"In Hunting The Larger Animals They Make Use Of Beasts Of
Prey Trained For The Purpose, Lions, Leopards, Tigers, Panthers,
Ounces."
NOTE 4.
- This is perfectly correct. In Eastern Turkestan, and among the
Kirghiz to this day, eagles termed Burgut (now well known to be the
Golden Eagle) are tamed and trained to fly at wolves, foxes, deer, wild
goats, etc. A Kirghiz will give a good horse for an eagle in which he
recognises capacity for training. Mr. Atkinson gives vivid descriptions
and illustrations of this eagle (which he calls "Bear coote"), attacking
both deer and wolves. He represents the bird as striking one claw into the
neck, and the other into the back of its large prey, and then tearing out
the liver with its beak. In justice both to Marco Polo and to Mr.
Atkinson, I have pleasure in adding a vivid account of the exploits of
this bird, as witnessed by one of my kind correspondents, the
Governor-General's late envoy to Kashgar. And I trust Sir Douglas Forsyth
will pardon my quoting his own letter just as it stands[1]: - "Now for a
story of the Burgoot - Atkinson's 'Bearcoote.' I think I told you it was
the Golden Eagle and supposed to attack wolves and even bears. One day we
came across a wild hog of enormous size, far bigger than any that gave
sport to the Tent Club in Bengal. The Burgoot was immediately let loose,
and went straight at the hog, which it kicked, and flapped with its wings,
and utterly flabbergasted, whilst our Kashgaree companions attacked him
with sticks and brought him to the ground.
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