THE NEAR EAST 
Most sporting of all is the Bedawin practice of riding the gazelle down 
and shooting them from the saddle or after dismounting. I have hunted 
thus with an Arab chief in the undulating desert east of the land of Moab. 
Only the fear which the gazelle have on reaching a sky-line allows the 
rider a chance. They slow down to such an extent on ascending a rise, and 
they pass the ridge so carefully, that the hunter gains ground and has 
the opportunity to dismount and take his shot. 
All success with gazelle on the plains depends upon the season, as well 
as upon close acquaintance with the localities and inhabitants. Stalking 
of a quieter but very exciting kind may be enjoyed in summer in the 
mountains, for during the heat the gazelle move up into the barren Anti 
Lebanon to a height of 7,000 feet. These are really animals from the plains 
below and are not true mountain gazelle. In order to find the rare variety 
called G. nterrilli one must search the hills of Moab and Judaea, on either 
side of the Dead Sea. This gazelle keeps entirely to the hills and is never 
found in the desert. Occasionally I have seen it in very rough country. It 
is allied to the mountain or Atlas gazelle of North Africa. Its horns are 
nearly straight as seen from the front, with no lyration; the tips curve 
slightly forward , not inwards, as in G. dorcas. 
In the same country of the Anti Lebanon, frequented by gazelle in sum- 
mer, there are a few bears to be found. On Mount Hermon, the highest 
crest of the Anti Lebanon, and occasionally on the eastern spurs of the 
main Lebanon, the variety of brown bear known as Ursus syriacus still 
exists in small numbers. Their education, owing to close contact with the 
inhabitants, is such that they are exceedingly difficult to bring to bay. I 
have seldom seen any wild animal so well able to look after itself. Their 
habitat is very small and very conscribed. In winter they are at peace and 
hibernate, or not, according to the season and locality, but in summer 
they live a precarious existence, always harassed by shepherds and stray 
hunters. Only the rugged nature of the country and the existence of many 
caves make it possible for them to survive. They also travel largely and 
do not always remain in one locality. In autumn, on the highest parts of 
the mountains, they are tempted to rob the little patches of cultivation 
which the natives have assiduously tended during the summer and who 
guard them in consequence. Later still the bears come down to attack the 
vineyards. 
The colour of the bears from Syria proper is identical with that of the 
Asia Minor species — very pale, with a well-defined collar. They are small 
29 
