3i8 srORTLVG ADVENTURES 



fleet-footed antelope, I may say that General Stanley's dog, 

 Gibbon, captured twenty-four unwounded pronghornsin 187-3, 

 and that a hunter near O'Fallons Bluffs, in Nebraska, owned a 

 couple of hounds that allowed few to escape if they did not 

 have too much of a start. I have seen a brace of greyhounds 

 that could overtake the swiftest stag in a run of two or three 

 miles, if he did not have a leading- start of more than three 

 or four hundred yards; but if it exceeded that distance they 

 became discouraged sometimes, and gave up the chase. 



One of the pleasantest days I ever spent among the prong- 

 horns was on the Laramie Plains of Wyoming, which was then 

 probably the best antelope grounds in the West. Our party 

 consisted of half a dozen gentlemen, and a scout who acted 

 in the double capacity of guide and cook, one of those men 

 who are unknown in any other portion of the world, and who 

 combine in themselves the qualities of hunter, naturalist, 

 soldier, and Indian detector. 



Our first movement was to hire a waggon for the purpose of 

 taking our tents, clothing, and provisions to the camping- 

 ground ; the next, to secure the best horses we could find in the 

 hamlet of Laramie; and the third, to arm ourselves with heavy 

 rifles, revolvers, and long lariats. When all preparations were 

 completed, the cavalcade marched out on the plains just as 

 twilight was appearing, and moved rapidly onward until 

 midnight, when it halted on the bank of a small stream which 

 the antelopes were known to frequent in large numbers in the 

 morning. The night being fine, we did not pitch our tents, 

 but rolled ourselves in heavy blankets, and slept until day- 

 hght. I may add that we were accompanied by three mag- 

 nificent types of the Irish greyhound, having some mastiff 

 blood in them, as they were kept specially for antelope 

 coursing, the latter blood being infused in their veins for the 

 purpose of giving them that combativeness and tenacity of 

 purpose necessary not only to chase, but also to throw the 

 agile and timid creature. Some pure-bred animals of the 

 race, if trained when young, will not only pursue, but also 

 pull it to the ground; but, as a general rule, some cross 

 blood, either of the mastiff, dcerhound, or bloodhound, 



