combats the
natural courage of the shepherd was stimulated by interest: for he was
personally responsible for the safety of his flock, and if a lion should
find an entrance into one of the enclosures.

[Illustration: 329b.jpg SCENES OF PASTORAL LIFE IN CHALDAEA.]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a Chaldaean intaglio from
Layard. Another cylinder of the same kind is reproduced at
p. 233 of the present work; it represents Etana arising to
heaven by the aid of his friend the eagle, while the
pastoral scene below resembles in nearly all particulars
that given above.

[Illustration: 330.jpg FIGHT WITH A LION]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from one of the terra-cotta tablets
discovered by Loftus.

Fishing was not so much a pastime as a source of livelihood; for fish
occupied a high place in the bill of fare of the common folk. Caught by
the line, net, or trap, it was dried,in the sun, smoked, or salted. The
chase was essentially the pastime of the great noble--the pursuit of
the lion and the bear in the wooded covers or the marshy thickets of the
river-bank; the pursuit of the gazelle, the ostrich, and bustard on
the elevated plains or rocky tablelands of the desert. The onager of
Mesopotamia is a very beautiful animal, with its grey glossy coat, and
its lively and rapid action.

[Illustration: 331.jpg THE DOG IN TUB LEASH]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a terra-cotta tablet discovered
by Sir H. Rawlinson in the ruins of Babylon, and now in the
British Museum

If it is disturbed, it gives forth a cry, kicks up its heels, and dashes
off: when at a safe distance, it stops, turns round, and faces its
pursuer: as soon as he approaches, it starts off again, stops, and takes
to its heels again, continuing this procedure as long as it is followed.
The Chaldaeans found it difficult to catch by the aid of dogs, but they
could bring it down by arrows, or perhaps catch it alive by stratagem.
A running noose was thrown round its neck, and two men held the ends of
the ropes. The animal struggled, made a rush, and attempted to bite, but
its efforts tended only to tighten the noose still more firmly, and
it at length gave in, half strangled; after alternating struggles and
suffocating paroxysms, it became somewhat calmer, and allowed itself to
be led. It was finally tamed, if not to the extent of becoming useful
in agriculture, at least for the purposes of war: before the horse was
kn