224 



THE CHASE OF SWIFT GAME. 



will go over anything and everything, they fly from 

 an imaginary danger in the rear to inevitable destruc- 

 tion in quagmires, where those behind push forward 

 those in front, and finally gallop over their prostrate 

 bodies. 



The risk to horses in these hunts is of course very 

 great, and if a man has but one or two animals to 

 carry him, running game is of course an act of suicidal 

 folly. Even if the horse does not get hurt and disabled 

 these wild bursts of the chase take a great deal out 

 of a grass-fed animal, and soon break down his strength 

 and condition, on which in the latter end the comfort 

 and perhaps even the life of the traveller may depend. 



If therefore a man determines upon hunting in this 

 way he should take care to be provided with a stud 

 of horses for that express purpose, which in general 

 requires to be a faster and more expensive class 

 of animals than those used for ordinary riding. 



The question of how many horses a man (to whom 

 expense is no impediment) should be provided with, if 

 he intends to make a practice of running game, is one 

 not easily answered, as so much will depend upon the 

 nature of the country and other circumstances ; and we 

 have come across but one instance of a man who has 

 ventured to put on paper what number in his opinion 

 will be required for South Africa, where the practice 

 of running game has been largely employed. This has 

 been done by Mr. W. C. Oswell in his chapters on South 

 African hunting, contained in " Big Game Shooting, " 

 of the Badminton Library Series. This is what he 

 says 



" On horseback your whole day is a pleasure to you, mind 

 and body whereas on your legs it is often a wearisome, un- 



