94 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE.

“The Dingo, the wild dog of Australia,” says Mrs. Bowdich
“roams in packs through that vast country; has a broad
head; fierce oblique eyes; acute muzzle; short, pointed,
erect ears; tail bushy, and never raised to more than a
horizontal position. He does not bark, but howls fearfully; is
extremely sagacious, and has a remarkable power of bearing
pain. When beaten so severely as to be left for dead,
he has been seen to get up and run away. A man pro-
ceeded to skin one, not doubting that life was extinct,
and after proceeding a little way with the operation, he
left the hut to sharpen his knife. When he returned, the
poor animal was sitting up, with the loose skin hanging over
one side of his face.” The Dhole of India, similarly hunts in
packs, attacking and destroying even the tiger. Their sense
of smell is very acute, their bark similar to that of a hound,
their colour red or sandy. They have long heads, oblique
eyes, long erect ears; and very powerful limbs. The Aguaras
of South America, says Mrs. Bowdich, resemble foxes. “They
are silent if not dumb, and appear to congregate in families
rather than packs. They have a peculiar propensity to steal
and secrete without any apparent object in so doing.”

The Dog. The dog divides with the horse the honour of
being the most intimate and devoted of the servants of
mankind. “His origin,” says Mr. Jesse “is lost in antiquity.
We find him occupying a place in the earliest pagan worship;
his name has been given to one of the first-mentioned stars
of the heavens, and his effigy may be seen in some of the
most ancient works of art. Pliny was of opinion that there
was no domestic animal without its unsubdued counterpart,
and dogs are known to exist absolutely wild in various parts
of the old and new world.” Whether the dog of civilization
is a descendant of these wild dogs, or whether the wild dog
is the progeny of domestic varieties relapsed into a condition
of savagery, and whether both are descended from the wolf
and the jackal has often been discussed. Certain it is that