144 



THE LION KILLER. 



tion taken by him, whether to the right or left, forward or 

 backward, the unfortunate hare follows his steps and never 

 leaves him. 



When the chief has played long enough with the agonies 

 of the hunted animal, a horseman jumps to the ground, takes 

 it in his hand, and carries it in the middle of the circle show- 

 ing it to the falcons, who follow with impatience the move- 

 ments of this last act of the drama. 



Having ascertained that the birds are directly above it, 

 they are again shown the hare which is thrown as far as 

 possible. Scarcely does it touch the ground, before a bird 

 sweeps on it, striking it with its claws, and all hasten to give 

 the finishing stroke to the poor animal. 



The Arabs take the partridge in the same manner, except, 

 that instead of forming a circle, they gallop in a single line, 

 following the manoeuvres of the falcons. This hunt does not 

 offer the same attractions as that of the hare, and it is but 

 rarely practised by the natives. 



The most interesting hawking, for Arabs as well as Euro- 

 peans, and the one which best shows the courage of the hawks, 

 is the chase of the bustard. As I have mentioned above, the 

 southern tribes alone have the opportunity of chasing this 

 bird, which never approaches the colder regions of the high- 

 lands. 



Those native chiefs that hunt the bustard, make a display 

 of men and horses when they take the field, which adds 

 greatly to the interest of the chase, and the beauty of the 

 scene. The bustard is met with on both sides of the moun- 

 tains which separate the Tell from the desert, but more 



