CHASE AFTER A WOLF WHEN CARRYING OFF A LAMB.
sometimes make a Uin, U. Ihe spot ami snap ll up again. Few ehildi-en snrvive
llie l)ilo; liioiigli I liavc seen several grown persons, who carried till- marks of
tile wolves' Leelll.
Troops ¡11 general move witli an host of camp-followers ; many of tllem havhig
families. Nunilwrs of young ehihiren, especially s.iclr as, being at the breast,
cannot be sent by water, necessarily accompany. In many parts of the country,
c's|)ecially in the'joniinions of the Nabob Vizier of Onde, all arc kept in a perpclnal
state of alarm. Wben a wolf is seen by the centrics, who dare not fire
among such crowds, a general shout and pursuit immediately takes place. Yet
it often l iappcns lliat llirce or four young children arc earricd off, o r at least seized
and dropped in tlic course of a night. Many arc taken from the very arms of
tbeir mothers, though covered witii quilts, and surrounded |,erhaps by a dozcu
of persons, who take every possible precaution, except that of vyatchiug, for the
prcsclTatioii of the infanls.
T h e wolf proceeds in so subtile a manner, tfiat often a child is taken from its
m o t h e r ' s breast, ami not missed until the healing of the drums may rouse the
whole camp for the purpose of marcbing, when the parent first becomes
acquainted with her loss. The melancholy effcct produced by the cries of
mothers whose children have been purloiiied, and to whom no kind of aid can
avail, nor consola .tion be .idniiiiiiflcrecl, surpasses iiuaginaUon. Tliey continue
to distress the feelings of all during llie wliole night, and occasion reileclions
t h a t debar the mind endncd willi sensibility from enjoying a moment' s repose.
I cannot call to mind more than one attempt made to rear a wolf cub ; but
it became so complclely savage by the time it was four monllis obi, that the
possessor was under (lie necessity of shooting i t : not, however, before it bad
b i t several persons very severely. The natives consider it a race which no art
can domesticate- This applies to bnlh tlie bcriah, or real wolf, which is similar
to the kind common in numv parts of Europe, and the hoondar, or hyjena.
The former is of a light fox colour, somewhat inclining to a dun, and has rather a
l o n g head, witli cars not unlike those of a j a cka l ; he is slini made, but boney ;
his tail is long, and not mnch furnished with liair. When full g rown he may be
about as tall as a full sized greyhound.
T h e hyiena dillors from the wolf in having far heavier limbs ; a shor ter head,
not unlike a mastilV, of which its figure somewhat partakes, and its colour is a
kind of rig-rag dappling of a dirty ))rown, or a light-sand colour. The hyaina
is certainly the most formidable in point of strength, though smaller in general
tlian the hcriah, whieli far excecds it in speed and agility. 13oth kinds a r e blended
b y tlie natives rather indiscriminately under the designation of bcriah ; that
term, however, is strictly applicable only to the real wolf, which probably took
its designation from its being such an enemy to sheep, which, in the Moors
language, are called berry, The hoondar, which has long shaggy ])oil, is said to
derive its name from hoon and dar; signifying tlie bearer of wool.
I cannot exhibit the cunning, as well as the impudence and strengtli of a
wolf, bet ter than by laying before iny readers a most extraordinary circumstance
t h a t occurred at Cawnpore, during the famine of 1783 and 1784. Thieves,
wolves, and goats, being particularly obnoxious in the upper provinces, the
areas surrounding bungalows, and es])ccially such as arc detatched for sleeping
in, Avhere the females are in a manner secluded from society, are enclosed with
walls made of mud, usually from seven to ten feet high. These have, besides,
copings of tiles, which may be estimated at a foot more. The average of such
as enclose or the apartments appropriated to the women, are ordinar
i l y of sufficient height to prevent a horseman from looking over; therefore
may be averaged at nine feet.
Two wolves succeeded in getting into tlie area of a bungalow occupied by the
p r e s e n t Lieutenant Colouel Powell, then post-master at Cawnpore, where they
found a lad of about thirteen years of age, a relation to the family, asleep.
T h e y soon killed him in their usual manner of seizing the throat, after which
t h e y dragged him carefully to the foot of the wall. The falling of a tile from
t h e copiüg created an alarm, when the wolves wer e discovered, one standing on
his hind legs, his fore feet resting against the wall, and holding up the lad by
t h e throat; the other wolf on the wall, leaning down as much as he could in
t h e endeavour to obtain a hold so as to drag him over. Human ingenuity could
scarcely have devised better means for accomplishing such a purpose. It is to
be observed that in every respect, but the seizure at the throat, there was no
mark or bite about the unfortunate youth. The wolves, no doubt, expected to
succeed in gelling him over the wall, when they would have began that
ceremony which they were fearful might have been too eagerly performed,
w i t h i n the premises, and baulked them of their meal.
D u r i n g the time above noticed, the wolves liad become extremely bold. Till
t h e n ihey had rarely been known to attack adult persons. Finding so many to
become an easy prey, they either lost the power of discrimination, or from that
a u d a c i t y so often attendant upon success, .so little attended to the age, sex, or
s t a t i on of such persons as fell in their way, that numbers of the stoutest men
in our camps were attacked, and many of them killed sometimes by a single
w o l f ; though they were generally observed to be two or three in company.
A n European ccntry was taken from his post ; and a sepoy who was sent as a
g u a r d to some people employed to cut grass for thatches from Jooeij plain, was
a t t a c k e d at mid-day by several wolves. He destroyed live with his arms, and
p r o b a b l y would have got ri<l of some others that remained, had not one ol'
them, going round to his hack, sprung upon his neck, and brought hiui to the
g r o u n d , when the jioor fellow was soon torn to pieces. This circumstance wa.s
loo well known to be here mnch insisted upon a.s a matter of fact. iUtt Í cannot
h e l p observing that the grass-cutters, who iled on the a])pearance of the wolves,
and, like the bearers in the adventure of the bear, kepi a safe distance, insi.sted
on there being seven wolvc.s. The reader should nniler.sland that, with tlie
natives of India, seven is called in aid on a thousand occasions. U has there, as