Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-10-15
HUNTING rock AARES.
"A Fleet Little Animal r ound Among
the Sand Hills Of Arabia.

A Fleet Little Animal Found Among
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"
dulged in the old time sport OF falconry
it is equally difficult to say. Sure 1t Is
that this keen blooded race has not
lived all these centuries In those sun
scorched wastes without some sort OF
recreation, and his delights today are
probably much the same as those OF
his ancestors couple Of thousand
years ago.
Curious to see what natural sport
these barren regions could afford, the
writer accepted an invitation to join a
party of Syrian Arabs for weeks
hunting. Our quarry was the rock
hare, an animal about the size of an
English rabbit, but with very fine de-
veloped ears, which frequents these
deserts in small numbers, living on
what scanty heritage it can find.
We started straight away in search
of it by forming chain about guar
ter Of mile long and drawing like
~ tracts of desert in long semicircular
sweeps. The heritage was very scant
indeed. These sand hills. being scorch-
ed by tropical sun and having
yearly rainfall of only some three
inches, support but few plants Of any
kind. noticed a few insectivorous
birds pursuing their prey with keen
voracity, as though they found it hard
to make a living, but saw no trace Of
wild animals.
= On we marched in silent order, mere
~ following the lead Of our, falcon
bearer, whose face seemed fnvariable,
his manner unmoved. Hours passed
by. 1t was now II o'clock. The sun
was hot above us, drying up our
parched lips. 1 began to think that
rock hares must be myth when sud
denly the hound leaped forward With
a great bound, our horses instinctively
following at full gallop. But we had
not far to go. 1t was only a "gar--
bour." The hound was soon up to it,
and thought it was all over; but, no
the little creature leaped, as It were,
right out of his mouth. ..-+'., e. =
One spring brought the greyhound
alongside again. but again this agile
quadruped> v 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 1t was as much
as the eye could do to follow it at
oil. Again its great pursuer sprang
upon it.; again this nimble animal
slipped from his very jaws. But it
was no good. 1t was outclassed in
size. These great leaps shook the very
life breath from its frail body.
At last it fell IN easy prey to it's re-
lentless enemy, and one crunch put an
end to it's miseries. 1t wss an inter-
=esting little beast. its boc:. about the
size Of d rat. It carried q fine long
coat, was gray on the back, with white
under the belly, having long bony
tall with q pretty tuft at the end. But
its hind legs Swere its great feature.
They were very long, being, like those
OF the kangaroo, specially adapted for
jumping. I noted, too, that each hind
footBwas provided with only three toes,
whereas on those or the. fore legs,
which were very short. there were the
normal i've. Altogether It was most
interesting and sporting specimen
s'Near East" ny . ',s rs'a's8 ~ 8