THE ARIEL GAZELLE. 525 



In this attitude the Gazelles will maintain their ground with considerable spirit and per- 

 tinacity, seeming to be entirely aware of the advantages which they derive from acting in 

 concert, and oftentimes assuming the offensive as well as the defensive mode of action. 



The eye of the Gazelle is large, soft, and lustrous, and has been long celebrated by the 

 poets of its own land as the most nattering simile of a woman's eye. The color of this pretty 

 little animal is a light fawn upon the back, deepening into dark brown in a wide band which 

 edges the flanks, and forms a line of demarcation between the yellow-brown of the upper por- 

 tions of the body and the pure white of the abdomen. The face is rather curiously marked 

 with two stripes of contrasting colors, one a dark black-brown line that passes from the eye to 

 the curves of the mouth, and the other a white streak that begins at the horns and extends as 

 far as the muzzle. The hinder quarters, too, are marked with white, which is very perceptible 

 when the animal is walking directly from the spectator. 



There is considerable difficulty in assigning the Antelopes to their proper position in the 

 animal kingdom, and in many instances zoologists are sadly bewildered in their endeavors to 

 ascertain whether a certain animal is entitled to the rank of a separate species, or whether it 

 can only be considered as a variety of some species already acknowledged. Such is the case 

 with the Ariel Gazelle, an animal which is now determined to be merely a variety of the 

 preceding animal, and not entitled to take rank as an independent species. 



This beautiful little creature is very similar to the Dorcas Gazelle in general appearance, 

 but is much darker in all its tintings, the back and upper portions of the body being a dark 

 fawn, and the stripe along the flanks almost black. 



The Ariel is found in Syria and Arabia, and as it is not only a most graceful and elegant 

 animal in appeai-ance, but is also docile and gentle in temper, it is held in great estimation as 

 a domestic pet, and may be frequently seen running about the houses at its own will. So 

 exquisitely graceful are the movements of the Ariel Gazelle, and with such light activity does 

 it traverse the ground, that it seems almost to set at defiance the laws of gravitation, and, like 

 the fabled Camilla, to be able to tread the grass without bending a single green blade. When 

 it is alarmed, and runs with its fullest speed, it lays its head back so that the nose projects 

 forward, while the horns lie almost as far back as the shoulders, and then skims over the ground 

 with such marvellous celerity that it seems rather to fly than to run, and cannot be overtaken 

 even by the powerful, long-legged, and long-bodied greyhounds which are employed in the 

 chase by the native hunters. 



When the Gazelle is hunted for the sake of the sport, and not merely for the object of 

 securing as many skins as possible, the falcon is called to the aid of the greyhound, for without 

 such assistance no one could catch an Ariel in fair chase. As soon as the falcon is loosed from 

 its jesses, it marks out its intended prey, and overpassing even the swift limbs by its swifter 

 wings, speedily overtakes it, and swoops upon its head. Rising from the attack, it soars into 

 the air for another swoop, and by repeated assaults bewilders the poor animal so completely 

 that it falls an easy prey to the greyhound, which is trained to wait upon the falcon, and 

 watch its flight. 



When, however, the Gazelle is hunted merely for the sake of its flesh and skin, a very 

 different mode is pursued. 



Like all wild animals, the Gazelle is in the habit of marking out some especial stream or 

 fountain, whither it resorts daily for the purpose of quenching its thirst. Near one of these 

 watering-spots the hunters build a very large inclosure, sometimes nearly a mile and a half 

 square, the walls of which are made of loose stones, and are too high even for the active Gazelle 

 'to surmount by means of its wonderful leaping powers. In several parts of the edifice the wall 

 is only a few feet in height, and each of these gaps opens upon a deep trench or pit. The manner 

 in which this enormous trap is employed is sufficiently obvious. A herd of Gazelles is quietly 

 driven towards the inclosure, one side of which is left open, and being hemmed in by the line 

 of hunters, the animals are forced to enter its fatal precincts. As the pursuers continue to 

 press forward with shouts and all kinds of alarming noises, the Gazelles endeavor to escape by 

 leaping over the walls, but can only do so at the gaps, and fall in consequence into the trenches 



