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A stampede of jackals through the environs of Calcutta, 1864. Creator: Mason Jackson
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A stampede of jackals through the environs of Calcutta, 1864. Creator: Mason Jackson
A stampede of jackals through the environs of Calcutta, 1864. 'A walk through Calcutta about midnight reveals to the European stranger many curious sights and sounds...[Outside the] ordinary dwellings and shops...are the owners sleeping on charpoys (very primitive bedsteads) in the open fronts, answering for the verandah of the houses...On every side are hundreds of tall cocoanut palms...As he turns the corner of the street a rushing sound directs his attention to a moving mass of living creatures...a piercing shriek, like that of some wretch in the direst extremity of terror, rises upon his ear; this is followed by another and another, until the whole pack is in full chorus. These are the jackals, the scavengers of Calcutta...the jackal is a great coward, and, unless he can attack with every advantage on his side, he will slink away from a grown person, or even a boy with a stick in his hand...Very young children, however, have been carried off and devoured by the pack; and there have been instances of a rabid jackal running amuck through the crowded bazaars in broad daylight and committing fearful havoc amongst the naked legs of the natives: for their bite, when the animal is in this state, produces the worst form of hydrophobia'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864
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Media ID 38073407
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This print by Mason Jackson captures a stampede of jackals through the environs of Calcutta in 1864. The image transports us back to a time when the streets of Calcutta were filled with curious sights and sounds, as described in the accompanying text. The European stranger wandering through the city at midnight would have been met with the sight of owners sleeping on charpoys outside their homes, surrounded by tall coconut palms.
The focal point of this scene is the moving mass of jackals, their piercing shrieks filling the night air. These scavengers of Calcutta are depicted in all their wild glory, captured mid-stampede as they navigate through the streets. Despite their fearsome reputation, we learn that jackals are actually great cowards who will flee from any perceived threat.
However, there is a dark side to these creatures as well - tales of young children being carried off and devoured by rabid jackals serve as a grim reminder of nature's harsh realities. This print not only showcases Mason Jackson's skill in capturing wildlife in action but also serves as a historical document shedding light on life in 19th-century Calcutta.
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