Bible animals : $b being a description of every living creature mentioned in the Scripture, from the ape to the coral.Wood, J. G. (John George)
Religion
Bible animals : $b being a description of every living creature mentioned in the Scripture, from the ape to the coral.
Wood, J. G. (John George)
Animals in the Bible; Nature in the Bible
The same author records a very remarkable example of the sagacity of
the native Dog, and the fidelity with which it will keep guard over
the property of its master. "The guard-house provided us, unasked,
with an invaluable and vigilant sentry, who was never relieved, nor
ever quitted the post of duty. The poor Turkish conscript, like every
other soldier in the world, is fond of pets, and in front of the grim
turret that served for a guard-house was a collection of old
orange-boxes and crates, thickly peopled with a garrison of dogs of
low degree, whose attachment to the spot was certainly not purchased
by the loaves and fishes which fell to their lot.
"One of the family must indeed have had hard times, for she had a
family of no less than five dependent on her exertions, and on the
superfluities of the sentries' mess. With a sagacity almost more than
canine, the poor gaunt creature had scarcely seen our tents pitched
before she came over with all her litter and deposited them in front
of our tent. At once she scanned the features of every member of the
encampment, and introduced herself to our notice. During the week of
our stay, she never quitted her post, or attempted any depredation on
our kitchen-tent, which might have led to her banishment. Night and
day she proved a faithful and vigilant sentry, permitting no stranger,
human or canine, European or Oriental, to approach the tents without
permission, but keeping on the most familiar terms with ourselves and
our servants.
"On the morning of our departure, no sooner had she seen our camp
struck, than she conveyed her puppies back to their old quarters in
the orange-box, and no intreaties or bribes could induce her to
accompany us. On three subsequent visits to Jerusalem, the same dog
acted in a similar way, though no longer embarrassed by family cares,
and would on no account permit any strange dog, nor even her
companions at the guard-house, to approach within the tent ropes."
After perusing this account of the Dog of Palestine, two points strike
the reader. The first is the manner in which the Dog, in spite of all
the social disadvantages under which it labours, displays one of the
chief characteristics of canine nature, namely, the yearning after
human society. The animal in question had already attached herself to
the guard-house, where she could meet with some sort of human
converse, though the inborn prejudices of the Moslem would prevent the
soldiers from inviting her to associate with them, as would certainly
have been done by European soldiers. She nestled undisturbed in the
orange-box, and, safe under the protection of the guard, brought up
her young family in their immediate neighbourhood. But, as soon as
Europeans arrived, her instinct told her that they would be closer
associates than the Turkish soldiers who were quartered in the
guard-house, and accordingly she removed herself and her family to the
shelter of their tents.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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