upon the track, and at a short distance from the birds, they begin to
shout aloud. The young ones, being frightened, run for protection to the
parent birds; and the hunters, coming up with them, seize upon their
prey in spite of the male, and under his very eyes. The _delim_ becomes
terribly excited, and exhibits the most poignant grief. Sometimes
greyhounds are employed in this sport. While the old birds are defending
themselves against the dogs, the hunters carry off the little ones
without any difficulty, and bring them up in their tents, where they are
easily tamed. They play with the children and sleep under the canvass.
In the wanderings of the tribe they follow the camels. There is no
instance of any bird brought up in this way taking to flight. They are
full of spirits, and frolic with the horsemen, dogs, etc., etc. Does a
hare happen to start up, away go the men in full chace, and the ostrich,
becoming excited, rushes after them and takes part in the hunt. If it
meets in the _douar_ a child with something in its hand of an eatable
nature, it lays him gently on the ground, and endeavours to take it from
him. The ostrich is a great thief; or rather, as I have already said, it
desires to swallow everything it sees. The Arabs, therefore, distrust it
when they are counting out money, for two or three _douros_ would soon
disappear.
It is no uncommon thing to see a wearied child placed on the back of an
ostrich. The bird proceeds with its burden straight to the tent, the
little fellow holding on by its pinions. But it would not submit to
carry a heavier load—a man, for example, but would hurl him to the
ground by a blow from its wing. On the march, in order to keep it from
running about to the right or left, they pass a cord round one of its
hocks, to which they fasten another cord by which to hold it. In the
desert, the ostrich has no other enemy to fear than man. It can repel
the dog, the jackal, the hyæna, and the eagle, but yields, perforce, to
man.
I mentioned that there was a third mode of hunting the ostrich, when on
its way to water. The Arabs simply make a hole near the water, conceal
themselves in it, and fire upon the creature as it approaches to drink.
Ostrich hunting, in the Sahara, makes numerous and excellent marksmen,
who practice at hitting nothing but the head, in order that the blood
may not stain the feathers. A marksman of note always carries a chaplet
of talismans behind the lock of his rifle, and his name is quoted in the
tribes. Among the defenders of Zaatcha there was more than one crack
hunter of ostriches.
The ostrich drinks every fifth day if water is to be had: if not, it can
endure thirst for a long time. Ostrich hunting is a very profitable
sport. The Arabs say of a successful speculation: "It is an excellent
transaction—as good as an ostrich hunt."
The Arab to whom I am indebted for these particulars is an
Oulad-Sidi-Shikh, named Abd-el-Kader-Mohammed-ben-Kaddour, a
professional hunter. According to him, the country for ostriches is
comprised in a triangle contained by lines drawn from Insalah to Figuig,
from South to North—from Figuig to Sidi-Okba, from West to East—and from
Sidi-Okba to Ouargla, from North to South.
GAZELLE HUNTING.
The chace of the gazelle is not, like that of the ostrich, at the same
time a lucrative and a toilsome enterprise—it is merely an exercise, a
pastime, a party of pleasure. The gazelle is barely worth a franc or a
franc and a half, and it is not for such a valueless prey that an Arab
will prepare, train, fatigue, and even risk the loss of a horse,—as
frequently happens in ostrich hunting. Besides, in this species of
sport, the chief credit belongs neither to the man nor to the horse,—for
whom it is, properly speaking, nothing more than a promenade—but to the
greyhound, that other companion of the noble of the desert, of whom I
shall have occasion to speak hereafter.
If the gazelle be of little value, it is because it is by no means rare.
Everywhere, but above all in Sersou, is found the _sine_, or diminutive
gazelle; in the Tell and in mountainous districts, the _ademi_, the
largest kind; and in the Sahara, the _rime_, or intermediate species,
distinguished by the whiteness of its belly and thighs, and the length
of its horns. All these varieties alike travel in herds of four, five,
ten, twenty, thirty, a hundred; and not unfrequently as many as two or
three hundred are found herding together. At a distance they may be
taken for the flocks of an emigrating tribe. A herd of gazelles is
called a _djeliba_.
Gazelle hunting is not a sport exclusively reserved for horsemen. In the
incessant and daily wanderings of the Sahara tribes, as soon as the camp
is fixed near a fountain or river, the hunters set off in great numbers,
taking care to go up the wind. The gazelles possessing a very fine sense
of smell, the scent of the men wafted on the wind would soon put them to
flight. The hunter advances under shelter of bush after bush, and from
time to time imitates the cry of the gazelle. The latter stops, looks
about on all sides, and seeks the companion it supposes to have gone
astray. The hunter approaches close to it, and may even be seen without
scaring it away. At a proper distance he pulls the trigger, and rarely
misses his aim, "unless a spell cast upon his rifle causes it to hang
fire, and prevents it from going off during the whole day." At the sound
of the report the entire herd dashes off at top speed, but at the end of
a league or a league and a half, their fright has passed off with the
recollection of the cause of their alarm, and they again halt and go on
browsing as before.
The genuine hunter is a hardy, indefatigable walker. Experience teaches
him in what direction the herd is likely to stop, and to that he bends
his steps. Again he conceals himself and repeats the former manœuvre. In
this manner, in the course of the day, he can bring down three or four
gazelles, which his friends or servants will lift up and carry to the
camp in triumph. In the spring time, when the _djedi_, or fawns, sleep
amidst the _alfa_, having taken their fill of the milk of their mother,
it is easy to catch a dozen or fifteen of them in a single morning. It
is the old hind that generally betrays them.
But not such is the sport of persons of distinction, of the real
horsemen. What the great chiefs affect is to hunt them on horseback. A
dozen or fifteen cavaliers take the field, accompanied by their
servants, and seven or eight greyhounds, and carrying with them tents
and provisions. Directing their course towards a place where gazelles
are usually found, they ride forward at a venture. When a herd of
gazelles appears in the distance, they proceed towards it, covering
their advance as much as possible by means of shrubs and the
inequalities of the ground. When they get within a quarter of a league,
the attendants who hold the hounds in leash, squeezing their throats to
prevent them from giving tongue, dismount and let them slip. No sooner
do they find themselves free than they go off like an arrow, the Arabs
stimulating them to still greater speed by shouts and passionate
invocations: "My brother! my lord! my friend! there they are!" The
horsemen follow leisurely at a gentle gallop, so as not to be quite
thrown out; and behind them comes the baggage. The best greyhounds will
not fairly overtake the herd until after a course of two or three
leagues. Then, at last, the spectacle becomes full of incident and
interest. A thoroughbred greyhound picks out the finest animal of the
herd, and springs forward. A contest of agility and swiftness ensues.
The gazelle doubles, now to the right, now to the left, bounds forwards
and backwards, leaps even over the greyhound, and strives sometimes to
throw him out, sometimes to strike him with its horns. Its windings and
doublings are all to no purpose. Ardent and indefatigable, its enemy
hangs close upon its track. When on the point of being pulled down it
utters plaintive cries, and chants, as it were, its death song—song of
death to it, but of victory to the greyhound who seizes it by the back
of the neck, and snaps the vertebral column with its teeth. The gazelle
falls to the ground, and lies motionless at the feet of the victor,
until the hunters come up and cut the throat of the still living animal.
Now, as every true Believer should conform to the Law, and as it is
possible that he may not reach the spot for a quarter of an hour after
the gazelle has been pulled down, the hunters, before letting the hounds
loose, do not omit to exclaim: _Bi es-sem Allah! Allah akbar!_ "In the
name of Allah! Allah is great!" For the Prophet hath said: "When thou
hast let loose thy dog and hast invoked the name of Allah, if thy dog
has not killed the game that he has overtaken, and thou hast found it
yet alive, cut its throat to purify[86] it; and if it was already dead
when thou hast found it, and thy dog has not eaten of it, thou mayest
eat of it." If the previous invocation was omitted through accident, the
game may still be eaten; but not if the omission has been voluntary.
The horsemen who are well mounted, and own the best greyhounds, renew
the chace, and not until the evening do men and animals take rest.
Sometimes the hunters cook the gazelle on the spot where they have
pitched their camp. At other times, on their return home on the morrow,
they send the product of the chace to their friends and relatives, and
these presents give rise to family feastings at which the chief dish
consists of the flesh of this animal, so highly esteemed by the Arabs.
Gazelles are brought up in the tents, and are driven with the sheep at
every change of encampment; but in the end they always contrive to
escape. The winter is the proper season for hunting the gazelle and the
antelope. The earth, softened by the heavy rains, retards and
embarrasses their flight, while the dogs and horses find water
everywhere. When the snow is on the ground, if a party of Arabs come
upon a herd of gazelles, a regular massacre ensues. They are then unable
to run, and being famished are easily overtaken. Ten or a dozen may be
killed by each Arab. In hunting this animal the Arabs take with them
three burnouses, boots, and shoes, and carry the horse-cloth upon the
top of the saddle.
The proverbial beauty of the gazelle's eyes, and the whiteness of its
teeth, have given rise to a curious practice. Women with child have one
brought to them that they may lick its eyes with their tongue, in the
belief that the eyes of their infant will have the same lustrous
melancholy. Under a similar idea they touch its teeth with a finger,
which they afterwards put into their own mouth. The horns, shaved thin
and mounted in silver, are used by women as instruments to put _kohol_
on their eyes; and the skin, after being carefully tanned, is made into
_mezoueud_, or cushions, in which they enclose their most valuable
articles.
THE GREYHOUND.
If it were necessary to prove how aristocratic are the habits of the
people of the Sahara, how lordly their tastes, I could give yet another
very simple proof, which some persons may regard as puerile—I mean the
love they have for the _slougui_, or greyhound.
In the Sahara, as in all Arab countries, the dog is looked upon as a
servant in disgrace, troublesome, and cast off, no matter how useful he
may be in guarding the _douar_, or in looking after the flocks. The
greyhound alone enjoys the esteem, the consideration, the tender
attention of his master. The rich as well as the poor regard him as a
companion of their chivalrous pastimes; while for the latter he is also
the purveyor that supplies them with food. They do not grudge him,
therefore, the most assiduous care. The couplings are as scrupulously
superintended as those of their horses. A Saharene will go twenty or
thirty leagues to couple a handsome greyhound bitch with a dog of
established reputation; for one that is really famous will run down a
gazelle. "When he perceives a gazelle cropping a blade of grass, he
overtakes her before she has time to swallow what she already holds in
her mouth." This is an hyperbolical expression, no doubt, but still it
is based on a certain degree of truth.
When the _slouguïa_, or bitch, has pupped, the litter is never lost
sight of for an instant. The women will sometimes give their own milk to
them. Visitors arrive in troops, the more numerous and eager according
to the reputation of the mother. They surround the owner, offering him
dates, kouskoussou, etc. There is no sort of flattery they will not
lavish upon him in the hope of obtaining a pup: "I am thy friend.
Prithee, give me what I ask of thee. I will attend thee in thy hunts,"
etc. To all these solicitations, the owner usually replies that he will
not decide upon what pups he means to keep for himself until after seven
days. This reservation has its motive in a very singular observation, or
fancy, of the Arabs: in every litter, one of the pups gets upon the back
of the others. Is it a sign of greater vigour? or is it mere chance? To
ascertain this point they remove it from its habitual position, and if
it returns to it for seven consecutive days, the owner builds upon it
such extravagant expectations, that he would not accept a negress in
exchange. A prejudice causes them to attach the greatest value to the
first, third, and fifth pups, in fact, to all the odd numbers.
The pups are weaned at the end of forty days, but are still fed with
goat's, or camel's milk, thickened with dates, or kouskoussou. In the
Sahara, the flocks are so numerous and milk so abundant, that it is not
at all surprising that wealthy Arabs, after having weaned their
greyhound pups, should set aside so many she-goats for their
nourishment. When the pups are three or four months old, their education
commences. The boys drive out of their holes the jerboa, or the rat
called _boualal_, and set the pups at them. The latter by degrees get
excited, dash after them at full speed, bark furiously at their holes,
and only give up the pursuit to begin another. At the age of five or six
months, they are assigned a prey more difficult to catch—the hare. Men
on foot lead the greyhound close to the form where the animal is
couched. Then, by a slight exclamation, they set the young dog, who
rushes at the hare, and soon acquires the habit of coursing with speed
and intelligence. From the hare, they pass to the young of the gazelle.
The Arabs approach the spot where these are lying near their mother, and
direct the attention of the greyhound to them. As soon as he is
thoroughly excited and rears up with impatience, they let him go. After
a few lessons of this kind, the greyhound understands perfectly what to
do, and begins to press forward resolutely in chace of the old hinds
themselves.
When a year old the greyhound has very nearly reached its full strength.
His scent is developed, and he follows the gazelle by its slot.
Nevertheless, he is kept under some restraint, and not until the age of
fifteen to eighteen months is he regularly allowed to hunt. From that
period, however, he is held in leash, and often with great difficulty;
for the Arabs say that when the greyhound scents the game, his muscular
power becomes so great that, if he stiffens himself upon his paws, a man
can hardly make him lift a leg. As soon as he sights a herd of thirty or
forty gazelles, he trembles with joy, and looks up at his master, who
cries to him: "Ah son of a Jew! thou canst not say this time that thou
didst not see them." The hunter then takes off his goat's-skin bag, and
pours a little water on the back and belly of the hound, who, in his
impatience, casts a suppliant eye on his master. At last, he is free and
bounds forward. Presently, he tries to hide himself, stoops down, and
follows a circuitous course until he is within an easy distance, when he
springs forward with all his might, and picks out for his victim the
finest male in the herd. When the hunter cuts up the gazelle, he throws
to the _slougui_ the flesh around the kidneys. If he were to offer him
the intestines, he would reject them with disdain.
The greyhound that cannot hunt at two years old, will never be able do
so. There is a saying to this effect,
A greyhound after two years
And a man after two fasts [fifteen years];
meaning thereby that that is the proper age to judge what either will
ever be worth.
The greyhound is an intelligent animal and full of self-love. If, in
slipping him, a fine gazelle is pointed out to him, and he kills only a
common looking one, he is very sensible of the reproaches addressed to
him, and slinks off, ashamed of himself, without claiming his portion.
He has no lack of vanity, and indulges much in fantasia. A thoroughbred
_slougui_ will neither eat nor drink from a dirty vessel, and refuses
milk in which the hand has been dipped. Has he not been taught this
disdainful daintiness? And yet the utmost that is done for the common
dog, their faithful and vigilant guardian, is to let him find his food
among the offal and bones that are lying about. And while the latter is
driven with hootings from tent and table, the greyhound sleeps in the
compartment reserved for men, on carpets by his master's side, or on his
very bed. He is clothed and sheltered from the cold, like the horse, and
is even preferred for being chilly, as that is an additional proof of
the purity of his race. The women take pleasure in bedecking him with
ornaments, in tying collars of shells round his neck, and in securing
him from the evil eye by fastening talismans on him. He is fed with
care, nicety, and caution, kouskoussou being lavished upon him. In
summer-time, to give him strength, they make a paste of milk and dates,
of which the stones have been extracted. There are some who never feed
their greyhounds during the day. Nor is this all. The _slougui_
accompanies his master when on a visit, and receives the same
hospitality with him, having a portion of every dish.
A thoroughbred greyhound will hunt with no one but his master. By his
cleanliness, his respect for decency and the graciousness of his manner,
he shows that he recognizes the attention paid to him. On his master's
return after a somewhat prolonged absence, the _slougui_ leaps with a
bound on to his saddle, and caresses him. The Arabs talk to him: "O
friend, listen to me! You must bring me some meat. I am tired of eating
dates," and flatter him in many ways. The petted animal leaps about in a
frolicsome manner, and seems not only to understand but to wish to
reply. The death of a _slougui_ fills the whole tent with mourning, the
women and children bewailing him as if he were one of the family.
Sometimes it falls to the greyhound to find food for all, and one that
nourishes a family can never be for sale. Now and then, however, he may
be given away in compliance with the supplications of women and
relatives, or of the most respected marabouts.
A greyhound that catches with ease the _sine_ and the _ademi_, is worth
a she-camel; but one that can overtake the _rime_ is priced as a
valuable horse. They are very generally named _ghezal_ or _ghezala_, "a
gazelle." Frequently wagers are laid on such or such a _slougui_, the
stakes being sheep, or a feast of _taam_, dates, etc.
The greyhound of the Sahara is far superior to that of the Tell. He is
of a tawny colour, and tall, with a sharp snout, broad forehead, short
ears, and muscular neck; the muscles of the hindquarters being, also,
very prominent. He has no belly, clean limbs, well detached sinews, the
hock near the ground, the under part of the paw small and dry, the
palate and the tongue black, and the hair very soft. Between the two
ilia, there should be the breadth of four fingers, and the tip of the
tail should be able to pass under the thigh and reach the hip-bone. Both
the fore-arms are generally fired in five lines to harden the muscles.
The most renowned greyhounds of the Sahara are those of the Hamiân, the
Oulad-Sidi-Shikh, the Harar, the Arbâa, and the Oulad-Naïl.
HAWKING.
The sporting equipments of a noble of the Sahara are complete when he
has a _thair el horr_, or a bird of race; for there men of distinction
are still addicted to falconry. The _thair el horr_ is of a dark yellow
plumage, with a short, powerful bill, thick, muscular thighs, and very
sharp talons. It is very rare, and is caught in the following manner.
When a _thair el horr_ has been sighted, they put a tame pigeon into a
small net, and throw it up into the air in front of the bird of prey,
who swoops down upon it. Her talons, however, get entangled in the net,
so that she can neither draw them out, nor fly away, and is thus easily
secured. When the falcon finds herself a prisoner, she shows no signs of
fear or anger. There is a saying in the desert which is often quoted in
seasons of calamity:
A bird of race, when she is caught, never frets.
Rings are passed round her legs and she is fastened to a small perch
prepared for her in the tent. To accustom her to the presence of men,
they cover her head with a hood, which allows only the beak to appear.
Her master unhoods her, gives her fresh meat, holds her on his fist, and
caresses and speaks to her as much as possible before a numerous
company, to accustom her to noise. At the end of a month the bird knows
her master, and is thoroughly tamed. They then take a leveret and tie it
by one leg, the hawk also being held fast by a very long "creance." They
unhood her, and let the leveret go before her eyes. As soon as the bird
sees it, she rises into the air, uttering cries. The leveret stops and
squats down, when the falcon swoops and kills it with a blow of her
talons. The owner runs up, draws the leveret, and gives a portion to the
bird. This manœuvre is repeated until the falcon shows no desire to fly
away, which is known by her remaining beside the animal she has killed.
The falcon, naturally disposed to seize her prey, is further looked upon
as trained, when she answers to the call before she has pounced upon her
quarry.
Having arrived at this point, the bird may be taken out to hunt. The
owner mounts his horse and takes her with him, hooded, and perched upon
his head or his shoulders. As soon as he sees a hare, he unhoods her and
excites her with his voice. The falcon soars into the air, and swoops
down suddenly with a sharp cry, and kills the animal with a single blow;
after which the hood is immediately put on again. Sometimes the hare is
killed so far off that the hunter cannot bleed it in time, according to
the religious injunction; but this inconvenience is obviated by his
exclaiming, when he throws off the bird, _Bi es-sem Allah! Allah
akbar_—"in the name of Allah! Allah is great!" If the falcon has
devoured a part of the game, the rest may be eaten by the hunter,
because the bird of prey has been trained to return to her master when
he calls her, and not to eat the game. A bird of race will no more eat
carrion than will an eagle. She will kill hares, rabbits, the young of
the gazelle, the _habara_—a bird, they say, as big as a bustard—pigeons,
and turtle-doves.
The principal tribes of the Sahara that practice hawking are: in the
province of Constantine, the Douaouda, the Selmya, the Oulad-Moulat, the
Oulad-ben-Aly, the Sahari, the Oulad-Mahdi, the Oulad-Bou-Azid, the
Rahman, and the Oulad-Zid; in the province of Algiers, the Bou-Aysh, the
Oulad-Mokhtar, the Oulad-Yagoub, the Oulad-Shayb, the Oulad-Ayad, the
Mouidat, the Zenakha, the Abadlya, the Oulad-Naïl; and in the province
of Oran, the Hassasna, the Rezayna, the Oulad-Mehalla, the Beni-Mathar,
the Derraga, the Harar, the Angades, the Hamyân, the Oulad-Sidi-Shikh,
and the Oulad-Khelif; and the inhabitants of all the regions where
_alfa_ grows in abundance. Hawking is also pursued in the higher
table-lands, on the borders of the Sahara.
REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.