THE HORNED ANIMALS— ANTELOPES PROPER. 



49S 



caught sight of the Gazelle, it is set free. The 

 Falcon rises high up in the air, like an arrow, 

 swoops down on the Gazelle and tries to fasten 

 its claws upon the animal's head near its eyes. 

 The surprised beast endeavors to rid itself of the 

 bird of prey by shaking and rolling itself, and 

 the Falcon eventually loosens its hold on the head 

 of the victim but instantly fastens on to it again, 

 usually selecting the hind leg for its point of at- 

 tack. Though the Dogs have as yet seen nothing 

 of the Gazelles, they know by experience that the 

 hunt commences with the removal of the Falcon's 

 hood. They become uneasy, pull at their leashes, 

 and finally can not be kept back any longer. They 

 are let loose and follow the Falcon, keeping it in 

 sight, and behind them the hunters hurry on their 

 Horses. If the Falcon is a good one, it can stop any 



The hunter made as good use of his time as 

 he could, and in the majority of cases was able to 

 obtain a successful shot from one of the thicker 

 bushes, usually at a distance not exceeding from 

 ninety to one hundred and fifty paces. The surviv- 

 ing Gazelles would make off with all possible speed 

 after the report, generally trying to gain the nearest 

 hill, to the top of which they would climb. There 

 they would stop, however, exactly as if they wished 

 to inform themselves of what had taken place, and 

 more than once we succeeded in creeping up near to- 

 the place where they were posted like sentinels. In 

 some localities the higher hills would gradually all 

 become covered with Gazelles, which, alarmed by 

 the reports of our shots, had drawn near from all 

 sides to survey the ground from their watch-towers. 

 I may well say that those mountains, which are for 



Long the favorite theme of Oriental poets, the Gazelle, or Barbary Antelope, is one of the most graceful and agile of animals,, 

 rmount a beautiful head which is further adorned by long but symmetrical ears, and the entire contour of the animal is delicate: 



THE GAZELLE. „ 



The slender, black horns surmount 

 and shapely. [Antiloi>e dorcas.) 



Antelope that is not too large, until the Dogs come 

 up and tear it to pieces. 



Methods Employed The hunt with a gun yields very 

 in Shooting good results. Whenever we, my 

 Gazelles. companion Van Arkel and myself, 



saw a troop of Gazelles, we would cautiously con- 

 tinue on our way, making at the most a small detour 

 and approach the Gazelles as closely as we deemed 

 advisable. Then one of us would jump down from 

 his Mule and hide behind a bush, surrendering the 

 Mule to the servant who accompanied us. Then 

 the dismounted hunter would creep up to the quarry, 

 carefully keeping to the leeward and occasionally 

 crouching on the ground; the other one continued 

 his journey. Generally the leader of the herd would 

 curiously follow the latter with its eyes, forgetting 

 to examine the rest of its surroundings, and thus 

 exposed the herd to attack. 



the greater part bare of trees, were in this way deco- 

 rated in a wonderfully beautiful fashion. The fine 

 forms were so clearly outlined on the deep blue sky 

 that one could distinctly perceive every limb, even 

 at a great distance. It also happened frequently that 

 the frightened Gazelles would go over one of the 

 numberless hills and stop as soon as they had passed 

 down the other side and lost the hunter from view. 

 In the beginning they deceived me several times by^ 

 this strange conduct. I would climb the hill with 

 the greatest caution and look for my quarry in the 

 distance, while it stood right beneath me. A rolling 

 stone or some other noise which I occasioned would 

 alarm them and they would start away with wind- 

 like rapidity. But I never saw Gazelles pursued by 

 Men have recourse to their utmost speed, which 

 they display only when Dogs are at their heels. I 

 can not describe the spectacle then afforded by^ 



