The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-10-01
HUNTING ROCK HAREs.
A Fleet Little Animal Found Among
the Sand Hills of Arabia.

the Sand Hills Of Arabia.
How long the Arab has inhabited the
deserts Of the near east Is a much dis
cussed question. How long he has In
iulged in the old time sport of falcoDry
II is equally difficult TO say. Sure II is
that this keen bloode1 race has not
lived all these centuries Ia those sun
scorchcd wastes without some sort OF
recreation. aud his delights today are
probably much the same as those of
his ancestors couple Of thousand
years ago.
Curious 10 see what natural sport
these barren regions could afford, the
writer accepted an Invitation to join
party of Syrian Arabs for w9ck's
hunting. our quarry was the rock
hare. an animal about the size of an
English rabbit, but with very fine de-
velopcd ears, which frequcnts these
deserts in smal numbers, living on
what scanty herbage II can find.
We started straight away in search
Of II by forming chain about Il quar-
ter OF mile long and drawing like
sweeps. The heritage was very scant
indeed. These sand hills being scorch-
cd by n tropical sun and having
yearly rainfall of only some three
inches. support but few plants of any
kind noticed few insectivorous
birds pursuing their prey with Keen
voracity, as though they found II hard
10, Int "a. saf
wild animals.
ON we marched in silent order, mere
ly following the lead of our falcon
bearer. whose face seemed invariable.
bis manner uumoved. Hours passed
by. 1t was now IL o'clock. The sun
was hot above us, drying up our
pnrched lips. began TO think that
rock hares must be myth when sud
denly the hound leaped forward with
Il great bound. our horses instinctively
following at full gallop. But we had
not far To go. II was only gar
bour" The hound was soon up TO 1t,
aud thought II was all over; but. no
the little creature leaped, as 1t were.
right out of his mouth.
One spring brought the greyhound
alongside again, but again this agile
quadrupcd had slipped out Of the
grasp of his sharp teeth. The speed Of
the tiny thing was so great and its
actions So sudden that II was as much
as the eye could do TO follow it at
all Again its great pursuer sprang
upon IT; again this nimble animal
slipped from his very jaws. But 1t
was no good. II was outclassed IN
size. These great leaps shook the very
life breath from its frail body.
At last II fell an easy prey TO its re-
lcntless enemy. and one crunch put an
end to It's miseres 1t was an inter
esting little beast. its body about the
size of rat. 1t carried fiuc long
coat. was gray on the back. with white
under the belly. having long bony
tall with pretty tuft ut the end. But
It's hind legs were its great feature.
They were very long. being, like those
of the kangaroo specially adapted for
jumping. ! noted too. that each hind
foot was provided with only three toes.
whereas on those of the fore legs.
which were very short. there were thc
normal five. Altogether II was n most
Interesting aud sporting specimen
"Ncnr East"
When Man Was a Marine Animal.
1t was Nj. Quintan. Il French physl-
ologist. who several years ago wrote
paper 10 show that the colorless
fluid in which the red corpuscles of our
blood float and which is called the
blood serum is the same fluid as thaS
which constituted the prlmeval sea.
The earliest forms of life which float.
ed in the primeval sea were such thai
the cells and tissues of which they
were constituted were always bathed
by this primeval fluid. When silica
became a constituent of the sea thes,
animals may have coated themselves
with silicious coverings. but muny Of
their cells were still bathed by The
fluid, and some of them as they passed
from the sea to the land may have
closed up their alimentary canals. So
that distinction arose between their
internal organs and their outer super
iicies, but still, for the good of their
cells, they still bothed them in the
saline fluid. TO do so more effectively
/ they took the saline fluid ashore with
I them in the form of blood serum and
! il Is this blood serum which we carry
about with us today, the most evident
relic of the age when we were marine
animals.