.314 GREYHOUNDS & THEIR ARAB MASTERS 



The little greyhound pups are petted from the time 

 they are born, and the villagers bring presents of milk 

 and other things to the mother. There is no flattery they 

 will spare, and no promise they do not give, for the 

 chance of getting one of the puppies for their own. ' I 

 am your friend, my brother,' they will say ; ' grant me, 

 I pray you, the favour that I ask. When you start for 

 the hunt, I will go with you ; I will serve you and help 

 you as a friend may.' Then the master of the grey- 

 hound answers that in seven days he will make up his 

 mind whether he will part with the puppy or not, and 

 till then the man must wait. This is because in every 

 litter of greyhound puppies, one is always better than 

 the rest, and in order to find out which is the cleverest the 

 owner will take it away from its mother's side before it is 

 seven days old, and see if it can get back by itself. If 

 it can, he believes the pup will turn out a great prize, worth 

 the best negro slave that could be offered him. It would 

 be dreadful indeed, if he found he had given away such 

 a treasure ! 



After tourteen days the little fellows are fed upon the 

 milk of goats or camels, with as many dates as they 

 like to eat, and as soon as they are three or four months 

 old, their education begins. The boys let out some small 

 animal under the puppy's nose, and while he is still 

 watching it in a puzzled way, set him on to catch it. It 

 does not take long to awaken his sporting instincts, and 

 in a few weeks he is shown higher game. When he is 

 five or six months, he is considered old enough to learn 

 how to hunt hares — not at all an easy task, and one which 

 requires a great deal of preparation. The puppy is held 

 in a leash, and led by some of the men to a place where 

 hares are known to lie. The hare is roused and made 

 to run away, and the greyhound is taught to follow it 

 until, after repeated trials, he learns how to hunt it down. 

 When he has thoroughly mastered this lesson, he is pro- 

 moted to the chase of gazelles, which needs a great deal 



