The Jackal resembles, in one respect, the Fox, more than either the Wolf or Wild Dog. It has the reputation for excessive cunning, and indeed takes the place of our old vulpine friend, in the legends of the East. It is said that “when a Jackal has brought down his game and killed it, his first impulse is to hide it in the nearest jungle, whence he issues, with an air of easy indifference, to observe whether anything more powerful than himself may be at hand from which he might encounter the risk of being despoiled of his capture. If the coast be clear, he returns to the concealed carcass, and carries it away, followed by his companions. But if a man be in sight, or any other animal to be avoided, my informant has seen the Jackal seize a cocoa-nut husk in his mouth, or any similar substance, and fly at full speed, as if eager to carry off his pretended prize, returning for the real booty at some more convenient season.” [Illustration: JACKAL.] Sir Emerson Tennent states that the Jackal, like the Domestic Dog, is subject to rabies, and that cattle frequently die from bites inflicted by them when in this condition. “An excrescence is sometimes found on the head of the Jackal, consisting of a small horny cone, about half an inch in length, and concealed by a tuft of hair. This the natives call _Narri comboo_; and they aver that this ‘Jackal’s horn’ only grows on the head of the leader of the pack. Both the Singhalese and the Tamils regard it as a talisman, and believe that its fortunate possessor can command, by its instrumentality, the realisation of every wish, and that if stolen or lost by him, it will invariably return of its own accord. Those who have jewels to conceal rest in perfect security, if along with them they can deposit a _Narri comboo_, fully convinced that its presence is an effectual safeguard against robbers. “One fabulous virtue ascribed to the _Narri comboo_ by the Singhalese is absurdly characteristic of their passion for litigation, as well as of their perceptions of the ‘glorious uncertainty of the law.’ It is the popular belief that the fortunate discoverer of a Jackal’s horn becomes thereby invincible in every lawsuit, and must irresistibly triumph over every opponent. A gentleman connected with the Supreme Court of Colombo has repeated to me a circumstance, within his own knowledge, of a plaintiff, who, after numerous defeats, eventually succeeded against his opponent by the timely acquisition of this invaluable charm. Before the final hearing of the cause, the mysterious horn was duly exhibited to his friends; and the consequence was that the adverse witnesses, appalled by the belief that no one could possibly give judgment against a person so endowed, suddenly modified their previous evidence, and secured an unforeseen victory for the happy owner of the _Narri comboo_!”