7546 Birds. 



Ostrich- Hunting in Northern Africa. — To enter upon a full history of " the 

 pride of the Desert " would be out of place here, especially if the tales of the Aralis 

 were incorporated in its annals. Unfortunaiely there is hut little opportuiiiiy 

 fur testing from personal obstrvatiuu the iniih of the characterisiics atlribiiud lo the 

 ostrich by the natives, who ascribe to it a strange mixture of sagacity and siinpliciiy. 

 Tiie capture of the ostrich is the greatest feat of hunting to whici) the Arab sports- 

 man aspires, and in richness of booty it ranks next to the plunder of a caravan. But 

 such prizes are not to be obtained without cost and toil, and it is generally estimated 

 that the capture of an ostrich or two must be at the sacrifice of the lives of two horses ; 

 so wary is the bird and so open are the vast plains over which it roams that no ambus- 

 cades or artifices can be employed, and ihe vulgar resource of dogged perseverance is 

 the only mode of pursuit. The horses lo be employed undergo a long and painful 

 training, abstinence from water and a diet of dry dates being considered the best 

 means for strengthening their wind. The hunters set forth with small skins of water 

 strapped under their horses' bellies, and a scanty allowance of food for four or five days 

 distributed judiciously about their saddles. The ostrich generally lives in companies 

 of from four to six individuals, which do not appear to be in the habit, under ordinary 

 circumstances, of wandering more than twenty or thirty miles from their head-quarters. 

 When descried, two or three of the hunters follow the herd at a gentle gallop, endea- 

 vouring only to keep the birds in sight without alarming them or driving them at full 

 speed, when they would soon be lost to view. The rest of the pursuers leisurely proceed 

 in a direction at right angles to the course which the ostriches have taken, knowing 

 by experience their habit of running in a circle. Posted on the best look-out they can 

 find, they await for hours the anticipated route of the game, calculating upon intersect- 

 ing their path. If fortunate euough to detect them, the relay sets upon the now ex- 

 hausted flock, and frequently succeeds in running one or two down, though a horse or 

 two generally falls exhausted in the pursuit. The ostrich when overtaken ofifers no 

 resistance beyond kicking out sideways. A skin in full plumage is worth on the spot 

 from forty to one hundred Spanish dollars, but the Arabs are in the habit of judiciously 

 thinning the feathers, so that the trade can rarely obtain a specimen on which this 

 tax has not been paid. I have frequently seen the ostrich domesticated without being 

 in captivity. The Bey of Tuggurt kept several in a large court-yard, where they had 

 free egress and ingress, but they showed no inclination to escape. They lived in very 

 godd fellowship with the numerous horses, asses and camels of the establishment, but 

 had an admitted precedence, and would stretch their long necks over the shoulders of 

 any of their companions, and select corn or dates from the nosebag. If any spirited 

 colt or grumbling camel showed an inclination to resist, a side kick in the ribs very 

 soon brought him to submission. To strange horses they exhibited a decided aversion, 

 and would walk quietly alongside one, and then suddenly strike out with one leg at 

 right angles to their bodies, a most clumsy-looking but a very efi"ective mode of attack. 

 I remember seeing another, apparently public property, in the market of Jamerna,who 

 would go round and levy willing contributions from the vendors of dates and barley, 

 and who slept at night (I suppose I must not say roosted) in the open square. But 

 he presented a very beggarly appearance ; for in return for the alms he received he 

 had yielded to his caterers every feather in his body. Once, and once only, had I ihe 

 good fortune to take an ostrich's nest, though fresh eggs were frequently brought in by 

 the Arabs. There is something irresistible to the Nomad in the charm of an ostrich- 

 chase, and, as often as our exhausted horses had sufifered from the vain pursuit, it was 



