CHAPTER VIII 



GREYHOUNDS 



Coursing, in its ancient and honorable char- 

 acter and its association with the early aristocracy 

 of sport, may deserve the first place in the annals of 

 dogdom. The chief English classic, the Waterloo 

 Cup stake, is getting along toward the close of 

 its century. The records of breeding have been 

 kept regularly during a period much longer than 

 that covered by any other breed of dogs. 



In America, however, this sport is of limited 

 extent compared with shooting or fox-hunting. 

 In the open it is pursued only where the jack- 

 rabbits are abundant on the trans-Mississippi 

 prairies. Enclosed or park coursing has flour- 

 ished in only two cities, San Francisco and St. 

 Louis, though it has been taken up spasmodically 

 at several other points. To tell the truth, com- 

 paratively few Americans have seemed to be in- 

 oculated with the spirit. Both on the plains and 

 in the cities the typical American has often taken 

 up the sport for a few years, but usually to dis- 

 miss it for something more to his taste. It is the 



no 



