OFF FOR THE SOTIK DISTRICT. 
321 
Gaining their living by mingled craft and agility, this animal 
obtains its food from the various deer and antelopes which inhabit 
the same country, and in seizing and slaying its prey no little art is 
required. Their speed is not very great, with but little endurance; 
so that an antelope or a stag could set the spotted foe at defiance, 
and in a short half-hour place themselves beyond his reach. But 
it is the business of the cheetah to hinder the active and swift-footed 
deer from obtaining that invaluable half-hour, and to strike them 
down before they are aware of his presence. 
In order to obtain this end, the cheetah watches for a herd of 
deer or antelopes, or is content to address himself to the pursuit of 
a solitary individual, or a little band of two or three, should they be 
placed in a position favorable for his purpose. Crouching upon 
the ground so as to conceal himself as much as possible from the 
watchful eyes of the intended prey, he steals rapidly and silently 
upon them, never venturing to show himself until he is within reach 
of a single spring. ' 
THE CHEETAH TAKING THE PLACE OF THE HAWK. 
Having singled out one.individual from the herd, he leaps upon 
the devoted animal and dashes it to the ground. Fastening his strong 
grip in the throat of the dying animal, he at once proceeds to lap the 
hot blood, and for the time seems forgetful of time or j^ce. 
Of these curious habits, the restless and all-adapting mind of 
man has taken advantage, and has diverted to his own service the 
wild destructive properties of the cheetah. In fact, man has estab¬ 
lished a kind of quadrupedal falconry, the cheetah taking the place 
of the hawk, and the chase being one of earth and not of air. The 
Asiatics have brought this curious chase to great perfection, and 
are able to train them for this purpose in a wonderfully perfect 
manner. 
When taken out for the purpose of hunting game, he is hooded 
and placed in a light car, in company with his keepers. When they 
perceive a herd of deer, or other desirable game, the keepers turn 
the cheetah’s head in the proper direction, and remove the hood from 
his eyes. The sharp-sighted animal generally perceives the prey at 
H. B. G.—21 
! 
