Algeria from within

by R. V. C. Bodley

All this may take five minutes or half an hour. If the hare gets a good start or if the falcon does not see it, at once there is gallop across country, driving the hare in as straight a line as possible by hemming him in on either flank. It is advised in this case not to try to guide the horse, but to let it pick its way among the tufts and holes in the mad pursuit across the rough ground. Many hawks are often loosed, and one may see eight in the air at the same time.

The prettiest sight, I think, is to see a hawk tackling a bustard. The bird gets up heavily, and at first flies low, apparently slowly, but not too slowly for the hawk, whose wings twinkle high up in the sky. After a minute or two the bustard decides to rise; in doing so it loses distance, and the hawk, at the critical moment, stoops and with a graceful upward movement seems just to skim over the large bird’s back, turning on itself again like an aeroplane looping. There is a little shower of gray feathers, the bustard seems to stagger, and then spins down to earth, while the falcon remains high above, marking the place where lies the body.

More often than not, the quarry gets away, and it is then a little difficult to gather in the hawks. The falconers, with loud cries, wave the carcass of a dead hare round their heads until the birds, one by one, return and are capped till the next hunt.

The shooting of bigger game is contrary to all British ideas of sport. The art of stalking is practically unknown.

The wild boar which infests the Atlas range, and especially the mountains of the coast, is driven through the thick undergrowth and killed with a shotgun at short range.

The gazelle of the Sahara is hunted in different ways. The most common method is on horseback. A party of five or six will ride out on to the plain where gazelles are known to be pasturing. As soon as the animals are sighted the horsemen approach cautiously, endeavoring to place themselves on the flank of the herd. The moment the hunters are seen, up go the heads of the gazelles, and in a second there is a wild stampede. At the same time the horses leap forward and the pursuit begins.

If the preliminary maneuvering has been well carried out the line of horsemen will be galloping one behind the other parallel to the gazelles, and little by little the distance separating the hunters from their quarry is lessened.

Suddenly as the leading horseman comes within range he drops the reins on his horse’s neck, raises his gun and fires. His companions follow suit and an intermittent broadside continues until the herd breaks up into terrified groups fleeing in all directions.

The party halts, retainers who have been following hurry up and cut the throats of the dead gazelles, as even in sport the laws of the Prophet must be observed.

It is an exhilarating sport but it needs a little practise to hit anything when both hunters and hunted are at full gallop. It is moreover recommended to use a high-backed Arab saddle and also to ride at the rear of the line, as excitement often makes the Arabs shoot carelessly.