ALONG FOUR-FOOTED TRAILS 



from his enemies or against the weather for him- 

 self or little ones. 



As the hunters rode on, one of the hounds 

 struck the fresh trail of a jack-rabbit, and with 

 his nose to the ground ran in the direction of 

 a large tuft of grass. There, beside a tuft of 

 withered grass but a few rods in front of us, was 

 a yellowish-gray object that looked like a clump 

 of the clay soil. When the dog was within a 

 few feet of this suspicious looking object it took 

 a great leap into the air and bounded off. " A 

 jack ! a jack ! ! hurrah ! hurrah ! ! " rang from the 

 excited voices of a dozen young people at the 

 same time. Then the sport began. The jack- 

 rabbit with his body lengthened, his long ears 

 erect and his legs stiffly extended, fairly flew 

 over the prairie as he sprang forward with aston- 

 ishingly long leaps, barely seeming to touch the 

 ground with his toes. The dogs took up the 

 chase, running swiftly and barking loudly. The 

 horses seemed to enjoy the excitement quite as 

 much as their riders as they galloped over the 

 prairie in pursuit of the " flying " jack. 



One of the horses ridden by a half-breed 

 Indian girl shied as a jack-rabbit sprang up in 

 [7*] 



