[782] Dawr-chī, “a soarer,” i.e., a hawk given to the vice of soaring. Dawr kardan, “to soar; also to ring up.”
[783] Jarka: apparently the “coverts,” but this is not the word used elsewhere by the author for “coverts.”
[784] “... When he is at the height of his familiarity, cut out of either wing three of his best flying feathers, and put to his heeles a knocking paire of bels, and so traine him when his want of power will hinder his desire to trauaile further, then you may with ease follow him.”—Bert’s Treatise of Hawkes and Hawking (page 77, Harting’s reprint).
[785] Such a course would be fatal with a peregrine, for if a peregrine is trained and flown in low condition she will certainly take to soaring when brought into high or proper condition. Sakers, however, are not inclined to soar.
[786] Dawr kardan va parsa zadan. A dervish or professional story-teller sends round the hat at the most exciting point of his tale and this is called parsa zadan; hence any going round.
[787] Shikras are slow, and in India are always held in the hand and thrown like a ball. The hawk is placed on the palm of the right hand and collected, its legs and tail projecting between the thumb and fore-finger. A careful falconer uses a small pad, as, from constant grasping, the feathers become soiled and ragged.
[788] Buland shudan, “to rise.”
[789] Trained sakers will chase duck; but do they kill them in a wild state? A saker if gorged on the flesh of a water-fowl will often vomit. A fine haggard saker of the translator’s got violently sick from eating the flesh of the common heron; its stomach was so upset by the flesh that it could digest no other meat, and died. A small quantity, however, of heron’s flesh may do no harm. This objection does not apply so much to the flesh of the purple heron and of the night-heron. Vide note [591], p. 137.
[790] “But if you will have me grant that which I cannot yeelde unto, that hauing flowne a Partridge to a house, notwithstanding all these kinde courses taken with her, thee hath caught a Hen, then let some one in the company, that can tell how to doe it, make haste unto her, taking up both Hawke and Hen, and runne to a pond or pit of water, (there is no dwelling house inhabited, and where hens are, but you shall finde some water) and thereinto ouer-head and taile wash them both together three or foure times.... It is not possible there should be a hawke so ill but by this means she will be recouered.”—Bert’s Treatise of Hawkes and Hawking (pages 54-55, Harting’s reprint). An Indian device to disgust a hawk with a particular quarry is to rub asafœtida on it. This is said to be effectual. It is, however, not always an easy matter to break a hawk of a quarry at which she flies with zest. The translator once had a young passage-saker trained to and flown only a few times at kite. He took the quarry from her without rewarding her, a dog frightened her, an old woman threw a blanket over her; in fact she suffered every ill a kite-hawk can suffer after taking the quarry, but she was not broken of the quarry.