638 THE SPRING-BOK. 
a single green blade. When it is alarmed, and runs with its fullest speed, it lays its head 
back so that the nose projects forward, while the horns lie almost as far back as the 
shoulders, and then skims over the ground with such marvellous celerity that it seems 
rather to fly than to run, and cannot be overtaken even by the powerful, long-legged, and 
long-bodied greyhounds which are employed in the chase by the native hunters. 
When the Gazelle is hunted for the sake of the sport, and not merely for the object of 
securing as many skins as possible, the falcon is called to the aid of the greyhound, for 
without such assistance no one could catch an Ariel in fair chase. As soon as the falcon 
is loosed from its jesses, it marks out its intended prey, and overpassing even the swift 
limbs by its swifter wings, speedily overtakes it, and swoops upon its head. Rising from 
the attack, it soars into the air for another swoop, and by repeated assaults bewilders the 
poor animal so completely that it falls an easy prey to the greyhound, which is trained 
to wait upon the falcon, and watch its flight. 
When, however, the Gazelle is hunted merely for the sake of its flesh and skin, a very 
different mode is pursued. 
Like all wild animals, the Gazelle is in the habit of marking out some especial stream 
or fountain, whither it resorts daily for the purpose of quenching its thirst. Near one of 
these watering-spots the hunters build a very large inclosure, sometimes nearly a mile 
and a half square, the walls of which are made of loose stones, and are too high even for 
the active Gazelle to surmount by means of its wonderful leaping powers. In several 
parts of the edifice the wall is only a few feet in height, and each of these gaps opens 
upon a deep trench or pit. The manner in which this enormous trap is employed is 
sufficiently obvious. A herd of Gazelies is quietly driven towards the inclosure, one 
side of which is left open, and being hemmed in by the line of hunters, the animals are 
forced to enter its fatal precincts. As the pursuers continue to press forward with shouts 
and all kinds of alarming noises, the Gazelles endeavour to escape by leaping over the 
walls, but can only do so at the gaps, and fall in consequence into the trenches that yawn 
to receive them. One after another falls into the pit, and in this manner they perish by 
hundreds at a time. 
A very similar kind of trap, called the Hopo, is employed in Southern Africa, the 
walls of the inclosure being formed of trees and branches, and terminating in the pit of 
death. At the widest part the walls are about a mile asunder, and their length is about 
one mile. The pit at the extremity is guarded at its edges with tree-trunks, so as to 
captured in a single week. 
The flesh of the Ariel Gazelle is highly valued, and is made an article of commerce 
as well as of immediate consumption by the captors. The hide is manufactured into a 
variety of useful articles. The Ariel is a small animal, measuring only about twenty-one 
inches in height at the shoulder. The Jarrov, or common Gazelle of Asia, which is so 
celebrated by the Persian and other Oriental poets, is ascertained to be a different species 
from the Dorcas, and may be distinguished from that animal by the general dimness of 
the marking, and the dark brown streak on the haunches. It is also known by the name 
of Anu, and DsHEREN. Several other species are now known to belong to the genus 
Gazella, among which we may mention the Monr of Western Africa, the ANDRA of 
Northern Africa, and the Kory, or Kevet, of Senegal. The latter animal possesses no 
tufts of hair upon the knees. There is one animal, the CHIKARA, or RAVINE DEER of 
India, which is worthy of a passing notice, because it is by some authors supposed to 
belong to the Gazelles, and by others to form a separate genus, as is the case with the 
arrangement of the British Museum. ‘This animal is also known under the titles of 
CHouKA, GoAT ANTELOPE, and KALSIEPIE, or BLACK-TAIL. 
The SpPRING-BOK derives its very appropriate title from the extraordinary leaps which 
it is in the constant habit of making whenever it is alarmed. A 
As soon as it is frightened at any real or fancied danger, or whenever it desires to 
accelerate its pace suddenly, it leaps high into the air with a curiously easy movement, 
