818 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



HUNTING WITH BIRDS OF PREY. 



By M. EDOUAED BLANC. 



AMONG the animals that man has in different periods of his- 

 - tory forced to serve his purposes, none are now so much 

 neglected in western lands as birds of prey. These creatures, how- 

 ever, at a time which is not yet far away from us, constituted the 

 essential factor of falconry, which was a few centuries ago held in 

 the highest honor. This sport, although it has fallen into decay 

 in Europe, is still practiced in northern Africa and some parts of 

 Asia, chiefly central Asia. Having had occasion to indulge in it 

 much on my own account in both these regions, I am able to 

 speak from personal experience of the manner in which it is prac- 

 ticed there. Falconry in Africa, where it has come down from 

 the Arabs of the middle ages, has been described many times, 

 especially from the picturesque point of view. I shall speak espe- 

 cially of the sport in central Asia, where, while it is less known 

 to Westerners, it is practiced more perfectly than in any other 

 country. It has entered completely into the habits of the people, 

 and it is not there, as in Africa, limited to a small number of 

 wealthy proprietors. 



The exhibition at Tashkend in 1891 included a department of 

 the chase, in which the most distinguished falcon teams of Tur- 

 kistan figured prominently. The Khan of Khiva was an exhib- 

 itor, and was represented by his best birds and his most skillful 

 falconers. Instead of allotting the prizes, according to the most 

 usual plan, to the best-looking birds, matches were instituted and 

 the relative merit of the competing birds was determined by the 

 test of what they could do. I had an opportunity on this occa- 

 sion to make a thorough study of the technical details of a sport 

 which I had already practiced under different circumstances. 



Such large birds as the eagle are trained for falconry in Tur- 

 kistan, and are used for the capture of foxes, gazelles, antelopes, 

 and even, it is said, deer. They are so heavy that the falconer is 

 not able to carry them on his arm alone, and has to support it on 

 a wooden prop, the base of which is attached to his saddle. 



According to the Arabian traditions, the training of the falcon 

 to hunt was first accomplished by an inhabitant of Mosul ; but 

 the training of the eagle has been practiced by the Chinese and the 

 Mongols from an antiquity much more remote than the Arabian 

 period, and falconry was probably introduced into Turkistan 

 from the north of China, and then into Persia, perhaps by some 

 Hunnish people. 



Falconry is so deeply established in Turcoman life that people 

 in modest conditions and even children engage in it. A favorite 



