The Art and Practice of Hawking. E. B. Michell

       1. JESS 2. BELL 3. HAWK’S FOOT WITH BELL AND JESS ATTACHED 4. BELL FOR TAIL OF SHORT-WINGED HAWK 5. BEWIT 6. RING SWIVEL 7. SPRING SWIVEL 8. LEASH, SWIVEL AND JESSES 9. FALCONER’S KNOT 10. ATTACHMENT OF LEASH TO POLE, PERCH OR CADGE

      Trained hawks always wear jesses. As soon as one pair is worn, and shows signs of weakness, another pair should be put on; and after they are attached, the old ones may be cut off with a sharp knife or scissors and thrown away. Valuable hawks have been lost by the owner’s neglect to renew the jesses. Of course it usually happens that one of a pair wears out before the other, and the breaking of the weakest gives warning before the other has given way. But when one jess has become so dilapidated as to be on the point of breaking, his fellow will not be in a much better case, and a jerk caused by suddenly bating at the block, especially when sitting there after a bath, may liberate the hawk when you feel least prepared for such a mishap. The old falconers seem to have almost always attached the ends of the jesses to “varvels,” which were small rings of silver, or other metal, upon which often the name and address of the owner were engraved. Possibly the jesses so used were very short, so that the risk of “hooking up” did not arise. But the practice has long been abandoned by European falconers.

      Bells for trained hawks are of the greatest possible use. They betray the whereabouts of the wearer, and save an infinity of time and trouble when she has killed out of sight; and besides this, they proclaim to every stranger who sees a lost hawk on the wing that she is private property, and not wild. They are, practically, no impediment to the hawk’s flight, except in the case of the very smallest species; and their sound probably augments the terror inspired in the quarry by a stoop that has only just missed its mark. Bells have been used in all countries from time immemorial. The best are now made in India; but for the larger hawks, those supplied by Mr. Möllen, at Valkenswaard, in Holland, are good enough, and very cheap. The European bells are spherical, with a plain flat shank (Fig. 2), and those of Indian manufacture are of the shape shown in the illustration (Fig. 3). Anciently, silver was much used for bells for the more valuable hawks, but the metal now used is chiefly brass. A good bell should be capable of being heard distinctly on a still day more than a quarter of a mile, even if lightly moved. The bell is attached to the hawk’s leg by a “bewit,” which is fastened on in the same way as the jess. The bewit is a small strip of leather shaped as in Fig. 5. It is pulled through the shank of the bell until the latter is at the place indicated by the dotted line near the middle. The shank is applied to the hawk’s leg above the jess, and the end (A) is passed round the leg and pushed through the slit (B). Then the thicker end is pushed through the slit at the thin end, and pulled till the ears or jags at the side have come through the opening. These then act as barbs to prevent the end slipping back, and the thin part of it can be cut off. Hack bells are used not only to give notice where the hawk is, but also to serve as a weight to handicap her when, at the end of her time of liberty, she begins to chase chance quarry. They are therefore much bigger, in proportion to the size of the wearer, than the bells used in the field. A falcon’s or tiercel’s bell will not be too big for a merlin or jack. Sometimes hawks' bells are even loaded with lead. A merlin which is flying ringing larks does not wear bells, for it is impossible to get any which are sufficiently light, and at the same time loud enough to be of any use.

      Short-winged hawks should generally be belled on the tail, and for this purpose the bewits should be of a different shape, as in Fig. 4. The aperture on each side of the bewit should be made to encircle the shaft of one of the “deck” feathers, that is, the central feathers of the tail, near to its base; and the double ends (C, C) should be lapped or tied together with waxed thread, so that the fastening cannot slip from its place.

      Of course when it is intended to put on new jesses or bewits, the hawk must be “cast,” or held. And some considerable attention is required to cast a hawk properly. To seize an unhooded hawk, especially short-winged, and forcibly thrust her down on her breast would constitute, in her eyes, a deadly and perhaps unpardonable offence. To meddle with her when she has a full crop would be a great mistake. A time should be chosen when she has little or nothing in her crop. She should be hooded and held on the fist, while on the “operating table” is placed a cushion and the apparatus required, including tweezers and a sharp penknife. Then a silk handkerchief, once folded, can be thrown over the hawk’s shoulders, and the falconer’s assistant, standing behind the hawk with his hands over her back, the thumbs close to her back-bone, will, with a quick steady lowering of the palms, grasp her firmly round the body, with the fingers enclosing the sides of her wings and thighs. Lifting her off the fist, he must deposit her on the cushion, holding her down steadily on her breast. A man should be employed for this purpose who is not likely to be nervous or flurried.

      The jesses are made fast to the swivel when the hawk is not intended to fly; and swivels are of two kinds. The safest (and the most troublesome to put on and take off) is the ring-swivel (Fig. 6), consisting of a double ring in the shape of a figure 8, each end working freely on a pivot which keeps the two rings close together. It is made of brass or iron, and very good and cheap ones are to be had from Mr. Möllen, of Valkenswaard, in North Brabant. To attach the ring-swivel to the jesses, pass the end of one jess from right to left through one of the rings, and, after it is through, pass both rings through the slit in the jess, and pull tight. When the first jess is fast, pass the end of the other jess through the same ring upon which the first jess is fastened, but in the opposite direction, from left to right, and then pass the two rings through the slit as before. The second jess will pull up tight over the first, and both will be fixed firmly at the outer end of the same ring.

      To get the ring-swivel off, the extreme end of the jess which was last put on must be pulled until that jess becomes slack enough for the two rings to be passed through it, or, in other words, for the opening in the leather to be pulled over the rings, and, this being done, it will come away at once. After releasing one jess, take care to hold it tight between the fingers of the left hand while freeing the other jess. Otherwise, if the hawk is fidgety and jumps off, she may jerk the other jess out of your hand, and go off bodily, leash and all, into the next parish.

      Spring-swivels (Fig. 7) are very handy contrivances for use in the field, but not so safe for a hawk when sitting unhooded on the perch or at the block. They are shaped like the swivel by which watches are usually attached to a watch-chain, and must be so made as to turn quite freely on the pivot. To attach them to the jesses, nothing more is required than to press the side with the thumb-nail, making the spring yield, and then hook the curved end through the slit in both jesses, after which the spring is released, and the jesses remain encircled by the metal. Only, if the spring is stiff or does not work properly, there will be disasters. The unhooking process is of course even more easily and quickly effected.

      The leash can now be attached to the swivel. And leashes, again, may be of two kinds. The orthodox leash for peregrines and big hawks is a strip of tough leather, about half an inch wide, and a yard long, provided with a stout button at one end, which is made in the following way:—In cutting the leash, three inches or so at one end are cut rather broader than the rest of the strip. This broad end is then rolled up tightly by doubling it over and over upon itself. After the broad part has been rolled up, a hole is punched right through the roll, and the other end of the leash, which is tapered to a point, is pushed through and pulled tight.