152 AN AMERICAN HUNTER 



closed right in beside her. As I came up she fairly 

 bleated. An expert with the rope would have captured 

 her with the utmost ease ; but I missed, sending the coil 

 across her shoulders. She again gave an agonized bleat, 

 or bark, and wheeled around like a shot. The cow-pony 

 stopped almost, but not quite, as fast, and she got a slight 

 start, and it was some little time before I overhauled her 

 again. When I did I repeated the performance, and this 

 time when she wheeled she succeeded in getting on some 

 ground where I could not follow, and I was thrown out. 



Normally, a horseman without greyhounds can hope 

 for nothing more than to get within fair shooting range; 

 and this only by taking advantage of the prongbucks' 

 peculiarity of running straight ahead in the direction in 

 which they are pointed, when once they have settled into 

 their pace. Usually, as soon as they see a hunter they run 

 straight away from him; but sometimes they make their 

 flight at an angle, and as they do not like to change their 

 course when once started, it is thus possible, with a good 

 horse, to cut them off from the point toward which they 

 are headed, and get a reasonably close shot. 



I have done a good deal of coursing with greyhounds 

 at one time or another, but always with scratch packs. 

 There are a few ranchmen who keep leashes of grey- 

 hounds of pure blood, bred and trained to antelope cours- 

 ing, and who do their coursing scientifically, carrying the 

 dogs out to the hunting-grounds in wagons and exercis- 

 ing every care in the sport; but these men are rare. The 

 average man who dwells where antelope are sufficiently 

 abundant to make coursing a success, simply follows the 



