166 GAME. 



The most exciting of sport is an elk chase on horse- 

 back ; but, unless the country be particularly favourable, it 

 is not likely to be very successful. When pursued, the 

 elk takes instinctively to the very worst ground. He will 

 go easily in arid out of the almost perpendicular ' bar- 

 rancas ' of the l bad lands,' where no horse can possibly 

 follow. He will go at full speed across a morass, in which 

 a horse must inevitably stick at the first bound. He will 

 dash without a moment's delay or hesitation through a 

 thicket so dense that horse and rider are forced to go at a 

 walk. Though, therefore, he cannot cope with a good 

 horse in speed, he has the most decided advantage in a 

 country which is at all difficult. 



The first necessity in the race is to force him to break 

 his trot. It is said that an elk will trot at an equal speed, 

 without stopping or even flagging, for twenty miles. If, 

 therefore, the horse is too slow or the ground too difficult 

 to force a break, the race may as well be abandoned at 

 once. 



Suppose, however, the ground good and the horse 

 fleet. A tremendous burst of speed brings the horse and 

 rider on the haunches of the elk, who until now has 

 been going at an even trot but at tremendous speed, 

 throwing his legs easily and holding his head proudly in 

 the air. The pursuer gets very near, sometimes within a 

 few paces. The speed must be increased, and the elk is at 

 the best of his trot, so reluctantly he breaks into a run, thus 

 increasing his speed very considerably. But in taking 

 the run he gains in speed at the expense of all his ease, 

 grace, and beauty of movement. His run is an awk- 

 ward, lumbering, rolling gallop. His head is carried low 

 and thrust forward. A few hundred yards of this gait 

 tells. His mouth is open, his tongue out, his eyes 

 glazed with fear. A few moments more and he must 

 surrender, unless some ruse can be hit upon to outwit 

 the pursuer. He doubles at the most unexpected 

 moment, dodges into every ravine, runs around points 



