250 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. 



Til ere is nothing of fair play about it. It is a dirty advan- 

 tage taken of the stupidity of the animals ; and, apart from its 

 manifest danger, ought to be discountenanced. 



The last mode of Deer-hunting to which I shall allude, is what 

 is called in some of the Western States — in which there are large 

 tracts of wide prairie land, dotted with clumps or islands of 

 brushwood and timber — bouncing them. This is done by driving 

 them, by means of an old slow hound, into the open, and then 

 pursuing them by relays of horsemen, in the hope of getting a 

 shot. 



A far finer sport, and one for the neglect of which I cannot 

 account, would be to slip a brace or a leash of good Greyhounds 

 on them, the instant of their breaking covert. I do not doubt 

 in the least that high-bred dogs would run into them, after a 

 course of a mile or two over the open, than which 1 can con- 

 ceive no sport more exciting, no sight more beautiful. 



But, should the common Greyhound prove too weak to pull 

 them down, which I do not believe would be the case, the rough 

 Scottish Deer-greyhound would do so undoubtedly, and, more- 

 over, uniting scent to speed, would hunt the Hart down, should 

 he run out of view. 



The Scottish Deer-hound, or Streaker, as he is sometimes 

 called, is a cross-bred, not an original dog ; and may be bred 

 thus : — 



To a very large Foxhound bitch — black and tan, if possible — 

 put a tall, high-bred Greyhound dog; to the best bitch pup of 

 the litter, put a Newfoundland dog, — or, better yet, if you can 

 find one, a rough-haired Colley, or Scottish sheep-dog ; again, 

 to the best bitch pup of this litter, put a tall, high-bred Grey- 

 hound dog. The result of this fourth cross will be a very tall 

 and powerful litter of dogs, possessing almost all the speed, 

 with the form and grace, of the Greyhound, the shaggy hair of 

 the rough breed, and the scent and indomitable courage of the 

 Foxhound. I would rather have two couple of such dogs for 

 sporting in the Far West, than the best pack of hounds that ever 

 opened on game. 



