78 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



The Chetah "^^^ practice of employing animals to hunt 

 as a animals is of veiy early origin, and the docility 



Huntsman. qJ ^^le Chetah early marked him out as a suitable 

 ally in the chase. Chetahs are so gentle that they can be 

 led about in a leash like greyhounds. The following descrip- 

 tion of a hunt is from "The Naturalist's Library". "Just 

 before we reached our ground, the shuter suwars (camel 

 courier), who always moved on our flanks in search of game, 

 reported a herd of antelopes, about a mile out of the line of 

 march, and the Chetahs being at hand, we went in pursuit 

 of them. The leopards are each accommodated with a flat- 

 topped cart, without sides, drawn by two bullocks, and each 

 animal has two attendants. They are loosely bound by a 

 collar and rope to the back of the vehicle, and are also held 

 by the keeper by a strap round the loins. A leathern hood 

 covers the eyes. On entering from a cotton field, we came 

 in sight of four antelopes, and my driver managed to get 

 within a hundred yards of them before they took alarm. 

 The Chetah was quickly unhooded and loosed fi^om his 

 bonds; and, as soon as he viewed the deer, he dropped 

 quietly off the cart on the opposite side to that on which they 

 stood, and approached them at a slow crouching canter, 

 masking himself by every bush, and inequality, which lay in 

 his way. As soon, however, as the deer began to show alarm, 

 he quickened his pace and was in the midst of them in a 

 few bounds. He singled out a doe, and ran it close for 

 about 200 yards, when he reached it with a blow of his 

 paw, rolled it over, and in an instant was sucking the life 

 blood from its throat." "As soon as the deer is pulled," 

 says the same account, " a keeper runs up, hoods the Chetah, 

 cuts the victim's throat, and securing some of the blood in 

 a wooden ladle, thrusts it under the leopard's nose. The 

 antelope is then dragged away and placed in a receptacle 

 under the hatchery, while the Chetah is rewarded with a leg 

 for his pains." 



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