Hunter, Humphrey, a Presbyterian minister and patriot, was born near Londonder- ry, Ireland, JNIay 14, 1755. His Avidowed mother came to this country when Humphrey was only four years old. During the Revolution he served our nation in the struggle for independence, first as a private, and later, for a short time, as heutenant, against the Cherokee Indians. He final- ly decided to prepare himself for a literary career, and to this end pursued a course of study at the Queen's jNIuseum, afterwards call- ed Liberty Hall Academy, at
Charlotte, N. C. After the surrender of Charlestown he re-enlisted, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Cam- den. He succeeded in making his escape from the en- emy, and took a gallant pait m the battle at Lutaw
Springs. After tliis he
resumed his studies at Mount Zion College, INIinnsborough, S. C, and graduated in 1787. Two years later he was or- dained for the ministry, and in 1805 was installed as pastor over the Steele Creek Chinch, N.C.,where he remained until bis death, Aug. 21,1827. (J. H.W.)
Hunter, William,
a INIethodist Episcoi)al |^ minister, v,-as born in the County of TjTone, Ire- land, JNIay 5, 1755. When about twenty-four years old he was converted, and joined the Wesleyan ;Methodist Soci- ety, and shortly after his connection with the Church be- gan to preach. He became personally ac(iuainted with Jlr. Wesley, and felt so draAvn towards li'im t hat be decideil to accompany him from place to place, to profit by the godly life of the founder of Methodism. In May, 'l 790, he emigrated to this country, and settled in Delaware. He was admitted on trial in the travelling coimection in 1703, was ordained deacon in 1794, anil in 179(j an elder. He successively travelled Chester, Bristol, Do- ver, Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, Strasb\irg, Dauphin, and Lancaster circuits. For two years he labored as a mis- sionary in I'ennsylvania, and during four years he pre- sided on the Schuylkill District. In 1814 he was re- tiu:ned superannuated, but in 1816 he again resumed his labors. In 1819 he was returned supernumerary, and from 1822 to 1827 continued, and so remained, till his
deatli at Coventry, Pa., Sept. 27, 1833. In the various: appointments he filled in the Church " he was accepta- ble and useful as a preacher, and discharged the duties of his vocation with simplicity and fidelity." — Minutes
ofConf
Hunting (^yi^ Gr. dypa). The pursuit and capture of beasts of the field was one of the first means of suste- nance to which the human race had recourse. In ])roc- ess of time, however, when civilization had made some progress, when cities were built and lands cultivated, hunting was carried on not so much for the food wliich it brought as for the recreation it gave and its condu- civeness to health. Hunting has always bonic some- what of a regal character, and in Persia immense jiarks (^■!ra(HiSei(joi) were mclosod for nurturing and jireserv- ing beasts of the chase. The monarch liiniself led the way to the sport, not only in these preserves, but also over the wide surface of the country, being attended by his nobles, especially by the yoimger aspirants to fame and warlike renown (Xenoph. 0//-.viii, 1, 38). Scenes of this character are abundantly ])ortrayed on the As- svrian and Babvlonian monuments reccntlv discovered
Ancieut Assyrian Iluutsmau.
by Botta and Layard. The king is represented as pur- suing not only smaller game on horseback, but also en- gaged in the chase of more formidable animals, such as hois and A\ild bulK ni tbt thain t (L mi 1 s \in<reh.
U MoUUlULUts
1st ser. ii, 328). See Liox. Tliis was especially a fa- vorite employment of jirinces, and Darius caused to be engraved on his tomb an epitaph recording his proficien- cy as an archer and hunter (Stralw, xv, 212).
In the Bible we find hunting connected with royalty as early as in Gen. x, 9. The great founder of Babel was in general repute as '*a mighty hunter before the I^^rd." See Ni.Mijoi). Tiie patriarchs, however, are to be re- garded rather as herdsmen than hunters, if respect is I had to their habitual mode of life. The condition of the hertisman ensues next to that of the hunter in the early stages of civilization, and so we find tliat even Cain was a keeper of sheep. This, and the fact that Abel is designated "a tiller of the ground," would seem to indicate a very rapid progress in the arts and pur- suits of social life. Tlie same contrast and similar hos- tility we find somewhat later in the case of Jacob and Esau; the first "a plaiii man dwelling in tents," the
HUNTING
412
HUNTINGDON
second " a cunning hunter, a man of the field" (Gen. XXV sq.). The account given of Esau in connection with liis father seems to show that hunting was, con- jointly with tillage, piu-sued at that time as a means of subsistence, and that hunting had not then passed into its secondarj' state, and become an amusement.
In Egypt the chUdren of Israel doubtless were specta- tors of liuiiting carried on extensively and piu-sued in dif- ferent methods, but chiefly, as appears probable, with a
Ancient Egyptian Hunter carrying Home the Game.
view rather to recreation than subsistence (^Vilkinson's A71C. Egypt . vol. iii). Wild oxen are represented on the Egyptian sculptures as captured by means of the lasso, but dogs appear to have been usually employed in the chase. See Dog. That the land of promise into which the Hebrews were conducted on leaving Egypt was plentifully supplied with beasts of the chase appears clear from Exod. xxiii, 29, " I Avill not drive them out in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beast of the field multiply against thee" (comp. Dent, iii, 22). Also from the regulation given in Lev. xvii, 15, it is man- ifest that hunting was practised after the settlement in Canaan, and was pursued with the view of obtaining food. Prov. xii, 27 proves tliat hunting animals for their flesh was an established custom among the He- brev.-s, though the turn of the passage may serve to show that at the time it was ]ienned sport Avas the chief aim. If hunting was not forbidden in the " year of rest," special provision was made that not only the cattle, but " the beast of the field," should be allowed to enjoy and flourish on the uncropped spontaneous prod- uce f)f the land (Exod. xxiii, 11; Lev. xxv, 7). Har- mcr (iv. ;;57) says, "There are various sorts of creatures in the Holy Land proper for hunting; wild boars, ante- lopes, hares, etc., are in considerable numbers there, and one of the Christian kings of Jerusalem lost his life {Gesta JJei, p. 887) in pursuing a hare." That the lion and other ravenous beasts of prey were not wanting in Palestine many passages of the Bible make obvious ( 1 Sam. xvii, 34 ;" 2 Sam. xxiii, 20 ; 1 Kings xiii, 24 ; Har- ris, Nalural History of the Bible ; Kitto's Pictorial Pal- estine). The lion was even made use of to catch other animals (Ezck. xix, 3), and Harmer long ago remarked that as in the vicinity of Gaza, so also in Juda?a, leop- ards were trained and used for the same purpose (Har- mer, iv. 358 ; Hab. i, 8). That lions were taken by pit- falls as well as by nets appears from Ezek. xix, 4, 8 (Shaw, p. 172). In the latter verse the words of the prophet, '•' and spread their net over him" (comp. 2 Sam. xxii, G), allude to the custom of inclosing a wide extent of country with nets, into which the animals were driv- en by hunters (Wilkinson, Anc. Egyptians, iii, 4). The