182 
HAWKING. 
the head of the animal given it for food, with its beak, before 
it began to devour it. 
Those who are in the habit of catching Hawks avail 
themselves of their knowledge of the different ways in which 
they provide themselves with food, in order to capture them; 
a description of a few of these modes may he useful to some 
of our readers. The manner of catching the celebrated 
Icelandic Falcons was thus. So anxious were the inhabitants 
to secure them, that almost every nest was known, and the 
Falcon- catchers in the neighbourhood watched them with 
the greatest care. When the old ones had reared their 
young, and the latter were full grown, two posts were stuck 
into the ground, at a little distance from each other ; to the 
one was tied a Partridge or a Pigeon by a small line, two or 
three yards long, that they might have room to flutter about 
and attract by their motion the eye of the Falcon ; to the 
leg of the Partridge or Pigeon, they tied another string, in 
length about a hundred yards, which ran through a hole in 
the other post, in order to draw the bait to that post, where 
a net, like a fishing-net, was fixed, with a hoop in a semi- 
circle of six feet in diameter. This being pulled down, it 
went over, and covered the post, for which purpose there was 
another string fastened to the upper part of the hoop, which 
went through the first post, to which the bait was tied. 
These two strings the Falcon-catcher held in his hand, that 
he might pull the bait when he pleased, and at the proper 
moment draw the net over his prize. These nets were fixed 
in the neighbourhood of some nest, or in situations known to 
be frequented by Falcons. As soon as one of them happened 
to notice the lure fluttering on the ground, after taking a few 
sweeps in the air, just over the spot, as if to discover any 
hidden danger, he pounced down with such violence and 
certainty, that the bait’s head was taken off, as clean as if 
with a knife. The moment he had thus despatched his sup- 
posed prey, he generally flew up again, unless very hungry, 
to he reassured that there was no danger near. Availing 
himself of this pause, the Falcon- catcher pulled the string 
and dead bait to the other post, close under the net, which 
