The Swan and Her Crew

by Burt L. Standish

  CHAPTER XXXI.

  Hawking.

  The training of the hawks was a source of great amusement to the boys.They obtained Stonehenge's _British Rural Sports_ from Sir RichardCarleton's library, and studied the article on hawking. They found asparrow-hawk was called a short-winged hawk, because its wings do notreach so far as the end of its tail, while a kestrel is a long-wingedhawk, its wings reaching as far as the end of its tail. As a generalrule, long-winged hawks are much better than short-winged ones forhawking purposes, but the sparrow-hawk is braver and better than thekestrel. Their hawks being from the nest, and not caught by a trap, were_eyasses_. Before they could fly they were _branchers_, and being rearedat liberty they were _hack-hawks_. The training of a hawk is called its_reclaiming_, Fig. 3 _a_ and _b_, when it sleeps it _jouks_, its prey isits _quarry_, when it strikes it is said to _bind_. When it soars andthen descends upon its quarry it _swoops_, when it flies straight afterit it _rakes_. It is sent off by a _whistle_, and brought back by a_lure_.

  These are only a few of the technical terms peculiar to hawking.

  The hood, Fig. 1 and 2, which one sees so conspicuously on the heads ofhawks in pictures of the sport in the olden time is not necessary in thecase of the short-winged hawks, and the great object was to make thehawks as tame as possible. This the boys accomplished by continuallyhandling them and being with them, especially at feeding-time. Aroundeach foot of the bird they tied a soft strap of leather to correspond toa _jesse_, Fig. 4 _a b_. To these were attached some little bells _e e_,which they took off some children's toys. The jesses had also a loop_b_, to which was fastened when required a _leash_, Fig. 5, or longcord, which prevented the birds from flying away while training. Theyhad perches with cross-bars made for the hawks, and set up at one end ofthe boat-house, and underneath it a tray containing a quantity of sandand a bowl of water. In a couple of months the hawks were quite tame,and then the boys proceeded to train them for sport. Every time theywere fed the meat was attached to a lure, Fig. 6, which was a lump ofcork with a bunch of cock's feathers attached to it. This was thrown upinto the air at gradually increasing distances, and at the same time oneof the boys, having the hawk ready perched on his wrist (which wasprotected by strong gloves such as hedgers and ditchers use), let herloose with a shrill whistle, and she was allowed to fly the length ofher leash and seize the lure and the food. In a remarkably short timethe birds would not only fly to the lure with alacrity, but wait untilthe boys came up and took them away again. When they had attained thispitch of perfection the rest was easy, and the leash was dispensed with.Then a dead bird or rabbit was fixed to the lure, and at last, one fineOctober day, it was resolved to try the hawks at real game.

  APPARATUS USED IN HAWKING.]

  "What shall we try them at first?" said Dick.

  "I was thinking that the best way would be to take the yacht and coastabout the reeds, and try them first at the water-hens and coots. I am soafraid of someone shooting them if we take them into the meadows. If wecannot manage them with the yacht on the water, we will take them on thedrained marshes," answered Frank.

  "I hope they will not disappoint us," said Jimmy, "for they have givenus a great deal of trouble to train."

  "They have had very little to eat this morning, so I think they will flyat anything we show them, but it will be a sell if we lose them the veryfirst try."

  There was just a light breeze on the broad, which enabled them to sailquietly about. Frank took the helm, for sailing was to him the greatestof all enjoyments, and Dick and Jimmy stood in the bows, Dick with ahawk on his wrist, ready to be flown as soon as they caught sight ofanything worth flying at. Frank steered the _Swan_ so that she justbrushed along the reeds, which were brown and dry, and had thinned fastunder the keen October breezes.

  "There is a water-hen in the reeds, just before us," said Jimmy. "Drivethe yacht a little further in."

  Frank did so, and the water-hen flew out over the broad, her legsdipping in the water.

  "Let her have a little law," cried Frank. "Now then!"

  With a loud whistle Dick let the hawk slip. She rose rapidly in the air,over the water-hen, and then swooped. The water-hen instantly dived. Thedisappointed hawk curved up again, just touching the surface of thewater with her breast. She rose about twenty feet in the air and swoopedaround in small circles, her head turning this side and that, watchingfor her quarry. The course of the water-hen under water was marked by aline of bubbles, and Frank kept close behind her, letting the wind outof his sails in order not to overtake her and so cause her to doubleback. Soon she rose again to the surface, but ere the hawk, quick as shewas, could reach her, she had dived again. In this manner, the water-henrising to the surface to breathe and the hawk swooping unsuccessfully,they ran across the broad to a reed-bed, where the pursued bird remainedunder water so long that they knew she was holding on to the weed by herclaws, with only her beak above water, as is the habit of these birds.After a little searching about they saw her yellow beak protruding abovea mass of weeds. Seeing that she was discovered, she flew up uttering adespairing croak. Down came the sparrow-hawk with lightning swiftness,and struck her in the air, and they both fell into the reeds. The boysforced their way to them and the hawk allowed Dick to approach and takeher in his hand. He cut off the head of the water-hen, and gave it toher to eat in the cabin, while they brought the other hawk for the nextflight.

  "Well," said Frank, "that was as successful a flight as we could desire.There goes a water-rail. Let the hawk go."

  With a sharp scream the hawk dashed off in pursuit of it, and withouttroubling itself to soar, it struck the water-rail, and, bearing it awayin its talons, it flew off to a dyke where a wherry was moored, her crewhaving gone ashore, and perched on the top of the mast, where it beganto pick at and tear the bird.

  "What's to be done now?" said Jimmy.

  "We must try the lure," answered Frank, and taking it up he whistled andthrew it in the air. The hawk dropped the water-rail and flew down tothe lure and suffered herself to be taken. As a reward, she was allowedto have its head, and the other hawk was again taken out.

  "There is a coot swimming along yonder. Let her fly at it," cried Jimmy.

  As the hawk launched into the air, however, a sandpiper flew out fromamong the reeds, and the hawk instantly followed it. It was a verypretty sight to see the twistings and turnings of the two birds as theydashed across the broad with equal speed. Frank took a pull at the sheetso as to catch the wind, and followed them as fast as he could. The hawkhad risen above the sandpiper, and was about to swoop down upon it, whenthe latter, to the surprise of the boys, dashed into the water anddived.

  "Only fancy a bird with no webs to its feet diving," said Frank.

  The sandpiper remained under water some time, and when it arose, whichit did with great apparent ease, the sail of the yacht hid it from thehawk's sight, and it flew away unmolested. As they sailed along on thelook-out for other prey, the hawk hung in the air above them, andfollowed, or, as it is technically called, "waited on," them in the mostbeautiful manner.

  The birds on the broad now seemed to be aware that a hawk was about, andkept close to the shelter of the reeds, so that the broad seemed quitedeserted. At last, however, a coot swam out, and the hawk made a feintat it but did not strike it, and the coot swam coolly away.

  "Why the hawk is a coward," said Jimmy.

  "No, she is only cautious. You see, if she were to strike it on thewater it would dive, and as it is a strong bird it would carry herunder. That is the difficulty we shall meet with if we hawk on thewater," said Frank, "and if we go on the land someone is sure to shootthe hawks."

  They called the hawk in by means of the lure, and sailed up a dyke,meaning to land and try the marshes and the low drained ground in theirvicinity. They landed, and, Dick taking one hawk and Frank the other,they proceeded along a narrow drain in the hope of flushing some morewater-hens.

  "Quick," cried Frank, "and crouch down behind these reeds. I can see a
couple of wild-ducks coming towards us."

  They threw themselves on the ground, and soon the whirring of wings inthe air told them that the ducks were coming straight towards them. Onthey came, within ten feet of the ground, and when they perceived theboys they turned off at a tangent with a loud quack. Both hawks were letgo, and rising well in the air, one of them made a swoop on the hindmostduck and struck it, but did not lay hold. The duck swerved under theblow, but held on its course. Then while the one hawk mounted, theother, in its turn, swooped and struck the duck, so that it fell nearlyto the ground. The boys ran along after the hawks and their quarry, andshouted to encourage the former. Then both hawks made a simultaneousswoop, and struck the duck to the ground.

  As the hawks were taken from the duck, they showed some impatience andsigns of anger, so Frank said,--

  "I say, they have done enough for to-day. We had better feed them, andtie them up."

  They accordingly gave them the head of the duck and the entrails of allthe birds they had killed, and put them in the cabin, and then commencedto fish for pike. In the course of the day they caught seven, none ofthem over six pounds in weight; and then, when the western sky wasagleam with the pink and green of sunset, they ran the yacht into thereeds while they put up their tackle. The wind had fallen to thefaintest of zephyrs, which was only indicated by sudden shoots of lightacross the broad. The air was still, with a mellow October stillness,and flocks of starlings were wheeling in the air with unbrokenregularity of rank and file, now on edge and nearly invisible; and thenbroadside on, and seeming as if suddenly nearer; and then settling inthe reeds, where during the night they roost in vast numbers.

  The boys stood there talking until the gloaming was spreading rapidlyover the broad, and then they made preparations for going.

  They had not secured the hawks, and the cabin-door had swung open.

  "There goes one of our hawks," cried Jimmy, as it floated out with atriumphant scream over the marsh.

  "Quick! get out the lure!" said Frank.

  But the lure was not needed. A twittering commenced among the reeds, andgrew louder and more clamorous; and soon, with a noise like thunder, acrowd of starlings rose from their resting-places, and after apreliminary circle in the air they closed upon the hawk and began to mobher, screaming the while most vociferously. The hawk struck three ofthem down in succession, but her assailants were too many for her, andshe turned tail and flew back to the yacht, where she allowed Frank tocapture her, while the starlings whirled away and settled in the reedsonce more.

  As they sailed back, Frank said,--

  "Now that our hawks are trained so beautifully we shall have good sportwith them."

  But he was doomed to be disappointed. Two days after they took them intothe open country, and a rabbit darting out of a tuft of grass, they flewone of the hawks at it. It struck the rabbit, and clung to it while itran into its burrow, and the noble bird was killed by the shock. Theboys were very much grieved at this, and resolved not to fly the otherhawk at four-footed game. While they were crossing Sir RichardCarleton's land they flushed a solitary partridge, which appeared tohave been wounded, and flew slowly. It had doubtless been left behind byits more active companions. They let the hawk fly, and it followed thepartridge around the corner of a plantation. The report of a gunfollowed, and, running up, they found their worst apprehensionsrealized. The hawk had been shot dead by one of two gentlemen, who, witha couple of dogs, were out shooting. They were guests of Sir Richard's,and when they found the hawk was a tame one they were very profuse intheir apologies. The boys did not care to make very civil replies, butwalked quietly and sadly away.

  Their cup of bitterness was for the time full.

  "So ends our hawking," said Frank as they separated.

  "Yes; this is the unluckiest day we have had yet," answered Jimmy.