because the omen was bad, in their eyes; and
humiliated, because the Arabs of the
neighbourhood, whom curiosity had drawn together
to witness the sport, overwhelmed
them with scornful, and sarcastic jokes. It
is needless to add that the animal was left on
the spot, to be devoured by his fellows, and
that the sportsmen shifted their quarters to
get out of the way of the invectives of the
Arabs, as well as to look out for better game
elsewhere.

The hyena never walks out alone; you
always meet with them two together. When
their mouths begin to water for a morsel of
dog, they go and prowl about some douar
which happens to be located in a wooded
country. The female posts herself behind a
bush, and the male purposely shows himself
to the dogs, who charge him gallantly as he
makes his retreat to the ambuscade occupied
by his better half. Madame makes her
appearance at the nick of time, and catches,
strangles, and devours on the spot the dog
whose ardour has led him the nearest to her
spouse. It sometimes happens that the Arabs
interfere, and cudgel to death these dog-loving
ogresses; who, however, seldom indulge
in such amusements, except after a fast of
several days.

As there is sport which every Arab will
not, so are there modes of the chace which
every Arab may not indulge in. Falconry in
Algeria is the privilege of the great and
powerful. The persons who passionately
follow it, are the descendants of noble and
military families who have rallied round the
standard of France, in order to preserve, or
obtain, command. Whatever may be the
influence or the fortune of a native, he cannot,
unless he be in some degree noble or of well-
established courage, devote himself to the
art of falconry without running the risk of
being turned into ridicule, and sometimes of
being molested by his own people. A falconer,
named Abdallah, one of the bravest cavaliers
of the tribe of the Mahatla—which is saying a
good deal—related to M. Gerard an anecdote
in point.

"In the course of the same year,"' he said,
"in which Algeria fell into the power of the
Christians, my cousin Lakdar and myself
took it into our heads to mystify a cheik
of the Ouled-Bou-Ghanem, our neighbour,
Avho, although a mere nobody, presumed to
train falcons. For this purpose, we took a
couple of eaglets which we knew of in their
eyrie, and trained them to fly at the young
falcons which our shepherds brought us
every day. When we judged the education
of our birds to be sufficiently advanced, we
sent one of our trusty people to discover from
the cheik's followers when he was likely to
begin hawking. Having learned the appointed
place and day, Lakdar and myself set off
before the dawn, driving in front of us the ass
which carried our hooded eagles, and a few
falcons to lure them back when required.
We were at the rendezvous long before the
cheik and his people arrived, close by the
Oued-Mellëgh, where they meant to hunt the
bustard. As the tamarind-trees which fringe
the stream allowed us to follow the chace
without being observed, we regulated our
march by that of the sportsmen. A flock
of bustards soon took to wing before the
horsemen, who were beating the plain.
Four falcons were successively let fly, and
a bustard was instantly singled out and
vigorously attacked.

"It was not long before our eagles, unhooded,
caught sight of the chace, and directed their
flight towards it, at first heavily and in a
direct line, afterwards more rapidly and in
circling sweeps, which gradually brought
them together as they rose in the air. After
fastening our ass to a tamarind-tree, we
directed our course up the stream, in order
to keep the scene of action better in view.
The bustard, separated from the flock, and,
vigorously attacked by the four falcons in
concert, had no other means of safety except
to keep above them. It rose, therefore,
vertically, to such an altitude that it looked no
bigger than a pigeon, while the birds who
pursued it so furiously sometimes looked
like grasshoppers, and sometimes were
altogether lost to view. The two eagles once
arrived in these lofty regions, became so
completely confounded in the chase, that it was
impossible to distinguish them from the other
birds. The cheik and his cavalcade were
waiting in the plain, with their eyes directed
towards the sky, watching like us the
issue of the aërial combat. Suddenly we
thought we heard distant piercing and
repeated cries; soon afterwards we could see a
black body, which increased in size as it
approached nearer to us, sometimes struggling
violently, and then descending vertically
to the lower regions. We were then able to
distinguish our two eagles with expanded
wings suffering themselves to be dragged
downward by the weight of the bustard,
which, with drooping legs and closed wings,
fell towards the earth, without giving the
slightest sign of life. In vain we gazed in
search of the cheik's falcons; they had
disappeared. Our whole attention was then
directed towards the cavaliers. The instant
when the bustard and the eagles fell whistling
into the midst of the wide circle formed by the
cheik and his train, a long shout of 'treason! '
froze us with terror. We remembered, but
too late, that in the hurry of letting loose
our birds, the leash had been left on the foot
of one of them. Several men had dismounted,
and were folding their burnous in such a
way that they could catch the eagles without
being hurt by them.

"Our only hope of escape was by flight,
which we took to as fast as our legs could
carry us, without bestowing a thought on
the ass, which nevertheless, was destined to
save my life that eventful day. We had