to the French occupation their only other business was the pillage of the caravans; but now they do it no more, at least in the territory under Gallic jurisdiction. Well made they are, and wonderfully organized for their life of movement and privation; dry and hard, with piercing eye and untiring ankle, possessed of a power of enduring hunger and thirst to their farthest limits. They make much parade of their new-born conversion and uprightness, on the principle, I suppose, of "assuming a virtue if you have it not."

"Our present goodness must redeem the errors of the past," they say ; 66 we have a few lives upon our consciences, but God alone is perfect!"

A "few lives," forsooth!-they are modest, these good Arabs. Toumi, one of their chiefs, owned to nineteen murders.

"Yes, I killed nineteen individuals in attacking the caravans. Perhaps it is a greater number than is permitted to a good believer; but, after all, we only do as our fathers taught us; nevertheless, I admit that when I think of it I feel puzzled about the day of judgment!"

60

PREPARATIONS FOR THE CHASE.

It may be well to say a few words of the necessaries which are indispensable for a month's sojourn in this "land of thirst." First, of course, stands the camel, whose faculty of remaining for four or five days without food renders him an absolute "necessity" in the desert. Four or five camels, therefore, are required for each hunter, who loads them with barrels of water, oats, and provisions, according to his intended length of stay beyond the line of civilization. Horse-shoes and nails must also form part of the store, as well as powder and shot for the killing of small game. There is no use in taking a tent, as the starry vault is the pleasanter covering in seasons such as this. Before the departure of a hunting party from Ouargla bands of men are sent out to discover the exact whereabouts of the ostrich-herds, a necessary precaution where water has to be so much considered.

1

The horses used for the chase undergo a system of training for fifteen or sixteen days before the start, being gradually deprived of oats, and made to take much exercise in the sun until

OSTRICH HUNTING.

61

they bear the appearance of perfect skeletons. Ostriches are hunted after one of two plansthe bedou or the gaad. By the former system the huntsman has but one horse, which necessitates, of course, the best animals and great science. If the party is a large one, the other plan is almost always resorted to. It consists of an ambuscade, towards which the birds are driven. When they pass the fatal spot the sportsmen rush out upon them, and pursue them hotly till they drop. The excitement of this system consists in driving the ostriches towards places where relays of horses are stationed. If this is not done, of course the quarry is lost, as it easily outstrips all but the very best beasts. Parties of natives on foot sometimes lie in wait for the birds in ambush, and shoot them for their feathers, but this is looked upon in pretty much the same light as the shooting of foxes in our own country. The gaad is rendered possible by the fact that the foolish birds almost always run in the direction in which they are started, unless terrified by a passing caravan, or some similar cause.

62

USES OF THE OSTRICH.

A troop of ostriches has such a fascination for

the sportsman, that as long as they are in sight he

can think of nothing but

personal safety leave him.

pursuit. All ideas of

"El naam idjebed el

kalb ou el aïn!" say the Arabs.

"The ostrich

tears our heart and sears our eye!" They keep in troops as much as possible, but when near their end are driven by instinct to scatter over the plain, and are then pursued by single horsemen until they fall down from exhaustion. The dear old story about their hiding their heads in the sand is an utter fabrication-like a good many other dear old stories, by the way. The flesh is very like beef in colour and taste, while the fat is considered a panacea for all kinds of maladies. There is not a portion of the ostrich but what is put to some purpose. The plumes are sold, the flesh is eaten, the skin of the neck and thighs is formed into bladders for the preservation of the fat, the skin of the feet is used for making coverings for the human foot, and the nerves are twisted into thread for the sewing of leather. There is an Arab proverb that says, "advantageous as an

ITS EXTRAORDINARY STOMACH.

63

ostrich!" Ostrich skins sell at Tripoli or Algiers for about six or seven pounds apiece. Much swindling is done by the easy-conscienced natives of the Mzab by the substitution of female for male skins when dealing with those who are not connoisseurs.

The ostrich has several accouchements per year, of from twelve to fifteen eggs apiece. She lays them on the open sand, sitting on them at night, and leaving them by day to the heat of the sun. If anyone attempts to rob her of her young she dares not defend them, although one blow from her foot would make sad havoc among a man's bones. The ostrich has an extraordinary stomach, devouring voraciously everything that comes in the way, even stones. This is not so very wonderful, after all, for animals without teeth are bound to supply their place by means of some rubbing power in their stomachs. The canary

uses sand, the ostrich, from its greater size, requires stones, and is provided with powerful muscles to sustain their weight, some of them three inches thick.