CHAPTER NINE OF THE TAME AND WILD BIRDS, AND OF HUNTING THEY have in Persia the same winged Fowl which we have in Europe, but not in such Plenty. The Turkeys are scarce there: About thirty Years ago the Armenians brought a great many from Constantinople to Ispahan, which they presented to the King for a Rarity: And to make them Amends, they were told, That the Persians being unacquainted with the Way of feeding them, entrusted them with the Care of them: And so they were distributed to several Houses, to each House one. The Armenians being tired with the Care and Charge of them, did let them starve almost in every House. I have seen some that throve pretty well, in the Territory of Ispahan, four Leagues off the City, at some Country Armenians Houses, but they had very few. Some believe that that Fowl comes from the East-Indies, because of its French Name, Cock of India; but, on the contrary, there are none at all. It must come from the West-Indies; except it was called Cock of India, because, being bigger than ordinary Cocks, it resembles in Bigness the Indian Cocks, which are bigger than the ordinary Cocks of all other Countries. The Persians fatten some Hens which grow as big as any we have of that sort. And the Armenians have Capons which grow so big and so fat, that they must be killed for their Fat. Tame and wild Pidgeons are to be found in all Parts, but the wild ones are in greater Plenty; yet they breed abundance of Pidgeons all over the Kingdom, upon the account of their Dung, which is the best for Melons. I don't think there are any finer Dove-Cots in any part of the World. I have given a Draught of them on the other side. (This picture is not included.) Those great Coops are six times as big as the biggest we have; they are built with Brick overlaid with Plaister and Lime, full within of Holes for the Pidgeons to breed in. All may build them that will, except those Inhabitants who are of a different Religion from the Natives, there being no Clause to exclude them from that Privilege, 'tis but paying the Dung Tax. They reckon above three thousand Pidgeon-Houses about Ispahan, all built for the sake of the Dung, more than for the sake of the Breed of the Pidgeons, as I have observ'd. They call it Tehalgous, i. e. enlivening: It is sold a Bisty, or Four-pence, the Twelve Pound Weight, on which the King lays a small Tax. One of the best Sports the Rabble can have, is to catch Pidgeons in the Country, and in the Cities also, tho' 'tis forbidden. They take the wild Pidgeons by means of the tame ones, which are bred up for that purpose, and which they cause to fly all the day-long after the wild ones; and all those they meet with they take in amongst them in their own Flock, and carry them to the Dove-Coat. Sometimes tame Pidgeons bring away likewise other tame Pidgeons from their Dove-Coats; so that all of a sudden a Pidgeon-House happens to be gutted and clear'd: No Satisfaction must be expected in that Case; the Pidgeon that flies into a strange Pidgeon-House, is accounted a wild Pidgeon. Those Pidgeon-Hunters are called Kester-baze, and Kester-Perron, i. e. Deceivers and Stealers of Pidgeons. Those Words, in a moral Sense, are scandalous, denoting an idle Fellow, and a Pick-pocket: Truly the Pidgeon-Stealers spend whole. Days at that Trade, and are not diverted from it by the Severity of the Winter-Season. The Partridges in Persia are, I believe, the biggest Partridges in the World, and of an exquisite Taste; 'tis a common thing to find some as big as a Chicken. As to the Water-Fowls, such as Geese, Ducks, Plovers, Cranes, Herons, Dy-dappers, and Snipes there are some in all Parts; but there are greater Numbers of them in the Northern Provinces, as in Armenia, Media, and Iberia, In the Autumn and Winter-Season there are also some as big as Turkey-Pouts; the Flesh of them is grey, and as delicious as that of the Pheasant; their Feathers are long and beautiful, and on their Head is a bunch of them, that looks like a Plume of Feathers. As to Singing Birds, they are the same in Persia as in Europe. The Nightingale sings in all Seasons, but louder in Spring than at other times; The Chaffinch warbles charmingly; The Lark sings continually, and learns all sorts of Tunes; The Martin also learns all he is taught; And another Bird like him, which they call Noura, twittles twattles all day-long, and repeats comically what he hears others speak. Among the Wild Birds, the most wonderful is that long Bill Bird, call'd in English, the Pelican. The Persians call it Tacab, i. e. Water-drawer, or Water-carryer; and also Misc, i. e. Sheep, because in Persia it is as big as a Wether; its Feathers are white, and as soft as that of a Green Goose; by its Head one would take it for a Monster, it being so much less than its Body, and its Bill so much longer proportionably, viz. from Sixteen to Eighteen Inches long, and as big as one's Arm; under its Bill hangs a Skin which it gathers up, and spreads out like a Fan, that holds a Pail-full of Water; it commonly lays its Bill on its Back to rest it: That Bird lives upon Fish, and it is wonderfully cunning in catching of it, watching it in Streams, and taking it in its Bag, as in a Net; when it opens its Bill, a Lamb might go through it: The Name of Water-carryer, given it by the Persians, is because that Bird, in the Desarts of Arabia, and in other Places where there is no Water, is observed to build its Nest far from the Water, for Safety-sake; because there being little Water in Arabia, every body takes his Station near the Places where they find any. Now they affirm, that when its Young-ones want Water, it flies two Days journey from them, sometimes, to fetch Water, and brings it in its Bag. The Mahometans believe, that God makes use of that Bird to supply the Pilgrims going to Mecca with Water, when they find none in the Desart, as he did make use of a Crow to relieve the Prophet Elias. 'Tis upon that account perhaps, that we have given that Bird the Name of Pelican, because it really kills itself with the Care it takes of its Young-ones, as the Naturalists have related of their imaginary Bird, that pecks open its Breast to feed its Young-ones with its Blood. There is a kind of Bird in Persia that is curious and wonderful, by the Effect Spring-Water has upon its Nature, for it smells it, and follows it where-ever it is carry'd, with an unaccountable Fondness. It is as big as a Chicken, and has black Feathers, and grey Flesh, and broad Wings, and flies in Flocks like Starlings; they live on Grashopper s where-ever they find them: And if a Country be plagued with those mischievous Insects, one may be sure to rid it of them, if one can but bring thither a company of those Birds. The Persians call them Abrnelec, i. e. Water of Grashoppers; intimating that Bird, which is allur'd by a certain Water, and cats Grashoppers. The Water which has that powerful Influence on them, comes from a Spring in Bactriana. They bring it in Glass-Bottles unstopp'd, and keep it always in a high and airy Place both on the Road and at Home: The Birds that follow it, tho' they don't taste a drop of it, always set near the Place where 'tis laid, and begin again to fly, when those that carry it set forwards again. I'll relate here upon that account, a Passage out of an old Eastern Relation, Entitled, The Travels of Villamont, in the 97th Page, where he confirms my Relation. In Cyprus, about Harvest time, the Ground breeds so many Grashoppers, that they darken sometimes the Light of the Sun, and where-ever they light, they burn and waste every thing without any possibility of preventing it, for the more you destroy, the more the Ground breeds. God raised them an Instrurnent to destroy them in this manner. In Persi'a near the City of Cuerch, is a Fountain, the Water whereof has the Property of destroying those Grashoppers, provided it be brought in a Flaggon, and comes not under any House or Cave, and be set on a rising Ground within sight of some Birds that follow it, and flie after the Men that bring it, and cry out continually. Those Birds are reddish and black, and go in Flocks like Starlings. The Turks and Persians call them Mussulmans. Those Birds were no sooner come to Cyprus, where the Grashoppers were, but they presently killed them with their Flight and their Singing; but if the Water be lost or spilt, those Birds disappear; as it happen'd when the Turks took the Island; for one of them going up to the top of the Steeple of the Cathedral of Famagosta, found the Flaggon of Water, which he broke, supposing it to be full of Gold, or some other precious thing, and so spilt all the Water. The Cyprians have been plagued with Grashoppers ever since. They catch Birds of Prey on the side of Iberia to the North of Media; and they bring so many from other Places, that I question whether there be as many in any part of the World. Persia is very well seated on that account, being near Mount Caucasus, Circassia, and Muscovia, from whence come the best Birds of Prey: They take also abundance of them on the Hills, fifteen and twenty Leagues off of Chz'ras, in the Province of Persia; and they say that the largest come from thence. They understand likewise extraordinary well there to teach them how to Hunt. The Persians teach the very Crows to Chase. There are eight hundred Birds of Prey constantly kept in the King's Bird-House, viz. Spar-hawks, Hawks, Merlins, Gorfalcons, Tierulo, Goss-hawks and Lanners. All the Nobles also keep several for Hunting, to which the Persians are inclin'd from their Youth, and even several of the common People; for every body has the liberty of Hawking, Shooting, and Hunting. One may see all the Year round, in the City and in the Country, the Falconers going backwards and forwards with a Hawk on their Hand: And as the King often presents Birds of Prey to his chief Officers, especially to the Governors of Provinces; one may then see the Officers seven or eight Days together combing, streaking, and continually commending the Beauty and Cunning of the Bird. They put on his Head a Hood set with Precious Stones, and little Golden Bells about his Feet. The Nobles have also Gloves made on purpose to wear when they hold their Birds, that are set round with Precious Stones; they dress likewise their Birds with Jesses and Golden Vervels. The Persians call the Bird-House Baskane and Cuchskane, i. e. a House of Deceitful Birds. There they keep a Register-Book of all the Birds presented to and by the King, where the Persons, Names, and Time, is set down, and where the Bird is described. The Birds of Prey are very Chargable in that Kingdom, being fed with Flesh, and nothing else; and some are fed with Fowls Flesh all Day long. I must not pass by a Bird of Prey which comes from Muscovy, much bigger than that I have spoken of, being almost as big as an Eagle. Those Birds are very rare, and the King has all those that are in his Kingdom, none being allow'd to have any but himself. It being usual in Persia to set a Value on the Presents made to the King: Without any Deduction, those Birds are set down at a hundred Tomans a Piece, which amount to fifteen hundred Crowns. And if any of them die by the way, the Einbassador brings his Majesty the Head and the Wings of it, and he is allowed the Value of the Bird, as if it was alive. They say that Bird builds its Nest in the Snow, which it melts to the Ground with the heat of its Body, tho' it be a Fathom high: That when the Young ones are ready to fly away, the Old one pushes them before her to the Hole side; and if they want Strength to go over, and tumble in, the Old Bird flies over it, fills the Hole full'of Snow, and stifles them as a degenerate Brood. They affirm almost the very same thing of the Muscovian Hawks, excepting, that sometimes out of a whole Brood, one young one only is strong enough to raise its self out of that deep Nest. 'Tis upon that Account that the Muscovite Hawks, and the Hawks of Mount Caucasus, are so much valued. They teach those Birds by setting them at Cranes, or other Birds, that are Hood-wink'd, that they may not know where to go, and how to fly; then they use those Birds thus taught, to take, First, all passing Birds Eagles, Cranes, Wild-Ducks, Geese, Partridges and Guails. Secondly, the Rabbit, and the Hare; they teach them likewise to hold any Wild Beast, except the Wild Boar; and the Way to teach them, is, by tying a Bit of Flesh to the Head of one of those flea'd Beasts and stuff'd with Straw, which they lay on four Wheels, and keep moving as the Bird is eating, to use him to it. After those Birds are taught, they carry them a Hunting in this Manner; First, they hunt the Beast, till it is tired, then they let the Bird go; he sits on it's Head, beats the Eyes of it with his Wings, and pricks it with his Tallons, and with his Bill, which so stuns the timorous Beast, that it falls down, and gives the Hunters time to come to it. When 'tis a large Beast, they let go several Birds, which Torment it one after another. They set no Bird at the Wild Boar, because it is not fearful, but on the contrary Furious, and would tear the Bird to Pieces. Some have been taught to assault Men; that was common in the beginning of the last Age; and they say, that there are still such Birds in the King's Bird House. I have not seen any of them, but I hear'd that Aly-couly-can, Governour of Tauris, whom I was particularly acquainted with, could not forbear diverting himself with that dangerous and cruel Sport, tho' with the loss of his Friends. It happen'd one Day that a Bird was let go on a Gentleman, and put out his Eyes, not being taken off in time, so that he died of the Fright, and the Pain. The King being acquainted with it, was so incens'd against the Governour, that a little after for that Fault, and some other Misdemeanor, he turn'd him out of his Favour. That Bird assaults Men, as well as Beasts. He lights on the Head, and strikes and tears the Face with his Wings and Beak, if he be not soon taken off; for at that time, he hears neither Voice nor Drum, and pulls the Face in Pieces in spight of any Body. All Swords-Men being Hunts-Men, usually carry at their Saddle-bow, a small Kettle-Drum, about nine Inches Diameter, to call the Bird back, which they call Tavelabas. In great Hunting Matches, they use wild Beasts, that have been taught, such as Lions, Leopards, Tigers, and Panthers. The Persians call those taught Beasts, Yourze. They hurt no Man. A Horseman carries one of them behind him, Hood-winkt with a Cloth Roll, and tied with a Chain, and stands in the Way of the Chased Beast, as close to it as may be; when the Horsemen sees any coming, he pulls off the Beast's Hood, and turns his Head towards the Prey; if he sees it, he gives a Shriek, leaps down, falls on the Beast, and pulls it down, if he misses it, he is commonly discouraged, and stops; the Master goes to him, comforts him, makes Much of him, and tells him it is not his Fault, and that he had not been set directly before the Beast. They say he understands that Excuse, and is satisfied with it. I have seen that sort of Sport in Hircania, in the Year 1666; and they told me, that the King had some of those Beasts bred up to Hunting; which because they were too big to carry on Horseback, were carry'd in Iron Cages, on an Elephant without the Hood; that the Keeper had his Hand always on the Cage-Door, in order, when he perceived the Prey, and gave a Shriek, to let him out immediately. Some of those taught Beasts hunt cunningly, creeping on their Bellies under the Bushes and Hedges, till they be within reach of the Prey, then they rush upon it. In a Royal Hunting-Match, and in all great Hunting Bouts, they lay a Net round a little Valley, or a Plain, and chase Beasts from fifteen to twenty Leagues distance, round about the Country, which some thousands of Country People range over. When there is a great Number of Beasts in the Net, and they are all hedg'd in by Troops of Horse-men, the King comes in with his Company, then every one falls on what's next to him, Stags, Boars, Lions, Wolves, and Foxes, and they make a horrid Slaughter of them, commonly amounting to the Number of about eight hundred Beasts. They say, that in some of those Hunting-Matches they have kill'd to the Number of fourteen thousand Beasts. In the common Hunting Bouts, when a Beast is taken, they stay till the best Man of the Company comes, who shoots an Arrow at him, then every Man falls on. The Persians are not unacquainted with Dog-hunting, the King has Hounds, and some Nobles likewise; but they are scarce, because that Creature is look'd upon by the Persians as the most impure, and therefore, is an Abomination to them. The Bird is likewise good for the Water, and will fetch and carry like a Dog. Hunting the wild Goat is curious Sport; those Beasts being light Footed, and hard to come at; they shoot them with a Musket in this Manner; they teach the Camel to follow that Creature slowly, and come up to it; the Hunts-man hides himself behind the Camel, and when he is within reach of the Goat shoots it, the Camel runs after it; and when it falls he stays by it, if he comes back, 'tis a Sign the Marks-man has mist his Aim. Medieval background and art for this etext courtesy of Return to theTable of Contents. Last Updated on March 24, 2001 by Lisa and Sylvia.