372 SrORTINO ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



is worn away from above the knees to the hoofs, and this, 

 of course, causes much suffering. To capture them with- 

 out doing them any injury, they should be run down in as 

 short a time as possible, and, when caught, be placed in a 

 wagon, so as to prevent any necessity for dragging or forc- 

 ing them along. 



As a proof of how greyhounds can compare in speed 

 with the fleet-footed antelope, I may say that General Stan- 

 ley's dog, Gibbon, captured twenty-four unwounded prong- 

 horns in 1873, and that a hunter near O'Fallons Bluffs, in 

 Nebraska, owned a couple of hounds that allowed few to 

 escape if they did not have too much of a start. I have 

 seen a brace of greyhounds that could overtake the swift- 

 est stag in a run of two or three miles, if he did not have a 

 leading start of more than three or four hundred yards; 

 but if it exceeded that distance they became discouraged 

 sometimes, and gave up the chase. 



One of the pleasantest days I ever spent among the 

 prong-horns was on the Laramie Plains of Wyoming, which 

 was then probably the best antelope grounds in the West. 

 Our party consisted of half a dozen gentlemen, and a scout 

 who acted in the double capacity of guide and cook — one 

 of those men who are unknown in any other portion of the 

 world, and who combine in themselves the qualities of 

 hunter, naturalist, soldier, and Indian detector. 

 • Our first movement was to hire a wagon for the purpose 

 of taking our tents, clothing, and provisions to the camp- 

 ing-ground ; the next, to secure the best horses we could 

 find in the hamlet of Laramie; and the third, to arm our- 

 selves with heavy rifles, revolvers, and long lariats. When 

 all preparations were completed, the cavalcade marched out 

 on the plains just as twilight was appearing, and moved 

 rapidly onward until midnight, when it halted on the bank 

 of a small stream which the antelopes were known to fre- 

 quent in large numbers in the morning. The night being 

 fine, we did not pitch our tents, but rolled ourselves in 

 heavy blankets, and slept until daylight. I may add that 

 we -were accompanied by three magnificent types of the 



