172 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



We now observed that the cheetah not only slackened its pace, but 

 it crept cautiously forward, as though looking for the lost game. 



We followed quietly uj>on horseback, and in a few seconds we 

 saw the two bucks about 120 yards distant, standing with their 

 attention fixed upon us. At the same instant the cheetah dashed 

 forward with an extraordinary rush ; the two bucks, at the sight 

 of their dreaded enemy, bounded away at their usual speed, with 

 the cheetah following, until all animals were lost to view among 

 the scattered bushes. 



We galloped forward in the direction they had taken, and in 

 less than 300 yards we arrived at the spot where the cheetah had 

 pinned the buck ; this was lying upon its back without a struggle, 

 while the firm jaws of the pursuer gripped its throat. 



The cheetah did not attempt to shake or tear the prey, but 

 simply retained its hold, thus strangling the victim, which had 

 ceased all resistance. 



The keeper now arranged the hood upon the cheetah's head, 

 thus masking the eyes, which were gleaming with wild excitement, 

 but it in no way relaxed its grip. Taking a strong cord, the 

 keeper now passed it several times around the neck of the buck, 

 while it was still held in the jaws of the cheetah, and drawing the 

 cord tight, he carefully cut the throat close to the teeth of the 

 tenacious animal. As the blood spurted from the wound, it was 

 caught in a large but shallow wooden bowl or ladle, furnished 

 with a handle. When this was nearly full, the mask was taken 

 off the cheetah, and upon seeing the spoon full of blood it relaxed 

 its grasp and immediately began to lap the blood from its well- 

 known ladle. When the meal was finished, the mask or hood was 

 replaced, and the cheetah was once more confined within its cage, 

 as it would not run again during that day. 



The wooden ladle is, to the cheetah, an attraction corresponding 

 to the " lure " of a falcon ; the latter is an arrangement of feathers 

 to imitate a bird. The ladle is known by the cheetah to be 

 always connected with blood, which it receives as a reward after a 

 successful hunt ; therefore, when loose, and perhaps disobedient to 

 a call, it will generally be recovered by exhibiting the much-loved 

 spoon, to which it returns, like a horse to a sieve of oats. 



We now uncarted a fresh cheetah, and were not kept long 

 waiting before we came upon a lot of antelopes, most of which 

 were females and young bucks. At length, after careful stalking 

 by driving the bullock-cart in an opposite direction to the herd, 

 and then slightly turning to the left, in the endeavour to decrease 

 our distance, we saw a fine buck standing alone within 100 yards, 



