St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-01-03

The ostrich hunt was an exciting
event. Those who had charge of the
camels, myself among the rest, followed
after the hOrsemen, urging our fleet
fnntah aninlnls r., thair. hi iphast snapI
ing the extraordinary tteetness OF the
Arabian horses. They seemed to skim
over the surface of the desert. Our
camcls were flying over the ground at
rapid pace, but we seemed to be
standing still, so rapidly did they in
crease their distance from us. On
they went in a straight line to ward the
| south, the birds some half a mile "a
head. In short time the hOrsemen
disappeared below the horizon, but we
still continued our rapid pace in the
direction in which they had gone
The wind of the desert died away, or
rather we outran it; the sun grew
tierccly hot, and the occasional
stretches of sand that we passed over
threw clouds of the smallest particles
into the air under the disturbance of
the camers feet, producing chok-
ing thirst. Still we keep on; for Il
long time we Travelled in this rapid
manner.
EhbphN A'hl 'iN ,Iu'lSNNl lAT tli
ter starting ont on the chase the forms
of the horses once more lOOmcd against
the horizon. We speedily came up to
them and found that the chase had
been successful. About dozen dead
ostriches lay on the desert, some of
them with their beautiful plumage
bedabbled with gore. Red spots ap-
peared here and there, showing where
the birds had fallen and poured out
their life blood. By the time we
reached the hunters the horses had
been rubbed down and their trappings
removed. They were now supposed to
have been sufficiently breathed, and
each animal was given rs much water
and came's milk to drink from the
skins which we carried on the camels,
as it wanted. The ostriches were then
packed on the camels; the hunters,
each with his halter of skin i'll his hand
or attached to his arm leading his
horse, mounted their camels and we
set off at a rapid pace toward the
north, reaching the tents shortly after
sunset.
In reply to questions put to Moham-
med next day learned that the object
of taking the camels to the hunting
grounds and leading the horses thither
Tor euItG Iitec49n. Ilitec49n TIN l9PE r8Hig lnesrroli
as to why they chased the Ostriches tC
the southwark instead of to the north
thus carrying them in n direction away
from their tents, he replied that it was
necessary to chase the ostriches before
the wind-the desert wind usually
blows from the n0rth-going befor,
the wind the birds lose their breath ol
they could not he captured. With the
wind in its face a full-grOwn ostrcl
could easily Outrun the best horse OF
the desert. In the race every birt
that turns and gets around the tianki
of the pursuers with its head i'll an op
pOsite direction is lost.
The speed of the bird is remarkable
and its endurance something to won
der ut. Against the wind the Ostricl
can run from sunrise to sunset wlthou
in the least abating it's speed. | aske'
him if the ostrich when pursued eve
stuck its head into hole i'll tin
ground or into a bush and ceased t.
fly, thinking itself safe. He said h
had no knowledge of any such habi
on the part of the bird. If it would d.
that its capture would be easy. AS
was, however, the bird was difficult t
capture. Only the tieetest horses O
the desert were of any use in chasin
it, and its pursuit could not he contin
ued regularly, because no horse ha
the endurance necessary for contlnu
= Gus ostrich chasing. Once in moo
was sufficient for any horse to be use
in ostrich hunting. The object {
hunting the bird was to procure ii
feathers to exchange with Arab mel
: chants for haiks, gunpOwder, bullets
beads, shells, etc, and its flesh fC
> food.-[English Shipmaster in Bosto
Commercial Bulletin.