubular ice fungionce prope Wolo-

demerum mense Julio 1768, Observatoe.
Nov. Com. Acad. Sc. Imp. Petro. 1768.

1769. Re Ossibus Siberia? fossilibus Craniis pr<x-

sertim rhinocerotum et buffalotorum Obser¬
vations (c. Tab.). Nov. Com. Petro., t. xiii.
1769. Rescriptio Leporis pusilli (c. Tab.). Nov.
Com. Petro., 1769.

1 771-6. Voyages of Pallas (in German) in different
Provinces of the Russian Empire , 3 vols.
published respectively in 1772, 1773, and
1776, with many plates and maps. There
are two editions of a very good French
translation, by M. Gauthier de la Peyro-
nee, one in 5 vols. 4to. with one of plates,
with Notes on the Natural History by

74

APPENDIX.

the Count Lacepede, 1788 ; and the other
in 8 vols. 8vo. and one of plates, with
Notes by Lamarck and Longles, in 1793.

yin Account of the Rhinoceros found on the
Banks of the Vilui in 1 77 b We cannot
refer either to the exact date or work in
which this memoir may be found.

Leporis minuti Description &c. “ Dissert,

de l’Acad. Imp. des Sciences de Peters¬
burg,” (Cuv. Eloge).

Mustellce Sarmaticce Descriptio. “ Nouv.
Com. de Petro.,” t. xiv. p. 441.

Equus Ilemionus. The Dzhiggtai or Wild
Siberian Horse described. Nov. Com.
Petro., t. xix. (Eloge).

1773-80. Some remarkable Quadrupeds of Siberia .

(Four Nos.) Probably additional Nos. of
Spicilegia Zoologica, quoted as under.

Spicilegia Zoologica, 14 Nos. 4to. Berlin,

1767-80.

] 766 and 1801. Collection (in German) of Docu¬
ments on the Political , Physical , and Civil
History of the Mongul Tribes.

1777- Observations sur la Formation des Montagues.

Act. Petro., Part I. Published separately
at Petersburg, and reprinted at Paris in
1779 and 1782. Mr Tooke has given a
translation in his “ Russia Illustrata.”

1777- Ohs. de dentibus molaribus fossilibus ignotx
Animalis Canadensibus analogis , etiam ad
Vralense jugum reperitis. Part II.

APPENDIX.

75

1777. Obs. circa Myrmecophagum Afric. et Didel-
phidis novam speciem orientalem. Part II.
1777* Description du Buffie d queue de Cheval , et
Observations generates sur les especes sal¬
vage des gros Betail. Ib.

1777. Obs. sur V Ane dans son etat sauvage , et sur le

veritable Onagre des Anciens. Ib. ; also
in his

Neue Nordische Beytrage , t. ii. p. 22, pi. i.
Description of the small yellow Fox of northern
India , in Neue Nordische Beytrage.

1778. Novae Species Quadrupedum ex Glirium Or-

dine. 4to. Erlang,

1779. Descriptiones Plantar um Siberice pemdiarium.

Act. Petro.

1779. Capra Caucasiea e Schedis A. J. Guldenstddt.
“ Second Memoir on the Fossile Bones of the

great Animals found in Siberia (Eloge).
Distinct Memoir on the Aerolite found in Si¬
beria , (Cuy. Eloge).

1780. Mem. on the Degeneration of Animals. Act.

Petro., Part II. (Eloge).

1780. Galeopithicus volans Camellii descriptus. Act.
Petro., Part I.

1780. Sur les anciens travaux de Mines quon trouve
en Siberie , et sur leurs rapports avec ceux
de Hongrie. Act. Petro.

1780. Descriptio Didelphis brachyurae. Part II.

1781. Enumeratio Plantarum quae in horto Procopii

a demidof Moscua vigent. Act. Petro.
1781. Felis Manul nova Species Asiatica. Act. Petr

76 APPENDIX.

1781. Sorices Aliquot illustrati . Sorex moschalus

et S. myosurus c. Tabulis. Act. Petr.
I78P New Northern Collection (in German) on vari¬
ous Subjects in Geography, Nat. History ,
and Agriculture, to which were afterwards
added two more volumes ( apud Rees).
1781-2. leones Insectorum proesertim Russioe Si-
berieeq. peculiarium. 4to. Erlang.

1 784. Giildenstadf s Remains, containing his Journal
and Description of the Caucasus. (Rees.)
1 784-88. Flora Rossica, seu Stirpium imperii Rossii
per Europeum et Asiam indig enarum de-
scriptiones et icones , in fol. Petr. tom. ii.
1786-9. Linguarum totius Orbis Vocabularia Corn-
par ativa augustissimoe Curoe Collecta, t. ii.
in 4to. Petro.

1 799. Tableau physique et topographique de la Tau-
ride, in Nov. Act. Petro., reprinted in
Paris in 1800.

1 799. Travels through the Southern Provinces of the

Russian Empire, in the Years 1793-4,
2 vols. 4to. with many coloured plates.
Published in German in 1799 ; in French,
1801 ; in English in 1802.

1800. Species Astray alarum descriptce et iconibus

coloratis instructed. In folio, Leipsic.
1803. Illustrationes Plantarum imperfecte vel non -
dum Cognitarum. In folio, Leipsic.
1811-12. Zoographia Rosso- Asiatica, 3 tom. 4to.
Petersburg.

i

INTRODUCTION.

When the interest attached to the higher orders of
the brute creation is brought, in review for the pur¬
pose of bestowing pre-eminence on one particular
species, Europeans, with few dissentients, will con¬
sider them in relation to their utility for economic
purposes. They will see in them objects of aliment
and clothing ; the producers of the raw materials
for manufactures ; they will think of navigation,
exports, and imports, and then conclude that sheep
and oxen are the most important animals to man
It is, however, probable that a Western Asiatic, from
similar motives, would fix upon camels and drome¬
daries ; a Nabob would point to his state elephant,
and a Tartar, an Arab, a soldier, and a jockey, would
unanimously claim the post of honour for the horse.
No argument in favour of the Peruvian lama would
be admitted; and the poor alone might perhaps
muse upon the patient and hardy virtues of the ass.
None but the savage and the mere sportsman would
first think of the importance of the canine species,

INTRODUCTION.

78

It may indeed be conceded, that in the social con¬
dition of nations long congregated and civilized,
necessarily under the impulses of utilitarianism,
dogs do not obtain that universal consideration
which is granted to other animals in many respects
their inferiors ; and it is true that various tribes of
the south-east abhor their presence, and view them
only as scavengers, little better than the jackal and
hyama.

But when the intellectual endowments of the
domesticated races of dogs are permitted to weigh
in the scale, — when we begin to consider the facul¬
ties which the bounty of Nature has bestowed upon
them, — the sincerity and disinterestedness of their
attachment, — the sagacity, strength, velocity, cou¬
rage, and perfect obedience which they proffer to
man, — we cannot refuse them our admiration and
affection. To what other species could we look
for voluntary association with our fortunes ? Which
of them would, like the dog, lend us the full use of
senses so acute as his ? Which can rejoice in our
joy, be vigilant and bold in our defence, obedient to
order, faithful in our adversity, understand our least
words and signs, and die on our graves from pure
attachment? These qualities, we all know, dogs
possess. Here, then, we find the source of that
consideration which is granted them by all men
near a state of nature ; and although conceded by
them with niggardly hands, the wild man of the Old
World, the stoical hunter of the New, the half-
frozen Esquimaux, and the savage of Australia,

INTRODUCTION.

79

differ only in their mode of acknowledgment, from
the expressions of favour with which the drover,
the shepherd, the sportsman, and the fine lady of
civilized society regard them.

As the dog alone, of all the brute creation, volun¬
tarily associates himself with the conditions of man's
existence, it is fair to presume also that he was the
first and therefore the oldest of mans companions ;
that to his manifold good qualities the first hunters
were indebted for their conquest and subjugation of
other species. We do even now perceive, notwith¬
standing the advance of human reason and the pro¬
gress of invention, that in a thousand instances we
cannot dispense with his assistance.

If we still feel the importance of his services in
our state of society, what must have been the ad¬
miration of man, when in the earliest period of
patriarchal life he was so much nearer to a state
of nature ? When the wild hunter first beheld the
joyous eyes of his voluntary associate, and heard
his native howl modulated into barking ; when he
first perceived it assuming tones of domestication fit
to express a masters purposes, and intonate the
language which we still witness cattle, sheep, and
even ducks and hawks learn to understand : What
exultation must he have felt when, with the aid of
his new friend, he was enabled to secure and do¬
mesticate the first kid, the first lamb of the moun¬
tain race I When, with greater combinations of
force and skill between man and his dogs, the bull,
the buffalo, the camel, the wild ass, and then the

80

INTRODUCTION.

horse, were compelled to accept his yoke; and,
finally, when, with the same assistance, the wild
boar was tamed, the lion repelled, and even attacked
with success. Although the total development of
canine education must have been the work of ages,
yet that it was very early, however imperfect, of
great acknowledged importance, is attested by the
prominent station assigned to the dog in the earliest
theologies of Paganism. We know that his name
was given to one of the most beautiful stars, among
the oldest designated in the heavens, and that it
served for the purpose of fixing an epoch in the
solar year, by its periodical appearance.* Other
constellations, nearly as old, were likewise noted by
the name of dogs ; and there are proofs, in typifying
ideas by images representing physical objects, that
the admiration of mankind degenerating into super¬
stition, moral qualities of the highest order were
figured with characteristics of the dog, till his name
and his image became conspicuous in almost every
Pagan system of theology, from Nabhass of the
Avim, to Kalb, Kan, Sag, Bog, and Dok of the
older languages spoken in the highest chains of cen¬
tral and western Asia.t But if these animals were

* Sirius, Sothis, Canicula, Nabhas, Anubis, Elur, El-habor,

El-schere, Ur-clian, &c _ See Porphyry de Nymphas aut.

Herodotus, 1. xi. Servius, ast. of the east. Juvenal, Sat. v.,
&c.

+ It would lead us too far in a work of this kind to enter
upon an etymological inquiry concerning the singular connec¬
tion there appears to exist in the mutations of a general root

INTRODUCTION.

81

thus early an object of deep felt interest, we are
naturally led to ask the question, Whence dogs
originated? For, as there must have been a period
when that species, or the genus whence the domestic
races have sprung, were in a state of nature, the
original and typical kind is to be sought in existing
wild dogs, or their real progenitors have totally dis¬
appeared. In the present state of our knowledge
on this particular subject, no reply can be made
which is wholly free from objections. The oldest
records represent the dogs then noticed, though they
were less educated, as not very dissimilar in natural
qualities from the present races ; for, referring to
the most ancient authorities (if we except a passage
in Aristotle attesting the co-existence of wild and

o

domesticated animals in his time in Europe, among
which the dog is enumerated, — and another in Pliny,
acknowledging that there were no domesticated ani-
mals then to be found which had not their counter¬
parts in a wild state),* writers of the classic period
seem not to have bestowed much real attention on
the question. X Linnaeus, in his system, justly

designating fitness, capacity, and power, with God, goodness,
and dog. In this view, Nabach, or Nabass, would not be a
true Semitic name, but a northern epithet signifying the
watch-dog or barker-after. The Hebrew, indeed, has many
other words that appear of foreign or Scythic origin ; ?73Tn,
Hanubeak, or Anubis, is the more true Semitic term for
barker.

* In omnibus animalibus placidum eiusdem invenitur efc
ferum _ Pliny.

t What may be thought of the ancient opinions in Aris-

F

82

INTRODUCTION.

admitted the wolf and the jackal to be constituents
of his genus Cams ; but it does not appear that he
entertained an opinion that his Cards familiar is, or
domestic dog, was identical with either. Buffon
viewed the shepherd’s dog of Europe as the original
species from whence all the others had sprung, and
in prosecuting his investigation, drew up a kind of
genealogical table, showing how the varieties were
derived by means of changes of climate, food, and
education, and multiplied by crossing the races so
produced to form all the others.

There is both truth and ingenuity in these opi¬
nions of the eloquent writer ; but it must neverthe¬
less be confessed, that his inferences being in a great
measure fanciful and arbitrary, they should not have
been permitted to exercise such an influence upon
subsequent systematic writers, as evidently pervades
their classifications, even though they have rejected
his theory.

Baron Cuvier, in his Regne Animal , considering
the species to be distinct, remarks that “ taming
the dog is the most complete, the most useful, and
the most singular conquest man has achieved, the
whole species having become our property.”

Since that time Mr Hodgson, residing in a public
capacity at Katmandoo, near that central region of
the world where many of our most ancient elements
of social existence seem to have emanated; where

totle, Calisthenes, Xenophon; Pliny, Oppian, Gratius, Pollux,
&c., relative to Hybrid dogs, sprung from lions, tigers, thoes,
and foxes, will be examined in the sequel.

INTRODUCTION.

83

many plants are found in a wild state that man
appears to have carried with him in his devious
migrations ; and wild animals still exist, that may
perhaps justly claim to he of the typical species first
brought under human subjection ; in that remote
region, a wild dog, the Buansu ( Canis primcevus ),
is pointed out by him as the primitive species of
the whole canine race. Another writer (Professor
Kretschmer), in describing the most interesting
mammalia of the Frankfort museum, chiefly col¬
lected by the indefatigable Ruppel, notices a jackal
( Canis anthus , F. Cuv.) as the type of the dogs of
ancient Egypt ; and referring to the antique carved
and painted figures in the temples, and a skull taken
from the catacombs of Lycopolis, shows the resem¬
blance to be so great, that their identity cannot well
be denied.

More recently Mr Bell, in his History of British
Quadrupeds, is inclined to conclude that the wolf is
the original stock whence domesticated dogs are
derived : for this purpose, that gentleman observes,
“ It is necessary to ascertain to what type the ani¬
mal approaches most nearly, after having for many
successive generations existed in a wild state, re¬
moved from the influence of domestication and
association with mankind. Now we find that there
are several different instances of the existence of
dogs in such a state of wildness as to have lost even
that common character of domestication, variety of
colour and marking ; of these, two very remark¬
able ones are the Dhole of India and the Dingo of

84

INTRODUCTION.

Australia; there is, besides, a half reclaimed race
among the Indians of North America, and another
partially tamed in South America, which deserve
attention ; and it is found that these races, in diffe¬
rent degrees, and in a greater degree as they are
more wild, exhibit the lank and gaunt form, the
lengthened limbs, the long and slender muzzle, and
the great comparative strength which characterise
the wolf ; and that the tail of the Australian dog,
which may be considered as the most remote from
a state of domestication, assumes the slightly bushy
form of that animal. We have here, then, a con¬
siderable approximation to a well known wild
animal of the same genus, in races which, though
doubtless descended from domesticated ancestors,
have gradually assumed the wild condition ; and it
is worthy of especial remark, that the anatomy of
the wolf, and its osteology in particular, does not
differ from that of dogs in general, more than the
different kind of dogs do from each other. The
cranium is absolutely similar, and so are all or
nearly all the other essential parts ; and to strengthen
still further the probability of their identity, the
dog and wolf will readily breed together, and their
progeny is fertile. The obliquity of the position of
the eyes in the wolf, is one of the characters in
which it differs from the dogs ; and although it is
very desirable not to rest too much upon the effects
of habit or structure, it is not perhaps straining the
point to attribute the forward direction of the eyes
in the dogs, to the constant habit, for many succes-

INTRODUCTION. 85

sive generations, of looking forwards to their master
and obeying his voice.”

This extract, taken from the Penny Cyclopaedia,
where it appears as a quotation, is then followed up
by a paragraph not clearly pointed out as being in
continuation, though the diction seems to be that of
the same writer ; it is as follows : — “ Another crite¬
rion, and a sound one, is the identity of gestation.
Sixty-three days forms the period during which the
bitch goes with young; precisely the same time
elapses before the wolf gives birth to her offspring.
Upon Buffon’s instance of seventy- three days, or
rather the possibility of such a duration in the ges¬
tation of a particular she- wolf, we do not lay much
stress, when opposed to such strong evidence of the
usual period being sixty-three days ; the young of
botli wolf and dog are bom blind, and at the same
or about the same time, viz. at the expiration of the
tenth or twelfth day. Hunters important experi¬
ments proved without doubt that the wolf and the
jackal would breed with the dog, but he had not
sufficient data for coming to the conclusion that all
three were identical as species. In the course of
those experiments he ascertained that the jackal
went fifty-nine days with young, whilst the wolf
went sixty-three ; nor does he record that the pro¬
geny and the dog would breed together ; and he
knew too well the value of the argument to be
drawn from a fertile progeny, not to have dwelt
upon the fact, if he had proved it; not to have
mentioned it, at least, if he had even heard it.”

86

INTRODUCTION.

Mr Bell concludes these observations in the fol¬
lowing words : — “ Upon the whole, the argument
in favour of the view which I have taken, that the
wolf is probably the original of all the canine races,
may be thus stated. The structure of the animal
is identical, or so nearly so as to afford the strongest
a 'priori evidence in its favour. The dog must have
been derived from an animal susceptible of the
highest degree of domestication, and capable of
great affection for mankind, which has been abun¬
dantly proved of the wolf. Dogs having returned
to a wild state and continued in that condition
through many generations, exhibit characters which
approximate more and more to those of the wolf, in
proportion as the influence of civilization ceases to
act. The two animals will breed together and produce
fertile young. The period of gestation is the same.”

Unquestionably the foregoing observations are
stated with considerable force, but the conclusions
to be drawn from them do not appear to have satis¬
fied the writer, nor have they' sufficient weight to
be completely admissible. We shall therefore pro¬
ceed to offer some remarks upon the alleged facts,
to show the reasons for withholding an unqualified
assent ; and we may be allowed to remark that the
statements are occasionally grounded upon insuffi¬
cient data : moreover, where the question of iden¬
tity, as in the present case, is concerned, it may be
doubted whether the words “ all or nearly all the
essential parts being identical,” appear to be unob¬
jectionable.

INTRODUCTION.

8 7

We may therefore commence our remarks by
observing that dogs are found in every quarter of
the globe, wherever man resides or has penetrated ;
and ask whether, in the present state of our infor¬
mation, we can assert with safety that the common
wolf ( Canis lupus , auctor.) is to be found south
of the equator ? That there are representatives of
wolves or wild dogs beyond the Crislma in India,
in the Australian islands, and in South America, is
not the question ; but so far as personal observation
went, we have not met with the wolf of the western
hemisphere to the south . of the equator, nor are
they known in South Africa. Next, it may be
added, that as there are confessedly several species
of wolf in North America, and probably also in
the northern part of the Old World, are these
species likewise derived from the C. lupus , or are
they originally distinct ? And if so, are they ex¬
cluded from the probability of being also in part a
source whence domestic dogs are derived ? If we
assert the several species of wolf in the northern
hemisphere to be mere varieties, are we sufficiently
well informed to infer that the wild canines of South
America, India, Australia, Java, and Sumatra, and
the black Derboun of Arabia and Tokla of Abyssinia,
are also of the same origin ? Again : — there are
several species of foxes on the old and new conti¬
nents, — species that no zoologist will venture to
declare of identical origin ; and are we sure that
their gestation is of sufficient difference not to per¬
mit them to breed a prolific offspring ?

88

INTRODUCTION.

Now, adverting to the circumstance of the fertility
of the mixed breed between wolf and dog (one cer¬
tainly of very great weight), the experiments made
by Buffon should have been taken into the account ;
for that celebrated naturalist, after denying that
they would commix, lived to prove that they bred,
and the offspring of the wolf and dog to be prolific
indeed, but that in four generations, the Hybrid
type, though not obliterated, had not passed into a
domesticated race. If wolves and dogs commixed
breed readily, how does it happen that several races
of true dogs, such as mastiffs, bulldogs, and particu¬
larly the Irish greyhound, breed so imperfectly with
their own variety of species that it requires much
attention to preserve the race ?

If the Australian Dingo be a true dog, what is
the cause that experiments to make it breed with
well selected individuals of the domestic species
have failed ? At least, this was the case at Paris.*
Finally, if the facility of breeding together were
admitted, would it establish identity of species ? It
is asserted, and we know of no contradiction, that
the older breeds of sheep in Russia have very coarse
fleeces, because they breed promiscuously witlr
goats. Should this be a fact, and we believe it
rests on the authority of Pallas, would the inference
of the identity of the two species be established?

* We believe Sir John Jamieson, who made similar expe¬
riments in New Holland, was not more successful ; but I find
that Mr Cunningham mentions a breed of Hybrids of the race
to be now established in New Holland.

INTRODUCTION.

89

Or in the case noticed by Mr Hodgson at Katman-
doo, where his experiments proved the Capra tharal*
and domestic goat to breed together without diffi¬
culty. Are we thence to conclude that the musmon
and the ibex, the tharal and the domestic goat, are
mere varieties of one species ?

Almost all recent writers on dogs have copied
one another so repeatedly, that it is scarcely possible
to trace the original authority whence given state¬
ments of facts have been taken. We cannot there¬
fore refer to the text whence Mr Bell drew his
conclusions ; that there exist “ several different in¬
stances of dogs in such a. state of wildness as to
have lost even that common character of domestica¬
tion, — variety of colour and marking;” naming as
examples the Dhole of India, the Dingo of Aus¬
tralia, a half reclaimed race of North America, and
another partially tamed in South America. Now,
if the source whence this statement be derived is
the Supplement to the Carnassiers of Mr Griffith’s
English edition of Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom, we
may state that it is from one of our own notes, and
that the words are, in part at least, those we used ;
but it certainly was not, in the original, intended to
decide the question, whether these animals were
specifically distinct, — wild aborigine , or the descend¬
ants of domestic dogs. The writer of the article
used his own discretion ; and even he placed it in

* This name must not be confounded with the C. Jaela ,
Ham. Smith. — No. 869 of Griffith’s An. Kingd.

90

INTRODUCTION.

the first division of his arrangement, where he refers
to the wolf; and thus far left the argument of
identity and filiation untouched.*

All we as yet know of the Dhole or Quihoe
would lead us to a contrary conclusion.t The Dingo
is indeed better known : his conformation in general,
and the fact of his being in a country of marsupial
animals, as yet almost the only true mamiferous
animal found in a state of nature, offers a fairer
field for presuming his identity with domestic dogs ;
hut the failure of mixing his race with the Euro-

* In the plate of heads of dogs in Mr Griffith’s Animal
Kingdom, representing wild varieties of the dog taken from
Colonel Hamilton Smith’s drawings, the engraver has erro¬
neously marked the numbers. Head, No. 1, is that of the
Dhole ; 2, of the South American wolf or dog ; 3, of the
Dingo ; and 4, of a specimen formerly in the possession of
Mr G. Astor of New York, which he denominated, and by
comparison with numerous skins, proved to be of the wolf of
the Falkland Islands.

+ If Mr Bell, in referring to the Dhole of Asia, had in
view the observations of Mr Frederick Cuvier (in the Dic-
tionnaire des Sciences Naturelles, at the word Chien), it will
appear that, on this occasion, that learned and attentive
observer quoted from Captain Williamson's Oriental Field
Sports, probably without referring to the text ; for he cite§
the plate where some Pariah dogs have driven a panther into
a mango tree, and not that where Dholes attack a tiger. On
consulting Captain Williamson’s text, he speaks of the Dhole
as a wild dog, but he does not say that this animal is de¬
scended from a domestic breed. The context would lead to
a different conclusion. As for the plate, it was Colonel
Hamilton Smith who made the sketch of the Dholes, not
very correctly reproduced in the plate.

INTRODUCTION.

91

pean, demands at least that we should suspend our
opinion until this question be better elucidated. As
for those of America, the half reclaimed of the north
is presumed to refer to our description of a domesti¬
cated individual that had been the property of the
celebrated Indian chief Tecumseh, one which we
regarded as coming nearer to the Coyotl of Mexico
than the wolf : neither that specimen nor others of
the same stock that came under our observation,
were either gaunt or long-legged ; and with regard
to the South American partially tamed species, we
there referred to the Aguara* dogs of the Caribs,
Tapuias, and Arookas, all seemingly allied to the
wild dogs of the primasval woods along the Oro-
noque. We may therefore conclude, that reasoning
upon such a statement, where the word dogs was
used, is mistaking the common acceptation of that
name for the generical term which naturalists, for
the convenience of classification, have adopted and
applied in a more extended form. On this subject
our language is deficient in a sufficiently correct

* Aguara is one of those indefinite appellations which ex¬
tend over a vast surface of America. It would seem to be
derived from the Mexican wolf or fox, whose cry is said to
repeat the sounds Agou-a-a ! but, in other places, it is a fox,
a wolf, a feline animal ; we have heard it even bestowed on
several species of fishes. This name is given with some syl¬
lable before or after, or both before and after the word, and
appears to be an epithet. In the East Indies the same thing
occurs, for there Beriah is a name applied both to the wolf
and hyaena The Dhole appears to be in a similar predica¬
ment.

92

INTRODUCTION.

terminology. The French have adopted a clear dis¬
tinction, by naming the dog considered as a genuine
wild species, wild dog ( chien sauvage ), and the dog
run wild from a domestic state ( chien mar on), ma¬
roon dog , or more properly, perhaps, errant dog ;
but as this word is again a Gallicism, it might be
better to adopt a native term and call it Feral dog.

The oblique position of the eyes in the wolf may
be of some importance when compared with the
domestic species ; but physiologists, we apprehend,
would scarcely admit a dog’s anxiety to see his
master and obey his voice, as sufficient cause for the
alteration.

There remains only one more remark to be made
upon Mr Bell’s arguments, namely, that which
allows the gestation of the dog and wolf to be sixty-
three days, whereas he fixes that of the jackals,
according to Hunter, at fifty-nine. Now, the ex¬
periments conducted by Mons. F. Cuvier, breeding
between two different species of jackals, showed
gestation to be sixty-two days ; so that, in this
respect, the three species may be considered equal,
as they are likewise in the duration of blindness of
the young litter, — jackals opening their eyes on the
tenth or eleventh day, wolves and dogs between the
tenth and twelfth days.

We must be guarded even in drawing inferences
from the conformation of the skulls of canines. A
comparative series, duly authenticated , is a desidera¬
tum not as yet, we believe, existing in any cabinet :
we know that the shades of difference gradually

INTRODUCTION.

93

pass from one to the other, from the largest Irish
greyhound, through wolves, dogs, jackals, and
foxes, down to the zerda. Even in the wild species,
the skulls of the European and American wolves
differ sufficiently, if they were of dogs, to constitute
two very distinct races ; yet if the specimens of
M. F. Cuvier can be depended upon, and that
ascribed to the American wolf, in particular, be of
the species common in the United States, it is
singular that, in fur, markings, and stature, there
should be almost no external distinction.* But we
are not even certain when identity of origin has not
been hitherto disputed, as in the case of domestic
hogs. It is admitted that in the forest they occa¬
sionally breed with the wild boar, and that their
offspring is as prolific as if it were the result of
breeding from the same race. This is also known to
be the fact in the mixed produce of the Chinese
and European hog. We have had opportunities of
seeing the Spanish and domestic breed become wild
in South America and in Jamaica, resuming the
characters of the wild boar of Europe ; even the
young becoming striped, like the marcassins of
France. Yet if the observations by T. C. Eyton,
Esq., reported in the Proceedings of the Zoological

* Several living specimens, one recently shot, many stuffed,
and an immense number of skins, have been examined by
us, which resembled the German wolves more nearly than the
last mentioned do the Russian, of which we have seen also
several specimens.

94

INTRODUCTION.

Society, in February 1837, are correct, the vertebrae
of the back, loins, and sacrum differ, between the wild
boar, the English and Chinese pigs, from fifteen to
fourteen, from six to four, and from five to four.
Even the French and English differ ; so that taking
the totals of vertebrae, they run fifty, fifty-five,
forty-nine, and the French fifty-three. Surely it is
allowing too much to the semi-domestication of such
animals, and denying the same to the plastic powers
of creation, to prop up our artificial maxims in zoo¬
logy. On the contrary, we may justly suspect this
to be a case of providential arrangement for a given
purpose, and that there are three if not four original
species (including the African) with powers to com¬
mix. In the wild boar of India, the hair of the tail
is bristly and sagittated ; in the species of Europe,
it is a scanty coarse tuft, as well as in the wild
breed of Jamaica.

With regard to the general osteology of the Ca-
nince , Cuvier admits that the bones of the wolf, the
matin, and shepherd dogs, are not distinguishable.
Now, where the whole anatomical character in all
the species of the genus that are well known is so
similar, we may with safety infer the constancy ©f
that similarity in those but little known ; and, more¬
over, presume the conditions of life, generation,
gestation, blindness, growth, maturity, longevity,
and diseases, to correspond in the natural relation
that must subsist between them. This being the
case, we are reduced to admit, either that, excepting

INTRODUCTION.

95

the foxes, some one species, let us say the wolf, is
parent of the whole, — and therefore that the genus
Cards of authors, so far as the diurnal species are con¬
cerned, consists of one only ; the wild and tame being
alike mere varieties, produced by passing to different
latitudes and longitudes of the earth, and subsisting
upon different qualities of food ; or we must adopt
some standard of specification other than the merely
anatomical method.

Fixing upon certain species as typicial animals, is
in itself a proper mode to serve our comparative
data ; but we must not mistake these types for real
generical beings, the parents of different species.
Nature does not recognize them, excepting perhaps
in a very few cases : the more indistinct modifica¬
tions of her creatures are called into being to servo
the inexhaustible fecundity of her adaptations, and
to consume, according to their modified structures,
a prescribed portion of antagonist produce, bal-
lancing the circle of production and consumption so
that nothing should be lost and nothing super¬
abundant. This is so obvious to all inquirers, that
in our apprehension there are sufficient grounds for
extending the principle to specific purposes ; and
applying it to canines, induces us to presume, there
may have existed several congenerical species, pro¬
vided by the liberality of Nature with qualities more
social and intellectual, and therefore more readily
brought into subjection by man; animals whose
types nevertheless are either not as yet ascertained,
or which have been totally absorbed by domestica-

96

INTRODUCTION.

tion.* Writers more imbued with the spirit of
system than with the phenomena they have to
investigate and classify, may not assent to the pro¬
bability of this surmise ; but until they are better
prepared with facts, the question must remain un¬
determined. It may be added, that whilst natu¬
ralists, especially in the writings of the present
century, have very generally acquiesced in the doc¬
trine of the varieties ( quasi species) of man, as
descending, after the great catastrophe of the deluge,
from several of the highest ranges of mountains in
Asia and Africa, have nevertheless not thought that,
whether they were civilized or savage, they must
have possessed dogs ; and in that case, their domes¬
tication being of so remote a period, anterior to the
present zoological distribution of terrestrial animals,
we have no sufficient data to fix the filiation upon
any known type or types ; and should it be an-

* We may quote as examples in the Ruminomtia , the Gayal
( Bos gaveus), the hunched oxen of India, and the common
breed, perhaps even the Yak of Tartary, all breeding together
a prolific offspring, if proper precautions are used. See these
articles in Griffiths’ version of the Animal Kingdom.

It may be claimed also for the domestic cat : the parent
race, if we may trust the cat mummeries of Egypt, appearing
to be in that country derived from Felts maniculata, while the
wild cat of Europe, extending into the East of Asia, is also a
progenitor, as well as the Tabby, apparently derived from
South America. Their mixed offspring is prolific, and can
we say that they are of the same species ? What shall we say
of the wild horses of Europe, whose remains are found in suc¬
cessive deposits, up to the superficial mould ?

INTRODUCTION.

97

swered that dogs proceeded from the species in the
ark, what becomes of the Mongolic, the Negro, and
the Caucasian man, each escaping to his own moun¬
tains ? And in what manner would this reply fix
the parentage upon a wolf or a jackal only?

If domestic dogs were merely wolves modified by
the influence of mans wants, surely the curs of
Mohammedan states, refused domestic care, left to
roam after their own free will, and only tolerated in
Asiatic cities in the capacity of scavengers, would
long since have resumed some of the characters of
the wolf: there has unquestionably been sufficient
time for that purpose, since we find allusion made
to these animals in the laws of Moses ; they w’ere
then already considered unclean, for all cattle wor¬
ried, injured, or not killed as the law prescribed,
were ordered to be flung to them. We do not
know how long before the departure of Israel dogs
may have been held in the same outcast condition
in Egypt, yet to this day the curs of the Levant
are in no respect to be mistaken for wolves ; and to
render this fact still more remarkable, the zeeb
abounds in every part of Western Asia, and is
found on the northern borders of Egypt ; he nightly
visits the haunts of man, and disputes the carrion
and offals with the curs of the streets. In India
the case is precisely similar between the indigenous
wolves ( berriali ) and the domestic pariahs ; the true
pariah dog of India being a wild canine chiefly
established in the woods along the lower ranges of
the Himalaya mountains, where the wolf is likewise

G

98

INTRODUCTION.

abundant. Yet none of these dogs have assumed
its aspect ; nor have they mixed, further south, with
jackals, equally numerous ; nor, in the wildernesses
of the western coast, with the dhole. Their several
voices are not to be mistaken, and the name pariah,
or rather pahariah (which it is true Europeans give
to the curs of India, domesticated or half wild),
denotes nevertheless a being of the mountains, one
residing in the woods, and is applied by the Hindoos
to a wild race of aboriginal inhabitants, as wTell as
to wild dogs.

These considerations must have presented them¬
selves to both G. and F. Cuvier, as well as to other
naturalists, for the Baron did not point out the wolf
or any other wild animal as parent of the domestic
races ; he merely notices the greater approximation
of the jackal, and inclined to one or more species
being absorbed in the domestic dogs as we now find,
them. At least this was our impression when some
of the foregoing arguments were submitted by us to
provoke an opinion. Both he, and more particu¬
larly his brother, have pointed out the importance
of studying the intellectual character or moral in¬
stincts of the species, as a method too much neglec¬
ted, and in this instance of the first importance. It
may however be doubted in what manner such an
inquiry could be carried on with sufficient inductive
foundation, when it is considered that we have no
other instance of a similar nature to guide us, and
that it would embrace the estimate of gradual mo¬
dification by domestication, through a period of

INTRODUCTION.

99

about four thousand years, or of fifteen hundred,
perhaps nearly two thousand, generations.* If it
were said that man alone furnishes circumstances
partially similar, we would find that they would
be adverse to the devised conclusions ; for if there
be but one original species of man, although it has
undergone all and more vicissitudes than his dogs,
we do not find his physical characters so greatly
varied, increased, or diminished, in the sense of
smelling, in the mass of the brain in growth, in the
form of the ears, and quality or quantity of hair, as
in the dog, when assumed to arise from a single
stock. And if it were said that there are more than
one original species of man, then we cannot deny
the conclusion, that as these are known, when mixed,
to produce prolific offspring, they would furnish a
proof that separate species of canines may be in the
same condition. Still, however, the mule breed
between dog and wolf, reared by Count de Buffon,
through four generations, leave no satisfactory re¬
sult ; and M. F. Cuvier, in later experiments, attests
that the procreative power in the descending fine
becomes less and less, leading to early sterility and
extinction. The term mule breed, used by Buffon,
be it observed, is only a repetition of the words of
the ancients, and shows in all the pre-supposition
that the species were distinct. Besides, if this breed

* Mr. Hodgson, however, also claims the intervention of
moral qualifications in his account of Capra tharal , as being
bolder and livelier than his Ovis nahoor, in opposition to the
conclusions of Colonel H. Smith’s account of sheep.

100

INTRODUCTION.

had had other results, it would still have remained
to be decided, whether a litter wholly of wolf ex¬
traction was capable of domesticity. The specimens
hitherto reduced to familiarity, had been all bred
up in confinement; those showing attachment, we
/believe, were, with one exception, she- wolves ; and
in no case were they ever sufficiently liberated to
determine, whether, with all their docility, they
would not have taken the road to the forest and
resumed the character assigned them by Nature, on
the first favourable opportunity, or as soon as the
first case of excitement appealed to their sensa¬
tions.

We leave it to physiologists to inform us of the
facts, if such there be, in the whole circle of mam-
miferous animals, where the influence of man, by
education and servitude, has been able to develope
and combine faculties and anatomical forms so dif¬
ferent and opposite as we see them in different races
of dogs, unless the typical species were first in pos¬
session of their rudiments. We do not pretend to
deny a certain influence to education even on the
external form, and to servitude and misery that
degeneracy which will produce some corresponding
decrease of size. But climate cannot have effected
much difference in the growth, since the two ex¬
tremes are found both in hot and cold countries.
Nor can food have had a material influence, since
man, existing entirely on vegetables or on fish,
retains all his faculties as well as when he subsists
on flesh ; and to a late period in the history of

INTRODUCTION.

101

Europe, the fiercest clogs, such as the packs kept by
the feudal nobility for boar and wolf hunting, were
invariably fed on bread.* If the dog proceeded
solely from one typical species, allowance being
made for some modifications as above specified, all
his developments would continue within the circle
of powers and faculties belonging to the original
type. They might diminish, but increase only in a
trifling degree. We may infer, that food or climate
would not truncate and widen the muzzle, nor raise
the frontals, nor greatly alter the posterior branches
of the lower jaw-bone, as in mastiffs. t It would
scarcely have the effect, in other cases, of producing
a high and slender structure, while it took away the
sense of smelling and several of the best moral qua¬
lifications resulting from domesticity and education,
as occurs in greyhounds. All these qualities appear
to us indications of different types, whose combinable
properties have enabled man to multiply the species
of dogs into the several races his wants required.
In these views we expect to have the concurrence
of all sportsmen, who have studied the characters
of the animals more than the books of systematic

* See our own ancient books of venery ; also Le Roi Modus
and the household institutions of the dukes of Burgundy ;
the ancient Welsh laws, &c.

j* “ The deep jaw-bones of (some) domestic dogs are inde¬
pendent of the more general character of the family, and
indicate a corresponding possession of actual physical power,
as in the lion and jaguar, compared with the more insidious
habits of the puma, we find a similar correspondence. — Ani¬
mal Kingdom , in the Edinbwrgli Review of Nat. History.

102

INTRODUCTION.

writers, and are led by inferences from their own
observations, rather than by the authority of names.
We know it to be the opinion of foresters and hunts¬
men of the north and east of Europe, men generally
well educated, who live wholly in the presence of
nature. We are assured it is the doctrine of the
Chinese and Tartars, particularly in the notice on
dogs in the treatise on hunting under the names of
Id, 1st, and Kuschuk. We know from personal
inquiry, that both the North and South American
Indians do not doubt their dogs being of the same
origin with the wild canines of their forests ; and,
lastly, we may appeal to inferences drawn from
conversations with Baron Cuvier, and laying aside
what was merely verbal, point to his text, where,
bearing in mind that he made it a law not to assert
as fact that which he had not verified by personal
inspection, speaking of dogs as a species, he never¬
theless admits that “ quelques naturalistes pensent
que le chien est un loup, d’autres que c’est un chacal
apprivoise : les chiens redevenus sauvages dans des
iles desertes ne ressemblent cependant ni a l’un ni
a l’autre.”* He then notices the matin, a breed not
known in England, but approaching our great farm¬
yard and drover dogs, as possessing a skull most
similar to that of the wolf, though the ears are
drooping. Further on,+ speaking of the jackal, he
says : “ c’est un animal vorace, qui chasse a la ma-
niere des chiens et paroit lui ressembler plus qu’au-

* Regne Animal, vol. i. p. 149.

+ lb. p. 151.

INTRODUCTION. 103

cune autre espece sauvage, p.ar la conformation, et
par la facilite de s’apprivoiser.”

In conclusion, we may assume, that man being
created for higher purposes than a mere animal
existence, subordinate creatures, so constituted as
to be important elements of co-operation, were called
into existence to further that design, and to facili¬
tate his intellectual advancement. Among others,
that canines were endowed with faculties of a pecu¬
liar nature in aid of his exertions, and in compensa¬
tion for the physical inadequacy of his structure, to
compete with the fiercer tenants of the world. How
the brute creation was at first distributed, we never
can ascertain ; hut we may conjecture, judging from
, that balance which we may trace is kept up in
organised matter, vegetable as well as animal, that
all the classes and orders must have been co-existing
from the beginning in such proportions, that none
had so decided a preponderance in either kingdom
of nature as to outweigh and destroy others, or even
to exceed their useful quantity. And here again we
find an exception ; for to man alone it was given, in
proof of his higher destinies, to violate this law for
his convenience ; to diminish, to exterminate whole
species of animals, clear whole regions of forest,
banish whole classes of plants, and supply their
places by multiplying those creatures and that vege¬
tation necessary to his own comfort, and converting
a wilderness into cultivated regions for his benefit,
without disturbing the harmony of the creation ;
unless in the duration of ages and in obedience to

104

INTRODUCTION.

other laws, whose periods of operation we are not
competent to measure.

Without, therefore, recapitulating the various
arguments adduced in the foregoing pages, we are
inclined to believe there are sufficient data to doubt
the opinion that the different races of domestic
dogs are all sprung from one species, and still more
that the wolf ( Canis lupus , Linn.) was the sole
parent in question ; on the contrary, we are inclined
to lean, for the present, to the conjecture that seve¬
ral species, aborigine , constructed with faculties to
intermix, including the wrolf, the huansu, the anthus,
the dingo, and the jackal, were parents of domestic
dogs. That even the dhole, or a thous, may have
been progenitors of the greyhound races ; and that
a lost or undiscovered species, allied to Canis tricolor
or Hycena venatica of Burchell, was the source of
the short muzzled and strong jawed races of primi¬
tive mastiffs.

Whatever may be thought of this opinion, thus
much at least is certain, that the advances towards
forming hybrid races are always made by the domes¬
tic species to the wild ; and that when thus obtained,
if kept to itself, and the cross breed gradually be¬
come sterile, it does not prevent repeated intermix¬
ture of one or the other, and therefore the admission
of a great proportion of alien blood, which may
again he crossed upon by the admission of hybrids
from another source, whether it he wolf, jackal,
pahariah, or dingo ; and that experiments, in the
form they have been hitherto made, in a different

INTRODUCTION.

105

climate and in captivity, are not conclusive because
they have terminated in the negative. We may add,
that it is likely dogs are at least as likely as horses
to be affected by impressions of former impregna¬
tions effected by different species, and not oblite¬
rated in the offspring of a subsequent homogeneous
litter.*

We know already enough of the kindlier moral
instincts of several wild canines to render their apti¬
tude for domestication, during the pressure of a
series of ages, not very problematical ; and if the
education of some of the races nearer to the wild
condition do not appear to be advanced to a great
degree of tractability, we must reflect that domestic
qualities are of very slow growth, as long as wild
congeners exist in the same country ; and that,
where man is a savage, his dog cannot be expected
to be civilized. This truth is indeed of such univer¬
sal application, that in some measure we may deter¬
mine the social condition of a nation by the degree
of education its dogs have acquired.

If, therefore, we were to distribute the more
typical races of dogs according to their apparent
affinities with those wild species which we know to
reside in zones of latitudes sufficiently proximate for
admitting their paternity, and place the more aber¬
rant tribes likewise in their congenial zones, although

* We refer to the case of the mare and quagga, and her
subsequent foals, recorded in Surgeons’ College, London ;
where the pictures of the successive foals, painted by Agape,
are preserved.

106

INTRODUCTION.

they be without a known prototype, we might form
a system as philosophically admissible as our present
knowledge will suffer, or as those already established.
We might view the dogs residing nearest the arctic
circle, or considered as descended from that quarter,
and resembling wolves, as their offspring, more or
less modified by the conditions of their being, during
a long process of ages, and their fertile intermixture
with other more southern species. We might take
the more aberrant forms, whose original types we
wrant, from that point in their zones where the most
vigorous race of them is known to exist ; and next
connect, in a similar manner, the wild and domestic
species of the tropics in the Old World, and those of
South America, with the group of their congeners
in that part of the New. We would in this manner
distinguish the large wolf-headed and long-haired
species of the north from the smaller jackal-headed
tribes of the south ; and find the species belonging
to the mastiff race, known to degenerate alike in
cold and hot countries, strong, numerous, and typi¬
cal in central Asia ; spreading eastward into Chinese
Tartary and westward to Great Britain, — always in
temperate regions ; while the long-nosed greyhound
group, in the highest state of procreative vigour and
serviceable activity, occupies another belt of the old
continent centering in the Persian Taurus, west of
Hinducoh, and spreading from China through north¬
ern India, Persia, and Arabia, including both sides
of the Mediterranean to Morocco, and to the extre¬
mity of Europe.

INTRODUCTION.

107

This distribution is sufficiently correct, in a gene¬
ral point of view, to merit consideration ; and the
modifications which can he pointed out in the habi¬
tat may well be ascribed to the migrations of man,
the necessity of administering to his wants and his
pleasures, and therefore to his particular care ;
which, after all, never enabled him to carry out his
desires beyond the few degrees of cold and heat,
one way or the other. If, then, by their conforma¬
tion, these animals were not invincibly debarred the
faculty of breeding together and producing prolific
lines of descent, we would find the great variety of
races of dogs now existing completely accounted
for by the demoralization they have suffered from
slavery. For although the laws which bind organized
beings within the prescribed limits of given ana¬
tomical and external consimilarities, still that power
whence these laws emanated, has also shown itself
in their exceptions. Exceptions that would in all
probability be much more numerous, if our know¬
ledge was more extended and accurate. Some have
been already pointed out, others are known to exist
in other classes of animals, as in birds organized on
a different but not an inferior plan, such as the hy¬
brid between different species of ducks, as well as
finches, whose offspring are equally prolific and
continuous.

To the objection that in this manner the difficulty
of the question is avoided but not overcome, we
answer, that the foregoing arguments tend at least
to support the general inference, and that we do not

108

INTRODUCTION.

see how or why a difficulty should be overcome,
which in itself seems to lie more in the maxims of
a system than in an invariable law of nature.

Before we close the introductory view of the
origin of dogs, it is proper to notice in a few words
the fossil canines. Of these only one questionable
species is, we believe, indicated in the older or
deeper strata of ossiferous caverns ; one that must
have been adequate to walk the earth at a period
when colossal forms of various kinds abounded. It
is noticed by Kaup under the name of aynotherium ,
and stated by him to have been in size equal to a
lion. It is doubtful whether a true diurnal canine
of the existing zoological forms has yet been de¬
tected in the same assemblages of bones where the
fossil hyaena is found mixed with so many others.
One, considered to be of a wolf, we examined in the
collection taken from the cave near Torquay, but
the Rev. Mr M‘Ennery stated that it was discovered
on the surface of the stalagmite which covered the
deeper hyasna deposit, and lay on the same floor
with flint knives. Whether domestic dogs have
ever been found in a fossil state, is still more ques¬
tionable. The Canis speleus of Goldfuss, found igi
the cavern of Gailenreuth, we know not under what
conditions, has the muzzle shorter and the palate
wider than the present wolf, and may be the most
ancient representative of the family, which even in
that case may not have preceded the first hunters or
the later shepherds who migrated from high Asia
westward ; for goats and sheep are equally wanting

INTRODUCTION.

109

among ossiferous debris, or are found under ques¬
tionable circumstances ; as if the progress of man
with his flocks had been attended by wild and
domestic canines, and their presence in the west
was coeval.*

With regard to foxes, their remains may be of a
somewhat older date ; but still they occur in the
tertiary series, though it is stated to be the older in
the Eocene of Lyell. Others were found in the
gypsum of the basin of Paris, and in the quarries of
Oeningen and Constance ; but burrowing animals
might be found below very ancient rocks, without
therefore positively fixing the period of their exist¬
ence. It must, however, be admitted, that frag¬
ments of jaws of foxes were found mixed in the
^me red earth which contains bones of hyaenas,
horses, ruminants, elephants, &c. in the Oreston
and other caves near Plymouth. t

* The species noticed by Baron Cuvier seem to have been
mere debris , from which, however, he was enabled to indicate
four, — the two first from the Franconian caverns, the last
from the calcariferous selenite of the vicinity of Paris ; they
were therefore of a coeval period with Paleotherium, and be¬
long to an anterior zoology ; but their characters and distinc¬
tions are not explicitly given. The two first mentioned,
however, belong to the latest period •, one representing the
characters of a wolf, may be the same as that of the Torquay
deposit, the skull perhaps deserving the name of lurcher wolf ;
and the other approaching the jackal, but larger than our
present foxes.

+ The foregoing chapter was written before we became
aware of the review of Mammalia in the Edinburgh Journal
of Natural History, where many considerations relating to

110

INTRODUCTION.

canines are investigated ; and although the author’s object
was not to question the single or plural view of the parentage
of domestic dogs, and his argument occasionally seems to lean
to the former opinion, yet we claim many of his facts and
reasons as confirming the latter. Want of space forbids these
being reproduced here in the form of quotations, and con¬
densation would only garble and do them injustice ; we there¬
fore refer to the original, particularly the Nos. x. xi. and xih

THE

CANINE FAMILY IN GENERAL,

OR THE

GENUS CANIS, (Linn.).

Dogs, taken in a collective sense, constitute a family
of digitigrade carnivora, distinguished from all others
by an uniformity of characters, which leaves no
doubt respecting the limits, but renders subdivision
the more difficult. Where all the species are so
nearly alike in their structure, naturalists have been
compelled to adopt distinctive characters of inferior
importance, and sometimes even of a trivial nature.
M. Frederic Cuvier, and other acute and practised
investigators, thoroughly convinced of the necessity
of bringing to bear upon this question all the light
that can be collected, have justly recommended the
investigation of the different intellectual and sensi¬
tive instincts of canines, for the purpose of applying
them in aid of the other means of classification and
the distinction of species. But in what manner
physiologists, who have advocated the intervention
of man as the sole cause of the modifications dogs

112

THE CANINE FAMILY

Lave undergone, can fix species by such aid, con-
sistently with their own argument, we do not pre¬
tend to understand. In our view, however, which
leans, without at present adverting to wild species,
towards the conclusion that the domestic may be
derived from several distinct though slightly sepa¬
rated canines, this resource is applicable ; and we
intend to adopt it to the extent our information will
permit.

All canines, excepting in size, are surprisingly
similar in osteological structure and in their whole
anatomy. Even minor peculiarities are rare and
evanescent. Recourse has therefore been had to
the comparison of the bones of the head, where
the seat of the senses was most likely to give evi¬
dence of different appetites, wants, and powers.
But even here, the skulls of the French matin dog,
the shepherd’s dog, the new Holland dingo, and the
European wolf, differ less than the last mentioned
does from the American wolf ; and the variation
that can be detected in the wild species is chiefly
in the teeth being more bulky than in the domestic.

In order to illustrate this fact, we here subjoin a
series of views of skulls of different species and
varieties of these animals, seen from above and in
profile. Some are taken from F. Cuvier’s plates,
others from nature ; and as it is not consistent with
the plan of this work to enter into a detached
anatomical discussion on the subject, the reader
will, it is hoped, find sufficient evidence, even upon
a cursory inspection, to admit, that where the simi-

IN GENERAL.

113

laxity is so very great, the general structure of the
animals cannot depart from this leading and chief
organ of the whole. The principal, it will be ob¬
served, is detected in the relative development of
the cranial chamber that holds the brain, for, in
proportion to this increase of size, the instinctive
and intellectual faculties are found to he augmented.
In one group of domestic dogs, however, there is
one bearing evidence of a much greater departure
from the general similarity, — a departure leading to
a strong presumption that the typical animal was
taken from an aberrant species, — one more nearly
approximating the hyaena, and allied to Cards tricolor
or pictus of authors. The group is that of the mas¬
tiff and our bulldog, whose structure will be exa¬
mined in the sequel.

We invite the attention to the difference in the
frontal line of the profiles, the relative, position of
the orbits, and the strength of the great carnassier
molar, and it will be observed that the great Canada
wolf (if it be a wolf?) is possessed of a greater
development of the brain, less space for attaching
the muscles of the neck and jaws, a more plain
profile, and forms in general approximating the
dingo ; and therefore we think the head belongs,
not to a true wolf, but to one of our group Lyciscus.
In the dingo, Canis Australia ?, of our arrangement
Chryseus Australia ?, we see the cerebral chamber
not greatly enlarged, the molars of middle propor¬
tion, the incisor teeth nearly in a straight line, dif¬
fering from the jackal where they form a semicircle,

H

114

THE CANINE FAMILY

and all the teeth are proportionally stronger than in
the dingo.

The teeth of canidas consist, in the upper, of six
incisors, two canines, and six molars on each side ;
of which number, three are false molars, one is the
camassier, and two are tubercular molars. In the
lower jaw there are likewise six incisors, two ca¬
nines, and seven molars on each side ; four being
false molars, one carnassier, and two tubercular.
Of these the incisor teeth are small, in wolves
generally irregular and somewhat projecting. The
canines are, on the contrary, very strong, pointed,
slightly recurved, long, and those of the lower jaw
clasping the upper, giving mutual support in the
act of tearing animal substances. The molars are,
os such, also but partially efficient, being tubercular
or false, and indicating that Nature intended them
only for occasional trituration of vegetable sub¬
stances, and more commonly for animal food. This
intention is powerfully evinced in the carnassiers,
both above and below, which being vertically rather
flat and jagged into three points, act upon each
other, in mastication, with the mixed powers of a
saw, a pair of shears, and a bruiser ; thus serving
to cut through and splinter what the canines have
torn, the false molars have prevented from coming
in mass to the carnassier, and the tubercular molars
finally triturate more, before it passes into the sto¬
mach. Here we have therefore a complete example
of the adaptations in teeth furnished by Nature to
effect certain ends, shewing the general but not

IN GENERAL.

115

absolutely exclusive subsistence of canines to be
animal food ; and this law, with its modifications,
is so constant, that the nature of the food of mam¬
malia may be ascertained with certainty by an in¬
spection of the structure of the teeth alone. We
may further observe from the teeth of canines, that
the carnassiers and false molars effecting only a
coarse imperfect division of their nutriment, the
animals so constituted must have a tendency to
subsist on putrescent flesh and broken bones, to
gorge with more avidity than selection, and conse¬
quently to suffer alternately from the lethargy of
indigestion and from protracted abstinence. Mr
J. E. Gray has observed, respecting the milk teeth
of young dogs, that the camassier is provided with
a small internal central lobe, as in other carnivora,
whilst the same tooth in the permanent set always
presents a large anterior lobe. In the growth of
the animal, the anterior part of the jaws alone
increases in length, so that the carnassier continues
as near the fulcrum of the lever as before ; and
this precaution of Nature seems to be a further
proof of her care, because, as the animals in ques¬
tion draw a part of their sustenance from the bones
they masticate, if the principal teeth used to break
them were not retained nearest the angle of the
mouth, there would not be sufficient muscular power
to effect that purpose.

There is, however, some slight variation in the
teeth of the Buansa, or Canis primcevus of Hodgson,
in whose lower jaw the second tubercular tooth is con-

116

THE CANINE FAMILY

stantly wanting ; and the same difference occurs in
the Cams Dukhunensis of Colonel Sykes, and in all
of the species noticed as dholes. But the group of
Megalotis , and several of the fur-footed canines,
show, in their tuberculous teeth, that they are, par¬
tially at least, insectivorous. One hitherto con¬
sidered as the largest of the Megalotis , is, however,
sufficiently distinct to constitute a sub-genus, having
seven molars on each side in the upper jaw and
eight in the lower.

The nostrils are lunulated, -with the lower angle
opening out at the side : they are situated in a
glandular muzzle. The ears are large, pointed,
moveable, turned forwards ; the tongue soft, long,
thin at the edges ; the pupils of the eyes are round
in many species, but contract vertically, like those
of cats, in others ; and from this circumstance
alone, the family is divided into twro great branches,
the former including the wolves, dogs, and jackals,
’ and the latter the foxes. But there are many spe¬
cies, especially in South America, and among the
fur-footed canines, where the faculty of eliptically
contracting the pupils is doubtful or imperfect ;
nevertheless, from the power of excluding a propor¬
tion of light indicating nocturnal habits, and the
round pupils an opposite propensity, they have been
called diurnal and nocturnal canines ; although the
fox hunts by day as frequently as the wolf, and the
jackal is perhaps more exclusively nocturnal than
either.

The fore-feet have five toes; the hind- feet four

IN GENERAL.

117

or five ; one group alone has only four toes on all
the feet. In all of them the two middle toes are
mngest and equal, and the two outer shorter ; the
fifth on the fore-feet is internal, and never reaches
to the ground. Of the feet the toes only rest on the
earth ; the claws are not retractile, but are strong, •
blunt, and fit for digging the ground ; the soles and
end of each toe are furnished with tubercles. Several
species, both in high and low latitudes, have the
soles or tubercular part of the feet covered with hair.
Near the arctic circle, Nature has conferred this
protection upon some kinds of domesticated dogs,
and even upon the red fox. It is a sort of glove.

To which end, then, was it likewise bestowed upon
several smaller species living near or within the
tropics ? This question is not yet determined ; but
we may surmise that the fur is of a different struc¬
ture, and intended to enable the possessors to ap¬
proach their prey without noise or concussion of the
earth, of which small birds and insects are remark¬
ably sensible ; and, therefore, that those so provided
are all to a certain extent insectivorous.

Canines have two sorts of hair, an under fur of a
soft woolly nature, and one of longer coarser piles
forming the outer coat. The tail in general is long
and hairy, reaching below the heel to the ground,
or even more. Its muscular flexibility and action
furnishes some slight additions for the separation of
the different groups, and most naturalists agree with
Linnaeus in the assertion, that in domestic dogs it

JIB

THE CANINE FAMILY

hangs to the left ; which Sonnini justly ascribes to
their action of galloping.

The mammae are from six to ten in number, and
their liability to vary in domestic dogs is a further
indication of a plurality of original species in their
constitution. The typical colours of the fur appear
to be ochrey, white, and black, commonly inter¬
mixed, so as to form greys of different tones, or
clouds, of tan or brown: the aberrant are fiery
rufous and bluish ash. These colours are liable to
vary according to the latitudes the species occupy,
or according to the season of the year or particular
race they belong to. Some true wolves and the
lyciscans of America are reported to differ very
considerably in the same litter, and the Lycaon
f ictus never occurs with the markings distributed
exactly alike.

They are almost universally animals endowed
with a prodigious delicacy in the organs of scent :
their hearing is acute ; the sight very good ; but
the senses of touching and tasting are not so per¬
fect : the last mentioned, in particular, taken accord¬
ing to human notions, is singularly at variance with
delicacy, for it shows no repugnance to corrupted
flesh. It is observed, even of lap-dogs, most daintily
fed, that they will often forsake the savoury dishes
prepared for them, to gorge upon carrion, and
manifest the intense pleasure they receive by rolling
upon it.

Hence, perhaps, canines are not personally so

IN GENERAL.

119

cleanly as animals of the cat kind. In this respect
the nocturnal species, whose fur is also more close
and fine, are far superior to the larger diurnal ; and
the fact may serve as another distinctive indication
between them. All the species drink by lapping,
require water often, and turn round repeatedly
before lying down. Their voice consists in howling,
but some hark even in a wild state ; and several
have various intonations expressive of different
feelings.*

In the wild species, the females residing in cold
and temperate climates are in heat during winter,
and once only in the year, or even two years.
Within the tropics, the period probably differs.
Gestation seems to he from sixty- two to sixty-eight
days ; but it may be shorter in the smaller species
of hot climates, and perhaps longer in some cases. t
Mons. Frederick Cuvier, whose views have been
generally followed in this article, extends it to three
or even three and a half months. Buffon was of
the same opinion. The young amount to three,
six, and even to nine and ten ; they are not full
grown till the second year, and longevity scarcely

* Mingit ad latus, cacat supra lapidem. Odorat anum alte-
rius. This habit of smelling each other is connected with the
two glands found on each side the anus, and communicating
with it ; they are ovoid in form, and exhale a penetrating foetid
smell. — Dauberton in Sonnini.

t The numerous experiments of Mr Tessier prove consi¬
derable diversities in the gestation of some orders of animals,
but in dogs he does not allow the limits to exceed four days.
See Cooper’s Tracts quoted in Buck’s Medical Jurisprudence.

120

THE CANINE FAMILY

exceeds twenty years. The phenomena of gestation
in canines demand some observations, from the
number of whelps produced at a birth by animals
destined to make violent exertions to obtain their
daily food, and therefore not fitted to be inactive
for any length of time. It appears that the young
are produced in a premature condition, for they are
bora blind; and while they remain in this state,
the foramen ovale is still open, according to the
experiments attributed to Mr Edwards.* But it
appears, in the work of that able observer, that he
regards the blindness of the new-born animal rather
as a proof that the vital action is not sufficiently
energetic to generate animal heat, a process effected
by the combined action of the nervous and vascular
systems ; and that animals born with their eyes open
are more mature. But whether under these circum¬
stances their blood is imperfectly arterialized, or the
vital energy be as yet insufficient, and consequently
that if they be removed from the nest, or for any
length of time from the maternal warmth, it is a fact
that they soon cool down to the temperature of the
surrounding atmosphere and perish. Now, the in¬
complete and helpless state of these animals, in their

* Edwards sur la vie. — This conclusion may demand some
qualification ; for we are informed by a medical officer in the
Royal Navy — one of unquestioned ability and experience—
that in opening a seaman killed by a fall, the foramen ovale
was found open, admitting the passage of a quill ; yet the mail
had been as strong, active, and healthy, as any other person
on board.

IN GENERAL.

121

first state of existence, may be one of the many
provisions of Nature to keep up the balance be¬
tween the carnivora and the other orders of mam¬
malia; for as the reproduction, in hot climates at
least, may amount to two litters in the year, and
each be of eight or ten, it follows that the destroyers
would increase beyond measure, unless by the above
and probably other precautions, a great number
perished at an early period of life ; and in this way
became themselves food for other carnassier in the
form of living prey, or in a corrupting state, when,
at their second dentition, numbers are carried off by
disease. The adults of different species, and even
of the same, if disabled, are prey to others ; nay,
the mothers occasionally eat their own whelps ;
they mutually destroy each other in their battles,
and are devoured by hyasnas. Nature appears to
have implanted an innate hostility between the
canine and feline genera. The hyasna, the dhole,
and other wild dogs, are alike reported to destroy
all tiger-cubs they can find ; and the last mentioned
in particular, enabled by their superior instinct to
act in packs, and combine their attacks, are even
more than a match for the most powerful of the
felinaa. Those that perish in these conflicts only
add to the repast of the survivors, and in this man¬
ner further the purposes of Nature. It is to this
peculiar instinct, no doubt, that the desire of tigers
to escape from the presence of sporting dogs, so
often observed in India, is mainly to be ascribed.
Of the smaller canines, the jackal still evinces the

122 THE CANINE FAMILY

hostility of his family to tigers, hy his unceasing
ptirsuit of them in the night, and announcing his
approach by a particular cry of warning, which for
merly was mistaken for the act of providing for the
monster. The jackal does not precede, but follows
at a safe distance ; and at the time his note of cau¬
tion is uttered, no other animal is heard to respond
to it ; while at other times the cry of one is an¬
swered in every direction, by all the individuals
then in hearing. The disposition to devour a slain
or wounded companion, which we still see partially
evinced in domestic dogs (who generally, when two
are fighting, rush to the spot and join in biting the
one who is worsted), is, however, modified by their
social instinct ; for Dr Daniel J ohnson, long resident
in India, relates, that in earths of burrows (those
troglodyte cities of canines usually dug by jackals),
both wolves and hyasnas take up their quarters
without attempting to molest each other, although
the openings of their mutual retreats are not far
asunder. There is a kind of understood confederacy
between the cohabiting species, and it is probable
that hostility is transferred to the next community
of burrows.

In the diurnal canines, part are of a middle stature
and a part are small. Their structure indicates
vigour and activity ; the larger species, in particular,
exhibit in the fore-quarters solidity and strength,
and in the posterior part slenderness and speed.
The legs are long, the neck muscular and length¬
ened ; the head is rather pointed, the chest deep,

IN GENERAL.

123

the thighs and shoulders fleshy, and the legs ten¬
dinous ; the muscles appear very prominent, but the
gait is not in perfect harmony with the conforma¬
tion. Movement with them is somewhat indecisive.
The head is not carried high, nor is the look bold ;
for canines in general are prudent, and become
daring only when pressed by hunger.

The smaller diurnal species and the foxes are pro-
portionably lower on their legs than the first men¬
tioned. The body appears to be longer and the
head more pointed. Foxes have the muzzle very
much sharpened ; they carry the head between the
shoulders ; their forms are more rounded ; and they
are naturally timid and distrustful. They hunt
exclusively such creatures as have no means of
defence ; trust entirely to silence and cunning,
unless they find themselves forced into some unfore¬
seen circumstance : hence they are crepuscular
and nocturnal in their habits, oppose flight alone to
every kind of danger, and seek retreat in their earths
as quickly as possible. They are more cleanly in
their persons than the diurnal canines, and their fur
is almost invariably finer and fuller.

It is among canines, wild or domesticated, that
the terrible disease known by the names of madness
and hydrophobia solely originates. Other mam¬
malia may be infected by a bite, but do not seem to
communicate the virus : to all who are attacked it is
invariably fatal. India is greatly ravaged by the
disease; hyaenas, wolves, dogs, jackals, and foxes
being alike subject to the infection. In German^

124

THE CANINE FAMILY

and France, hydrophobia attacks wolves and foxes
as well as the dogs ; both the first mentioned are
then without the fear of man, but run on in rabid
ferocity, biting all living beings they can reach. In
this condition mad foxes have been killed, in the
middle of people assembled at market.

The dogs of South America are not afflicted by
hydrophobia, but they suffer from an eruptive dis¬
ease that has been compared to the human small¬
pox, and is very destructive, but never attacks the
animal a second time. The disease is attended
with convulsions ; the beast in delirium bites at
random and mechanically ; drops saliva mixed with
blood, and the distemper is so extensively fatal, that
in Peru it is considered as a plague.

In a wild state the greater number reside in dense
forests, but it would seem that those destined to
become the companions of man are not so exclu¬
sively the tenants of the woods. The wild Canis
latrans and C. anthus are examples of this fact, and
the typical race whence greyhounds have sprung
appears to owe its origin to the northern plains of
Eastern Persia. Even the black wolf and the der-
boun, are more tenants of mountain ranges than of
forests. The large wild species of Europe do not
burrow, though in India and America they still
reside in retreats under ground. It is probable
natural sagacity has taught them that there is no
longer sufficient safety in burrows amidst the dense
population of the Christian states ; and numerous
local names still remaining attest, at least, that they

IN GENERAL.

125

formerly had their earths in Germany. Many of the
species hunt in troops ; those who are permanent
inhabitants of woods uniting only occasionally for
that purpose, and those of the more open country
keeping habitually together. They are cruel, vora¬
cious, lascivious, watchful, and capable of the greatest
alternations of exertion and sloth. With some few
exceptions in the Pacific Ocean and the antarctic
region, canines are spread over the whole earth ;
and under all circumstances of human existence,
dogs are found to be the companions of man. All,
it appears, are capable of some kind of domestica¬
tion and of attachment. The domesticated, when
suffering, yell and moan ; the wild will hardly utter
a cry of pain, even when in the chase they receive
a severe wound, and they may be beaten to death
without a groan. With excellent memories, none of
the. species .seem to seek revenge for ill treatment,
if once they have found their hostility unsuccessful,
and they are treated with forbearance.

It may be surmised, that since the commence¬
ment of history, some remarkable changes have
taken place in the local diffusion of digitigrade car¬
nivora, in India and in Northern Asia. The wolf
may be suspected to have spread farther to the
south, over the plains of Hindostan ; the hyaena
farther to the north, beyond the Ganges, to the
highest mountains. This animal and the jackal
seem likewise to have gained ground in Western
Asia, in Palestine, and then over all Asia Minor, —
where they may have partly replaced other species

126

THE CANINE FAMILY

and races that have since been nearly or entirely
extirpated.

This opinion is strengthened by the fact, that in
the Scriptures repeated allusions are made to the
wolf as then existing in J udea ; allusions inappli¬
cable to any other wild canine ; and yet, at the
present time, the animal now called the wolf iri
Palestine, the deeb of the Arabs, is a far inferior
species in strength ; by naturalists classed among
jackals, and by us referred to the particular group
of Sacalius. Again, beyond Bengal, east of the
Burhampootra, including the Burman empire, Siam,
Pegu, and the Malay peninsula, no hyaena, wolf,
fox, or jackal, is known, and, by implication, no
wild species of dog may be added ; a circumstance
tending to the surmise, that the first mentioned
advanced from the west and all the others from the
north, have not penetrated to this south-eastern
angle of Asia, and consequently, that the primitive
location of several animals, was, like man, confined
to particular places.*

The jackal is now found even in Europe, although
neither that nor the hyaena are described by Greek
writers with the knowledge which they would have
evinced, had the animals been so common as they

* See Crawfurd’s Embassy to Ava, and our account of
Topel hyaena. Indo-China is, however, possessed of several
species of elongated camassiers, wholly or in part supplying
the place of Canidae. Beside the deeb of the Arabs, the zeeb
is mentioned as allied to* the wolf, but does not seem to be
found in Palestine.

IN GENERAL.

127

now are in Natolia. Canines are indicated by them
under denominations which the moderns applied at
random to animals now found on the spot, without
comparing the notices which for- a considerable pe¬
riod have been within reach ; but it is only since
numerous recent travels have been published, that
an attempt may be made to clear up several obscuri¬
ties in the path of zoology, without incurring the
same certainty of misleading the public as for¬
merly.

128

THE DIURNAL CANID7E.

The several groups of canine animals which are
nrovided with a circular disk or round pupa in the
eves, are, as already stated, classed under the gene¬
ral division of Diurnal Canidae. They embrace the
largest species of the family, and the most interest¬
ing to man ; both with regard to his alliance with
some, and to the ravages which others inflict upon
his property. At the head of these tribes the wolves
unquestionably claim the first place ; because they
offer the best points of comparison whereby to exa¬
mine the others ; they are the best known in a wild
state ; in Europe they approximate most to the
domestic races, and constitute the only group in the
condition of nature which resides alike in both con¬
tinents, and occupies nearly the half of the northern
hemisphere. In this series we intend first to review
the wolves, properly so called ; whether they be
regarded as mere varieties of each other, or as actu¬
ally distinct species. Next will be examined the
groups of lycisci or wild dogs, being those which
depart farther from the typical characters ; and after
them we intend to arrange, in successive sections,
others still viewed as wild dogs, but more aberrant ;
and among which, nevertheless, there may be species
directly concerned in the parentage of some races of
;he domestic breeds.

I TO A 7.Q T T V’T 3

French. TVolt Vol.l vaae 7?Q ^

page i c „/ Canadian JColt. Toll page Id,

i

V

129

SUB-GENUS I. CHAON.
SECTION I. LUPUS.

THE WOLVES.

Lupus, Linn. — Sub-genus Chaon, Ham. Smith.

The typical wolf of Europe and Asia, and the
varieties belonging to this tribe in America, may
be described as animals occupying the two conti¬
nents, from within the arctic circle on the north,
to Spain, and perhaps to Morocco, on the west side
of the old continent ; to Syria, and beyond the
Crishna, in India ; and to near the isthmus of
Panama in the New World. Further south, in the
last mentioned part of the globe, they are replaced
bv an aberrant canine, the red wolf of Cuvier ; and
in the first, by hyaenas, the painted lycaon or Canis
pictus, and perhaps by other species not as yet fully
investigated. In China, wolves abound in the pro¬
vince of Xantung ; but how far they are found to
the south is not known. Buffon, from the account
of Adantjou, asserts the existence of a powerful race
of wolves in the Senegal country, hunting in com¬
pany with the lion ; but the name is most likely
applied to an hyaena, a lycaon, or one of the red
chxysean group.

I '

330

THE WOLVES.

In stature and strength the wolves of Europe
vary but slightly, and equal or surpass the largest
and most powerful dogs. Their laniary and carni¬
vorous teeth are proportionably larger and stronger,
the incisors distinctly trilobate, grooved within, and
in general more irregular and projecting than in do¬
mestic canines. The eyes are placed more obliquely ;
they are smaller, more distant, and apparently higher
in the head ; the forehead is broader and lower ;
the ears are pointed, smaller, and more open than in
dogs ; they have the body deeper, the belly fuller,
and less drawn up ; the neck is more thickly fur¬
nished with a bristly sort of mane, which produces
a turgid appearance about it ; the shoulder is higher,
the back sloping, the after extremities more crouch¬
ing and lower, and the hind-legs more bent under
the body. The tail, hanging close between them,
wants the flexibility of that of foxes, and the re¬
curved attitude of that of dogs : they walk more on
the ball of the feet than dogs, the fur is coarser,
and their odour is very offensive. Their whole aspect
indicating vigilant malignity, fear, and cruelty, dis¬
tinguishes them from the familiar species, even
when in size and similarity of fur they approximate
most closely. The muzzle, contracted below the
eyes, is pointed ; the edge of the lips black. On
the cheek there are two or more hairy warts, and
the bristles of the whiskers on the lips are short.
Wolves howl more frequently when the weather is
about to change to wet. They grovel with the nose
in the earth, instead of digging with their paws,

THE WOLVES.

131

when they wish to conceal a part of their food or
the droppings about their lairs. The parent wolves
punish their whelps if they emit a scream of pain ;
they bite, maltreat, and drag them by the tail, till
they have learned to bear pain in silence. Wolf-
hunters commonly assert that the animal is weak in
the loins, and when first put to speed, that his hind¬
quarters seem to waver ; but when warmed, that he
will run without halting from the district where he
has been hunted, taking a direct line for some
favourite cover, perhaps forty miles or more in dis¬
tance. On these occasions he will leap upon walls
above eight feet high, cross rivers obliquely with
the current, even if it be the Rhine, and never offer
battle unless he be fairly turned : then he will en¬
deavour to cripple the opponent by hasty snaps at
the fore-legs, and resume his route. The track of a
wolf is readily distinguished from that of a dog by
the two middle claws being close together, while in
the dog they are separated ; the marks, however,
when the wolf is at speed, and the middle toes are
separated, can be determined by the claws being
deeper, and the impression more hairy ; the print is
also longer and narrower, and the ball of the foot
more prominent.

Inferior in wily resources to the fox, the wolf is
nevertheless endowed with great sagacity. His
powers of scent are very delicate, his hearing acute,
and his habits always cautious. The European
variety is naturally a beast of the woods ; those of
the arctic regions and of the steppes of Russia and

132

THE WOLVES.

Tartary have different manners, probably from ne^
cessity, not choice.

It is said that the burrows of wolves are originally
the work of other species, such as hears, badgers,
wolverenes, jackals, and foxes. They only fit them
for their own use ; and when they burrow, it is
always in communities, so that not even bears can
dislodge them. In France and Southern Germany,
they now retreat under fallen trees, in the hollows
under large and old roots, in caves, clefts of rocks,
or overhanging banks, but always in the most
secluded and dense covers. We have seen a wolf’s
den in a hollow tree, accessible between some high
roots.

In well inhabited countries, where wolves are an
object of constant persecution, they never quit cover
to windward ; they trot along its edges until the
wind of the open country comes toward them, and
they can be assured by their scent that no suspicious
object is in that quarter ; then they advance, snuff¬
ing the coming vapours, and keep as much as pos¬
sible along hedges and brushwood to avoid detection,
pushing forward in a single foray to the distance of
many miles. If there be several, they keep in file,
and step so nearly in each other’s track, that in soft
ground it would seem that only one had passed.
They hound across narrow roads without leaving a
foot print, or follow them on the outside. These
movements are seldom begun before dusk or pro¬
tracted beyond daybreak. If single, the wolf will
visit outhouses, enter the farm-yard, first stopping,

THE WOLVES.

1.33

listening, snuffing up the air, smelling the ground,
and springing over the threshold without touching
it. When he retreats, his head is low, turned
obliquely with one ear forward, the other back, his
eyes burning like flame. He trots crouching, his
brush obliterating the track of his feet, till at a dis¬
tance from the scene of depredation; when going
more freely, he continues his route to cover, and as
he enters it, first raises his tail and flings it up in
triumph.

It is said that a wolf, when pressed by hunger,
and roaming around farms, will utter a single howl
to entice the watch-dogs in pursuit of him. If they
come out, he will flee till one is sufficiently forward
to be singled out, attacked, and devoured ; but dogs
in general are more cautious, and even hounds re¬
quire to be encouraged, or they will not follow
upon the scent.

During winter, when food is scarce, wolves often
suffer the extremes of famine. Foiled in catching
their prey, they are reduced to peel off the bark of
some trees, and even to load their stomachs with
clay. It is then they will rush upon danger. The
French newspapers of January, 1838, contained an
account of an old wolf attacking a group of seven¬
teen persons, wounding and disabling several, till
he was struck dead with an axe. It is at that period
they assemble in troops of from ten to twenty-five,
and boldly enter the streets of hamlets to attack the
dogs that may be out of doors ; and if one of their
own troop be wounded severely, the others immedi-

134

THE WOLVES.

ately devour him. At the close of the appalling
famine which desolated India, now more than a
quarter of a century ago, the wolves, always numer¬
ous and hut little molested, had become so daring,
that in open day they prowled through the villages,
and became exclusively fond of human flesh. It
was necessary to hunt them down, and to take them
in traps and pitfalls. Many contrivances for this
purpose exist in India, and a vast number were
taken. It had often been observed in Europe, that
wolves when taken in a trap lost all their courage ;
and the same fact was likewise established in India,
where single men went down into the pitfalls and
bound several of them, without the least resistance.
After a foray, these animals separate again, accord¬
ing to Buffon, as soon as they regain the woods ;
but in wild countries, and where they burrow, this
is not the case. Capt. Williamson, in his Eastern
Field Sports, relates the manner of smoking them
out, and states that on one of these occasions a
number of trinkets once attached to native children
were dug out and recognised by the parents.

Notwithstanding that numberless jackals and
pariah dogs, nay tigers, prowl about the British
cantonments in Northern India, wolves also roam
and even burrow occasionally under the buildings
of European occupants. We have been told by a
relative, that one night a servant in his family,
sleeping in the verandah with his head near the
outer lattice, a wolf thrust his jaws between the
bamboos, seized the young man by the head, and

THE WOLVES.

135

made efforts to drag him through ; his cries awa¬
kening the whole vicinity, the beast was compelled
to quit his hold, but although encountered and
struck at by many, he escaped ; the man was nearly
scalped and dreadfully lacerated, but recovered.
Wolves, when attacking cattle or horses, are said to
take them by the throat, or by the nose, till they
pull them down. A French farmer, however, re¬
lated that a horse of his, killed by a wolf the pre¬
ceding night, had been seized by the. tail and dragged
over till it fell upon the side ; and on visiting the
remains of it, we verified the fact of no wound
appearing in front ; the ham had been strung, and
the wolf had fed exclusively on the solid parts of the
buttock. A similar mode of attack appeared to
have been adopted, where a cow was the victim of
an American wolf, which likewise came under our
personal inspection. Sheep and lambs they actually
carry off at a round pace, contriving to throw a part
of the weight upon their shoulders. Capt. William¬
son describes a case that came under his own eyes,
and where he, being on horseback, attempted to
interpose, but the wolf laid down his burden and
gave signs of assailing the Captain s horse ; nnd he
being unarmed, felt the prudence of allowing him to
escape with his prize.

According to accounts we received from the Don
Cossacks, their horses bred wild on the steppes
resist the attacks of whole troops of wolves. The
mares form circles round the foals ; and the stallions,
remaining outside, resolutely charge them, and gene-

136

THE WOLVES.

rally repel the attack, killing one or more of the
enemy. Single horses fight a wolf by striking with
the fore-feet.

Much of the ubiquity of the species in the north¬
ern hemisphere may be ascribed to its habit of fol¬
lowing the more collective movements of man ; for,
allured by the scent of slaughter, by the numerous
dead horses always left along the lines of operations
of armies, wolves are known to follow in the rear to
feed upon the carrion ; and in India, there have
been instances when they actually mixed with the
train of attendants and carried off unguarded chil-
dren. At other times they have attacked videttes,
particularly in winter. During the last campaign
of the French armies in the vicinity of Vienna, the
Moniteur mentioned several of the outposts thus
molested, and the videttes carried off, when a dead
wolf, and pieces of clothing, shewed what kind of
enemy had been encountered. After the rout of
the grand army in Russia, wolves of the Siberian
race followed the Russians through Poland and
Germany to the borders of the Rhine. Specimens
killed in the vicinity, and easily distinguished from
the native breed, are still preserved in the museums
of Neuwied, Frankfort, Cassel, &c.

Wolves still commit such enormous depredations
on the property of the most civilized nations of con¬
tinental Europe, and even destroy so many human
lives, that it is deeply to be regretted there are
states with immense standing armies, including
whole corps of riflemen, who have never thought of

PLATE 31.

I.ff//ctna.2.Far .IX^vfoundland ZW.

Lizai\rs<\

\

•

•

■

.

THE WOLVES.

137

employing them to extirpate their common enemy ;
particularly as in times of peace their garrison
duties are any thing hut important. The Prussian
government alone has displayed an active anxiety
to at least abate the evil ;* and in Switzerland, for
more than two centuries, when a wolf appears, the
church bells ring an alarm ; each person takes his
rifle, all the dogs are out, and in a short time he is
killed or driven back to France or Savoy.

The ferocity of these animals is often of a very
treacherous character. We were told by a butcher
of New York that he had brought up, and believed
that he had tamed, a wolf, which he kept for above
two years chained in the slaughter-house, where it
lived in complete superabundance of blood and
offals. One night having occasion for some imple¬
ment which he believed was accessible in the dark,
he went in without thinking of the wolf. The
butcher wore a thick frieze coat, and while stooping
to grope for what he wanted, he heard the chain
rattle, and instantly he was struck down by the
animal springing upon him. Fortunately a favourite
cattle-dog had followed his master, and he rushed
forward to defend him. The w’olf had hold of the
man’s collar, and being obliged to turn in his own
defence, the butcher had time to draw a sticking-
knife, with which he ripped his assailant open.

But although these examples, and others related

* See, on this subject, the interesting remarks of Dr Wei*-
•enhom.

138

THE WOLVES.

by Buflfon, disclose the usual disposition of wolves,
yet when taken young and under judicious treat¬
ment, the females at least are not only tameable,
but actually evince considerable attachment. It is,
however, only attachment, not domesticity; the
spirit of savage nature still remains, and the whole
result is no more than what has been seen effected
with lions and other large felinae ; although these
have less natural intelligence and possess the con¬
sciousness of greater physical power.

Monsieur Frederick Cuvier cites an instance of
a wolf in whom the sentiment of affection existed
in a very remarkable degree. It refers to one
brought up like a dog, that became familiar with
every person he was in the habit of seeing. He
would follow his master, seemed to suffer from his
absence, evinced entire submission, and differed not
in manners from the tamest domestic dog. The
master being obliged to travel, made a present of
him to the Royal Menagerie at Paris. Here, shut
up in his compartment, the animal remained for
many weeks without exhibiting the least gaiety,
and almost without eating. He gradually, however,
\ecovered; he attached himself to his keeper, and
seemed to have forgotten all his past affections,
when his master returned after an absence of
eighteen months. At the very first word which he
pronounced, the wolf, who did not see him in the
crowd, instantly recognised him, and testified his
joy by his motions and his cries. Being set at
liberty, he overwhelmed his old friend with caresses,

THE WOLVES.

139

just as the most attached dog would have done
after a separation of a few days. Unhappily his
master was obliged to quit him a second time ; and
this absence was again, to the poor wolf, the cause
of the most profound regret. But time allayed his
grief. Three years elapsed, and the wolf was living
very comfortably with a young dog which had
been given to him as a companion. After this space
of time, which would have been sufficient to make
any dog, except that of Ulysses, forget his master,
the gentleman returned again. It was evening, all
was shut up, and the eyes of the animal could be of
no use to him ; but the voice of his beloved master
was not effaced from his memory ; the moment he
heard it, he knew it, and answered by cries indica¬
tive of the most impatient desire ; and when the
obstacle which separated them was removed, his
cries redoubled. The animal rushed forward, placed
his fore-feet on the shoulders of his friend, licked
every part of his face, and threatened with his teeth
his very keepers who approached, and to whom an
instant before he had been testifying the warmest
affection. Such an enjoyment, as was to be ex¬
pected, was succeeded by the most cruel pain to the
poor animal. Separation again was necessary, and
from that instant the wolf became sad and immov¬
able; he refused all sustenance, pined away, his
hair bristled up, as is usual with all sick animals,
and at the end of eight days he was not to be
known, and there was every reason to apprehend
his death. His health, however, became re-esta-

140

THE WOLVES.

blished; he resumed his good condition of body
and brilliant coat ; his keepers could again approach
him ; but he would not endure the caresses of any
other person, and he answered strangers by nothing
but menaces.*

In this account, taken from the pen of a dis¬
tinguished naturalist, there is, we may fully believe,
not the slightest exaggeration of the facts ; but the
inferences to be drawn require, nevertheless, consi¬
derable caution. The wolf was attached, but his
attachment remained exclusive, and (for in this
instance it appears that the animal was a male),
if he had been allowed to go at large and follow
his master like a dog, it still remains a question
whether, upon the excitement of instinctive appe¬
tites, he would not have returned to the woods ;
whether, if his master being accompanied by him,
had been attacked by other wolves, he would have
fought in his defence ; or for pure love, as Buffon
relates of a hybrid she-wolf, he would not have
joined in eating his protector.

Wolves do not acquire their full growth till
after the end of the second year. Their season of
heat, in Europe and North America, is late in
autumn, and the female produces from three to
seven whelps at a litter. They are brought forth in

* Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom, by Griffith, vol. ii. p. 342 _

We have witnessed the most obstreperous fits of joy in a she-
wolf at the visits of a young lady, who had never taken other
interest in the animal than patting her on the head and speak¬
ing to her. This was also at the Jardiu du Roi, at Paris.

THE WOLVES.

141

holes, or under the most sheltered and impenetrable
covers., where a bed of moss is gathered by the
mother for their comfort and necessary warmth.
The male wolves are accused of a desire to devour
the whelps as long as they are blind ; and the fact
is well known that the females practise this unna¬
tural brutality if the young have been handled, or
her attention or suspicion be raised by some cause
which, it seems, excites in her an idea of apprehen¬
sion for their safety, and is manifested by so singular
a mode of expression. After the eyes are open, the
male wolf is no longer an object of maternal fears ;
he then joins in the care of rearing the young, and
in bringing partridges, moorfowl, rats, and moles to
the lair; and both stages of the whelp's existence
indicate the further operation of secondary causes
all in unison with those already noticed. With
the growth of her progeny, the she-wolf increases
in vigilance and in daring. By degrees they are
led by her to drink, two or three times a day, to
the nearest sequestered water. As they increase
in stature, both the parents take them out to
hunt.

It is at this time that families of wolves are often
seen in company skirting the vicinity of habitations.
By degrees, however, the young acquire strength ;
and ere the autumn ends, the male has forsaken the
troop and taken to his solitary habits ; the mother
remaining with her litter, and often keeping together
through the next winter and spring season ; it ap-

142

THE WOLVES.

pearing, in Europe at least, that wolves by no
means pair every autumn.

The malevolent sagacity, fearful howling, and
originally obtrusive pertinacity, which led the wolf
to roam about the habitations of mankind, and
show his sinister eyes flaming in the dark, were no
doubt the cause of that mysterious power he was
presumed to possess. We can trace, in the earliest
institutions, poems, and history of nations, the avre
they inspired. The wolf was sacred to Apollo : a
she-wolf having nursed him, as another nursed
Remus and Romulus. The figure of one was adored
by the people of Parnassus : it was a military en¬
sign of the Macedonians, of the Romans, and of the
Ostragoths. In the metamorphoses of the ancients,
the wolf is conspicuous ; and that demons assume
its shape, that sorcerers and incantators alternately
pass from the human to the lupine form, is believed
by the vulgar throughout Asia and Europe ; slightly
modified it is a common superstition in Abyssinia,
and even among the CafFres. The goldfoot (wolf)
is an attendant upon Odin, as he was more anciently
upon Mars ; and he is the type of the destroyer,
under the name of Fenrir, in the twilight of*the
gods, when, according to Scandinavian lore, the
world shall perish, and the gods themselves will be
consumed. If the Druids assumed the name of
red-eared dogs, the priests of the Egyptians, Ro¬
mans, and several other nations, including the Blot-
mannur of the north, were likewise designated as

TIIE WOLVES,

143

wolves. Some nations of antiquity, as well as the
more recent noble tribes of Goths and Saxons,
claimed the names of wolves.*

In the notices of wolves taken by ancient writers,
it is evident there is no small confusion ; because,
having no accurate system of fixed distinctions,
travelling being rare and drawings not in use,
authors were necessitated to adopt vulgar names,
which often applied to more than one species, and
thus mixed up the true wolf with wild dogs, jackals,
hyaenas, and even with lynxes. Copyists next con¬
fused the question still more, until the moderns,
without much knowledge of the fauna of Eastern
Europe and Western Asia, adapted names in such
a manner, that subsequent investigation tends to
show them wrong in by far the greater number of
instances, and renders a reconsideration of the an¬
cient texts equally desirable and perplexing. But,
although within the last forty years much informa¬
tion has been collected respecting the mammalia of

* The Taricheutes or embalmers, and the priests of Lyco-
polis, in Egypt. The

“ Tertia post Idus nudos Aurora lupercos.

Aspicit

of Ovid, relates to the priests of Pan at the Lupercalia. The
Blotmen, or sacrifices, of the Gothic nations, wore wolf-skin
wrappers in their naked and sanguinary ceremonies. The
second tribe in point of dignity among the Ostragoths (as we
gather from the oldest Teutonic poems) was that of the Wol-
fingen. The first among the Saxons was the Whoelf or
Guelphic.

144

THE WOLVES.

Asia, we are still insufficiently acquainted with
several that are known to exist, to pronounce with
confidence upon the names by which they may have
been noticed in former ages ; and as there are
grounds for surmising the reality of the disappear¬
ance of some, which have been replaced by an in¬
crease of others, not so well known in antiquity,
we can as yet only attempt an approximation to a
better understanding of the questions at issue ; and
this will be attempted, though with considerable
diffidence, as we proceed through the several groups
of canines they may affect.

In America, there are admitted species and per¬
manent varieties of the wolf, which we seem to look
for in vain in the old continent. The difference,
however, arises more from the circumstance, that in
the former they are still in a state of nature, with
their characteristic qualities not as yet so broken by
human civilization as has been the case in the lat¬
ter, where, if we search, both different species and
varieties are likewise found, and even to a greater
amount ; but their distinctions are more obliterated
by the long-continued intervention of active and
civilized nations. They therefore continue to be -
confounded or considered as varieties of climate
only ; which, after all, is a very easy mode of dis¬
posing of every difficulty. If now, with these
remarks in view, we examine the wolves of Eastern
Europe and Western Asia, such as the ancients
knew them, arid without adverting to those of the
north and west of Europe, we shall find, by refer-

THE WOLVES.

145

ring to Oppian,* whose information on the subject
is by far the most distinct, that he enumerates no
less than five wild canines under the name of wolves.

The first of these was the ro^offrrje ( Jaculator ),
the darting wolf, a fleet animal, with a small body,
strong limbs, large head, of a rufous colour, with
round white spots on the belly, and flaming eyes.
He howled terribly, and was constantly roaming
about the shepherds’ flocks.

The second species translators have designated
by the epithets of harpagus , accipiter , and circus :
because the animal practised a mode of circumvent¬
ing its prey. This variety was the largest in body
and limbs, and also the fleetest of the whole. In
colour it was silvery white, with a splendid tail,
and it came forth in the dusk. During winter,
when snows lay deep on the mountains, it de¬
scended to the plains and preyed on the goats and
flocks of husbandmen.

The third was the aureus or golden wolf, the
most beautiful of the species, clothed in a fur of
reddish golden yellow, and armed with powerful
teeth. This race resided in the mountains of Cili-
cian Taurus and Amanus, but was impatient of heat,
and therefore lay in its rocky retreats during the
canicular period.

* Oppian, lib. iii. Messieurs de l’Academie of Paris, in
their Memoirs, Part I., have toiled hard to show that some
wolves of the ancients were lynxes ; and then named a lynx
they dissected loup cervier , with an erudition and confusion of
purpose apparently inherent in learned bodies.

K

146

THE WOLVES.

The fourth and fifth, acimones , and perhaps icti*
nus , were smaller ; with a lengthened body, strong
and shaggy limbs, but having the face more pointed ;
the ears, eyes, and feet more diminutive. One had the
back and belly whitish and the feet dark coloured,
and the other was entirely black : they hunted hares
with their fur bristling on end.

In referring these to the species at present known
to exist in Turkey, we may take it for granted that
the first mentioned is the common rufous wolf of
Greece, and especially of Natolia. The second may
be regarded as the hoary variety, still abundant in
the north of Canada, and not unfrequent in Norway.
It was a mountain race, and appears to have hunted
singly, not in troops like the other. The golden
species is, however, more questionable; although
modern writers have followed Linnaeus in applying
the name to the jackal, and Gesner believed it de¬
signated the hyaena. It is evident that the animal
was larger and more formidably armed than the
former ; that it could not bear the heat, and was
bright fulvous ; characters not applicable to jackals ;
and that it was not the latter, because beauty can¬
not be ascribed to hyaenas, who are sufficiently
known, and are likewise able to bear the highest
temperature without suffering. It is, therefore, only
referable to the beluel of Persia, which appears to
be the same as the wild dog of Beloochistan, by the
ancients confounded with thos , and by the writers
of the present day it should be included among the
dholes.

The fourth species of Onnian we are inclined to

THE WOLVES.

147

refer to a canine commonly considered as a fox ; but
it is larger, more bulky, low on the legs, with a
hoary grey fur, rather a short brush, and tawny
limbs. It is still not uncommon in Turkey. In the
commentary on h'racastor’s Ale on, it is added, that
it was short-necked, broad at the shoulder, hat
small eyes, and a pointed nose.

The fifth, however, is not referable to a well
known species. Black foxes might exist and prey
upon hares. It is possible that the derboun of the
Arabian mountains, still found in Southern Syria, is
meant ; but the precise characters of the animal are
not as yet well known.

Of the wolves, properly so called, in both conti¬
nents, we shall now proceed to enumerate and de¬
scribe the existing species and varieties. We have
not personally been able to detect any characteristic
difference in the voice and howlings of the species
in either hemisphere, but in fur they vary according
to climate, or the difference of species and race.
No true wolf has a white tip to the tail, excepting
where albinism or the rigour of climate clothes the
animal in a grisly white fur, and even then dark
hairs, are commonly observable at the tip of the
brush : the under fur of all is ashy. The typical
livery of the group consists of various shades of
tawny, more or less intermingled with black and
white, causing deeper or lighter tints : the aberrant
colours are black and fiery rufous. The species re¬
ceding from the true wolf, and more directly assimi¬
lating with domestic dogs, will be considered in the
sequel.

14a

THE COMMON WOLF.

Lupus vulgaris.

PLATE I.

The common wolf of Western Europe is in stature
from twenty-seven to twenty-nine inches at the
shoulder. The general colour on the head, neck,
and back, is fulvous grey; the hairs being mostly
white at the root, then annulated with black, ful¬
vous, and white, and pointed with black. Those
beneath the ears, on the neck, shoulders, and but¬
tocks, being considerably longer, furnish a kind of
mane, which particularly protects the throat : all
are hard and strong, especially about the nose and
on the ears. The muzzle is black ; the sides of the
cheeks and above the eyes more or less ocliry, turn¬
ing grey with age. The upper lip and chin are
white ; the limbs ochry or dun, and adults have on
the wrists an oblique blackish band.

The French wolves are generally browner and
somewhat smaller than those of Germany. White
wolves occur sometimes among the races of middle
Europe, but they are mere cases of albinism.

The race of Russian wolves is larger, and appears
more bulky and formidable from the great quantity
of long coarse hair on the cheeks, gullet, and neck.

irJjAT .h

. ’ '

*

■- ■»

*.-*

.

.

* ' :

■

. <*_

■y

-

: ' ' '' ''V

THE COMMON WOLF.

149

In colour, the head, face, neck, and back is light
grey ; the hair being a mixture of sandy and ash ;
on the nose and lips, and upon the limbs, the sandy
tint predominates. The eyes are very small, and their
whole aspect is peculiarly savage and sinister.

The Swedish and Norwegian wolves are similar
to the Russian in form, but appear heavier and
deeper at the shoulder. Those towards the north
are still whiter, the mixture of colour being white
with a varying quantity of ashy and black ; but in
winter totally white.

The Alpine wolves are brownish-grey, and smaller
than the French. Those of Italy, and to the east¬
ward towards Turkey, are fulvous, with a slight
mixture of black, evidently the same as they were
in ancient times, the epithet fulvous being bestowed
upon them by Virgil.

The wolves of Asia Minor are nearly the same
in colour, but the fulvous is redder and more predo¬
minant.

In India there are two species referred to the
wolf ; one not larger than a greyhound, commonly
known by the name of beriah , is of a light fox-
colour, inclining to dun, with a long head and ears
like those of a jackal ; slenderly made, but bony.
The tail is long and not very hairy. The other is
somewhat smaller, and belongs to our group of
lyciscus.

All the foregoing animals appear to be essentially
tenants of woody regions.

150

m

THE BLACK WOLF.

Lupus lycaon.

PLATE II.

This species is at least equal in stature to the com¬
mon wolf, and even stronger in the limbs and
shoulders. Though likewise an occupant of woody
covers, it is more exclusively found in rocky moun¬
tains and elevated ranges ; although we doubt whe¬
ther the whitish variety before mentioned, as well as
the harpagus of Oppian, do not in reality belong
to this species. It is certainly distinct from the
common, notwithstanding that it inhabits the same
latitudes, for they do not mix.

There are some indications of a more placable
nature about the black, and of the probability that
they would breed with domestic dogs a more pro¬
lific intermediate race. The variety best known is
the Pyrenean wolf, or lobo of Spain, and is entirely
black ; some have a few white hairs on the breast.
They are exceedingly ferocious and shy. A pair
confined in the king’s menagerie at Paris produced
whelps equally untameable, and yet they had a
different physiognomy and varied in the colour of
the fur. Mons. Frederick Cuvier, in his notice of

PLATE 2.

Native of Spai

THE BLACK WOLF.

151

the species, appears in doubt whether it be not hy¬
brid ; although in a former part of the same account,*
he maintains the gradual extinction of mule breeds
between wolf and dog. This is the wolf of Southern
Europe, and is the predominant species of Spain,
where the dark brown variety of the more open
mountain ranges is even still more powerful and
heavy than the black. We have seen a letter from
an English gentleman holding a high public station
in the Peninsula, wherein he describes a wolf-hunt
in the mountains near Madrid. There was a battue
of the country people driving the game towards the
mountain, where the sportsmen, armed with rifles,
were placed in ambush. One came bounding up¬
wards towards him, so large, that he took it, while
driving through- the high grass and bushes, for a
donkey. The slight noise of cocking his rifle was,
however, sufficient to warn the animal, for it turned
off out of sight. At the close of the hunt seven
were found slain, and their weight was so consider¬
able, that, although the gentleman is both active
and in the flower of life, he could not lift one en¬
tirely from the ground. The specimen we were
enabled to figure came from the banks of the Tagus ;
it was equal in size to the largest mastiff, of a very
dark brown colour, with ears rather larger and the
muzzle thicker than in the common wolf ; but,
withal, resembling a very large and shaggy wolf-dog.

The Spanish wolves congregated formerly in the
passes of the Pyrenees in large troops, and even

* Diet, dee Sciences Naturelless au mot Chiea.

152

THE BLACK WOLF.

now the lobo will accompany strings of mules as
soon as it becomes dusky. They are seen bounding
from bush to bush by the side of travellers, and
keeping parallel with them as they proceed, waiting
an opportunity to select a victim ; and often suc¬
ceeding, unless the muleteers can reach some place
of safety before dark, and have no dangerous passes
to traverse. Black wolves occur again in the moun¬
tains of Friuli and about Cattaro.

The Yekvoturian mountain-wolf of Russia is ano¬
ther race of the black species. From the females,
crossed by domestic dogs, a hybrid progeny has
been obtained at Moscow, which, according to Pal¬
las, resembled wolves, but carried the tail higher
and had a hoarse barking. “ They multiply,” says
that celebrated naturalist, “ among themselves, and
some of the whelps are greyish, rusty, and even
white, like the wolves of the arctic circle. One of
those I saw, in shape, tail, fur, and voice, was so
like a cur, that, was it not for his head and ears, his
ill-natured look and fearfulness at the approach , of
man, I should have hardly believed that it was of
the same breed.”*

The RossomaJc of the Lenas, in Siberia, is another
canine of a shining black colour, probably of the
same species as the former, but with a more valu¬
able fur.

The Derboun of the mountains of Arabia and the
south of Syria is the last black canine we can refer
to the wolf. Little is known concerning this ani-

* Pallas, in Pennant’s Arctic Zoology, yol. i. p. 42.

Russian Wolf. VoLl.page Iff

X

■l

.

1

'3 A

*

P

' V T

V .

/- .

. » :

■ ■

THE BLACK WOLF.

153

mal, and there is an indication that, like the former,
it assimilates more with dogs than the grey wolf,
for the Arabs eat its flesh like game, which proves
that it cannot have the very offensive smell that
real wolves possess.

In the British islands wolves existed even to a
late period, although there was at all times a ten¬
dency to their being extirpated. “ Nullos fovet
Brittania” ( lupos ) is a quotation from Textor, cited
by Gesner; and it is probable that the Romans
laboured to clear the island of them. The Saxon
monarchs pursued the same measures, as is attested
by the tribute of wolves* heads they demanded from
the Welsh. The more lawless Norman conquerors
were, however, not so patriotic ; they bestowed only
lands by the tenure of keeping dogs to hunt wolves.
Whether they were real wolves or only wild dogs,
is a question that cannot now be clearly decided ; it
is nevertheless worth observing, that the Celtic
terms faol, mactire , and blaidd , designating the
wolf, are not so often found in the old manuscripts
as the Gaelic mada alluidh , ferocious dog, and Jiadh
chain and faolchu , wild dog, or fool teach , wolf-
mouth, or the Welsh gwyddgwn , wild dogs. Tradi¬
tion, in North Britain, likewise favours the opinion
that the so-called wolf was in reality a wild dog,
resembling the Irish wolf-hound, and was the parent
of the gazehound.* It hunted in packs. The last

* It is, however, not at all clear what we are to understand
by gazehound.

154

T1IE BLACK WOLF.

was killed in Scotland, in 1680, by Sir Ewen Came¬
ron ; and in Ireland, the last presentment for killing
wolves was in the county of Cork, in 1710.

THE AMERICAN WOLVES.

If now we examine the species known to exist in
the North American continent, we find correspond¬
ing species distributed in nearly similar latitudes.

But whether they be distinct from those of the
eastern hemisphere, or primeval varieties, is not as
yet satisfactorily established. The high authority
of Dr Richardson leans towards the opinion that
they are different species ; that of Prince Maximi¬
lian of Wied, perhaps still more practically con¬
versant with the races of both continents, that they
are of the same ; and so far as the wolves are con¬
cerned, our own somewhat extensive researches lead
us to subscribe to the last-mentioned opinion; al- „
though it may be proper to observe, while our ideas
respecting the characteristics of species remain un¬
settled, the difference of conclusion is perhaps only
formular.

The common wolf of North America is found in
the states of New York, Vermont, and the Canadas,
resembling the German race in stature, colours,
form, and manners ; even the oblique bar on the

THE AMERICAN WOLVES.

155

fore-wrists is present. The grey about the eyes
and face, in old individuals, is likewise similar ; and
in voice and manners little or no difference exists.*

The white, or white and grey race, is found far¬
ther north towards the arctic circle, and corresponds
with the white wolves of Norway, Sweden, and
Lapland. It deserves to be remarked, however, of
the white wolves, as well as the black, that neither
intermix with the common variety, though they
occasionally reside in the same countries. Oppian,
we have seen, considered his first or whitish wolf as
distinct, and the name of harpagus might perhaps
be admitted for its particular epithet. The highest
ridges of New Spain produce also a whitish wolf,
referred by Fernandez to his Mexican species, and
is a counterpart of the harpagus of Asia Minor.

The Black Wolfi or lupus lycaon of America, is
again found in corresponding latitudes. It abounds
chiefly in the southern states of the Union, as in
Europe we have the species in Spain and borders
of the Mediterranean. If there be genuine black
wolves near the arctic circle in America, we have
found them also on the Lenas. Of the latter there
is no distinct account beyond the observation that

* Our drawings, made from the living animals in the
United States, when examined in Germany, were taken to be
of the race found about the borders of the Rhine. They were
submitted to several Oberjaeger (foresters) and gamekeepers.
One of these, killed in Vermont, was reported to weigh ninety-
seven pounds. We figure a specimen with more black than
usual about the jowl and throat.

156

.iHE AMERICAN WOLVES.

their fur is shining and pure black : of the former,
Mr Griffith, in the English version of the Animal
Kingdom, furnished a very good figure, taken by
Mr T. Landseer from a living specimen brought
from Hudson’s Bay, and remarkable for the im¬
mense quantity of rough long hair guarding the
throat, its uniform black colour, and bushy tail.
Yet this animal, like the black wolf of Europe,
reminded the spectator of the great dogs of the
arctic circle more than a genuine wolf. The speci¬
men we drew in the Edinburgh Museum had a
small white space on the breast, and came also
from North America. This had a canine aspect
like the first mentioned, and both seemed to have
the eyes placed nearer the ears and with a longer
nose than is observed in the common wolf.

157

THE DUSKY WOLF.

Lupus nubilusy Wied.

PLATE III.

Observed in latitudes to the north of the Canadas,
presents the counterpart to the Russsian black
variety of the mountains, and approximates also
more to dogs. It is of a greyish black partially
tinged with brown.

These species of the two continents may there¬
fore be considered as identical at present, forming
three ancient and permanent races.

Although the wolves of America, like the foxes
of the same part of the world, are varied in their
colours, we think Baron Cuvier mistaken when he
thought the older authors, who minutely described
the Mexican, are not to be credited, for the species
sent by Mr Humboldt is evidently not different,
and is undoubtedly the same as the caygotte of the
natives and coyotl of Fernandez.

158

WOLF OF SOUTHERN STATES, N. AMERICA.

Lupus MexicanuSy Smith,

PLATE IV.

Is still very imperfectly known, although it was
described by Hernandez and Fernandez. In stature
it is equal to the common, but the head is broader ;
the ears are long and pointed ; the neck very thick ;
the tail scanty and not so long as in the former ;
the vibrissas are veryrobust, almost like quills, having
black and white rings; the fur is grey with spots of a
rusty tan-colour; the grey of the head is marked with
several transverse blackish bars, and on the forehead
with fulvous spots ; the neck is grey with a fulvous
bar and a similarly coloured spot on the breast, and
with another on the chest ; blackish bars and ful¬
vous spots run irregularly down the sides ; the tail
is grey, with a fulvous mark about the middle ; the
limbs are grey with blackish rings from the body
to the feet, distinguishing this species from all other
wolves. We have never met with a specimen in
museums, and only found an imperfect skin at
Cura9oa, brought from Honduras, where the species
did not appear to be well known ; but it may be
that these animals vary considerably in the markings

PLATS

NORTH AMERICA WOLF.

159

of their fur, for we figure here an individual shot in
Virginia, which is evidently much allied to, if not
the very same species as the wolf of Hernandez.
In size it was at least equal to other large wolves.
The general colour an ochry grey, passing down¬
wards into buff, and hoary about the throat and
face. The nose, mouth, and jowl were sooty black,
with irregular bars of the same colour crossing the
cheeks ; the vibrissse were heavy, laid back, and
reached to the eyes. The forehead bright rufous,
interspersed with black marks which reached to the
hack of the head ; the outside of the ears (which
were rather long), the middle part of the tail, and
the feet up to the joints, were rufous, with a black
bar across the carpus ; the root and tip of the tail,
a space on the croup, another on the shoulder, and
a number of irregular bars across the back of the
neck, were sooty black, and the flanks between the
bars bright buff-grey, paler below. This specimen
was stuffed, and formed part of the museum of
Philadelphia.*

* Prince Maximilian of Wied, in tlie account of his travels
in North America, now in the press, will describe, under the
name of Cams variabilis , a species of wolf liable to very diffe¬
rent colours in the livery ; and Dr Richardson remarks also,
that in the same litter, both of his Canis lupus occidentalis and
Cams lupus occidentalis latrans, there is often a great diversity
of colour ; but the last-mentioned observer claims for both
species a different aspect from the European wolf, which tends
to a conclusion that lie does not think the species of b*>“'*'
continents identical.

160

SECTION II. LYCISCUS.*

TIIE LYCISCAN DOGS.

Under this denomination we propose to class the
diurnal canines that are not strictly wolves, and
reside, with one exception, in lower latitudes, from
the southern part of the temperate zone to within
the tropics. In examining this group, a further
proof may be found, how much the natural history
of the whole family is still open to conjecture ; and
though it might be objected, perhaps justly, that
the species not thoroughly known should not as
yet be admitted in the catalogues of mammaliae, we
think, as the existence of the animals is unques¬
tionable, to present their imperfect descriptions to
the reader, has at least the advantage of pointing
them out more directly to the inquiries of travellers
and naturalists ; the errors that may be committed, '

* “ Lyciscus. Hoc idem e lupis galli, quorum greges suis
quisque ductorem e canibus Lyciscam habent.” Plin. quoted
by Cirino. — We do not find this text, but the name is evi¬
dently connected with the wolf, and has originally no refer¬
ence to barking. The Teutonic luchs, anciently given without
discrimination to the lynx and to a kind of wolf, is a nearer
etymon, and may be derived in both cases from the luminous
eyes. The Lupus cervarius of Pliny is similarly both a wolf
and a lynx.

THE LYC1SCAN DOGS.

161

in our present state of knowledge concerning them,
being no more than to place their names in one
group, when perhaps they may he ultimately found
to belong to another. Fastidiousness on this head,
tends more to prolong obscurity than to advance
the science. With this impression of the subject, it is
likewise consistent to subdivide the family into sub¬
ordinate groups under distinct subgenerical names ;
because the contrary practice tends to advance our
knowledge no farther than it was in the time of

o

Oppian, and to keep the whole natural family in
that indistinct state it still is ; subordinate groups,
on the contrary, must necessarily produce deter¬
mined and final investigation.

In conformity with these considerations, the ly-
cisci represent those species of wild canines that are
inferior in stature and possess manners different
from true wolves, instinct more placable, and facul¬
ties more amenable to the general wants of man¬
kind. Those of the American continent are known
to bark in their wild state ; they burrow, and there¬
fore do not absolutely shun the presence of man ;
they hunt in troops with the clamour of dogs, so
that the wild native is sometimes puzzled to distin¬
guish between them and his own domestic breed.
Hence a just surmise may be drawn, that in the
New World at least, it was from the lycisci that the
aboriginal Indians reared their present races of dogs ;
while in Asia, and even in Europe, breeds of similar
origin appear to be traceable.

L

16 2

NORTH AMERICAN PRAIRIE WOLF.

Lyciscus latrans.

PLATE V.

Tins species, partly residing in the higher latitudes
of the western continent, is the object of Dr Rich¬
ardsons principal remarks, in his account of the
American wolves. They are described by this acute
and persevering investigator, as occupying the high
sandy plains between the sources of the Saskatche¬
wan and the Missouri. They burrow like foxes,
and come out of their holes, assembling round the
hunter on the first report of a gun, with evident
hopes of sharing in the spoils of his sport. They
are exceedingly swift of foot, assemble in great
numbers, hunt in large packs, and have a barking
voice. In the form of the head, the muzzle, nose,
and position of the eyes, the specimen we have seen
greatly resembled the northern shepherd’s dog ; the
fur was entirely of an ashy grey, as described by
former naturalists, but there was some white about
the breast, and even in the end of the tail, which
was more bushy than in the common wolf. Although
all these distinctive characters are trivial, yet in their
aggregate they remove this animal from the group

NORTH AMERICAN PRAIRIE WOLF.

NORTH AMERICAN PRAIRIE WOLF. 163

of lupus. The choice of open plains, burrowing in
large communities, instinctive confidence at the
approach of man, hunting in large packs, barking,
and, finally, the presence of white hair and general
aspect, warrant this conclusion. But the prairie
dog is reported to be found also in California, and
to vary in colour, even in the same litter, as much
if not more than true wolves ; we suspect, however,
that this assertion refers to Lyciscus cagottis.

In the old continent, no pale, ashy, wild canine
is at present known ; but among domestic dogs of a
similar latitude, there are the great Danish dog,
and in all probability the primitive greyhound, as
will be shown in our description of the feral dog of
St Domingo ; and there was a race of molossi, the
“ Glauci molossi ” in the classical times of antiquity,
which Cselius mentions as not remarkable for cou¬
rage. It may be that the typical animal of the old
continent has been early absorbed by domestica¬
tion.

The little wolf, hunting heavers between the lati¬
tudes sixty-five and seventy, mentioned by Mac¬
kenzie, may be presumed to belong to L. latrans ,
or is a race of the next species.

164

THE CAYGOTTE* OF MEXICO.

Lyciscus cagottis , Smith.

PLATE VI.

The Caygotte of the Mexican Spaniards, and most
probably the Coyotl of the native Indians, is a
second species, but slightly noticed by travellers.
Mr William Bullock observed it near Rio Frio, in
the Mexican territory, and was informed by mule¬
teers, then with him, that it was the Caygotte, a
very fierce kind of wolf : the individuals he saw
were in size equal to a hound, of a brownish rusty-
grey, with buff-coloured limbs, and rather a scanty
brush. This description nearly coincides with a
similar animal we have met on the north coast of
South America ; only the tail was dark brown, with
a white tip, and the under parts and feet were dirty

* The Basque name, Caygotte, bestowed by the Spaniards
upon a Mexican canine, offers a curious coincidence with the
indigenous name Coyotl. In Bearn and the south of France,
Cagot is a term of contempt applied to a race of human beings
for ages persecuted and expelled social life. It is there inter¬
preted for Ca-goth , Gothic dog or Arian, but it seems to sig¬
nify dog of the woods, or wood-hound, which is synonymous
with Coyotl. Is it therefore another instance where these
two remote dialects resemble each othe*- ?

PLATE

OF MEXICO

THE CAYGOTTE OF MEXICO.

16.5

white. The Indians named it aguarra , an appella¬
tion we shall find in the sequel applied to several
species.

This lyciscus measured about twenty -four inches
at the shoulder, resembled a common wolf, but had
a muzzle and the ears proportionably shorter; the
body appeared to be rather long and robust, com¬
pared with the height ; the nose, cheeks, and limbs,
to the carpus and tarsus, were butf ; the forehead,
neck, and back, clear grey ; all the hair rather hard to
the touch ; the rest as before stated. In the Animal
Kingdom, Baron Cuvier describes as a wolf, under
, the name of “ The Mexican,5’ one that can be no
other than this species ; and we have little doubt
but that the Cuyota or w Jackal Fox” of Captain
Belcher, observed by him on the banks of the Sacra¬
mento river, in California, about 37 deg. 43 min.
north, and 122 deg. west, is again the same animal,
notwithstanding that by the compound name of
jackal-fox given to it, seems to imply a smaller
species.

The grey wolf-like lycisci of the old continent,
which seem to correspond to the L. latrans and Ca-
gottis of the new, are still less known than the first
mentioned, but we refer to this group the Jungle
Koola , Lyciscus tigris of Smith, because it may be
this species which caused all the rumours of the
ancients concerning the tiger-dogs of India being
the hybrid produce of domestic bitches with wild
tigers, and of such indomitable ferocity, that only
the third generation could be reared and trained

]f)6

THE CAYGOTTE OF MEXICO.

for domestic purposes. Captain Williamson con¬
founds them with his beriahs , but they are reported
to be somewhat lower than that animal, with a
broader back, and of a light grey colour, obscurely
marked with darker cross bars by the tips of the
hair being black ; the limbs and face pale buff.
A specimen shot among the rocks on the sea-shore,
near Vincovah, in the vicinity of Bombay, was
in colour yellowish-grey, brindled with blackish
streaks : the head was sharp ; the under parts dirty
white ; the tail not very hairy, whitish below ; and
the markings on the body so distinct, that some
young officers present conceived it to be a young
tiger ; but other persons immediately named it a
jungle hoola (wild dog). It was killed in the act
of searching for offals and putrid animal matter cast
on shore by the sea.*

* Communicated by Colonel Dunsterville, Hon. East India
Company’s service, who was present.

167

SECTION III. CHRYSEUS.

THE RED DOGS.

The second group of wild dogs belongs to the old
continent, and at present is found in Asia from the
southern side of the Himalaya ridge to Ceylon, and
from China to the Mediterranean. By a notice in
Shaw’s Zoology, it appears equally spread through
Africa, and with a slight modification of characters ;
other species are observed in the great Australian
islands, occupying, with the exception of New Hol¬
land, the same portions of the ancient world where
the largest felinse reside, as if they were appointed
to keep them within bounds. The obscure name of
Chaony mentioned by Caeiius to be the parent of the
Chaonian dogs, and merely noted as luporum genus,
may have indicated this group in the earliest Doric
tongue. All the species examined were found to
want the second tubercular tooth in the lower jaw,
had the soles of the feet hairy, and were more or
less long-bodied and fulvous in their livery : they
had the eyes oblique, and eight mammas. There is
no evidence that any of them burrow ; hence their
greater shyness and retired life in the jungles, the
habits of constant co-operation, the necessity of

168

THE RED DOGS.

great personal courage, and the instinct of defend¬
ing each other in danger. Their voice is a kind of
barking ; they hunt both by day and by night ; and
though fearing the presence of man, they have the
courage to attack the largest animals, the antelope,
the wild boar, the buffalo, not excepting the tiger
and lion. Bearing an inherent hostility to the larger
felinae, they are incessantly on the watch to destroy
the whelps, and the concert and energy they display
in encountering the adults, is believed to he the
chief cause, which all Indian sportsmen admit, of
the alarm of the tiger at the sight even of a domestic
spaniel ; indeed, the dread cannot have been caused
by the sportsmans domesticated spaniels or pointers,
but must lie deeper in the natural instincts of beasts
of the forest ; and we may surmise, that the species
of Chryseus are the instruments Nature has ap¬
pointed to keep down the superabundant increase
of the great felinse of the wilderness. The manners
and instinctive faculties of these animals remove
them alike from wolves and from jackals. No natu¬
ralist adverts to the offensive odour so commonly
remarked in wolves, jackals, and foxes, as belonging
to them ; whence, we may conclude, that they ap¬
proximate dogs also in the smaller volume of the
anal glands ; and as there appears to be a proba¬
bility that a species of this group formerly resided
in Europe, to their nightly hunting, perhaps more
than to the wolf, may be ascribed the origin of the
mysterious stories of romance, first found in the
Ostrogoth sagas, concerning the wild hunter of Ger-

THE RED DOGS. 1 69

many and his demon hounds, the Ilellequin and
King Arthur in the forest of Broceliant.

As we find species of this group in the southern
part of the Old World, so we find an approximating
species (or perhaps group) with similar colours, and
it seems with a like want of the second tubercular
tooth, in the corresponding latitudes of the New
World. The Aguara gouzou is the species we
mean ; and until its manners are better known, we
may suspect it executes some parts of the same
duties, although, not being gregarious, it does not
possess the same efficient .means.

W e consider it to be absolutely begging the ques¬
tion, when canines, by travellers called wild dogs,
are deemed varieties that are descended from the
domestic, or that may by some chance be their
offspring, even when in all the country where they
are observed, the familiar dogs are totally different,
or are a poor degenerate race when compared with
the wild. This practice only tends to protract the
uncertainty, as is evident when we look to the state¬
ments of Viscount de Querhouent, who, we believe,
first noticed the Cants pictus of authors, and whose
description continued most pertinaciously to be
placed with dogs run wild. Sparrman indicates
both the same animal and the red wild dog, and
points out a third, which is no doubt the Hyama
villosa , so lately described by Dr Smith ; yet, until
his figure and description appeared, this also was a
feral dog ; whereas, if they had been entered in the
catalogues of naturalists, their existence would have

THE RED DOGS.

170

attracted inquiry much earlier. It is because we
think there is sufficient evidence to presume that it
was a species of the group now under consideration,
which Oppian described as the aureus of Mount
Amanus, that the appellation of Chryseus has been
applied to distinguish the live or six species, varie¬
ties, or races, we have to enumerate. Notwith¬
standing the absence of a tubercular, and that the
sole paternity of domestic dogs cannot in our view
be ascribed to a single species, we think Mr Hodg¬
son was fully justified in offering to his species the
name of Canis primcems , the animal we take for
the type of the whole group.

Chrysceus primcevus. Canis primcevus , Hodgson.
The Buansa of Nepaul. — This species wants the
second tubercular tooth on each side of the lower
jaw, has the soles of the feet hairy, the ears erect,
the superior parts of the body deep rust colour, the
lower yellowish, and the tail very bushy, straight,
and of medial length. The huansa is a true wild
dog, in size between a wolf and a jackal,* hunting
both by day and by night, in troops of from six to ten
individuals ; following game rather by the scent than
sight, and generally overcoming the quarry by per¬
severing exertion, combination, and force. The
animal barks with a peculiar tone of voice; and
unless taken very young, is quite untameable. —
Young pups, reared among domestic dogs, are re-

* From nose to tail, three feet ; tail, one foot •, height at
shoulder, about one foot seven inches. Ears, three inches.

THE RED DOGS.

171

ported to have quite as much instinct and discern¬
ment as the familiar breeds, but it is not as yet
known what their temper may he when grown up.
The species belongs to the woody and rocky moun¬
tain ranges between the Sutleje and the Boorham-
pootra, but it is found, with some distinctive features
of race or variety, more to the south, in the Pindya
hills, the Ghauts, the Nielgherries, the Casiali hills,
in South Bahar, and Orissa, to the coast of Coro¬
mandel. Among these,

The Kolsun , or Cams Dukhunensis of Col. Sykes,
Is stated to be a mere variety of the above, having
a similar skull and dentition, but differing in the
colours of the fur being somewhat paler and the
quantity less dense ; a difference which may be
ascribed to the latitude and the habitat being both
lowTer, and therefore much warmer. Colonel Sykes’s
specimen had the head elongated and compressed, the
nose not very sharp, the eyes oblique, pupils round,
irides light brown, the expression of the counte¬
nance similar to a coarse ill-tempered Persian grey¬
hound, distinct from all other wild canines ; the ears
were erect, long, somewdiat rounded, without fold of
the tragus ; limbs remarkably large and strong in
relation to the bulk of the body ; neck long ; body
elongated ; between the eyes and nose red brown :
end of the tail blackish ; general colour red, paler
beneath ; the tail pendulous and bushy. Length
from nose to tail thirty-three inches ; tail eight
inches and a half ; height at the shoulder sixteen
inches and a half.

THE RED DOGS.

172

The Dhole of Mr Wooller, discovered by him in
the Mahablishwar hills, is also considered to be at
most only a variety of this race.

The Qyo * of Dr Spry is by him identified with
the Kolsun , and represented as a rufous brown dog,
paler beneath, with a hairy hanging tail and round
pupils. The size is superior to that of the jackal,
the body longer, and the limbs more robust. He
reports the claws to be sharp, and that they scratch
out the eyes of their prey. It was from a pack of
ten or twelve Qyos, Colonel Bowles took a buck
antelope, which had been so hard pressed by them,
that it was already at bay in a pond of water, having
in the extremity of distress boldly dashed through a
column of camp followers, whose shouts had not
arrested the pursuit, but brought the officers at the
head of the troops back to the rear to secure the
prize.

With some hesitation we place here also the short
notice of the Wah , a canine designated as a Dhole,
but possibly a very distinct species. It was first
mentioned to us by the late Lieut. -colonel Deare of
the 8th Dragoons, who was a native of the Etfst
Indies, a keen sportsman, and many years resident
in that part of the world. A printed account of a
similar animal, observed in captivity, has since
appeared in one of the annuals ; both agree in the
description, one having been killed in Central India,

* The word is likewise written Quihoe and Quao , evidently
allied to the Greek Chao.

THE RED DOGS.

173

the other seen in the southern provinces. This
Dhole was represented to be a robust tliick-bodied
animal, nearly equal in height to a harrier hound,
but heavier in weight ; the head broad and ponder¬
ous ; the forehead flat, with a greater distance from
the ears to the eyes than from these to the nose ;
this was blunt, dark-coloured, and rather broad, the
rictus or gape black, opening to beneath the eyes,
which were of a greenish yellow, set in dark eyelids,
and offering a most ferocious aspect ; the teeth very
powerful ; the legs and claws remarkably strong,
resembling a bulldog’s, and the tail rather short, but
most bushy towards the end, and sooty in colour ;
the general colour of the fur tanned, browner on the
back, with some white on the breast, belly, and
between the limbs. It growled with a deep and
threatening voice, and the natives related, that, in
danger, the animal, by means of the tail, flings its
urine in the eyes of pursuers. The Colonel con¬
sidered this not to he the true Dhole, and character¬
ized it as reminding the spectator of a low-legged
hyrnna with the colour of a dog, but he was too
familiar with the Hoondar* to mistake it for that
animal. It was reported to hunt in packs, uttering
an occasional deep-toned bay.

The Beluel of Avicenna, which he seems to have
considered to be the Thos of antiquity, is the next
we have to mention. This we take to be the Beluck

* The name of the hySena of Tndia, very distinctly marked
with dark zigzag lines down the back, but lower than the
wolf.

THE RED DOGS.

174

of Beloochistan, one of two species of wild canines
found in the woody mountains of South-eastern
Persia, and probably extending along the high lands
west of the Indus into Caubul. It is described as a
red wild dog, very shy, and extremely ferocious ;
hunting by day in packs of twenty or thirty, seizing
a bullock or a buffalo without hesitation, and tearing
the animal to pieces in a few moments. A British
officer, who traversed a part of this wild region of
alternate jungle and sandy plateau, deeply scarred
into long and parallel furrows, barren and vertical,
so that no quadruped can cross many without com¬
plete exhaustion, observed a group of these red dogs
basking on the edge of the forest, yet on the watch
for game ; but they withdrew into cover before he
could fire at or completely examine them : they
were, however, long, and rather low on the legs, of
a rufous colour, with a hairy tail and a powerful
structure : their foot-marks in the sandy soil were
very distinct, and indicated that their feet were
exactly like those of a hound. The native peasants
related that they keep aloof from human habitations,
and consequently do little injury to human pro¬
perty ; but that no animal, especially if it be
entangled in the billowy ridges before mentioned,
can escape the pertinacity of their pursuit. Having
demanded some particulars about their structure,
they pointed to a domestic dog then present, and
said that the Belueh wras very like it, but larger
and destitute of white colour, which marked the
domestic animal ; but that there existed, farther ta

THE RED DOGS.

175

the west, a wild species still larger than the red,
which had so much white that the brown and black
occurred upon its back in the form of spots.*

The Bed Wild Dog of Southern China is most
likely another race or species of our sub-genus
Chryseus. This animal is described as resembling
the Dingo of Australia, though somewhat lower on
the legs ; but whether this or the Beluch wants the
second tubercular tooth, is not ascertained.

On reviewing the notices, of the present group of
wild dogs, whether they be one or several species, it
is evident that they extend their habitat over an
immense surface of Asia ; and since they are found
to the westward of the Indus, it is likely they also
inhabit the deep forests along the Caspian, and,
continuing in the same parallel of latitude, that
they have existed, and possibly may still be found,
in the mountains of Asia Minor. If, now, we com¬
pare tiie foregoing descriptions with the account of

* A very dangerous canine sometimes follows the caravans
from Bassora to Aleppo. The Arabs call it Sheeb, and report
that all who are bitten by one die of the wound. Dr Russel
accounts for this statement by supposing the animals in a state
of hydrophobia, which indeed would be sufficient cause foi
inducing the Chryseus, at other times sullen and shy, to quit
his haunts ; but then several unite in these expeditions, which
no mad canines do ; and we question whether hydrophobia
really exists in Western Asia, at least it is unknown among
the street curs in cities. This Sheeb is most likely a Chryseus,
or the Thous toeta. See that name.

THE RED DOGS.

176

the Xujcp Sovgog or Aureus of Oppian, which lie
relates was a resident of the rocky jungles of Mount
Amanus and Taurus of Cilicia, a province where he
— the poet, naturalist, and sportsman — was born,
we cannot suppose that he spoke wholly from hear¬
say, and, ignorant of the characters of his golden
wolf, mistook it for a jackal, then not frequent so
far to the north ; but which in comparison is insig¬
nificant, does not fear the heat, nor retires during
the appearance of the dog-star ;* is not of a bright
fulvous colour, but greyish in Natolia ; is not to be
mistaken on account of its howling ; burrows in the
vicinity of human habitations ; is the reverse of a shy
and solitary nature ; and, finally, is not noticed by
him under another name.t The uncertainty and
confusion respecting this group commenced with the
ancients, who ranged in all probability no less than
three very distinct canines under the names of
Thoes. Pliny, in speaking of a Thos, which he
viewed as a kind of wolf, merely remarks that it had
a longer body, shorter legs, sprang with velocity, and
lived by hunting ; adding, not dangerous to man. %

* Sirium orientem meduit.

+ Oppian’s Tlious was a spotted animal.

+ “ Luporum genus est (Thos) procerius longitudine, bre-
vitas crurum, dissimile velox saltu, venatu vivens innocuum
homini. Pliny. — iElian’s Thos may be jackals, but the Thoes
of Homer, described as put to flight by the lion, while they
surrounded a stag at bay, cannot be jackals but the Chryseus.
So also is the Thos of Aristotle, when he notices their engaging
the lion.

I

THE RED DOGS.

177

All these characters are perfectly applicable to the
Chryseus of our type, and to its varieties. The
mistaking Oppian commenced with Belon, and
Kaempfer, being unacquainted with the existence
of the rufous wild dog, referred aureus to the jackal
and misled Linnasus.

It is even more likely that from this group the
mixture with a domestic race might be reported to
have been obtained, which the ancients, and even
Aristotle, repeatedly assert to be the Alopecides or
the Chaonian and Spartan breeds, but which, from
their strength and courage, could never have re¬
sulted from crossing dogs with foxes.*

There is some reason to presume that the Chry¬
seus formerly existed in Southern Europe ; for to
what other species can we refer the kind of wild
dogs noticed by Scaliger as existing in the woods of
Montefalcone in Italy ? “ There resided,” he says,

“ for ages, about Montefalcone, a species of wild
dogs; animals differing from wolves in manners,
voice, and colours ; never mixing with them, and
being particularly fond of human flesh.” This last
character may have been a gratuitous addition of
his informers ; he does not in this paragraph notice
the particular colour, but in another part of the
work, wild dogs of a rubiginous colour are inci

* Isocrates and Xenophon represent the Laconian dogs to
be amongst the most powerful, and Aurelius Nemesianus : —

Elige

Non humuli de gente eanem, sed cruribus altis,

Seu Lacedemonio natam seu rure molosso.

' i

M

THE RED DOGS.

178

dentally recorded;* and Pliny, who collected all
the information within his reach, without attempt¬
ing much of arrangement or identification, may
have had that race in view, when he asserts that all
animals in a domestic state had their counterparts
also in a wild condition. These considerations we
deem sufficient to establish the right of applying
the name of Chryseus to the present group, and
even to add to it

* A family of the name of Montefalcone bore a wolf salient
gules. Another of the same name had red dogs for supporters,
in a collection of blazoned Italian arms in the library of
St Mark at Veniee.

Native of Lidia.

'

.

••

'

.

.

-

. .

■

<, y '
'

-

“

- -J

v

_

179

THE TRUE DHOLE *

Chryseus scylax , Smith.

PLATE VII.

The Dhole of Capt. Williamson , and Quihoe of Dr. Daniel

Johnson.

The names here brought in juxta-position, show
how much confusion there exists in designating the
animals already described and the present species
among the natives of India; a confusion they ex¬
tend to hyasnas and wolves. Qyo, Quihoe, and
Qao appear to signify imitations of the animal’s
voice when hunting, Dhole a Praerit name ; but it
is evident that where the names of Hoondar and
Beriah, hyasna and wolf, are considered synonymous,
species still more indistinctly marked may well be
expected to be confounded. The Scylax is described
to be in size between the wolf and jackal, slightly
made, of a light bay colour, a sharp face, fierce
keen eyes ; in form approaching a greyhound ; the
tail strait, not bushy ; the ears wide, pointed, open,
and forming a triangle ; the skin dark ; nose, muz-

* This name is an antique Asiatic root, implying daring,
recklessness ; in Turkish, Deli ; in Teutonic, Dol, mad ; in
Belgic, Dulle, outrageous.

180

THE TRUE DHOLE.

zle, back of the ears, and feet sooty. From this
description the animal differs from Chryseus primas-
rus and the other races, in being more slender and
higher on the legs, in having a sharper muzzle, a
long close-haired tail, and large dark ears. It is
reported to hunt in packs of greater numbers, to
utter a cry, while on the scent, resembling the voice
of a fox-hound, intermixed with occasional snarling
yelps. Dr Daniel Johnson witnessed a pack attack¬
ing a wild boar.

The drawing we possess of Chryseus scylax was
taken from a carefully executed Indian water- colour
painting, observed in a collection on sale in London,
some years before Capt. Williamson s Oriental Field
Sports were published. Colonel Deare, then a cap¬
tain, was about this time in London, and the copy
being shown him, he first conveyed the information
that it represented the Dhole, or, as he termed it,
the True Dhole, distinct in form from the other
species already described. In Europe, that name
was then only known to a very few persons who
had previously resided in India. Specimens occur,
it seems, very rarely, and these only in the Rkaiii-
ghur hills, and sometimes in the western Ghauts.

DHOLE OF CEYLON.

181

DHOLE OF CEYLON.

Chryseus Ceylonicus.

“ PLATE YIII.

Canis Ceylonicus, Shaw ; or Wild Dog of Ceylon,

First described by Vosmaer. This species is evi¬
dently much allied to the last-mentioned, although
the account of it was not taken from an adult. The
stuffed specimen was not much larger than a domes¬
tic cat, measuring about twenty-two inches from
nose to tail ; the tail itself sixteen inches, gradually
tapering to a point ; the colour yellowish grey with
a cast of brown, owing to some hairs of that colour
being longer than the rest ; the feet strongly tinged
with brown ; the hair close but soft to the touch ;
the head long and pointed ; the snout and under
chin brown, but the top of the head yellowish asli-
colour, which, passing beyond the ears, forms a spot
below them and terminates in a point below the
eyes ; the ears wTere small, elevated, and pointed.
In this specimen, the last molar of the lower jaw
was also wanting. The claws resembled those of a
cat more than of a dog, and there were five toes on
the hind as well as the fore feet. We have exa-

182

DHOLE OP CEYLON.

mined, in Holland, the skin of a dog which was said
to have come from Ceylon and corresponded suffi¬
ciently to admit of its being the same species,
although it was at least four inches longer and the
colours were less grey and more fulvous ; the tail
was long and without a brush, and the claws blunt,
but with five on each foot. It is evident that the
discrepancies between the two were owing to non¬
age, in Boddseert’s specimen. The skull we have
not seen.

Although in the following extract it is likely that
more than one species may be confounded, yet the
description is in general so like that of the true or
greyhound Dhole, that it may be surmised a race of
Chryseus actually extends to the Cape ; and it is
probably mixed up with some characters of the
Tokla, which will be mentioned with the Thoes.

In Dr Shaw’s Zoology, wild dogs are mentioned
as inhabiting Congo, Lower Ethiopia, and the vici¬
nity of the Cape of Good Hope. “ They are said
to be red-haired, with si ender bodies and turned up
tails, like greyhounds It is also added, that they
vary in colour, have upright ears, and are of thfe
general size of a la?ge fox-hound; they destroy
cattle, and hunt don a antelopes and many other
animals, and commit great ravages among the sheep
of the Hottentots ; *hey are very seldom taken,
being exceedingly sw)ft as well as fierce ; the young
are said to be sometimes obtained, but grow so
fierce as to be with great difficulty rendered domes¬
tic. In this short description we recognise the

DHOLE OF CEYLON.

183

Mebbia of Congo, which assemble to the number
of thirty or forty, and hunt all kinds of animals,
hut offer no hostility to man. These wild dogs
cannot be confounded with the Cams pictus , which
in all probability resides in W estern Africa, because
the limbs of the Mebbia are described as remark
ably heavy, and the colour of their fur is rufous.

184

THE P4RIA.H DOG.

Chryseus pahariah , Nobis.

Chien marron of the French at Pondicherry.

It may be questioned whether the races of Pariah
dogs of India be merely a low degraded kind of
mongrels, descended from a nobler breed of domes¬
ticated dogs, or be the offspring of an indigenous
wild species of the jungles. Naturalists in general,
preoccupied with the views which Buffon dissemi¬
nated on this subject (views we shall have occasion
to show the great and eloquent naturalist affirmed
and contradicted sometimes within a few pages),
have assumed without proof and often against pro¬
bability, as a fact, that where wild and domestic
races nearly allied were found, the former were only
feral or bewildered descendants of the latter. Igi
the present case, however, the wild Pariah is found
in numerous packs, not only in the jungles of India
Proper, but also in the lower ranges of the Hima¬
laya mountains, and is possessed of all the characters
of primeval independence, without having assumed
the similitude of wolves or of jackals, which syste-
matists seem to think must be the result of returning
from slavery to freedom. There is nowhere any

THE PARIAH DOG.

185

notice taken that they burrow, apparently resem¬
bling in this respect the rest of the present group ;
they associate in large numbers, and thereby approxi¬
mate jackals, but their voice is totally different from
them. In form the wild Pariah is more bulky than
the last-mentioned species, but low on the legs and
assuming the figure of a turnspit ; and the tail of
a middling length, without much flexibility, is more
bushy at the end than at the base ; the ears are
erect, pointed, and turned forward ; the eyes hazle ;
the density of fur varies according to latitude, and
the rufous colour of the whole body is darker in the
north than in the south, where there is a silvery
tinge instead of one of black upon the upper parts.
They are said to have five claws on all the feet, hut
if there be a molar less in the lower jaw, is not
known. This species is in general so similar to the
domestic, that if it were not ascertained they existed
in great numbers in the wildest forests at the base
of the Himalayas, all possessing uniform colours,
they would be considered, in the lower provinces, of
the domestic breed, and are often mistaken for them
when they follow armies. The domestic, however,
are less timid, generally more mixed with other
races of dogs, more mangy about the skin, and
variously coloured in fur. Their voice is yelping
and howling, but may be distinguished from the
jackals’ by the sound.

The Pariah is certainly the connecting link with
the jackals, but as these constitute a small group
occupying an immense surface of the old continent,

186

THE PARIAH DOG.

extending to the south beyond the equinoctial line,
and in their turn form the nearest approach to the
nocturnal canines, it may be preferable, before they
are considered, to examine another group more
nearly allied to wolves, residing almost entirely in
Africa, and therefore by us detached from the
jackals.

»

SUMATRAN CHRYSJEUS.

Chtysctus Sumatrensis , Smith.

PLATE IX.

Canis familiaris, rar.— Sumatrensis of Hardwicke.

This is one of the smallest of the group, and is pos¬
sessed of characters distinct from all the known
canines, being only about two feet long from nose to
tail, and yet standing fourteen inches high at the
shoulder. The countenance is that of a fox, the
nose pointed and muzzle black ; the whiskers long
and black ; the eye oblique ; ears erect, very hairy,
and more rounded than in the jackal or fox ; nose
and lips foxy brown, mixed with black ; tail pen¬
dulous, bushy, particularly in the middle, smaller at
the base, and reaching' to the leg joint ; five toes on
all the feet, the fifth being small, and a round cal-

DHOLE OF SIT MATE A.

SUMATRAN CHRYS^US. 187

losity above each ; the general colour a foxy ferru¬
ginous red, varying to lighter shades on the belly
and inside the thighs. The action of the animal, in
confinement, was restless in the extreme ; and while
in the presence of human beings, or if teazed, it
emitted a most fetid urine. The voice was more of
a cry than a bark.

We place in the Chrysean group also several
wild canines of the great Australian islands, which
seem by their external characters to belong to this
type, although they are provided with the second
tubercuiar molar, wanting in the former. Among
these the best known ia

188

THE NEW HOLLAND DINGO.

Chrysceus Australia.

PLATE X.

The Dingo of New Holland, or Canis Australasiae of Authors.

This animal has been regarded by French natu¬
ralists as a feral dog, although it is unquestionably
a wild species, only in a small degree reclaimed by
the savage natives. The fact of being partially do¬
mesticated is not sufficient ground for assuming that
the Dingo was introduced by human intervention ;
for this argument would demand its existence in
New Guinea, and include the necessity of the other
canines, the jackals of Sumatra and Java, being
introduced by similar means. The wild Dingos are,
however, larger and more powerful in the interior
than the domestic race. In confinement they are
entirely mute, neither howling, barking, nor growl¬
ing. When offended, they raise the hair upright,
and assume a truly menacing aspect, but howl in a
melancholy tone when prowling in a state of free¬
dom. When they attack sheep, their delight is to
kill as many as they can overtake ; and their bite is
so severe, that few who are wounded recover. They

THE NEW HOLLAND DINGO.

189

I

emit a strong odour, and in fighting domestic dogs
snap very severely. The number of their pups is
equal to that of domestic dogs, littering in some
hollow log, deserted ant-hill, hole in the ground, or
dense brush cover.

If we may generalise a fact related by Mr Oxley,
Surveyor-General of New South Wales, and re¬
corded in his Journal, the Dingos possess the quality
of mutual attachment in a degree far exceeding all
other brute animals. His words are, “ About a
week ago we killed a native dog and threw his body
on a small bush ; in returning past the same spot
to-day, we found the body removed three or four
yards from the bush and the female in a dying state
lying close beside it ; she had apparently been there
from the day the dog was killed, being so weakened
and emaciated as to be unable to move on our ap¬
proach ; it was deemed mercy to dispatch her.”*

Domestic dogs falling in their power are imme¬
diately devoured.t They hunt in pairs or in small
families of five or six, and their fierceness and acti¬
vity is equal to, if not more than a match for, the
most powerful dogs of Europe. They possess the
daring courage of the present group far superior to
that of wolves, having been known to chase sport¬
ing does to the feet of their masters. One brought
to England attacked and would have destroyed an
ass, if he had not been prevented : another in the
menagerie of Paris would fly at the bars of cages
where he saw a panther, a jaguar, or a bear. Do-

, * Oxley’s Journal, &c. p. 110.

+ P. Cunningham. Two Years in New South Wales.

190

THE NEW HOLLAND DINGO.

mestic dogs they seize without hesitation : yet these
facts, excepting the first, relate to individuals of
the reclaimed race, not larger than our shepherd’s
dog, or less than two feet high at the shoulder.
They have the muzzle somewhat fuller, the head
large ; under fur grey, covered by longer and ahum
dant hair fulvous or white ; the forehead, neck,
back, and superior side of the tail is dark fulvous ;
the sides, under part of the throat, and brush paler ;
all beneath, the inside of the thighs, the legs, and
nose whitish. We have seen two with the tip of
the tail white, but the wild race is said to be desti¬
tute of that colour, and many of them are dark
with shaggy hair;* they carry the tail horizon¬
tally, not curled, bent down when watching, and it
is only partially furnished with long hair. They
run, unlike dogs, with the head high, the ears
erect and turned forward. The specimen at Paris
could not swim. The parent race is wild all over
Australia, but an inferior breed is partially tamed
by the natives, who make some use of it in hunting
kangaroos and emus. The young obtained from a
pair in the Zoological Gardens were all more or less
spotted with white.

We understand that there is a strongly marked
variety or race of these dogs in Van Diemen’s Land.

* A skin from the Swan River, now before us, measures 41
inches to the tail, the tail 12 inches. The fur in colour resem¬
bles the wolf of Asia Minor, but the eyes are very near the
nose, only 3| inches distant ; the head is small for the size oi
the animal. One recently brought to Plymouth was as large as
a tall lurcher and resembled that race in make.

Jacket /. lr>/ / pat/ff 206

191

CHRYSEUS JAVANICUS.

Canis Javanicus , Desm.

Probably the Asuwawa of Raffles. This species
was first brought to Europe by Monsieur Lesche-
uaut. It is in size and proportions equal to a com¬
mon wolf, hut the ears are smaller ; the colour is
fulvous brown, blackish on the back, feet, and tail.
It is evidently a tenant of the woods. Messrs.
F. Cuvier and Desmarets class the C. Javanicus
with wolves. Its manners are still unknown.

This short review of the Chrysean group, we
trust, will be sufficient to make naturalists pause
before they come to the gratuitous conclusion that
wild diurnal canines, being neither wolves nor
jackals, are necessarily feral dogs or dogs become
wild, after they or their progenitors had been do¬
mesticated. They have been traced through Asia,
Africa, and the Australian islands ; and although
there are clearly several very distinct species in the
number, they all retain the fulvous livery, and in
their wild state none assume the distinctions to

192

THE CHRVSEAN GROUP.

which, if they were descended from wolves or
jackals, they must have returned ; neither do they
assimilate with the Thoes of our distribution, for
under that name the ancients noticed such a variety
of anomalous or fabulous animals, that having al¬
ready disposed of some, and others will occur among
the jackals and lychaontes, we restrict the group to
those which appear to have been principally had in
view by them.

I

193

SECTION IV. THOUS.

THE THOA WILD DOGS.

The Thoan group represents in form the wolf on a
reduced scale ; being only somewhat larger than
jackals, but differing from them in manners and
livery. They do not burrow, and are marked on
the back by black and white colours, contrasting
into lines, chequers, pencils, or stipples ; the rest of'
the fur being in general ochry or buff. The Thoas
likewise emit little or no offensive odour, are not
gregarious, and do not howl in concert ; nor are
they wamers on the approach of the great felince,
as jackals certainly are wont to do. The interme¬
diate position of the group is illustrated by the
component species being alternately classed among
wolves, jackals, and foxes. Aristotle, we think, had
in view the typical species, Canis anthus (F. Cuv.),
when he remarks that the Egyptian wolves were
smaller than those of Greece. In Guldenstaedt’s
notice of jackals, he appears to confound some spe¬
cies of Thous with others of our group Sacalius.
Mons. F. Cuvier, after remarking the difference
between individuals of each section which bred to¬
gether in captivity, retains them in the series of hits

N

194

THE THOA WILD DOGS.

dogs only as distinct species, but we think that in
a late paper he has felt the necessity of forming
*hem into more separated locations. The variegated
colours on the hack were most likely the cause
which induced the ancients to assert that the Thos
vor Chaber of Africa) was, according to Oppian, an
hybrid between the wolf and panther, or between
the hyaena and wolf, according to V arinus ; and
Solinus justly named the Ethiopian wolves Thoas.
All the species have the tip of the tail black, and
prefer rocky sandy districts where there are bushes
and water, to humid woods. We suspect the grey¬
hound of the desert was originally derived from a
species very nearly if not actually belonging to this
section.

195

THOUS ANTHUS.

Canis Anthus, F. Cuvier.

The Wild Dog of Egypt. — Deeb of the Natives.

The head of this species is rather deep at the jowl ;
the nose full at the point ; the ears erect ; the throat
and breast dirty white ; the body above of a mixed
fulvous, white, black, and buff, producing a series
of small black spots, or pencils, caused by the tips
of the longer hairs being black and uniting in
meshes. The woolly under fur is reddish brown,
darkest on the back ; the ears are rather small ; the
nose, edge of the lips, and whiskers black ; lips,
under cheeks white ; ridge of the nose brown ; a
black band passes round the neck towards the
breast ; tail hairy, rather long, with a brown spot
one-third down the base and a long black streak
spreading down to the end ; below it is buff ; the
black hairs shining ; lower limbs rusty brown on
the outside, buff on the internal face ; soles naked
and black, as well as the claws. Irides brown ;
the female more buff in the colours. The animal
from nose to tail measures about two feet six
inches, the tail one foot, height at shoulder one foot
four inches.

196

THOUS ANTHUS.

Dr Ruppel obtained specimens about Bahar el
Azrak. It is not common in Egypt. The same
traveller observed a head taken from the catacombs
of Syout or Lycopolis, which he concluded to be of
this species. It may be also the animal the ancient
Egyptians employed to typify the southern hemi¬
sphere, as perhaps the Syrian chaon designated the
northern. Professor Kretschmer, in Ruppel’s Atlas,
after remarking upon his unwillingness to view all
the races of dogs as descended from one stock, al¬
though it be difficult, even in those the most
decidedly marked and possessed of the greatest
purity of descent, to decide from which of the ori¬
ginal species they may be derived, is nevertheless
disposed to consider the Thous anihus as the abori¬
ginal species whence the Egyptians obtained their
domestic dogs; and in support of this opinion, he
appeals to the similarity existing between that
species and the smaller breed of wolf-dogs (the
Pomeranian dog) still abundant in the vicinity of
Frankfort. But he appears to overlook the ques¬
tion, even if it were decided, that the mummy dogs
of Egypt were embalmed from their domestic race;
whether those of Lycopolis, or the wolf city, be¬
longed to it. The probability, we think, would be
that they were entombed one degree lower down
the river at Cynopolis, or the dog city, on the island
opposite Co, where Anubis was the presiding divi¬
nity, and the attendant priests ate their food out of
the same dish with the sacred dogs. Although it
is not unlikely that this race also produced a breed

THOUS ANTHUS. 197

of domestic dogs, still there is reason to believe they
were a distinct species.*

* It may be remarked that the Greek Lycopolis is the pre¬
sent Syout, and referring to the animals represented in tha
praenestine mosaic. The figure of a canine in a howling atti¬
tude occurs in the part depicting Upper Egypt or Nubia, and
above it is the name SIOIT, which agrees sufficiently with the
Ethiopic plural Zybt, Azybit, a wild canine, or canines ; though
not a wolf, unless the animals of that species, wild in Nubia,
be classed with the wolves. Syout, or Assiout, is therefore an
ancient name of Lycopolis.

198

THE THOUS OF NUBIA,

Thous variegatus,

PLATE XI.

Is about an inch lower at the shoulder and in other
respects proportionally smaller than the last men¬
tioned animal. The head is rather broad, buff with
black hairs on the occiput ; the under fur buff and
soft ; the upper coat of hard hair, buff at the roots,
then black with a buff ring, and the tip again black
and shining : these tips gather together on the sur¬
face in small pencils or patches, resembling chequer
work on a buff ground ; the nose is blunt and black,
thence to the eyes pale buff : the ears eight inches
ten lines in height, buff on the outside, white within ;
under parts dirty white ; tail rather short, chequered
like the body, the tip dark. The extremities are
long, the hind legs longest; all are buff-coloured;
the feet hard, tumid, naked, and the claws blunt.

This animal has the same wolfish aspect as the
anthus. It resides in rocky regions, not burrowing,
and feeding on small mammalia and birds. During
nonage the colours are less clear, and the coarse hair
prevails. In old age the woolly fur predominates,
the coarse hair being more scanty, but from the nape
of the neck to the tail there is a mane of shining
black and considerably lengthened hair. M. Ruppel
observed this species in Nubia and Upper Egypt.

199

THE ZENLEE, OR PIED THOUS.

Thous mesomelas.

PLATE XII.

Canis mesomelas of authors. — Yenlee of the Hottentots.---
Bontevos of the Dutch Colonists. — Chacal du Cap.

All the canines found in a wild state to the south¬
ward of the line, in both hemispheres, approximate
the foxes in some of their characters or aspect. The
pied Thous is an example in point, for being some¬
what less in bulk than either of the former, and
more vividly reddish about the sides and limbs, it
has been classed with foxes, although the tail is not
vulpine, and we are assured that the eyes are diur¬
nal. The individual we have seen alive had neither
the movements nor head of a fox, and the ocular
disks were always circular, while observed. Of
three drawings with dimensions taken from diffe¬
rent individuals, one was twenty-five inches from
nose to tail, the next twenty-six, the third twenty-
seven. The tails varying with the length of body,
from eight inches and a half to ten and a half. The
different locations of dog, jackal, and fox, assigned
to the species by naturalists, indicates the interme¬
diate position it should occupy ; and the livery or

200 THE YENLEE, OR PIED THOUS.

intermixture of colours tlie fur exhibits, claims its
place to be in the present group ; and if we look to
the dogs of the Bosjemen and Koranas, there may
he a question, whether their descent is not, in part
at least, derived from a cross with the present spe¬
cies. The ears of the T. mesomelas are larger than in
the T. anthus ; the nose and forehead are ashy grey ;
the ears rust-colour outside, whitish within ; the
cheeks whitish-ash and buff ; from between the ears,
over the back of the neck, and from thence spread¬
ing down each shoulder, the colour is black and
white, variously intermixed ; the space narrows gra¬
dually to a point at the root of the tail or partially
down the base : this space is composed of hair
longer and harder than that of the sides, and in
some specimens the white forms only pencils on the
black, in others it is a succession of waves, and
sometimes it forms something of a regular yet unde-
scribable figure in the midst of the black. The
throat and breast are whitish grey ; the lower part
of the shoulders, the hams, and part of the base of
the tail, with the outside of the limbs, is of a lively
rusty buff ; the belly, furnished with long hairs, is
dirty white ; the terminal half of the tail invariably
black ; the claws are blunt, the feet naked and
hard. We are assured that this animal does not
burrow, but lives among bushes and under promi¬
nent rocks. It is not found on the Karroo or
wilderness.

PLATE 13.

201

SENEGAL THOUS.

Thous Senegalensis.

PLATE XIII.

Chacal de Senegal, F. Cuv.

The able French naturalist, last quoted, considers
the Senegal Thous to be a variety of his Canis an -
thus , but an artist seeing both would hardly admit
more than the approximation of the two species.
The animal is at least an inch higher at the shoul¬
der, and several inches longer ; the ears are larger ;
the head more dog-like ; the tarsi higher ; the tail
shorter, less hairy ; and the form more gaunt. The
colours differ likewise; the nose and forehead are
greyish-buff ; the throat and under parts white ;
there is no black ring round the neck, nor the
stippled arrangement of black points on the back ;
that part is buff and greyish, with four or five
cloudy bars running in wavy lines downwards on
each side, the space between with fainter greyish
undulations ; the darkest bars are on the croup,
where a sixth passes down to near the hocks and
upwards again towards the groin, leaving a whitish
space at the buttock and in front of the thigh ; the

202

SENEGAL THOUS.

base and upper part of the tail is dark sepia-brown ;
the long hairs beneath and towards the tip buff ; the
hind legs are buff, very long and slender, making
the animal stand with the croup elevated, and
therefore the species must be verv fleet. It resides
in common with the jackal on the uplands of Gam¬
bia and Senegal.

O

203

THOUS TOKLA, Nobis,

Tulki of the Persians, and probably the Tokla of Abyssinia,

Is a larger canine than the T. anthus , distinguished
from the rest of the group by the predominance of
rufous woolly hair, interspersed on the sides and
covered on the back with long coarse black hairs ;
the belly is snow white and the ears jet black ; the
tail, rather short, is of the colour of the woolly fur,
hut with a patch at the root, and the tip of shining
black hair. It howls with a moaning voice, and is
confounded by Olearius with the common jackal.
In Abyssinia the Tokla’s bite is much feared, and is
evidently the same as the Toqua of the Hottentots,
which the Dutch of the Cape interpret by the name
of wolf, and Mr Kolbe as well as Sir J. Barrow
seem to have regarded as the Lupus vulgaris. The
long hair on the back of the ^Ethiopian Lycaon of
Solinus may be the black hair above mentioned, and
this ridge is not singular in Africa. We shall find
it again in the Megalotisfamelicus , offering a counter¬
part to the red Aguara wolf in Tropical America.

204

WILD DOG OF NATOLIA.

Thous acmon , Smith.

PLATE XIV.

Perhaps the Schib of Syria.

This animal has been confounded with the Turkish
fox and with the jackal, and unless carefully ob¬
served would be mistaken for a country dog. The
specimen whence our drawing was taken measured
about seventeen inches at the shoulder, and was in
length from nose to tail two feet eight inches ; the
head resembled that of a sharp-nosed vermin-dog,
but the forehead is broader and flatter; the ears
small and triangular; the girth of the body and
neck full ; the hair of the forehead, neck, back, an
sides coarse ; the tail short, but the basal part had
crisped hair ; the remainder longer and divided into
five rings, three of which were black and two rust
colour ; from the nostrils to beneath the eyes, and
from thence somewhat irregularly downwards to
between the fore legs, the colour was white. All
the rest of the head, body, hams, sides, belly, and
upper part of the fore legs, including all the coarse
hair, was rufous, buff, white, and sepia, mixed into
a hoary fawn-coloured grey ; from the nape of the
neck down the back, including the base of the tail,

PLATE 14.

\ .

.« •

•

'

‘

.

'

4 m

'

'

‘

WILD DOG OF NATOLIA.

205

the hair, forming a broad streak, stood up crisped.
This appearance may be accidental, although a
second specimen somewhat more rufous and larger
had likewise the hair of the back standing up at the
points.* The first was in the museum of Prague ;
the second, in private hands, came from Scanderoon.
A reverend friend, who resided long in Asia Minor
and is well known in his literary capacity, commu¬
nicated to us a part of his journal where he had
noted the discovery of a suspicious looking animal
in a chalk quarry about six miles from Smyrna,
much superior in size to a jackal, but not a wolf;
he is however in doubt whether it is this species or
one of the Chryseus beluel before named. The na¬
tives of Natolia informed him that it was likely he
had seen the animal they call the Great Jackal.

As the characters which Oppian assigns to his
acimones appear to agree with the animal under
consideration in the short neck, broad shoulders,
heavy limbs, small eyes, and sharp anterior part of
the head, we think the name of Acmon may be
applied to distinguish it from others. We are even
inclined to believe that this race of animals is
intended, where the ancients relate that a kind of
wolves damaged the fishing-nets of the inhabitants
on the Canopian Gulf of the Palus Meotis, unless
they were allowed a proportion of the produce
obtained from the water by the fishermen, t

* This character of the hair seems to be in the notice of
Acmon in Oppian.

f Stephanus.

206

SECTION V. SAC A LIUS.

THE JACKALS.

Naturalists searching for the name of the Jackal
in the writings of the ancients, are invariably per¬
plexed with the obscurity of the descriptions relating
to the wild canines of antiquity. Some are inclined
to believe it was the Lyciscus , by which name others
fancy the panther was meant, and it is likely a
spotted canine was understood by that designation ;
others imagined Oppian intended a jackal by his
Chryseus ; and Belon and Kaempfer, among the
moderns, first applied Aureus , the Latin translation
of Hoi&og, for the distinctive name of it, among the
canines. Others, however, sought it in Thou* , Thos,
Thoa; and here again all the above names are inter¬
mixed ; for Aristotle, after a vague notice of Thou*,
finished by saying that there are two or three spe¬
cies ; leaving the question totally undefined.* 1 he
precise name of the animals of this group having
thus escaped distinct notice among the ancients, the
modern Greeks adopted those of Squilatchi and
Sakalia , one of which being an oriental adaptation,
proves the absence of a national and ancient name ;

* Arist. Hist. Anim., lib. ix. cap. xliv.

THE JACKALS.

207

and for the same reason we apply it to the present
form of minor gregarious canines.* By separating
our group of Thous from the true Jackals, much
confusion in the discrepancies of size, manners,
and colours, is removed ; and as the former are
unquestionably the ancient occupants to whom the
oldest authors refer, we find that there is no distinct
proof of the Jackal or Chakal being abundant in
Asia Minor during the earlier classical ages : there
is not even sufficient to show the existence of the
species in Western Asia before the Macedonian
invasion of Persia. At the present time it is, ac¬
cording to Ruppel, still a stranger to Egypt ; and
had a creature so notoriously unpleasant been com¬
mon, some one of the very numerous writers of
those regions would have noticed it in a manner
not to be mistaken. It may be, that one of the
smaller Thoes of Aristotle is the true Jackal ; and
he may have first obtained a knowledge of the
animal by means of his correspondence in Alex¬
ander’s army. Pliny mixed it up with his Thoes ;
and in the Scriptures, if noticed at all, the animal
is not distinguishable from other canines. Had it
been common, the epithets of Warner or holder ,
the two most striking characteristics of the group,
could have hardly escaped forming similies in the
picturesque and magnificent denunciations of the

* Gesner contends that Papio was the classical name of the
Jackal : this word may be of barbarous origin, and it is also
clear that the ancients understood a four-handed animal by it ;
probably an ape or a baboon.

208

THE JACKALS.

prophets. Though it is thus overlooked, or con¬
founded with the Deeb (the wolf) in the Hebrew
and ancient Arabic — in the modem dialects of
these tongues, the pracrits of India, and other
languages from Morocco to the Burhampootra,
there are at least forty names applicable to it.*
The religious and military conquests of the Arabs
have carried these animals into European Turkey,
and to the north, in Asia, among the steppes of
Southern Russia and the wilds of Tartary : similar
movements may have extended it westwards, for
Jackals are found in some islands of the Adriatic,
Greece, Morocco, Nigritia, and southward in Abys¬
sinia and Caffraria. But whether the common
Jackal of Java, and the races of Borneo and
Sumatra, are of the same species as the continental,

* The following list may serve as a sample of these names,
and the meaning several convey of King or chief haxcler. —
Chakal, Tschakkal, Chatal, in Barbary ; Chikal, in Turkish ;
Schekal, in Pers. ; Tschagal, in Kerguise ; Tschober, in Kal-
muc ; Tschubbolka, in Tartaric. Waoui, or Warn ; ben awi
and alsoboo of the Bedouins denoting howler, children of howl¬
ing ; Phial of Indostan, imitative of its cry. Phinkar, Hindos-
tanee, the wamer. Jaqueparil, in Bengal, or howler-dogT
Alshali, Adeditach, Akabo, Alkabo, Alzaba, Aziba, Karabo,
Syrian, and other dialectical variations, in which, however, the
Thous is intermixed. Quoilah in Bombay ; Nazi in Malabar ;
Gola in Indee ; Kadlu Nari in Tamuli. We omit the numer¬
ous Arabic epithets with the prefix abu , such as Abu Zoboo,
&c. If the word Q'qqN, ochim , or achim , in Isaiah, xiii. 21,
could be taken as a mutation of auim, t3sTJK, it might indicate
the Jackal, but Bochart and Ehrenberg evidently strain the
argument.

THE JACKALS.

209

is not as yet ascertained ; they occupy the greatest
geographical range of all the wild canines known.
Although not common in remote antiquity, it is
likely that, after the wars of the Homans in the
east they became more abundant, and were then,
it seems, partially noticed in the confused relation
given of the Thoes by iElian, where he assumes,
that the impudence which caused them not to shun
man, was an indication of their love and respect for
human beings.*

Jackals form a group of crepuscular and nocturnal
canines, never voluntarily abroad before dusk, and
then hunting for prey during the whole night ;
entering the streets of towns to seek for offals ;
robbing the hen-roosts ; entering outhouses ; exa¬
mining doors and windows ; feasting upon all
dressed vegetables and ill-secured provisions; de¬
vouring all the carrion they find exposed, and
digging their way into sepulchres that are not
carefully protected against their activity and vo¬
raciousness ; and, in the fruit season, in common
with foxes, seeking the vineyards and fattening

* “ Thoa dicunt esse animal humanissimum, prseeipueque
homini amicum et si forte in hominem incident revereri, ao
velut observantes venerari ; amplius si a feris aliis ciroumven-
turn senserit, turn vero occurrere protinus, opitularique pro
viribus.” This description shows the readiness of the animals
to watch mankind, and to be present where they hope to share
the spoils. Still, while no mention is made of their incessant
howling, there is a doubt whether it be not applicable to Thom
acmon or to a Chaon, such as Chryseus aureus , or even to a feral
dog, now even not uncommon in Natolia

0

210

THE JACKALS.

upon grapes. They congregate in great numbers,
sometimes as many as 200 being found together ;
and they howl so incessantly, that the annoyance
of their voices is the theme of numerous apologues
and tales in the literature of Asia. Their cry is a
melancholy sound, beginning the instant the sun
sets, and never ceasing till after it has risen. The
voice is uttered and responded to, by all within
hearing, in a concert of every possible tone, from a
short hungry yelp to a prolonged crescendo cry,
rising octave above octave in the shrillness, and
mingled with dismal whinings as of a human being
in distress.* Jackals retire to woody jungles and
rocky situations, or skulk about solitary gardens,
hide themselves in ruins, or burrow in large com¬
munities. If by chance one of the troop be
attacked, all are on the watch, and, if practicable
with self-preservation, issue forth to the rescue.
The Indian wolf and hyajna occasionally avail
themselves of their burrows ; but while they occupy
these retreats they abstain from hostility with their
neighbours, t We have already stated in what
manner they attend upon the forays of the tiger,
and the different warning cry then uttered by one
only, without the response of others. X In the

* MS. Notes of Frederic Bennet, Esq.

+ Dr. Daniel Johnson.

X A relative mentions, that while he resided at Cawnpore,
his watchmen were attracted by the peculiar voice, and, crouch¬
ing, crept along under the walls bounding his compound, till
they reached the spot whence it issued ; looking over with

THE JACKALS.

211

Moslem dominions they remain entirely unmolested;
but in British India they are occasionally coursed
with greyhounds, or hunted with fox-hounds, and
leaving a strong scent are readily run down, unless
they can regain their earths, or mislead them in the
jungles. Nevertheless, when at bay, the Jackal
fights so desperately, and his snap is so severe, that
it is usual to have them destroyed by terriers. They
unite the cunning of foxes, and the energy and
combination distinguished in the best trained dogs,
with a tenacity of purpose surpassing both. When
overpowered by superior force and resistance is
vain, they affect to be slain, and lie simulating
death ; but if they be thrown into water while in
this state, they swim immediately. They emit a
very offensive smell, not totally obliterated even in
a domestic state, when they have been fed for a
considerable period on rice, plantains, and other
vegetables, as is usually the practice with the

caution they saw a tiger with his eyes fixed upon them, one
fore and one hind foot lifted, and his tail in a straight line be¬
hind him, evidently in an attitude of attention. Sinking their
heads, they made a hasty retreat, but his foot marks were fully
traced in the morning. The tales of the Jackal being the lion’s
provider rest on the practice here mentioned ; what there may
be of truth in them should be taken in a reversed sense, for
although there is an instinctive impulse in these animals to
follow the tiger and lion, uttering a peculiar cry, which many
other mammalia may understand, it is evident that a Jackal
would be always ready to feast on the leavings of the royal
beast, which with the aid of his fine scent he can alway*
escape.

212

THE JACKALS.

native Indians. Although when in captivity they
know and will follow their master, they are far
from tractable, or to be depended upon. They
associate readily with dogs, and hybrid offspring is
not uncommon ; nor is there a question that these
mules are not again prolific. The domestic cur
dogs of all the nations where the Jackal is found,
bear evidence of at least a great intermixture of
their blood in the native races. The fact is strik¬
ingly exemplified in the greater number of the cur
Pariahs of India and the house breeds of Turkish
Asia, as well as of the Negroes and the inhabitants
of the great islands of the India Seas. Monsieur
Jeannon Naviez, Mayor of Coire, is, or was lately,
in possession of a hybrid dog produced by a cross
of the smaller wolf dog (Pomeranian) and Jackal.
It was of small size, but so quarrelsome and fierce,
that all other dogs were afraid to associate with it.
Voracious in the extreme, ducklings, chickens, all
that came within reach, it devoured ; and of such
activity, that it sprang upon walls, and bounded
along them with the security of a cat. It was very
affectionate to the owner ; but not a good watcher,
seldom barking, and very fond of digging in the
earth. The fur was often in a changing state,
sometimes casting the coat before that under was
wTell grown. On the thighs it was long, and
streaked obliquely, producing a wavy appearance ;
the tail formed a long brush ; the ears resembled
the sires, the conch being firm, erect, and pointed
backwards; the muzzle was pointed, and it had

THE JACKALS.

213

long vibrissae on the lips ; the eyebrows were pro¬
minent, which, with a peculiar expression of the
eyes, gave it a look of suspicion and ferocity.

The Jackal group is still smaller in size than the
Thoes, seldom exceeding fifteen inches at the
shoulder ; the form of the head is narrower, termi¬
nating in a pointed muzzle ; the eyes small ; the
whiskers long ; the ears rather large ; the tail
shorter than that of foxes, but nearly as well
furnished with hair ; their make is light and active,
and the pupil of the eye round ; they have six or
eight mammae, and the caecum, according to Guel-
denstadt, differs from that of the wolf and the fox.
All have buff and fulvous colours, more or less
mixed with grizzled white or brown hairs, and the
tip of the tail is invariably dark. Belon is the
only author who ascribes to them a beautiful yellow
coloured fur (une belle couleur jaune), apparently
carried away by his determination to make this
species pass for the Aureus of Oppian. From the
constancy of these characters it is difficult to divide
them into species, although, from the immense
territorial surface, and the variety of climate they
inhabit, it is likely that there are several.

914

THE COMMON JACKAL.

Sacalius aureus , Smith.

PLATE XY.

Canis aureus, AucU

We will assume the Turkish and Persian species to
he the typical animal of the group, because it is
described with more detail ; and although, perhaps,
not located in its original region, the variation of
oolour and stature in others may be the more
readily compared with it. In the external figure,
this species bears more the aspect of a diminutive
wolf than of a fox. It is also somewhat higher
at the shoulders, and more erect in the legs, and
the forms are more angular than those of the fox ;
the head has a broader dog-like nose, and is-
covered witf. rufous and ashy-grey hairs, all tipped
with black points ; the whiskers are black ; the
ears are rufous on the outside and white within ;
the neck and back are yellowish-grey, with some
shades of dusky ; the shoulders and thighs rufous-
red ; under parts and limbs pale reddish-yellow ;
the claws black; the fifth, or internal toe of the
fore-legs, placed high upon the joint, and the claw

PLATE 15.

m

sSSj^y^

'■

^ wtiM. ■$.

THB COMMON JACKAL.

215

crooked ; the tail is straight, somewhat longer in
proportion, and more brushy than in the wolf ; the
hair, four inches long, being yellowish beneath, and
more greyish above, but all tipped with black,
which causes the end to appear of that colour.
The fur of the animal is externally more coarse
than that of the wolf, and on the shoulders it is
particularly long; the woolly under coat is grey.
The four central incisor teeth are truncated, with¬
out apparent notches; the exterior upper incisors
larger, and carinated ; the same below are obtuse ;
and the tongue is bordered with a row of warts.

This race is spread over Northern Persia, south¬
ernmost part of Russia, and Natolia ; they are
very abundant on the Asiatic side of Constantinople,
about Smyrna, &c. ; and it is believed to be this
species, or a variety of it, which is found in the
Morea, in the mountains of Pindus as far west¬
ward as Cattaro, and in the Guipona and Corzoca
islands of the Adriatic.

%

The Syrian Jackal is distinguished by brown
ears ; the fur above is dirty yellow, deeper on the
back, lighter at the sides, whitish-yellow below;
the feet are reddish-brown ; the tail of the colour
of the back, having a black tip. Each hair of the
back is of four distinct colours ; white at the root,
then black, above which foxy-red, and the point
black. Gueldenstasdt gives the length, from nose

216

THE COMMON JACKAL.

to tail, at 29 inches, and the height at 174 inches,
which is certainly an error of inadvertence, or of
the press, unless he confounded in his account of
the species some other animal, such as Thous
authus. The Canis Syriacus of Hemprich and
Ehrenberg was measured indeed from a young
specimen. It was 2 feet 2 inches in length ; the
tail 8 inches? the height at the shoulder 9, and
at the croup 10 inches. The colour whitish-fulvous,
with a blackish line on the back ; the head, out¬
side of the ears, and feet, fulvous; the inside of
both these, and the abdomen, whitish ; there was
a yellowish bar on the breast ; and the under fur
was buff. Yet this insignificant animal appears to
be now the only representative of the wolf in Syria
and Palestine.

The Grey Jackal. In 1814 or 1815 there was
exhibited in London a couple of animals of this
group, said to be from Senegal, and their figures
were taken both by the late Mr Howitt and by
ourselves. They were remarkably long in the
body, and low limbed ; the nose long and pointed ;
a circle round the eyes, the cheeks, lips, and sides
of the nose, white ; the ridge of the nose, the fore¬
head, neck, throat, and shoulders, black ; and base
of the tail wavy grey, mixed with black ; the base
of the ears lively fulvous, the tips black and the
inside white; lower parts of the flanks reddish-

THE COMMON JACKAL. 217

yellow ; the limbs, under part and tip of the tail,
the same ; inside of the thighs dirty white. It was
not practicable to take their dimensions ; but their
height at the shoulder was below 14 inches. If
they came from Western Africa, that race may
spread as far as the. Cape ; for Sir J. Barrow
observed Jackals in troops about the Snewsbergen.

218

THE BARBARY JACKAL.

Sacalius Barbarus.

Canis Barbarus, Shaw.

The Thaleb of Bruce, and the Deeb of Tunis of
Dr. Shaw ; who merely states that it is of darker
colours than the common ; is of the size of a fox,
and resorts at night to the gardens to howl and
feed, like the Dubbah or Hyaena. This species
was first described by Mr. Pennant, from a skin in
the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, and the drawing
was communicated by him to Count de Buffon.
The animal had a long slender nose, sharp upright
ears, and a long bushy tail. Its colour was a very
pale brown ; from behind each ear ran a black line,
which, dividing in two, passed downwards along
the neck ; the tail was marked with three dusky
rings. In size it was equal to a common fox, but
the limbs were shorter, and the nose more acute.
Buffon figured it in his Supplement 6, page 112,
plate 16.

We are assured that a ring-tailed Jackal, with
some obscure bars- across the back, is likewise
found in central India.

SACALIUS INDICUS.

219

Sacalius Indicus. This race is probably the
Gold quoilah and Kadlu nari of southern India.
It is about 25 inches in length ; the head 5^ inches
long, is pointed ; the eyes large and the lids oblique
the colours are yellowish-huff, grey, and white, the
latter colour predominating; the head is yellowish
and white, brownish about the nose and jaws;
from the anterior angle of the eye a band, widest
at the beginning, runs along the upper jaw ; and
from the posterior angle, another more narrow
passes down the cheek to below the ear ; the muzzle,
edge of the lips, and eyelids, are black, as well as
the whiskers, which are 3^ inches in length ; the
throat, neck, and thighs, are greyish, slightly more
ochry on the back and shoulders ; the external side
of the limbs is deep fulvous, paler on the feet ;
the internal side whitish; the thumb-claw of the
fore-feet is placed at the joint of the wrist; the
claws are grooved ; the tail, above ten inches long,
is narrow at base, but large, and tufted in its
length; the colour is yellowish- white and dark
brown to more than a third towards the tip, and
there are some dark spots on the upper side ; and
the hair is about two inches in length.

A specimen brought from Madras by F. Bennet,
Esq. was in size equal to a terrier ; the prevailing
colour of the livery yellow; the back somewhat
silvered over with whitish pointed hair ; the throat
and chest, inside of ears, white ; the tail long,
straight, and a little brushy at the extremity ; the
ears erect, and pointed ; the muzzle sharp, producing

220

SACALIUS INDICUS.

a vulpine expression ; the eyes full ; iris dark hazel,
emitting a greenish gleam ; forward, the animal
was compactly formed, but the hind-quarters and
tail exhibited a skulking character ; the fore-legs
were bowed forward at the shins ; the claws longer
than in domestic dogs. Mr Bennet bought it when
a pup, and whilst it was still wholly of a light fawn
colour, with a downy fur; but even then it was
fierce and untractable, retiring to the furthest
corner of its cage, resisting on being taken out, and
even offended if looked at. Its voracity wTas exces¬
sive, swallowing masses of flesh without mastication.
By degrees, becoming more tractable, it was let
run at large, became sensible of caresses, was not
offensive in smell, and would receive its master by
throwing itself down, rubbing and frisking about
his feet, taking his hand in the mouth, whining,
and wagging the tail. In England it followed its
master about the house, but would unwillingly
enter the street. Left with a friend during a voy¬
age to India, it did not recognise him by the sight
on his return ; but on hearing his voice, testified
the joy it felt in the manner of dogs on similar
occasions. This animal was presented by Mr Ben-
net to the Zoological Gardens ; yet, from the above
description, it may be doubted whether it is not a
feral, or perhaps a wild pariah. *

We place here, with considerable hesitation, the

221

%

SACALIUS PROC Y ONOIDES.

Canis procyonoides, Gray.

Racoon-faced Dog, Illust. of Ind. Zool.

Grey-brown, varied with black tips to the hairs ;
cheeks and legs dark choeolate-brown ; tail short,
thick, pale brown, with white tips to the hairs ;
ears rounded, hairy. Length of head 5^ inches ;
body, 17 inches; tail, 5 inches. Inhabits China.
J. R. Reeves, Esq. British Museum.

Mr Fred. Cuvier lately noticed five varieties of
the *T ackal : — The Caucasian, the Nubian, the Se¬
negal, the Algerine, and the Morean. Two of
these, we apprehend, we have classed with Thous.
The Caucasian may be our T. acmon; and the two
last are no doubt true Sack alii. But not having
been able to see his descriptions we know not if
they are introduced here.

222

SECTION VI. CYNALOPEX.

The following may be considered as Jackals with
long tails, or Foxes with diurnal eyes, in some
respects assimilating with a kindred group of South
America. But further inquiry will most likely
show, that they have all furred feet, and ears
largely developed, and a black spot on the base
of the tail covering a gland ; therefore that they
belong in reality to, and constitute the Asiatic
part of the Megalotine group, having similar pro¬
pensities to feed on insects as well as birds.

223

CORSAC DOG-FOX.

Cynalopex corsac.

PLATE XYI.

We think with Monsieur Desmarets, that this
species should be placed with the diurnal canines ;
and upon comparing one with the Pondicherry
Jackall, above described, we found the whole ex¬
ternal form so very similar, that in the present
group appears to be its true location.

Of the smaller wild canines of Asia we have as yet
a very imperfect knowledge. The Jackal is found
to have invaded a part of Russia ; and the Corsac,
it seems, is discovered far to the southward of the
Himalaya mountains. Although we doubt of its
being the Nongi hari of Malabar, the several indi¬
viduals we have seen living and stuffed in London,
Paris, and elsewhere, indicate more than one race
to exist in India of diminutive Jackals with long
tails, and differing from the Corsac dog-foxes and
Buffon’s figure of Isatis in nothing but shades of
colour. The Ckacal adive of the same author, re¬
ferred to Corsac, differs, however, materially ; the
legs being much shorter, the tail likewise scarcely

224

CORSAC DOG-FOX.

half the length, and the snout prolonged to a point,
indicating an approach to viverrine forms. The Cor-
sac and Isatis of Buffon, Cynalopex cor sac, Nobis,
appear to form the connecting link between the diur¬
nal dogs and the foxes, but to be very distinct from
the arctic fox, or Lagopus , by the superior height of
their legs, the large ears, and shorter fur. We have
compared them repeatedly, and cannot account for
the mistake otherwise, than by supposing that the
older specimens in Museums have been misnamed,
and when the Indian designations were superadded
to those of the north, the confusion being already
established was suffered to remain unrectified.

The species is little more than one foot nine inches
in length, from nose to tail ; the tail about eleven
inches ; the ears, two inches ; and the height at
the shoulder nearly twelve inches. The form of
the head is sharp, the ears open, pointed. The
colours of the upper parts of the body yellowish-
grey, uniformly spread, and resulting from the
visible part of the hairs being annulated ochry and
white, with only a few pointed black ; the limbs
deeper buff ; and the tail of the same colour, -with
a black tip and a blackish spot a short distance
down the base : all the inferior parts are yellowish -
white. The species lives in large communities,
burrows, prowls in packs, feeds upon birds and
birds’ eggs, conceals superabundant food, utters a
kind of barking, and is possessed of a very offensive
odour. The Corsac resides chiefly in the great
deserts of Tartary, between the rivers Jaick, Emba,

CORSAC DOG-FOX. 225

and the sources of the Irtish. It is said never to
drink.

The Indian race we have seen had the ears two
inches and a half long, the whiskers abundant and
long, and the colour, red, was without any black
tipped hair on the back ; it wanted also the black
spot on the superior part of the base of the tail, or
it was not observed.

Another specimen we made a drawing of at Am¬
sterdam was of the size of a small fox, but more
lightly made; there was much white and grey
about the face, lips, breast, and under parts, the
forehead, neck, shoulders, back, upper arm, sides,
hams, hocks, and tail were of a rufous yellow, with
a slight intermixture of grey ; the back of the ears
brown, and the tip of the tail dark ; the whiskers
were very long, and the whole animal was similar
to the Corsac.

p

226

THE KOKREE.

Cynalopex kokree.

The Kokree of the Mahrattas. — Canis Kokree of Col. Sykea.

We place this animal here, as most likely a con¬
gener if not a variety of the Corsac. It is described
as a handsome species, much smaller than the com¬
mon fox. The head short ; muzzle very sharp ; the
eyes oblique ; the irides nut brown ; the legs slen¬
der ; tail trailing on the ground and very bushy ;
the colour along the hack and on the forehead fawn,
each hair having a white ring near the tip ; the
back, neck, between the eyes, along the sides, and
half-way down the tail, reddish grey, each hair
being handed with black and reddish white ; the
legs reddish outside, reddish white inside; chin and
throat dirty white ; ears externally dirty brown,
the fur appearing as short as velvet ; the edges of
the eyelids black ; muzzle brown ; length twenty-
two inches ; tail eleven inches and a half. ( Sykes.)

227

FULVOUS-TAILED DOG-FOX.

Cynalopex chrysurus , Grey.

The length of this animal is twenty-three inches and
a half ; the tail ten inches. The fur pale foxy -brown ,
varied with black-tipped rigid white hairs, most
abundant on the sides, and only scattered on the
hinder parts of the back. Under fur soft, silky ;
of the back, fulvous ; of the sides, whitish ; lead-
coloured at the base. Cheeks, chin, throat, and
belly, white : sides of the chest, internal, surface of
the legs, yellowish- white. Upper parts of the legs
and subcaudal region bright reddish fulvous. Tail
cylindrical, reaching nearly to the ground, pale
yellow, with a dark brown tip and a large tuft of
rather rigid hairs, placed over a gland, at its upper
basal surface. Ears rather large, acute, grey, and
edged with black externally ; internally whitish.
Inhabits India. Specimen in the British Museum.
The long hairs of the back are thin at the base,
swell out and become stiff at the tip, each being
marked with a broad blackish ring and a brown
point.

228

THE PALE DOG-FOX.

Cynalopex pallidus.

PLATE XVII.

Canis pallidus, Rilppel.

. A

Differs little from the Indian before-mentioned.
It is only twenty inches long, the tail ten inches,
the ears two inches, and the height at the shoulder
nine inches and a half. The fur in general is of a
pale reddish buff ; the under wool of the same, ex¬
cepting on the back, where the roots of it are
greyish; the stronger hair covers the woolly en¬
tirely ; the nose, eyelids, and whiskers black ; irides
bright brown ; ears middle sized, pointed, edged with
whitish, naked within ; temples, throat, and inferior
parts white ; there is a buff band round the neck ;
the tail, coloured like the back, is tipped with black
and a dark spot at the root ; the fore-feet are red¬
dish-brown, and the hinder partly of the same
colour. Riippel found this animal in Darfur and
Kordofan, burrowing under-ground, hunting by
night ; it was seldom caught in traps.

VLE DOG-FOX.

\

2 29

THE ISATIS.

Cynalopex insectivorus.

Cams Bengalensis, Skaw. — Bengal Fox, Pennant. — Ieatis of

Buffon.

This animal, shown living in London, resembled
the Corsac in all its proportions, and was only a
little more robust in structure ; round the eyes there
was a circle of white, the belly, lower part of the
flanks, throat, breast, internal face of the thighs,
and under surface of the tail were white ; the nose,
forehead, neck, back, shoulders, after part of the
upper arm, hams, and upper surface of tail were
grizzled reddish ochre and sooty colour, with the tips
of the hairs white, excepting on the tail, where the
white was more confined to the under surface, and
tip black ; the ridge of the back was darkest, and
the limbs were orange-tawny; the irides yellow.
In form it bore a close resemblance to the figure of
the Isatis in Buffon, but wanted the bluish cast of
colour which may be the livery of the Russian race.
The manners of this species cannot well be traced,
because the descriptions even in Gmelin’s account
are mixed up with the Lagopus of the arctic circle.
As this species is said to exist also in Nepal and

230

THE ISATIS.

Tartary, it may be identical with Cynalopex kara -
gan , which is only known from a description
communicated by Dr Pallas to Mr Pennant. It is
a small species, very common in all the deserts of
the Kerguise and Great Tartary ; its general colour
is of a wolf-grey ; the head is yellowish and above
the eyes reddish ; the ears are black on the outside,
white within, and the edge and base reddish, with
a w bite spot near each ; between the shoulders is a
dark spot, from whence along the back to the tail
runs a reddish or yellowish streak ; the throat and
breast are of a dark grey ; the belly white.

'xoj-tion HSixuni

THE TURKISH DOG-FOX.

Cynalopex Turcicus.

PLATE XVIII.

We figure this animal from a specimen in the Mu¬
seum of Paris, where it was pointed out to us by
Baron Cuvier. It seems to form the passage from
the present group to the arctic fox, but is altogether
most nearly allied to Cynalopex, The individual
was smaller than the common fox ; lower on the
limbs, with a cylindrical but rather obtuse muzzle,
and it had a thick and rather long fur, with a very
bushy tail. The colour of the forehead and back
was a hoary brownish buff-grey, whitish on the
sides of the face and neck, ochry below. The ex¬
tremities were fulvous ; the ears, partly concealed in
fur, appeared small and triangular, whitish within,
darker grey on the outside ; the brush, composed of
the same mixed colours, had a black spot on the
summit of the base, another larger about an inch
lower down, no doubt the mark of a gland in that
place, and the tip was black. From the dense
clothing of the animal it doubtless inhabits a cold
region ; and if it be found in Turkey, the mountains

232

THE TURKISH DOG-FOX.

of Natolia and Armenia alone can suit it ; probably
this was the winter dress. But that it was remarked
to be like our Thous acmon by the Baron, and
named Turkish fox, we would have taken it for a
real arctic fox.

SECTION VII. MEGALOTIS.

THE FENNECS OR ZERDAS.

Without adopting Illiger’s reasons, we detach the
present group, under the denomination he applied to
the Zerda, from the other diurnal canines, and more
particularly from jackals and foxes, with which they
have been confounded, and place them immediately
after that of Cynalopex , with which it is nearly
allied. When the long brush-tailed species shall
have been studied with more care, there is little
doubt but that others will likewise require to be
separated. The group now under review is formed,
because the species that have been attentively exa¬
mined have the eyes with a circular disk, and there¬
fore belong to the diurnal tribe ; they have only six
mammas, (?) and form the last subdivision of those
found in the eastern hemisphere. Although, by the
increased proportions of the ears, several of the
species before described, and most of the smaller
African canines, approximate Megalotis , they are
destitute of the following characters, by which
alone the Zerdas are distinguished : — They have the
ears disproportionately developed, and the folds at
the edges double or treble. Such a structure cannot
well be given without a corresponding effect ; and

234

MEGALJTIS.

if we compare it with the same forms in bats,
whose exquisite hearing, and singular power of
diversified perceptions, are known to belong to
their enlarged and complicated ears, we may fairly
presume the Megalotes likewise enjoy distinct facul¬
ties and increased sensibilities by means of these
organs. For this purpose, also, they have the
cerebral chamber very considerably larger than
those of canines of equal proportion ; the auditory
apparatus immensely developed ; the skulls are
destitute of the central ridge where the temporal
muscles are inserted; and the jaws have no great
powers of action. Beside the diurnal eyes, the
great expanded ears, and the spot on the tail, this
group is further distinguished by the soles of the
feet being covered with hair ; a provision the more
remarkable, because all the known species of this
group belong to tropical latitudes. Their teeth,
though the same in number with the rest of the
eanidae, indicate, that beside fruit, honey, and birds’-
eggs, they are prone to feed on insects ; this pro¬
pensity is perhaps facilitated by their hairy feet
making no noise, and causing no concussion of the
earth while in pursuit of their prey. They burrow*
in the sandy deserts of Africa, and about the roots
of date palms.

In this group wTe do not however admit Megalotis
Lalandii or Gams megalotis ; but, on account of
the singular dentition, refer it to a distinct sub¬
genus, which, in the natural order, seems best
placed after Vulpes , and before Lycaon .

235

THE ANUBIS ZERDA.

Megalotis famelicus.

Canis famelicus, Krcetschmer. — Sabora of the Arabs.

This species is one foot eight inches long; the tail,
one foot two inches; the ears, three inches ten
lines ; and the stature, at the shoulder, ten inches
six lines. This little animal stands high compared
with its length ; the head is more pointed than that
of the former ; the hair is silky, grey on the back,
fawn colour towards the sides ; the nose whitish,
with a chestnut streak on each side, from the nostrils
upwards to round the eyes ; the tail above dark,
beneath white, with five or six indistinct darker
spots, the tip white ; inside the thighs and belly
whitish ; throat, and side of the limbs, pale buff;
the soles clad with woolly fur. In adults, there is
a distinct chestnut streak running from the occiput
along the back to the tail. In young animals this
mark is broader, but less distinct. Mr Ruppel
found this species in Kordofan, in the direction of
Nubia. Professor Krsetsclimer is inclined to believe
the figures taken for jackals designed on Egyptian
temples, and in the catacombs of Thebes, to refer
to the present species ; in which case he might well
have denominated it Anubis. The species burrows,
and hunts birds and small mammalia, such as
jerboas, &c.

236

CAAMA FENNEC.

Megalotis caama.

PLATE XIX.

Canis (vulpes) caama.

The smallest of the South African foxes, according
to Dr. Smith, we place here, on account of the
great development of the ears, the general form of
the animal, and its diurnal habits. In figure, this
species resembles the last described, having also the
long brush, with a dark tip.

It is in stature about one foot high at the shoulder,
covered with a soft fur coloured like that of a wild
rabbit. The head is vulpine ; the ears large, with
expanded tubes ; the whiskers long, black, and
rigid ; and its predatory habits best observed are.
that of feeding upon eggs of birds nestling upon the
ground. It is an object of solicitude to ostriches,
who watch the animal when the laying season has
commenced. When the Caama has obtained an
egg of a large size, he is stated to roll it in the
manner which the Suricate ( Rysena ) and several
Viverrae practise, until, by encountering a stone, it
is broken, and is thus become accessible food. The
proceedings both of the ostrich and the animal
attest that it is in the habit of preying by day as
well as by night, like the other Megalotes,

PLATE 19.

CAAMA FENNEC.

y.

. • It -

.* .

5

\

.

.

* -

'

'

'( ■ *-

' * Hr 1

* . . -

- •. .. |

*

.

237

FENNEC OF BRUCE.

Megalotis zerda.

* •

PLATE XX.

Zerda or Durda of the Natives.

Dr Ruppel’s specimens are one foot four inches in
length ; the tail eight and a half inches ; the ears
three and a half inches ; and the height at the
shoulder six and a half inches. The head is only
three and a half inches long, the cranial part very
round, and the muzzle small and fine ; the ears are
very ample, slightly pointed, covered outside with
cream-coloured fur, inside with a border of white
hair, and the rest naked, in the living animal
showing a pinkish colour. In the rest of its form
it is a miniature fox ; the fur is of cream colour,
with the woolly under-coat dirty white ; the irides
are yellow ; the pupils round ; the tail is marked
on the upper surface, near the base, with a black
spot, and the tip is of the same colour ; the soles of
the feet are covered with woolly hair. Dr Riippel's
specimens were obtained about Ambukol, and in
the desert of Korti ; and the species must extend
to the south as far as Caffraria and the Cape Golony,

238

FENNEC :>F BRUCE.

since Mr Sparrmann recognized Bruce's Fennec, and
named it Zerda, which is since proved to be the
name in Nubia. It is scarcely necessary to observe,
that Mr Bruce must have had some confusion in
his notes, when he asserted that his Fennec climbed
trees. They burrow, like the former, in the sand.
There may still be reason to doubt, whether the
Zerda is Mr Bruce's species ; because, according to
his description, the Fennec was only ten inches
long, and the tail five and a-half inches ; the pupils
of the eyes were round and black, the colour of the
iris blue ; it was, in general, a nocturnal animal,
yet watched birds with uncommon vigilance. The
molars were but four on each side, above and below ;
and there were only four toes on the feet, both be¬
fore and behind. All the dimensions were therefore
smaller, and the teeth and toes fewer, which per¬
haps indicates a very young animal when his notes
were taken, or he encountered difficulty when the
animal was to be examined. Major Denham's
Fenecus cerdo was, however, only nine and a-half
inches long ; the tail six inches ; the ears three
inches long and two in breadth. The general
colour was white, slightly tinged with yellow ;
above, from head to tail, ruftras-brown, delicately
pencilled with fine black lines, caused by thinly
scattered hairs tipped with black ; the exterior of
the thighs light rufous-brown ; a small rufous
spot beneath the eyes ; ears long, erected, pointed
externally, covered with pale rufous-browm hair;
internally with a border of greyish white, and the

PENNEC OP BRUCE.

239

rest naked, at the base and sides folded and plaited ;
tail full, cylindrical, rufous-brown in colour, pen¬
cilled with black ; a small dark brown spot near
the base, and the tip black ; fore-feet pentadac-
tylous. It was in a head of this variety that the
ossicula auditus were as large, and the auditory
cells longer, than in the common fox, though the
animal is two-thirds smaller.

We now come to the canidas of South America*,
where the species we have to enumerate are but
few, and very imperfectly known. Yet, in one
respect, the tropical appear to be influenced by the
different conditions of their existence ; for an in¬
tensely hot climate, covered with dense woods,
everywhere intersected with great rivers and exten¬
sive marshes, demanded of the resident carnivora
that they should be inured to swimming, and fami¬
liarised with food drawn from the waters. Many
have but a very scanty woolly fur, but are pro¬
tected by longer and more abundant coarse hair,
than the canines of similar latitudes in the eastern
hemisphere

The question might be raised, whether they
should not be all placed after the dogs, properly
so called, and immediately before the true foxes ;
but, considering that several of them assuredly mix
in prolific breeds with the dogs of European origin,
while the progeny with real foxes are known to be
true mules, we prefer, for the present, to place
them as herein arranged.

We can discern three groups, all generically deno-

240

FENNEC OF BRUCE.

minated Aguaras by the aboriginal Indians ; of
which the first, being at present confined to only
one species, and more widely separated in characters,
it may be well to give the description, before we take
a more general view of the remainder.

^41

SECTION VIIT. CHRYSOCYON.

THE AGUARA WOLVES.

There being but one species belonging to this
group, as yet discovered, we proceed to the de¬
scription of it without adverting to general cha¬
racters, excepting that the distinguishing mark is
the presence of a long mane on the neck and
shoulders ; and probably, as in the Chrysean group,
that the last tubercular tooth is wanting.*

* This is asserted by report of a Creole to Dr Nozeda. See
Rengger, Saeugethlere von Paraguay ; but it is doubtful if the
pupils of the eyes are at all times circular.

249

THE MANED AGUARA.

• Ourysocyon j uoarus.

PLATE XXL

Caius jubatus, Desm. — Le Loup rouge, Cuv. — 0. campestrU.

Wied. — Aguara guazu, Azara.

This is the largest wild canine of South America
yet discovered, and, by some of its attributes,
partakes both of the Hyaenas and Chrysei of the
old world, being furnished with a remarkable mane
from the occiput to the end of the shoulders, and
with the livery and dentition which belong to the
last mentioned. The head is smaller than that of a
wolf, and the legs proportionally longer; the ani¬
mal standing much upon its toes, the feet appear
short ; it is about four feet four inches in length ;
the tail one foot three inches, and the stature near
twenty-six inches in height; the head is long,
particularly the snout, which is pointed ; the ears
rather small, and erect ; the muzzle black and
small ; the cheeks, lips, and whiskers black ; the
nose, forehead, and upper parts deep fulvous-red,
paler at the sides, and more grizzly about the but¬
tocks ; the under parts likewise grizzly and reddish ;

V

THE MANED AGUARA. 243

all the four feet sooty-black ; the hair is rather
long and shaggy, on the throat and breast whitish,
with an irregular sooty spot, beginning beneath the
jaws and passing on each side towards the comers
of the mouth ; from the occiput to the end of the
shoulders runs a ridge of long coarse hair, the upper
half of which is black ; the tail, moderately hairy,
is mixed, darkish on the upper surface, red and
grizzly below and at the tip. The hair from the
hips down the edge of the buttocks is four inches
in length ; that on the belly is likewise long. The
dentition, excepting the asserted want of a tubercu¬
lar, agrees with the other species of canidae ; but is
inferior in strength to that of true wolves ; and the
number of mamma® are only six. The female resem¬
bles the male in every particular of colour.

This species is not found north of the equinoctial
line, but resides chiefly in the swampy and more
open regions of Paraguay and bushy plains of Cam¬
pos Geraes ; its habits are solitary and nocturnal ;
it swims with great facility, and hunts by the scent
feeding on small game, aquatic animals, & c.

The Aguara guazu is not a dangerous animal,
being much less daring than the wolves of the north ;
it is harmless to cattle, and the opinion commonly
held in Paraguay, that beef cannot be digested by
its stomach, was in some measure verified by Dr
Parlet, who found by experiments made upon a
captive animal, that it rejected the raw flesh after
deglutition, and only retained it when given boiled.
Kind treatment to this individual did not produce

244

THE MANED A GUAR A.

confidence or familiarity even with dogs. Its sight
was not strong in the glare of day ; it retired to rest
about ten in the morning, and again about midnight.
In the dark, the eyes sometimes shone like those of
a true wolf. When let loose, the animal refused to
acknowledge command, and would avoid being
taken till driven into a corner, where crouched it
lay, until grasped by the hand, without offering
further resistance. The Aguara guazu, though not
hunted, is exceedingly distrustful, and having an
excellent scent and acute hearing, is always enabled
to keep at a distance from man ; and though often
seen, is but seldom within reach of the gun. The
female litters in the month of August, having three
or four whelps. Its voice consists in a loud and
repeated drawling cry, sounding like a-gou-d-d-a ,
which is heard to a considerable distance.

In the next groups, we mean to describe the wild
dogs and the so called foxes of South America,
which, in order to be clearly ascertained, demand a“
further subdivision, because the form of their heads,
bodies, tails, eyes, and colours are not sufficiently
alike to constitute an homogeneous section. There
is still considerable uncertainty in the distribution
of the smaller canines into diurnal and nocturnal
classes ; because the only positive criterion to dis¬
tinguish them depends upon the form of the pupils
of the eyes ; one being a circular disk, the other a

THE AGUAKA WOLVES.

24.7

vertical opening, but liable to assume the rounded
shape in a moment ; and this effect being generally
produced under all circumstances of emotion or par¬
tial obscurity, in all the nocturnal, the criterion
escapes notice, unless it be determined by dissec¬
tion, an operation demanding manual skill and pre¬
vious anatomical education; these requisites not
being always possessed by travelling investigators,
leave doubts which can be removed only by such
establishments as zoological gardens, where species
can be studied living and be dissected after death.

South America, when first discovered by the
Spaniards, was possessed of canines absolutely indi¬
genous, some universally wild and others liable to
be partially reclaimed ; all more nocturnal than the
former doos and less so than true foxes. Of the
first class there is perhaps only the Chrysocyon
before described; in the second, although clearly
distinguishable into two groups, alike furnished
with rounded foreheads, there are general indica¬
tions of a more placable nature. The eyes of some
are considered circular; they have comparatively
longer and bulkier bodies and shorter tails, while
the others with the external form of foxes, the nose
still more pointed and brushes even longer and
more ample than these animals, have indeed the
pupils of the eyes vertically contractile, but so im
perfectly, that they become elliptical only when the
head is forcibly held against a strong light ; they
are hence crepuscular, not nocturnal, unless there
be a clear moonlight. Their propensities to rapine

246

THE AGUARA WOLVES.

are more those of jackals than of foxes, but their
activity does not cease with daylight; they retire
only to repose when the sun is strong. Several can
be sufficiently tamed to accompany their masters to
hunt in the forest, without however being able to
undergo much fatigue; for, when they find the
sport not to their liking, they return home to await
ffie return of the sportsmen. In domesticity they
are excessive thieves, and go to prowl in the forest.
There is a particular and characteristic instinct
about them to steal and secrete objects that attract
their attention, without being excited by any well
ascertained motive. All subsist upon the usual
food of the wild canines, but with the addition that
they eat also fish, crabs, limpets, lizards, toads, ser¬
pents, and insects. They are in general silent and
often dumb animals ; the cry of some is seldom and
but faintly heard in the night, and in domestication
others learn a kind of barking. None appear to be
gregarious, but several are occasionally encountered
in families. Although in company with man, the
domesticated will eagerly join in the chace of the
jaguar, we have never heard that they are in the
same state of hostility towards felinse as are their
congeners in Asia and Africa. The native Indians
who have domestic dogs of European origin invari¬
ably use the Spanish term perro , and greatly pro¬
mote the increase of the breed in preference to theit
own, which they consider to be derived entirely, or
with a cross, from the Aguaras of the woods ; and
by this name of Aguara it is plain, throughout al-

THE AGUARA WOLVES. 247

most all the interior of South America, that the
whole group of indigenous canines is understood.*
Although both the long and the short tailed Aguaras
appear to be at least in part mixed in that semi¬
domesticity which savages can produce, we separate
the first under the name of Dasicyon, because in
aspect, disposition, and the form of their pupils,
they appear to stand more nearly identified than
the second with the diurnal dogs of the Old World.

* We find, from late information, that within the last
thirty-five years the indigenous dogs of the Indians have been
gradually replaced by the domestic European, and that now it
is difficult to find any even in the more remote parts of the
interior. When we were in the country, this was not the

case.

248

SECTION IX. DUSICYON.

THE AGUARA DOGS.

Buffon, in reasoning upon the scanty data then
collected concerning the chien des bois and crab-
eating dogs, assumed that they were descended
from genuine dogs, although residing in the woods,
and by his own confession never yet entirely sub¬
dued, because “ they bred together,” merely to sus¬
tain his doctrine that all dogs were the offspring of
sheep-dogs * The races we have seen on the spot
did not remind us of shepherd’s dogs, nor of any
other domestic species, excepting those of the resi¬
dent Indians, who all admitted theirs to be of the
wild species of the woods.

The group may be considered to represent, in the
west, the Thoes of the old continent, and collectively
to have the forehead more rounded in proportion
than their consimilars in the east ; the tail consists
of an imperfect brush, never reaching far below the

* II y a plusieurs animaux que les habitans de la Guiane
out nommes chiens des bois, parcequ’on ne les a pas encore
reduits comme nos chiens en domesticite constante, et ils me¬
rit ent ce nom puisqu’ils s'accouplent et produisent avec les
chiens domestiques. — B uffon.

THE AGUARA DOGS.

249

heel ; the body is long-, compared to the height, and
bulky ; the feet are smaller, a characteristic ex¬
tended over a great proportion of the mammalia of
South America, including even man. They have
often the fulvous brown, only in shades deeper than
the Chrysean group, or it is hoary, and the face has
the aspect of foxes. The individuals we examined
had the roof of the mouth black, only six mammae,
and the eyes rather more oblique than the domestic
species of the old continent. They are less shy than
the Chrysocyon, in proportion better armed ; they
burrow, and therefore prefer more open countries,
swim, detach clams from rocks, and eat tish, birds,
and small animals.

HOARY AGUARA DOG.

Dusicyon canescens , Nob.

PLATE XXII.

This species we have seen domesticated among the
Indians, who nevertheless asserted that it was wild
to the southward ; and some years after, we found
a specimen in the museum of Baltimore,* stated to
have been shot some degrees to the south of the
river Plate. It was about two feet eight inches in
length, the tail nearly eleven inches, and the height
at the shoulder fifteen or sixteen inches.t The head
was terminated by a sharp black muzzle, the edges
of the lips were black, the laniary teeth rather
slender, long, and sharp ; there was a very large
wart with several bristles on each cheek ; the ears
small, pointed, and hairy ; the eyes high up in the
head ; the body full and long ; mammae not all
visible ; the legs strong and close haired ; five toes

* The sketch and the notes were among the materials col¬
lected by us in the United States ; but there may be an error
in the name above given, as a great number of subjects were
copied at Philadelphia, New York, and other places, about the
same time.

f These measurements are approximations only, because th*
specimen, when drawn,, was in a glass case.

HOARY AGUARA-ROG

HOARY AGUARA DOG.

251

to all the feet ; the inner claws largest and sharp ;
the rictus of the mouth opened to a great depth,
and the physiognomy resembled that of a small
wolf. This animal was covered with loose coarse
hair on the neck, body, and hams, whitish inter¬
mixed with sandy clouds, and the tips of many
hairs black, particularly on the back : the legs were
pale fulvous ; the tail was scantily supplied with
long hairs, black above, whitish beneath. It dif¬
fered only from the domestic breeds in being some¬
what darker and larget. In the domestic we observed
likewise that the palate was black, and the edge of
the lower lip of the same colour, but more deeply
indented and broader than in the dogs of Europe.
It may be that this is the Canis thorn of Linnaeus,
and that his characters of a wart above the eyes
should have been given as below , and the ciliated
tongue may refer to the jagged under lip, mistated
through inadvertence by his informant.

252

FALKLAND ISLAND AGUARA DOCK
Dusicycm Antarticus.

PLATE XXIII.

The Lyciscus cagottis , before described, appeared to
us identical with the present species ; being induced
to form this conclusion from seeing, in the fur stores
of Mr G. Astor at New York, a large collection of
peltry, which came from the Falkland Islands,
where, according to the reports that gentleman had
received, his hunters had nearly extirpated the
species.* All we saw were alike in colour and
proportions, somewhat smaller than the Cagottis,
equally low in proportion, -with rather bulkier
bodies ; the tail not reaching to the ground, with a
white tip; but the fur of the back was dark a
brown than the specimen figured in the Zoology of

* He had been assured, and we believe to have seen in some
ancient accounts of our earlier expeditions to the South Seas,
or in the wanderings of the Buccaneers, that the Falkland
Island wolf had originally been set on shore there by the
Spaniards, with a view to prevent foreign nations finding fresh
provisions at the anchorages : the information stated further,
that the wolves had nearly destroyed an indigenous fox, and
taken possession of its burrows. Although the first part may
be only seamen’s tales, the last appears to be so far true, that
a smaller and now a rare species of canine is found on the
western Falkland Island.

PI. ATE 23.

-S

, Vv

' ■ l, ■ '

• • , •- '

V' ,

. ,r.

.

_ w

*

• ' -

‘ -■

M *-]

,

. '

■*

S-

-

*

*

FALKLAND ISLAND AGTJARA DOG. 253

the voyage of the Beagle. Captain Fitzroy having
favoured us with several communications on this
subject, has removed our former impressions, and
we now consider the antarctic animal distinct, not¬
withstanding that there are none of the same species
on the neighbouring islands or on the main land,
and no other habitat can be ascribed to it than the
western Falkland Island. There is one more cause
of misapprehension requiring notice, and that is the
presence of two species, varieties or races not clearly
distinguished in the accounts, excepting by the dif¬
ference of size, and possibly by the smaller having
a greater length of tail and more white about the
feet. The D. Antarticus is full three feet long, the
tail thirteen inches, and the height at the shoulder
fifteen inches ; the body is bulky, the legs low, and
the head wolf-like ; above, the colour is formed of
hairs ringed with black and fulvous, together with
dark tan ; the belly and inside of the limbs are pale
whitish buff, the throat dirty white, the middle of
the tail brown and the extremity white. There is
a well-preserved specimen in the Paris museum,
brought from the Falkland Islands. Mr Bourgain-
ville found it residing in burrows along the sea
downs ; it had a feeble kind of barking, and fed
chiefly on birds. Buffon, who examined two speci¬
mens, being deceived by the colours, concludes that
it was a race of the common fox. This conclusion
of the Count’s was a natural result of his system,
which on the present occasion tended to confuse more
than to clear up the history of the canidse.

254

AGUARA DOG OF THE WOODS.

Dusicyon sylvcstris.

PLATE XXIV.

In the collection of original drawings of the Prince
of Nassau, now in the Berlin library, there is one
of an animal with the name Aguarra beneath it ;
the design evidently shows a form of the present
group ; the head is pointed, the forehead round, the
ears large, somewhat obtuse, rufous at the back and
on the edges ; the body is slender, the fur yellow¬
ish grey, darkest on the back ; from the eyes to the
nostrils the face is blackish; the legs are rather stout ;
all the feet as far as the joints black, the rest of the
limbs rufous ; the tail does not reach the ground,
and from the root to the black tip it is yellowish
grey. The size of this animal is not mentioned, nor
can it be identified with any other of the group.
Professor Lichtenstein, in his observations on Marc-
grave and Piso, has not ventured to assign it to a
described animal, but we have little doubt but that
it is a true wild species, and therefore that the name
of Dusicyon sylvestris should be admitted ; for we
have seen skins of one or two specimens in their
wild condition and mutilated, but enough to satisfy

s.

' •

,

• *

'

\

‘

V

.

.

■

■

.

1

v

v > . . •' > <

)

W $ ^^mUSmgR

■ ,

*• '>*** '

* V-r '

AGTJAftA DOG OF THE WOODS. 255

us that this is the true chien des hois. Buffon’s figure
is, we think, that of a semi-domesticated specimen,
obtained through the Indians, who imposed it upon
the French colonists the more easily, because almost
all the native dogs will eat shell-fish. *

The chien des hois , or Aguara of the Woods, may
he the Koupara of Barrere,t and the description of
Buffbn repeated by F. Cuvier and Desmarets is quite
correct in the details, hut wrong as to the general
appearance of the animal, which is more like a cur
than a shepherd’s dog. The length of head and
body is two feet six inches, the tail one foot, height
at the shoulder fourteen inches ; the head rounded,
the muzzle more blunt than in the former ; the ears
short, erect, triangular, with a rufous fur at the
back and spreading towards the neck, similar to
those of the wild species : the colour more grey on
the neck and yellowish white beneath ; this colour
spreads on the insides of the legs and thighs ; that
of the upper part of the head and back consists of a
mixed black, fulvous, grey, and white hairs, most
fulvous on the head and legs, and grey on the back ;
the legs are slender and the feet small, both of a
dark brown and reddish colour ; the tail, clothed with
a close coat of hair without a brush, is brown on the

* Prince Maximilian of Wied and Dr Rengger, who resided
six years in Paraguay, do not appear to have met with it ; and
we therefore conclude that the species does not extend to the
southward of the line.

+ Barrere is probably mistaken in the true application of
this name, for in Brazil it refers to a feline and not to a dog.

256

AGUARA DOG OF THE WOODS.

upper surface, yellowish beneath, and l la^k at fhe
end : the eyelids and muzzle are black, and there 1
is an indistinct appearance of two blackish streaks
on each cheek.

The attitude of this animal is that of a cur, and
on comparing our figure of a domestic dog of the
Indians, taken from a living specimen, with that of

THE CRABODAGE, OR SURINAM AGUARA DOG.

Dusicyon sylvestris ,

PLATE XXY.

We find such a strict similarity in all, excepting the
bushy tail, that we believe them to represent the
same species in the wild and domestic states, and
that Buffon’s chien des bois is again the same, while
the chien cr abler is a Cerdocyon, or Canis Azores.

The wild race of these dogs are said to form small
families of six or eight in company ; they hunt
agoutis, pacas, and wild gallinacae. The Indians
say also that they eat the berries of several plants,
particularly those of the houmiri (houmiria bal-
samiferaf ) ; and a solitary cry, sometimes heard in
the most dense forest, is ascribed to them.

^ TV T A

DUN-FOOTED AGUARA-D 0 G-

DUN-FOOTED AGUARA DOG.

Dusicyon fulvipes.

PLATE XXVI.

Vulpes fulvipes, Martin. Culpeu ? of Molina.

This species is two feet in length, the tail nine
inches, the height at the shoulder ten inches. It
’nas, according to Mr Martin, “ a remarkably stout
form of body and shortness of limbs ; the tail is
rather short, with hairs of moderate length, except
the extremity, -where it forms an abrupt full tuft
tipped with sooty black ; the fur in general is full,
rather deep and harsh ; on the body the colour is
hoary mixed with black, the latter predominating
down the hack ; head rather fulvous, grizzled with
hoary; the muzzle and chin dusky; edges of the
lips white ; ears short, chestnut brown ; outside the
anterior limbs are dusky black freckled with ful¬
vous, inner side and toes pale fulvous brown ; a
dark spot above the tarsal joint; tarsi and toes
fulvous brown; upper coat of hair dusky brown
at base, with a yellow white band above and
black tips, whence the grizzled appearance of the
general colour."

258

DUN-FOOTED AQUARA DOG.

The species was discovered by Mr Darwin in
Chiloe ; it showed surprise at the presence of man,
but made no attempt to escape; from which cir¬
cumstance, and the few particulars known concern¬
ing the Culpeu of Molina, it is inferred to be that
animal.

259

SECTION X. CERDOCYON.

THE AGUARA FOXES.

We pass from the subdiumal Aguara Dogs, by an
almost insensible degree, to the Aguara Foxes, whose
structure is more completely vulpine, having toils
with brushes even larger and longer than those of
true foxes. They are equally low on the legs,
equally supple, with a fur nearly as abundant, and
kept very clean, with colours forming mixtures of
grey, buff, white, and black, the tip of the tail
always black ; but their eyes do not appear to
assume the vertical contraction with equal facility
or perfection, and they are thence more crepuscular
than nocturnal, prowling only in moonlight nights,
and keeping abroad till the sun becomes hot. They
can be domesticated, and it is believed will form
cross breeds with the Dusicyort and Cards f ami -
l laris.

260

WHITE-BARRED AGUARA FOX.

Cerdocyon mesoleucus , Nobis.

PLATE XXVII.

We place a t the head of the present group a speci¬
men which is marked in some measure like the
Thorn mesomelas of the Cape, and is intermediate
between the last group and the present. It was
kept during the space of about four years in the
house of a friend residing near Plymouth, where
opportunities were frequent of watching its charac¬
ter and manners ; and being a great favourite with
the owner, who is familiar with field sports, and
therefore qualified to judge with discrimination, we
learn that in most respects it was as playful as a
young fox, having all the vivacity and dexterity of
that species. It was perfectly tame and good-tem¬
pered; but in no instance was the eye observed
otherwise than with a circular pupil, and it was
quite destitute of all offensive odour. The specimen
measured twenty-eight inches in length, the tail '
eleven inches, standing high on the legs, with slen¬
der limbs and small feet, and the whole structure
remarkably light ; the incisor teeth were small and
the canines were slender, and never greatly exceeded
the length of the external incisors ; the whiskers,
bristles on the cheeks and above the eyes, were long

WHITE-BARRED AC.

WHITE-BARRED AGUARA FOX. 201

and black, as were also the muzzle, edge of the lips,
and eyelids ; there were five toes on all the feet,
those on the hind feet well developed and armed
with long claws ; the nose, back of the ears, a small
space on the shoulders, and the hinder face of the
legs were reddish buff, the front paler, and the
inside more grey ; round the eyes the hair was
whitish hoary ; the cheeks and forehead yellowish
grey ; from the nape of the neck all over the back
to three or four inches down the tail the colour was
blackish grey, with a bar on the neck and another be¬
hind the shoulders of nearly pure white, relieved by
deep black, but with some whitish intermixed with it,
passing down towards the elbows and a third white
* bar across the root of the tail : the ridge of the
back was nearly black, but grizzling downwards in
irregular brindles of black and white to the sides,
which with the breast, hams, and belly were grey ;
the tail formed a regular brush, but proportionally
shorter than that of the foxes, furnished with grey
hairs to the end where it was black, with a few
white hairs at the tip ; the ears were rather large,
pointed, thickly furred with grey hair, and a little
fulvous at the back ; the external part of the thighs
was white down to the tarsus ; the sides of the
neck, shoulder, flanks, and hams delicate grey ; the
limbs pale buff. This beautiful animal came from
South America, and, judging from the density of
the fur, belonged to rather a high latitude. It forms
a kind of counterpart to Thons mesomelas of the
Cape, and might be mistaken for it.

262

GUAR AX A AGUARA FOX.

■ •»

Cerdocyon guaraxa.

PLATE XXVIII.

The Guaracha of Northern Brazil.

There are several varieties or races of the Brazilian
and Paraguay Guaracha. Both Prince Maximilian
of Wied and Dr Rengger classed them among true
foxes, but the last mentioned naturalist admits that
it can be tamed, and with superior powers of scent
is used in hunting, though with but indifferent
docility. It is a dangerous companion among poul¬
try, when unobserved; and the Doctor reports the
eyes, though round, when turned against the full
light of day, to become vertically slit as in true
foxes ; yet they do not stir abroad in dark nights.
It is to this species in particular we allude when
remarking upon the singular propensity manifested
by them to steal and secrete particular objects':
bridles and pocket-handkerchiefs have been carried
off in this manner, and subsequently found in bushes
at some distance.

The first variety is we believe represented among
the original drawings of Prince John Maurice of Nas-
sau-Siegen, already mentioned, and therein named

PLATE 28.

xoAVHviutv vxvway

GUARAXA AC.TTARA POX.

263

Guaraxa, which Professor Lichtenstein, in his care¬
ful review of the works of Marcgrave and Piso,
compared with the above drawings, considers to be
synonymous with d’Azara’s Aguarachay. In form
and stature the Guaraxa is very like the Mesoleu-
cus, the head and limbs appearing equally small
and light, when compared with the volume of body
and tail, both being covered with loose and rather
coarse hair, the tail is however much longer; the
nose, cheeks, and forehead sooty grey ; the nose to
the eyes, the back of the ears, and extremities from
the joints downwards sepia brown ; the neck, back,
belly, sides, hams, and tail yellowish white, darker
on the back flanks and hams, and waved on the
neck, back, and croup with indistinct bars of sepia
brown, which appears likewise in similar forms on
the tail, where there are about three bars and a
sooty tip.

CRABODAGO AGUARA FOX.

Cerdocyon Azarce.

PLATE XXIX.

Cams Azarse, Prince Maximilian of Wied.

This variety, belonging to the plains and woods of
Brazil and Paraguay south of the equinoctial line,
but spreading partially to the north of it, is similar
in general form, resembling an European fox, but
with the head more like a Thous, the neck less
implanted between the shoulders, and the brush less
furnished with long hair, the fur on the body is
pale yellowish grey, on the back being mixed with
black ; a black streak on the shins, the rest buff ;
the tip of the lips white ; under jaw dark brownish
grey, and inferior parts whitish ; the tip of the tail
black. The length from nose to tail is about twenty-
three inches, the tail fourteen inches, the ears two *
inches.

The animals of this species, found more to the
southward, and represented in the Zoology of the
Beagle, appear by the figure published in the second
number to be nearly black on the ridge of the back
and tail, excepting towards the extremity, where a

PLATE 29

CRABODAGO or AZAKAS AOUARA-FOX.

I YotUlfi I

CRABODAGO AOUARA FOX.

265

white band interposes immediately above the black
tip ; the face and legs are brown, without the black
streak on the shins, and the sides more mixed with
pale grey.

Mons. Fred. Cuvier regards the Agnarachay of
d’Azara as the C. cinereo argenteus of authors, but
there is no resemblance in the colours, figure, or
manners ; one belongs to South and the other to
North America. The Guaracha barks, lives on
terms without restraint when brought up in the
house, his manners resembling those of the C. Me-
soleucus ; the young are blackish and white. The
three coloured animal is a true fox, of which we
have seen several in a living state, but always
chained, having the nocturnal eye, the odour, and
instinct of foxes ; and of a great number of skins
we examined, there was not one without the space
of true fox colour behind the ears and on the joints,
though some were rather darker than others in the
fur on the back ; the colour was a purer grey, often
silvery.

On reconsidering the varieties of this last species,
we are inclined to conclude that our figure of Cer-
docyon cancrivorus represents the young, of which
Prince Maximilian of Wied’s Canis Azaroe is the
adult, and our Guaracha only a different race of the
same species.

266

MAGELLANIC AGUARA FOX.

Cerdocyon Magellanicus.

PLATE XXX.

Vulpes Magellanicus, Gray. — Canis Magellanicus, Zool. of the
Voyage of H. M. S. Beagle.

The figure of this species is published in the above
cited work, but the letterpress has not as yet ap¬
peared; we therefore refer to the dimensions and
description in Mr Gray’s notice of Mammalia in
Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History, vol. i. page
577* It is there denominated Magellanic Fox, and
represented to be “ greyish varied with black on
the back ; the cross band on the nape and upper
part of the tail black; head pale yellowish; back
of the ears, nape, sides of the limbs, and under parts
of the tail bright fulvous ; chin, throat, chest, belly,
and front of legs white. Length of head eight-
inches, body twenty inches, tail twelve inches. In¬
habits Magellanic Straits. Presented to the Museum
by Captain King, R. N.” The figure published by
Mr Darwin represents an animal in form resem¬
bling the fox of Norway, being equally robust in
structure and low in stature ; the colours are light

PLATE 30.

MAGELLANIC AOTTARA FOX.

MAGELLANIC AGUARA FOX. 267

grey, intermixed with fulvous and blackish along
the hack and at the tip of the tail.

We do not know if it is this species which is
stated to exist also on the Falklands, and to have
been nearly extirpated by the larger Dusicyon
wUarticus