286 FALCONRY 



beauty. She had gone straight to the other hut after plaguing 

 him the last day he saw her, but never having been frightened 

 at that place was less suspicious and so was caught. This 

 hawk came into the possession of the Old Hawking Club, 

 where she was known as ' the Duck-killer,' and was one of the 

 grandest hawks for temper, flying qualities, and steadiness that 

 the Club have ever owned, killing over forty rooks her first 

 season. She was eventually lost when flying rooks at Feltwell 

 in Norfolk, and it is to be hoped became the mother of falcons 

 as good as herself on some wild cliff in North Britain, or Scan- 

 dinavia. 



But to return to the freshly caught falcon. Her captor 

 will have little difficulty in carrying her home on his fist ; so 

 dazed and terrified will she be by her novel situation that she 

 will sit like a hawk of stone. On arrival the hawk may be 

 temporarily set on the perch with any others that have been 

 lately caught, or, better still, fastened securely to a soft grass 

 mound (which sometimes takes the place of the sock) ; but the 

 sooner she is taken in hand, the better. The directions which 

 have been already given for the training of the freshly taken- 

 up eyess will apply in this case also, but it must never be for- 

 gotten that the passage hawk has hitherto spent her days in 

 avoiding men as her natural enemies, and that it will take much 

 time, care, and gentleness ere this terror and aversion can be 

 overcome. A single impatient action or hasty gesture may 

 undo the work of days, and the man who tries to tame a wild- 

 caught hawk should possess a temper which is under perfect 

 command and a patience which is * above proof.' 



The first step is to take the hawk on hand and to handle 

 her gently, stroking her with a feather or some such thing, to 

 accustom her to being taken hold of and handled. Hawks 

 differ marvellously at this stage of their education. Some will 

 display the most passionate temper, will fight, bite, even scream, 

 and dash themselves about like passionate children. Such as 

 these are usually the easiest to deal with ; their passion soon 

 abates and generally develops into a fine, generous temper. 



