HYENAS. 173 



chase being one of earth and not of air, The Asiatics have brought this curious chase to great 

 perfection, and are able to train Chetahs for this purpose in a wonderfully perfect manner. 



When a Chetah is taken out for the purpose of hunting game, he is hooded and placed in 

 a light native car, in company with his keepers. When they perceive a herd of deer, or other 

 desirable game, the keepers turn the Chetah' s head in the proper direction, and remove the 

 hood from his eyes. The sharp-sighted animal generally perceives the prey at once, but if he 

 fails so to do the keepers assist him by quiet gestures. 



No sooner does the Chetah fairly perceive the deer than his bands are loosened, and 

 he gently slips from the car. Employing all his innate artifices, the quadrupedal hunter 

 approaches the game, and with one powerful leap flings himself upon the animal which he has 

 selected. The keepers now hurry up, and take his attention from the slaughtered animal by 

 offering him a ladleful of its blood, or by placing before him some food of which he is 

 especially fond, such as the head and neck of a fowl. The hood is then slipped over his head, 

 and the blinded animal is conducted, patient and unresisting, to the car, where he is secured 

 until another victim may be discovered. 



It is a very curious fact, that although the Chetah is found in Africa as well as in Asia, 

 it has not been subjected to the dominion of man by the African races, but is suffered to roam 

 at large, unfettered and unblinded. 



The natural disposition of this pretty creature seems to be gentle and placid, and it is 

 peculiarly susceptible of domestication. It has been so completely trained as to be permitted 

 to wander where it chooses like a domestic dog or cat, and is quite as familiar as that animal. 

 Even in a state of semi-domestication it is sufficiently gentle. One sleek and well-conditioned 

 specimen with which I made acquaintance behaved in a very friendly manner, permitting me 

 to pat its soft sides, or stroke its face, and uttering short self-sufficient sounds, like the 

 magnified purr of a gratified cat. Unfortunately, the acquaintance was rudely broken up by 

 an ill-conditioned Frenchman, who came to the front of the cage, and with his stick dealt the 

 poor animal a severe thrust in the side. The Chetah instantly lost its confident expression, 

 and was so irritated by this rough treatment that it would not permit a repetition of the 

 former caresses. 



Certainly these caged animals have a wondrous perception of the intentions of those who 

 visit them. I heard one curious instance of forbearance on the part of a caged tiger. 



A little girl, about five or six years of age, was taken to see the lions and tigers in a 

 travelling menagerie. They presented to her mind the idea that they were simply very large 

 cats, only differing in size from her favorite cat at home. So she crept close to the cage, and 

 getting on a stone, in order to lift her small person to a proper elevation, fearlessly thrust her 

 arm through the bars, and began to stroke the nose of the tiger. The spectators, seeing the 

 child thus engaged, very unwisely set lip a general scream, which had the effect of startling 

 the tiger, and of making it so suspicious, that a second attempt to stroke it now would have 

 probably resulted in the loss of the arm. 



The fur of the Chetah is rather rough, and is by no means so smooth as that of the African 

 or Asiatic leopard. Its color is very similar to that of the leopard, but the ground color of the 

 fur is of a deeper fawn. The spots which so profusely stud the body and limbs are nearly 

 round in their form, and black in their tint. Excepting upon the face there seem to be no 

 stripes like those of the tiger, but upon each side of the face there is a bold black streak 

 which rims from the eye to the comer of the mouth. The hair about the throat, chest, and 

 flanks is rather long, and gives a very determinate look to the animal. 



The Chetah is known as an inhabitant of many parts of Asia, including India, Sumatra, 

 and Persia, while in Africa it is found in Senegal, and at the Cape of Good Hope. 



HYENAS. 



The group of animals which are so well known by the title of Hyenas, are, although most 

 repulsive to the view, and most disgusting in their habits, the very saviors of life and health 

 in the countries where they live, and where there is necessity for their existence. In this land, 



