The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-11-18
Sport In Ancient Egypt.


lowers of the chase. Lion hunting w
are told by Sir Gardner Wilkinson
speaking from the representations on the
tombs, was frequent occupation of the
kings, who were proud to have their sue
cess on such occasicls recorded. ANU
noph the Third boasts ofhaving destroyed
no less than 102 heads in one battue.-
Ethiopia, in which lions abounded, was
the principal scene Of this sport, but
lions were also to be found in the deserts
of Egypt Athcn;eus mentions one
having been killed by the Emperor
Hadrinn when hunting in the neighbor
hood of Alexandria According to Sir
Gardner Wilkinson, tie kings sometimes
went far to the south in pursuit of clc.
plants. lie does not mention whether
any representation CT an elephant hunt
is TO be found OH the monuments. The
taste for hunting, sir Gardner tells us,
was general with all classes. The aris-
tocracy had their parks for preserving
game in the valley Of the Nile, which.
though on less extensive scale thaG
those of their Asiatic neighbors, were
still sufficiently large to enable them full
ly to enjoy the sport.
The animals they chiefly hunted were
the hare, the gazellc, the stag aud
other deer, the wild goat or ibex, the
ofyx, tic wild OK. the kcbsh or wild
sheep and the pgfcuupine. The ostrich,
too, was pursued for the .snkc of its
plumcs, which were highly valued by
The Egyptians.
One form of sport in whicil they in.
dulgcd was that Of pursuing the game
with dogs, which, however do not mp.
pear to have been used on such occasions
for the purpose of finding the game, but
were kept in slips ready TO be let 60 as
soon rs the game was started. Ii the
dogs succeeded in catching their animal,
well and good. But generally their
speed was not trusted to alone, though
this might sometimes he done. Usually
the sportsman followed in his chariot,
and urging his horses 10 their utmost
speed cndeavorcd to intercept the object
of pursuit or 10 set sufficiently near TO it to
be enabled to use his bow with effect.
When the nature of the locality prevent.
cd The use Of the chariot, tho hunter,
taking advantage Of the sinuosities of the
ground, endcavorcd to get within reach
Of the game as it doubled and to bring it
down With an arrow The horned ami.
mails of the larger kind, such as the ibex,
oryx or wild OK, if wounded only, some
times turned on the hounds and required
the spear Of the hunter to despatch them.
Sometimes, especially when they
wished to take the animals alive for the
purpose Of placing them in the parks,
they caught them with the lasso or moose,
in the use Of which the Egyptian hunts
men appear to have been extremely
skillful, throwing the moose round the
neck OF the gazcllc or deer or over the
horns Of the wild OK.
NAV not ko 7 ~ nr mr., IN obcor,.o
while the Egyptians hud several vnrio.
ties of dogs-somc of them chosen. Sir
Gardner Wilkinson silly observes, AS at
the present day, for their peculiar ugli
ness'-probably the pet dogs of the
Egyptian ladies-thc hound, as G. g.,
exhibited in drawing 23G of Sir Gardner
Wilkinsons work, has, rs with us, its
peculiar and nnmistaknhle charac.era-
tics. The hounds in the Egyptian paint.
ing would give one the idea Of cross
between the English harrier aud fox
hound, though perhaps little
taller and longer than tho former
and lighter than the latter. The
head is Enthusiastically that of the
hound The kings and great men some.
times hunted with lions tanned and train.
cd, as the cheetahs are in India, express
ly for hunting. In No. 240 of Six Gard.
ier Wilkinson's drawings is the repre-.
sentation of lio .rith which the chas.
scur is hunting and which has just
seized an ibex.
When sport was desired or larger
scale than could be had in the immedi.
ate vicinity of the Nile, wherc the land
was cultivated and thickly pcopled,
it was sought in the neighboring deserts.
When this was to be done considerable
extent OF ground was inclosed by nets,
into which the animals were driven by
benters, the place chosen for fixing the
nets being, if possible, across narrow
rocky hills. In the Egyptian paintings
these long nets are represented us sur
rounding the space in which the hunt is
to be carried on. The net used for this
purpose is thus described by Gardner
Wilkinson, and the description, CORES.
ponding as it does with that given by
Nenophon, may be taken as correctly
describing the nets in universal use in
the ancient world. "The long net was
furnished with several ropes, and was
supported on forkod poles, varying in
length to correspond with the inequali.
tics Of the grcand, and was SO contrived
rs to inclose any space by crossing hills.
valleys or streams and cncircling woods,
or whatever might present itself Small.
or nets for stopping gaps were also used,
anu circular snare, set round with
wooden ormetal nails and attached by a
rope to log Of wood and used for catch
ing deer, resembled one still made by
the Arabs" Being thus incloscd the
game was started by beaters with dogs,
the sportsmen being so placed as to
waylay the the animals or to get within
reach of them with tho bow. 4 spirited
sketch of n chase in the desert of The.
bald, copied by Sir Gardner Wilkinson
from tomb ut Thebes, gives a vivid
representations of such hunting scene.
Hares deers, gazelles, wild oxen, the
ihex, the oryx and ostriches, together
with foxes and hyenas. pursued by
hounds, arc dashing at full speed across
the plain. while in the midst of them is
8 porcupine who is taking things very
coolly, rs if conscious that his rate of
speed was by no means equal to that of
his nimbler associates, and that any at
tempt to keep up with them would be
vain. The slaughter on such occasions
would appear to have been very great.
In oue respect tho Egyptians were
sportsmen in the sense in which we
should use that term. Except in these
hattnes IN the desar! .hey appear To.
have killed and taken the animals which
could properly be called game only in
open pursuit. They employed no snares
or traps for the purpose. The noxious