The Pronghom Antelope 129 



thought favorable. After a little manoeuvring 

 to find out what the quarry was inclined to do, I 

 would then bend off to one side, perhaps getting 

 under cover of some low ridge. When I disap- 

 peared the pronghorns were sure to gallop toward 

 some place where they could see me. If their 

 gallop took them straight away from me, so that 

 when I next saw them they were far off, I might 

 not make any further effort after them. But fre- 

 quently the next glimpse I got of them showed 

 them much nearer than they were before, and I 

 would then alter my course and try to go out of 

 sight, still travelling slowly. Once out of sight, 

 if I thought I was travelling in the right direction 

 to get near them, I would strike a smart gallop 

 until I again topped a ridge from which they were 

 visible. Of course there was again the chance 

 that they had gone in the wrong direction, but if 

 they had not, I might find myself within range, or 

 more likely I might see them, now running in 

 good earnest and quartering away or toward me. 

 Choosing my point along their line of flight, I 

 pressed the willing horse, and away we flew as 

 hard as we knew how. The pronghorns went 

 faster than I did, but as I had the shorter dis- 

 tance to go, it frequently happened that I could 

 cut them off, and as soon as they showed signs of 

 swerving, or as soon as it became evident that 

 they would pass in front of me, off I would leap 



