AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS. 227 



ladies in a frontier settlement to go to church on a 

 Sunday, and arrive at the church door with their horses 

 all right, and find one of them dying when they came out. 



In running game with horses, all authorities seem 

 to agree that the best policy is to press the chase to 

 the utmost, at first. Most game have great " bottom, " 

 and can keep going longer than the best horse, carry- 

 ing a rider and though certain sorts of game may be 

 quickly run up to and " blown " by a " burster " at 

 first go off yet if the chase is a long one, they will 

 frequently gradually recover their wind, and seem then 

 to increase their speed, and finally often make good 

 their escape in spite of every effort to overtake them. 

 The works of African travellers are full of such in- 

 stances, and American experiences are identical. This 

 is now so well known among hunting men that we 

 do not deem it necessary to quote authorities to prove 

 it, but merely to state an ascertained fact. As regards 

 the colour of horses for this work, Mr. Oswell advises 

 against grey horses, as he considers they are seen 

 sooner by game than animals of another colour ; more- 

 over grey horses are apt to be somewhat soft and 

 delicate, at least that is our personal belief. Every- 

 thing almost upon dry plains is brown or dun-coloured, 

 and where there is much sand, the animals and birds 

 will be of a sand colour ; it will therefore of course 

 be desirable for the sportsman to accommodate his 

 dress, etc., to match the landscape, and curiously 

 enough on dry plains many horses are found assimi- 

 lating to their colours. Some of the very best horses 

 are also often of this colour. 



Having now given an impartial consideration to the 



