s animal was pursued may have arisen in
part from its scarcity. The Aurochs is wild and shy; it dislikes the
neighborhood of man, and has retired before him till it is now found
only in the forests of Lithuania, Carpathia, and the Caucasus. It seems
nearly certain that, in the time of the later kings, the species of wild
cattle previously limited, whatever it was, had disappeared from Assyria
altogether; at least this is the only probable account that can be given
of its non-occurrence in the later sculptures, more especially in those
of Asshur-bani-pal, the son of Esarhaddon, which seem intended to
represent the chase under every aspect known at the time. We might
therefore presume it to have been, even in the early period, already a
somewhat rare animal. And so we find in the Inscriptions that the
animal, or animals, which appear to represent wild cattle, were only met
with in outlying districts of the empire--on the borders of Syria and in
the country about Harrah; and then in such small numbers as to imply
that even there they were not very abundant.

When the chase of the nobler animals--the lion and the wild bull--had
been conducted to a successful issue, the hunters returned in a grand
procession to the capital, carrying with then as trophies of their
prowess the bodies of the slain. These were borne aloft on the shoulders
of men, three or four being required to carry each beast. Having been
brought to an appointed spot, they were arranged side by side upon the
ground, the heads of all pointing the same way; and the monarch,
attended by several of his principal officers, as the Vizier, the Chief
Eunuch, the fan-bearers, the bow and mace bearers, and also by a number
of musicians, came to the place, and solemnly poured a libation over the
prostrate forms, first how-ever (as it would seem) raising the cup to
his own lips. It is probable that this ceremony had to some extent a
religious character. The Assyrian monarchs commonly ascribe the success
of their hunting expeditions to the gods Nin (or Ninip) and Nergal; and
we may well understand that a triumphant return would be accompanied by
a thank-offering to the great protectors under whose auspices success
had been achieved. [PLATE CXX., Fig. 4.]

Besides the wild bull and the lion, the Assyrians are known to have
hunted the following animals: the onager or wild ass, the stag, the ibex
or wild goat, the gazelle, and the hare.

The chase of the wild ass was conduc