172 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



ings at a prompt victory that caused them to indulge in 

 such an unusual display of melody. Having skinned the 

 slain animal, we moved down into the plain ; and there the 

 dogs found the scent so fierce that they raised their heads 

 in the air, and went away at full cry. We could see noth- 

 ing to cause this outburst ; but before we had gone a few 

 yards, out jumped from their burrows two dog -coyotes, 

 and away we went after them. The hounds separated on 

 the quarries, two couples following one, and three the 

 other. I kept with the former, and in a run of less than 

 seven miles had the satisfaction of planting a bullet in the 

 fugitive's head as he swerved past me on a new tack, and 

 the hounds, on coming up, found him dead, much to their 

 astonishment, and, I should fancy, disappointment, as they 

 were content with a few shakes, and a glance at me as if 

 to inquire how it happened that he was dead. The other 

 men followed the three couples, but they had to run for ten 

 miles or more before they caught the runaway. As both 

 divisions of the hounds were running in almost parallel 

 lines, we had little difficulty in reuniting the pack ; and 

 when that was done we started off for new fields, after 

 giving the animals a short rest. 



Moving about two miles toward the north, we reached a 

 long, rolling plain that extended for miles in every direc- 

 tion. Halting there, we changed horses, for each man had 

 his spare steed with him. When the dogs were cast loose 

 they could find no scent, the soil being light and gritty, 

 therefore not well able to hold it ; so we left there, and 

 directed our course toward the eastward, where the grass 

 was denser. A tramp of two miles led us into a region 

 where the hounds found a sharp perfume, and away they 

 went at a rattling pace ; but they lost it inside of a mile, 

 and so suddenly that we were surprised at it. We tried 

 all means to strike the line again by casting about in every 

 direction and harking back, but we could not find it. We 

 then commenced searching the ground for a burrow, and, 

 after working for perhaps ten minutes, one of the party 

 found a deep hole on the banks of a rivulet, and, leading 



