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OSTRICHES. 
lie was moved from tlie spot, in the hope that he 
would forget his grief : he was even allowed more 
liberty ; but nought availed, and he literally pined 
away till he died. 
Their swiftness is proverbial ; to run like an 
Ostrich is, in its own country, the same as to say in 
ours, to run like a greyhound. When roused from 
the desert, with their long legs and huge strides, 
they scour away beyond a horseman's speed, with 
their short wings expanded to balance them. Vain 
would be the hope to catch them at first setting off, 
for, in a few minutes, they are out of sight. The 
persevering hunter, however, keeps on a steady 
course, sparing his horse, till he can again see his 
game at a distance, when off it runs once more, and 
thus, at length, by over exertion, wears itself out, its 
joints becoming stiffer after every run, till finally the 
horseman approaches near enough to shoot it. 
In Morocco the Arabs adopt another method. 
Mounted on swift desert horses, called heiries, they 
set off in parties of about twenty, riding against the 
wind, till they meet with the track of an Ostrich, 
separating themselves at distances of about half a 
mile apart; when, as soon as they obtain a view of 
their game, they spur onwards at full speed. For a 
time, the bird runs from the magainst the wind, till 
finding its wings an impediment, it turns round and 
foolishly runs towards them, when every huntsman 
fires, as opportunity occurs, until they bring it down. 
At Bornou, in the interior of Africa, they adopt a 
very different method, for which, patience instead of 
speed is required : on finding a nest, a hole is dug, in 
which the finder buries himself, leaving only his 
