Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-08-17
RED DOG.
A Mighty Hunter In India and Mr.
KipIins's Jungle Book.

A Mighty Hunter In India and Mr..
KipIins's Jungle Book.
The red dog never reaches the size
of the wolf, though 1t exceeds that Of
a jackal It's shape is uncouth, the
body narrow and low in the forequar-
ters, with loose limbs ending In large
awkward paws, the head and brush
carried low. The head, remarkable for
the large blunt furry ears, is interme-
date between the domestic dog and
the fox, without the honest look Of the
one or the quick witted sharpness Of
the other. Against these disadvant-
ages the bright chestnut hue Of the
wild dogs coat, shading into black at
the end Of the brush, does not avail
for handsomeness.
Over most Of India 1t Is to be found,
on mountains and in plains, in forest.
where forest grows. and about the bare
slopes where the hills have not vegc-
tltion. East Of India very similar
beast ranges even to Java, and anoth-
er, paler and shaggier, haunts Siberia
and Saghalien, so that over most Of
Asia one form or another Is to be
reckoned with. Naturally the Indian
species is the best known; yet 1t is
not known at all intimately; for
though so widely spread it is not a
common animal and the field natural
lsts of India have little to say Of 1t.
Tlut 1t is clear that the red dog Is a
very different animal from the wolf,
and far superior to any other eastern
canine. Most of the wild relatives Of
our dogs are cowardly beasts, feeding
on carrion and small animals, and only
attacking large ones when hard press
ed by hunger-such Is the VOLTS way
of life; while the jackal skulks around
villages and sometimes enters large
towns in search, Of scraps, making the
night hideous with his howls, even In
Calcutta. But the red dog is true
hunter, the deadliest foe to the game
animals that Is known in the east. He
is not very swift-less so than the
jackal-nor Is he adroit at the double
or graceful in his actions, but he fol-
lows the scent, mostly In silence, with
deadly persistence, and however long
the trail may be the pack runs into
their victim without fail in the end.
They do not go in large numbers
dozen would be large pack-but what
they want in force is replaced by their
courage and cunning strategy in at
tack.
Their ordinary prey Is the powerful
sambur dear and the beautiful spotted
axis, corresponding to our red deer
and fallow deer; the various antelopes
cf the plains and wild goats of the
hills. All of these they harry in turn
for few days; then the terrified beasts
forsake that section Of the jungle, and
the red pack must range far afield
sgain, not to return till long after
the terror Of their raid has subsidized
In the locality. Their methods Of at
tack are terrible in the extreme; some
Of their devices indeed can hardly be
mentioned here. Suffice 1t to say that
their ordinary plan, whenever possible
is to disembowel the victim.
Deer are not the only prey on which
these terrible creatures adventure; the
biggest horns known Of the gaur (Bos
fyaurus) came from one said to have
been killed by wild dogs, Of the Bur-
lnese race in this case; and yet the
gaur, the largest of all wild oxen, Is
too much for the ordinary tiger And
the tiger often fails with the boar the
most gallant Of all wild animals, but
the red pack will bring him to his end
Their fellow carnivores even are not
safe; the black bear Of the Himalayas,
although the fiercest of Indian bears,
has been seen in his last struggle with
the pack, with torn coat and flesh In
strips, fighting gamely still-Saturday
Review.