THE TEXAN HUNTKESS. 285 



with eager eye and bounding pulse to wait the instant when 

 they should have passed us on their way into the illimitable 

 plain upon which they trust to their flying feet for safety. 

 But though those tiny hoofs be fleet enough to leave the Red 

 "Wolf far behind, or dart beyond the agile panther's leap, yet 

 our good steeds, that champ and plunge impatiently, are far 

 more fleet than they. Now they go bounding by with long, 

 high leaps over the tall, embarrassing grass, and seem as if 

 they half wore wings, and were afraid to use them. Now, 

 too, with a wild shout of pent-up excitement, we are off on 

 the chase, each man selecting his special prey. There is 

 little use for the whip and spur in this hunt, for when a horse 

 has once tasted its fierce and headlong pleasures, he needs 

 no other stimulant after. They, like their riders, become 

 furious with the excitement, and sometimes will bite the poor 

 animal when they come up with it after a long chase. 



The broad, white tails of the deer produce a droll eS'ect as 

 they rise and fall along the surface of the grass, and serve as 

 a sort of fluttering beacon to the eye in the early part of the 

 run ; for, when they, at first sight of you, fairly straighten 

 themselves in their frightened speed, they leave horse and 

 rider far enough behind ; but this does not last long ; they 

 are very fat at this season, the fall, and do not hold out at 

 this rate. They soon begin to flag from the heat and dragging 

 weight of the grass, which is now nearly as high as their backs. 

 We gradually close upon them, and the herd begins to break 

 up, scattering here and there and everywhere. Your eye 

 has become fixed upon a particular one, a noble buck, whose 

 powerful form has attracted you. Your horse has caught 

 the same object, and divines you well as he turns his head to 

 follow it, without regard to the course taken by the rest. 



Now the excitement becomes a delirium of action; and as 

 you find yourself farther separated from the other sounds of 

 the chase, your own individual passions become more and more 

 intensified upon the immediate object before you, and you 



