THE ARIEL i, \/.l l.LB. 



In this attitude the Gazelle* will maintain their ground with considerable spirit ami j 

 tinacity, seeming t<> !" uiin-ly aware of the advantages which tli-\ deriie from acting in 

 concert, :uni oftentimes assuming tin- offensive as well a.s tin- defensive mode of action. 



The eye of the Gazelle is large, soft, and lustrous, and has been long celebrated by the 

 poets of it.s own land as the most Mattering simile of u woman's eye. Tin- color <>f this preit\ 

 little aiumal is a light fawn upon tin- back, deepening into dark brown in a wide Imnd wliirh 

 edges the tlanks, and forms a lin' of demarcation )>et wi-en the yellow hniwn of tic- n|.|--i pal 

 t ions of t lie body and tin- pur.- white of the alxlomen. The faev is rather curiously marked 

 with two stripes of contrasting colors, one a dark l>htrk-l>n>\vn line that pa norm from tin- > to 

 thf curves of the mouth, and the other a white streak that begins at the horns and extends aa 

 far as tin- muz/le. The hinder quarters, too, are marked with white, which is very perceptible 

 when the animal is walking directly from thf . 



TIIKUK is considerable difficulty in assigning the Antelopes to their pro|M-r jx.sition in the 

 animal kingdom, and in many instances zoologists are Badly bewildered in tht-ir endeavors to 

 ascertain whether a certain animal Is entitled to the rank of a separate sj)eciea, or whether it 

 can only be considered as a variety of some species already acknowledged. Such is the case 

 with the ARIEL GAZEI.I.K, an animal which is now detenu ined to In- merely a variety of the 

 I in-ceding animal, and not entitled to take rank as an inde|iendent s|>ecie8. 



This beautiful little creature is very similar to the lion-a.s (iazellc in general appearance, 

 tmt is much darker in all its tinting, the hack and up|>er jmrt ions of the body being a dark 

 fawn and the -trijM- along the flanks almost lilack. 



The Ariel is foun<l in Syria and Arabia, and as it is not onlv a most graceful and elegant 

 animal in aj>i-:irance. but is also docile and gentle in temjier, it is held in great estimation as 

 a domestic pet, and maybe frequently seen running al>out the houses at its own will. So 

 exquisitely graceful are the movements of the Ariel (Ja/elle. and with such lidit activity does 

 it traverse the ground, that it seems almost to set at defiance the law-. ..f gravitation, and. like 

 tin- -fabled Camilla, to be able to tread the grass without I tend ing a single green blade. When 

 it is alanned, and runs with its fullest sjH-ed. it lays its head liack -.,, that tin- 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 -IMS rather to fly than to run, and cannot IM- overtaken 

 even by the powerful, long-legged, and long-bodied greyhounds which an- 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 -if 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 limtw by its swifter 

 wings, sj>eedily overtakes it, and swoops upon its head. Rising from the attack, it coars into 

 the air for another swoop, and by repeated assaults U'wilders the |>oor animal so completely 

 that it falls an easy prey to the greyhound, which is trained to wait upon the falcon, and 

 wutch 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 ]art of the edifice the wall 

 is only a few feet in height, and each of these gaps oj-ns II]M>II a deep trench or pit. The manner 

 in which this enormous trap is employed is sufficiently obvious. A herd of Gazelles is quietly 

 driven towards the inclosure, one side of which is left o]-n. and being hemmed in by the line 

 of hunters, the animals are forced to enter its fatal pn-cincts. As the pursuers continue to 

 press forward with shouts and all kinds of alarmim; noises, the Gazelles endeavor to escape by 

 leaping over the walls, but can only do so at the gaps, and fall in consequence into the trenches 



