ted in various ways. The animal was
most commonly pursued with dogs. The large and powerful hounds of the
Assyrians, of which a certain use was made even in the chase of the
lion, have been already noticed; but it may be desirable in this place
to give a fuller account of them. They were of a type approaching to
that of our mastiff, being smooth haired, strong limbed, with a somewhat
heavy head and neck, small pointed but drooping ears, and a long tail,
which was bushy and a little inclined to curl. They seem to have been
very broad across the chest, and altogether better developed as to their
fore than as to their hind parts, though even their hind legs were
tolerably strong and sinewy. They must have been exceedingly bold, if
they really faced the hunted lion; and their pace must have been
considerable, if they were found of service in chasing the wild ass.

[Illustration: PLATE 121]

The hunters are represented as finding the wild asses in herds, among
which are seen a certain number of foals. The King and his chief
attendants pursue the game on horseback, armed with bows and arrows, and
discharging their arrows as they go. Hounds also--not now held in leash,
but free--join in the hunt, pressing on the game, and generally singling
out some one individual from the herd, either a young colt or sometimes
a full-grown animal. [PLATE CXXI., Fig. 1.] The horsemen occasionally
brought down the asses with their shafts. [PLATE CXXI.. Fig. 2.] When
their archery failed of success, the chase depended on the hounds, which
are represented as running even the full-grown animal to a stand, and
then worrying him till the hunters came up to give the last blow.
Considering the speed of the full-grown wild ass, which is now regarded
as almost impossible to take, we may perhaps conclude that the animals
thus run down by the hounds were such as the hunters had previously
wounded; for it can scarcely be supposed that such heavily-made dogs as
the Assyrian could really have caught an unwounded and full-grown wild
ass. [PLATE CXXI., Fig. 3.]

Instead of shooting the wild ass, or hunting him to the death with
hounds, an endeavor was sometimes made to take him alive. [PLATE CXXI.,
Fig. 4] A species of noose seems to have been made by means of two ropes
interlaced, which were passed--how, we cannot say--round the neck of the
animal, and held him in such a way that all his struggles to release
himself were vain. This mode of capture recalls t