By The Horns Julia Stone Rar
Olegario Benford
The mode of hunting the Lion with nets was identical withthat which is practised in India at the present time. The preciselocality of the Lion's dwelling-place having been discovered,a circular wall of net is arranged round it, or if only a few netscan be obtained, they are set in a curved form, the concave sidebeing towards the Lion. They then send dogs into the thicket,hurl stones and sticks at the den, shoot arrows into it, fling[32]
[33]burning torches at it, and so irritate and alarm the animal that itrushes against the net, which is so made that it falls down andenvelopes the animal in its folds. If the nets be few, the driversgo to the opposite side of the den, and induce the Lion to escapein the direction where he sees no foes, but where he is sure to runagainst the treacherous net. Other large and dangerous animalswere also captured by the same means.
There is no animal which a herd of wolves will not attack,and very few which they will not ultimately secure. Strengthavails nothing against the numbers of these savage foes, whichgive no moment of rest, but incessantly assail their antagonist,dashing by instinct at those parts of the body which can beleast protected, and lacerating with their peculiar short, snappingbite. Should several of their number be killed or disabled, itmakes no difference to the wolves, except that a minute or twoare wasted in devouring their slain or wounded brethren, andthey only return to the attack the more excited by the taste ofblood. Swiftness of foot avails nothing against the tireless perseveranceof the wolves, who press on in their peculiar, long,slinging gallop, and in the end are sure to tire out the swifterfooted but less enduring animal that flees before them. The[72]stately buffalo is conquered by the ceaseless assaults of thewolves; the bear has been forced to succumb to them, and thefleet-footed stag finds his swift limbs powerless to escape thepursuing band, and his branching horns unable to resist theirfurious onset when once they overtake him.
Even in Palestine, and in the present day, the Hyæna willendeavour to rifle the grave, and to drag out the interred corpse.The bodies of the rich are buried in rocky caves, whose entrancesare closed with heavy stones, which the Hyæna cannot move;but those of the poor, which are buried in the ground, must bedefended by stones heaped over them. Even when this precautionis taken, the Hyæna will sometimes find out a weakspot, drag out the body, and devour it.
The cattle are branded with the mark of their owners, so thatin these large herds there might be no difficulty in distinguishingthem when they were re-captured for the plough and thecart. On one of the Egyptian monuments there is a veryinteresting group, which has furnished the idea for the platewhich illustrates this article. It occurs in the tombs of thekings at Thebes, and represents a ploughing scene. The simpletwo-handled plough is being dragged by a pair of cows, whohave the yoke fastened across the horns instead of lying onthe neck, and a sower is following behind, scattering the grainout of a basket into the newly-made furrows. In front of thecows is a young calf, which has run to meet its mother, and isleaping for joy before her as she steadily plods along her course.
Another species of the ox-tribe now inhabits Palestinethough commentators rather doubt whether it is not a comparativelylate importation. This is the true Buffalo (Bubalusbuffelus, Gray), which is spread over a very large portion of theearth, and is very plentiful in India. In that country thereare two distinct breeds of the Buffalo, namely, the Arnee, a wildvariety, and the Bhainsa, a tamed variety. The former animalis much larger than the latter, being sometimes more than tenfeet in length from the nose to the root of the tail, and measuringbetween six and seven feet in height at the shoulder. Itshorns are of enormous length, the tail is very short, and tufts ofhair grow on the forehead and horns. The tamed variety is atleast one-third smaller, and, unlike the Arnee, never seems toget into high condition. It is an ugly, ungainly kind of beast,and is rendered very unprepossessing to the eye by the baldpatches which are mostly found upon its hide.
Being a water-loving animal, the Buffalo always inhabits thelow-lying districts, and is fond of wallowing in the oozy marshesin which it remains for hours, submerged all but its head, andtranquilly chewing the cud while enjoying its mud-bath. Whilethus engaged the animal depresses its horns so that they arescarcely visible, barely allowing more than its eyes, ears, andnostrils to remain above the surface, so that the motionlessheads are scarcely distinguishable from the grass and reed tuftswhich stud the marshes. Nothing is more startling to an inexperiencedtraveller than to pass by a silent and tranquil poolwhere the muddy surface is unbroken except by a number ofblack lumps and rushy tufts, and then to see these tufts suddenlytransformed into twenty or thirty huge beasts rising out of thestill water as if by magic. Generally, the disturber of theirpeace had better make the best of his way out of their reach, asthe Buffalo, whether wild or tame, is of a tetchy and irritablenature, and resents being startled out of its state of dreamyrepose.
Accepting the theory that the Tô is one of the large antelopesthat inhabit, or used to inhabit, the Holy Land and its neighbourhood,we may safely conjecture that it may signify thebeautiful animal known as the Oryx (Oryx leucoryx), an animalwhich has a tolerably wide range, and is even now found on theborders of the Holy Land. It is a large and powerful antelope,and is remarkable for its beautiful horns, which sometimesexceed a yard in length, and sweep in a most graceful curve overthe back.
Sharp as they are, and evidently formidable weapons, themanner in which they are set on the head renders them apparently[155]unserviceable for combat. When, however, the Oryx isbrought to bay, or wishes to fight, it stoops its head until thenose is close to the ground, the points of the horns being thusbrought to the front. As the head is swung from side to side,the curved horns sweep through a considerable space, and are soformidable that even the lion is chary of attacking their owner.Indeed, instances are known where the lion has been transfixedand killed by the horns of the Oryx. Sometimes the animalis not content with merely standing to repel the attacks of itsadversaries, but suddenly charges forward with astonishing rapidity,and strikes upwards with its horns as it makes the leap.
But these horns, which can be used with such terrible effectin battle, are worse than useless when the animal is hamperedin the net. In vain does the Oryx attempt its usual defence:the curved horns get more and more entangled in the elasticmeshes, and become a source of weakness rather than strength.We see now how singularly appropriate is the passage, "Thy[156]sons lie at the heads of all the streets, as a wild bull (or Oryx)in a net," and how completely the force of the metaphor is lostwithout a knowledge of the precise mode of fixing the nets, ofdriving the animals into them, and of the manner in which theyrender even the large and powerful animals helpless.
That the Unicorn was one of the two animals is certain, andthat it was the larger is nearly as certain. The reason for decidingupon the Urus is, that its horns were of great size andstrength, and therefore agree with the description of the Unicorn;whereas those of the Bonassus, although powerful, are short, andnot conspicuous enough to deserve the notice which is taken ofthem by the sacred writers.
Of the extinct variety we know but little. We do know, however,that it was a huge and most formidable beast, as is evidentfrom the skulls and other bones which have been discovered.Their character also indicates that the creature was nothing morethan a very large Ox, probably measuring twelve feet in length,and six feet in height. Such a wild animal, armed, as it was, withenormous horns, would prove a most formidable antagonist.
Like most animals, however large and powerful they may be,it fears the presence of man, and, if it sees or scents a humanbeing, will try to slip quietly away; but when it is baffled inthis attempt, and forced to fight, it becomes a fierce and dangerousantagonist, charging with wonderful quickness, and usingits short and powerful horns with great effect. A woundedBison, when fairly brought to bay, is perhaps as awkward anopponent as can be found, and to kill it without the aid of firearmsis no easy matter.
The Gazelle is very common in Palestine in the present day,and, in the ancient times, must have been even more plentiful.There are several varieties of it, which were once thought to be[165]distinct species, but are now acknowledged to be mere varieties,all of which are referable to the single species Gazella Dorcas.There is, for example, the Corinna, or Corine Antelope, which isa rather boldly-spotted female; the Kevella Antelope, in whichthe horns are slightly flattened; the small variety called theAriel, or Cora; the grey Kevel, which is a rather large variety;and the Long-horned Gazelle, which owes its name to a ratherlarge development of the horns.
Whatever variety may inhabit any given spot, they all havethe same habits. They are gregarious animals, associatingtogether in herds often of considerable size, and deriving fromtheir numbers an element of strength which would otherwise bewanting. Against mankind, numbers are of no avail; but whenthe agile though feeble Gazelle has to defend itself against thepredatory animals of its own land, it can only defend itselfby the concerted action of the whole herd. Should, for example,the wolves prowl round a herd of Gazelles, after their treacherouswont, the Gazelles instantly assume a posture of self-defence.They form themselves into a compact phalanx, all the malescoming to the front, and the strongest and boldest taking onthemselves the honourable duty of facing the foe. The doesand the young are kept within their ranks, and so formidable isthe array of sharp, menacing horns, that beasts as voracious asthe wolf, and far more powerful, have been known to retirewithout attempting to charge.
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