The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1889-01-17
FALCON-FLYING.
Interesting Description OF This
Persian Sport.

An Exciting and Novel Way OF Bagslne
Game-Pursuing the Antelopc-How
tho Birds Are lslinded-A Sue
cessful Flight Rewarded.
In the olden times, when the star OF
Persian Empire was at it's brightest,
and the land of the Lion and Sun was
one OF tho foremost countries of the
world. the Pcrsians 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 bv the
young mobiles of Persia long before any
thing OF the kind was known to Eu-
ropcans. This was at time when the
PcrslanS 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 Persans no longer play polo,
either on horseback or afoot, but the
English and American sportsmen play
it both ways. On the other hand, fall
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 loafng about, with
one OF these BIRDS resting on a little
portable perch, to which be is attached
by means OF Il tiny brass or silver chain.
Beside their use in their legitimate
field OF sport, the keeping of falcons
is considered a 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 it gives
them.
One day, on the Tabreez Plain in
Western Persia. fell in with party
Of young Koordish mobiles engaged in
flying their falcons after wild pigeons.
They were, of course, greatly i'm
pressed with my novel mode of convey
ance, such a thing as a 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 in 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 so that he could not open his eyes.
When the European falconer desired TO
make flight he used to remove the
hood; the Koordish or Persian sports
man simply loosens 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.
On all the plains of Persia are miles
and miles of ancient, underground
water-ditches called K0naats. The
water is conducted along these SUBJ
terranean passage-ways from far
of mountain streams and springs
to the cities on the plains, chiefly
to avoid tho waste by evapora-
ton and absorption that would occur
IN surface bitches in hot desert coun-
try. The course OF such WATERWAYS
can always BIO traced by mounds of
earth above the surface. which repre-
sent tho excavations from perpendicu-
lar shafts, at the bottom of which the
crystal water can be seen coursing
along toward it's destination. The
shafts are man-holes for the purpose of
readily clearing out the channel of the
Kannats
The Knnants are the resort of tloolzs
OF wild pigeons, that descend the shafts
In search of watar, as we'll as to find
cool retreat from the heat of the Per-
sian sun. 1t was in quest of pigeons
thus invading the Kandats that the
Koordish falcOners were turning their
hores' heads toward long line of
mounds when joined their company.
Excitement ran high as we ap-
preached the Kanaats, for we had al
ready seen pigeons ascending and de-
scending the shafts in the distance.
When we arrived near enough, two re-
talners were sent on in advance to
scare the pigeons out of their hiding
places. This they would do by throw
ing stones down the shafts. The shafts
were but one hundred yards apart, and
when the ta7rashes threw stones and
shouted down the shaft, if there were
any pigeons there they would futter
along the water-tunnel and fly up the
next 0no