100 COWS ON THE LINE. 



of hounds, or as to the uses which we expect from them in 

 England. 



I had seen, then, the tracks of wild animals, and also 

 coveys of the partridge or quail, but these transitory 

 glimpses or signs of a portion of the sport I hoped soon 

 to enjoy, were interfered with by others, that made me 

 question whether I should ever arrive at that sport with 

 limb and life enough to enjoy it, for cows and pigs were 

 perpetually on the line, the only place where they 

 could catch a draught of fresh air or bask in the sun. 

 Every hour we seemed to be on the eve of collision with 

 the one or the other. At last I thought it was all over 

 with us, for in the warm, still afternoon, I beheld seven 

 teen cows, all grouped together, standing on the rails, with their 

 heads different ways, and all apparently asleep. When 

 I first saw them, in leaning from the door of the van to 

 look ahead, they might have been about two hundred 

 yards from us, and I naturally expected that breaks 

 would have been applied, and everything done to de 

 crease our speed ; but no such thing. Thinking that 

 the hour was come, and having hastily arrived at the opin 

 ion that I might as well see what this sort of concussion 

 did, or what the " cow-catcher" could effect, as die 

 without any information on that head at all, I held fast 

 on to the side of the door of the luggage-van, and con 

 tinued to lean out as far as I could, so that I had a full 

 view of what I expected would be a chaos of butcher's 

 meat, and, to use an American phrase, of "chawed-up" 

 men, women, and children, while, at the same time, I 

 thought myself to run as good a chance for escape as I 

 should have had if I had remained closed up with pack 

 ages heavy enough to crush me in a confused and very 

 " rough and tumble" fall. All of this, though it takes 



