10 Life in the Open 



flat, panting like machines, but happy, delighted, and 

 rolling a glance of congratulation at you, or giving you 

 greeting by a wag of the tail. If they could speak they 

 would all say it was the run of their lives. Along comes 

 the man with a canteen, each dog drinks and its face 

 and mouth are washed, and each master and mistress 

 tells each hound just what he or she thinks, and compli- 

 ments between man and beast fly thick and fast. The sad- 

 dles are uncinched, the horses walked up and down and 

 given a drink when cooler. The stragglers have come in, 

 and the hunt, refreshed, stands in the cooling shade of 

 the eucalyptus grove, and discusses the situation. 



Such was a typical run with the San Marino or 

 the Valley Hunt hounds of Pasadena ; hard, furious, 

 dangerous sport, the hare having an open country and 

 by far the advantage. To ride over such a region with 

 its washes and burrows, the rider took every chance, and 

 the game often escaped ; wearing out horse, rider, and 

 hound. There can hardly be any pastime within the 

 realm of sport more exciting than this. It was my for- 

 tune to act as master of the hounds in many hunts, and 

 my place was directly behind the dogs, where every move 

 of hound or game could be seen ; and as a study of 

 strenuous sport it was without peer ; horses and dogs 

 enjoyed it, the jack being the only exception, and he 

 was a pest and menace to the rancher. 



The hunt, refreshed, winds out of the grove and 

 turns in the direction of the mountains, following along 

 the slopes. It is midwinter in the East, the whole land 



