24 HUNTING TRIPS 



quisitive little creatures as the small antelope 

 are. The latter have a nurse in the shape 

 of a fat old ewe ; and it is funny to see her, 

 when alarmed, running off at a waddling 

 gait, while her ungainly little foster-children 

 skip round and round her, cutting the most 

 extraordinary antics. There are a couple of 

 very large dogs, mastiffs, on the place, whose 

 natural solemnity is completely disconcerted 

 by the importunities and fearlessness of the 

 little antelope fawns. Where one goes the 

 other two always follow, and so one of the 

 mastiffs, while solemnly blinking in the sun, 

 will suddenly find himself charged at full 

 speed by the three queer little creatures, who 

 will often fairly butt up against him. The 

 uneasy look of the dog, and his efforts to get 

 out of the way without compromising his 

 dignity, are really very comical. 



Young fawns seem to give out no scent, 

 and thus many of them escape from the nu- 

 merous carnivorous beasts that are ever 

 prowling about at night over the prairie, and 

 which, during the spring months, are al- 



