HUNTING THE PRONG-BUCK, 103 



wind lulled ; and we started towards the line 

 of fire, which was working across a row of 

 broken grassy hills, three quarters of a mile 

 distant. Two of us were on horseback, drag- 

 ging a half carcass, bloody side down, by 

 means of ropes leading from our saddle-horns 

 to the fore and hind legs ; the other two fol- 

 lowed on foot with slickers and wet saddle 

 blankets. There was a reddish glow in the 

 night air, and the waving, bending lines of 

 flame showed in great bright curves against 

 the hillside ahead of us. 



When we reached them, we found the fire 

 burning in a long, continuous line. It was 

 not making rapid headway, for the air was 

 still, and the flames stood upright, two or 

 three feet high. Lengthening the ropes, one 

 of us spurred his horse across the fire line 

 and then, wheeling, we dragged the carcass 

 along it ; one horseman being on the burnt 

 ground, and one on the unburnt grass, while 

 the body of the steer lay lengthwise across 

 the line. The weight and the blood smothered 

 the fire as we twitched the carcass over the 

 burning grass ; and the two men following be- 

 hind with their blankets and slickers readily 

 beat out any isolated tufts of flame. 



The fire made the horses wild, and it was 

 not always easy to manage both them and the 

 ropes, so as to keep the carcass true on the 

 line. Sometimes there would be a slight puff 

 of wind, and then the man on the grass side 

 of the line ran the risk of a scorching. We 

 were blackened with smoke, and the taut 

 ropes hurt our thighs ; while at times the 

 plunging horses tried to buck or bolt. It 



