he air as a
signal, we may fairly believe that the creature displayed an
extraordinary fitness for receiving instruction. The facts are the more
remarkable because these hawks were not bred in cages, but were taken
from the wild nests; so that there was none of that gradual accumulation
of inheritances under the conditions of selection which have brought
about the obedience of our really domesticated animals.

The remarkable way in which the art of hawking has disappeared from our
civilization deserves more than a passing notice, though it appears to
be inexplicable. It is evident that it was a tolerably ingrained habit,
at least among the English-speaking people, for it has left a very deep
impress upon the language. There are far more phrases derived from the
custom than can be traced to any other of the sportsman's arts. At least
one of these collocations of words which has escaped from the minds of
grown people still holds a place among the boys of this country. When
two lads are fighting we often hear the bystanders say, by the way of
encouragement to one of the contestants, "Give him jesse." The use of
this curious phrase prevails in all parts of the United States, but
after much inquiry I have failed to find a trace of it preserved in
England. There seems to be little doubt that these words are due to a
custom of beating a hawk which failed to do its duty with the thongs or
jesses by which it was attached to the wrist of the falconer. Giving
another jesse thus came to be equivalent to giving a person a strapping.

[Illustration: The Bandit's Brood]

Whatever may have been the reason for abandoning this beautiful and in a
way noble sport, its disuse must be deemed most unfortunate by all the
students of animal intelligence, for it has deprived us of precious
opportunities in the way of observations on the mental peculiarities
which exist in a most interesting group of birds. In these days, when
there is a fancy for reviving the customs of our forefathers, it might
be well for some persons of leisure to give their attention to restoring
the arts of falconry. Enough of the practice and of the traditions is
left to make it an easy task to reinstitute all the important parts of
the custom. Moreover, those who essayed the matter would have access to
a much greater range of rapacious birds than our forefathers, who had to
content themselves with the limited number of wild species which inhabit
the continent of Europe.