1 86 Hunting the Grisly 



perverse kind, he turned the hounds on it; a 

 manifestation of sporting spirit which aroused 

 the ire of even his long-suffering wife. As 

 for his dogs, provided they could run and 

 fight, he cared no more for their looks than 

 for his own; he preferred the animal to be 

 half greyhound, but the other half could be 

 fox-hound, collie, or setter, it mattered noth- 

 ing to him. They were a wicked, hard-biting 

 crew for all that, and Mr. Cowley, in his flap- 

 ping linen duster, was a first-class hunter and 

 a good rider. He went almost mad with ex- 

 citement in every chase. His pack usually 

 hunted coyote, fox, jack-rabbit, and deer; and 

 I have had more than one good run with it. 



My own experience is too limited to allow 

 me to pass judgment with certainty as to the 

 relative speed of the different beasts of the 

 chase, especially as there is so much individual 

 variation. I consider the antelope the fleetest 

 of all, however; and in this opinion I am 

 sustained by Colonel Roger D. Williams, of 

 Lexington, Kentucky, who, more than any 

 other American, is entitled to speak upon 

 coursing, and especially upon coursing large 

 game. Colonel Williams, like a true son of 

 Kentucky, has bred his own thoroughbred 

 horses and thoroughbred hounds for many 



