The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-01-12

In the olden times, when the star Of
Persian Empire was at its brightest,
and the land of the Lion and Sun was
one OF the foremost countries of the
world, the Persians used to be great
sportsmen. Old paintings made by
Persian artists centuries ago depict
spirited scenes of the chase, and, among
other things, prove that the game OF
polo was played on horseback by the
young mobiles OF Persia long before any
thing OF the kind was known to Eu-
ropeans. This was at time when the
Persians were civilized and cultivated
people, and Europeans were neither
cultivated nor civilized. As for Ameri-
cans, they were not yet in existence.
except the Aztecs and the aboriginal
savages we now call Indians.
All this has now changed. To-day
it is the Europeans and Americans
who are civilized, and the Persians but
partially so, With this great change
in the life of the Eastern and Western
nations, the rise and fall of sports and
pastimes has kept even pace.
The. Persians no longer play polo,
either on horseback or afoot, but the
English and American sportsmen play
it both ways. On the other hand, fol-
coming, which was one of the chief
sports of European princes and mobiles
in the old semi-civilized days, but
which has now gone out of fashion in
civilized countries, is one of the very
few sports in which the Persians nova
days indulge.
On my bicycle ride through the
shah's dominions, saw more of falcons
and falconing than of all other sports
combined. Almost all the Persian no.
bles and Koordish chiefs keep falcons,
and among their retainers may always
be seen the falconer loafing about, with
one of these birds resting on a little
portable perch. to which he is attached
by means of tiny brass or silver chain.
Beside their use in their legitimate
field of sport, the keeping of falcons
is considered sign of nobility, and so
many well-to-do Persian gentleman,
who, in these degenerate days of their
country, are altogether too indolent to
care about sport, still keep the falcons
for the sake of the prestige il gives
them.
One day. on the Tabreez Plain in
Western Persia. fell IN with a party
of young Koordish mobiles engaged in
flying their falcons after wild pigeons.
They were, of course, greatly inn
pressed with my novel mode Of convey
ance. such thing as bicycle never
having been seen in their country before.
They invited me to accompany them
as long as l cared TO do so and promised
me rare sport in return for riding back
and forth over a smooth stretch of
gravel several times on my wheel for
their amusement.
Their falcons. observed. instead of
being hooded IL the way practised by Eu-
ropean falconers, had their eyes blinded
in a manner that impressed me as be-
ing cruel. Small holes had been bored
in the eyelids and threads of silk fas-
tened therein. The threads were passed
over the top of the falcons head and
tied 80 that he could not open his eyes.
When the European falconer desired 10
make a flight he used to remove the
hood; the Koordish or Persian sports
man simply looseus the silk threads
Thus the bird is permitted to open his
eyes, and he flies after the game with
the little silk threads streaming from
his pierced eyelids.
OH all the plains of Persia are miles
and miles of ancient, underground
water-ditehes called RanGatS. The
water is conducted along these sub
terranean passage-ways from far
of mountain streams and springs
TO the cities On the plains, chiefly
to avoid the waste by evapora-
tien and absorption that would occur
ia surface bitches in hot desert coun-
try. The course Of such Waterways
can always be traced by mounds OF
earth above the surface. which repre-
sent the excavations from perpendicu-
lar shafts, at the bottom of which the
crystal water can be seen coursirg
along toward its destination. The
shafts are n1an-holes for the purpose Of
readily clearing out the channel OF the
KGnGGts
The Kaaaats are the resort Of aoclls
of wild pigeons. that descend the shafts
In search of watar, as we'll as to find q
cool retreat from the heat OF the Per-