126 THE DEER FAMILY 



equal to the pace. Lately a cross between the native 

 dog and the Virginia lemon-and-white hound has been 

 tried with satisfactory results, and the evolution prom- 

 ises improvement in all-around points. At present, 

 however, the pack is made up entirely of native dogs, 

 and they are quite fast and stanch enough lor all prac- 

 tical purposes. 



" Of course the principal shooting is from stands, 

 but it is the rarer sport to ride with the drive and run 

 the chance of a snap-shot at the moment that the game 

 is ' jumped.' There are three or four natives and 

 negroes who are assisting the master, all mounted on 

 nondescript specimens of horse or mule flesh, and pos- 

 sessed of an abnormal capacity for the emission of ear- 

 splitting shrieks and whoops. The canebrake cover 

 beyond is a favorite jumping-place, and a ' find ' is al- 

 most certain. And listen! there is 'Black Rouser' 

 giving tongue, and the other dogs, with an implicit 

 confidence in their old leader's omniscience, hasten to 

 swell the chorus. A flash of fawn-colored light as the 

 deer breaks cover, and then with a whoop and a yell 

 the crescent-shaped line of horsemen sweeps forward 

 and the chase is on. 



" It is fairly open riding through the cathedral-like 

 aisles of the mighty pines, for there is almost no under- 

 growth. But there is plenty of fallen timber, relics of 

 the famous storm of August, 1893, which devastated 

 the sea-islands and swept like some giant scythe 

 through these forest glades. However, these native 

 horses are wonderfully surefooted, and with a loose 

 rein and a home-seat in the deep McClellan tree, you 

 may trust ' Tip ' and ' Whiteface ' for the rest, with, of 



