62 THE ANTELOPE OF AMERICA. 
little squads of two or three, and formed a scattered circle round 
the herd for five or six miles, keeping at a wary distance so as 
not to alarm them till they were perfectly inclosed, and usually 
selecting some commanding eminence as a stand. Having gained 
-their positions, a small party rode towards the herd, and with 
wonderful dexterity the huntsman preserved his seat as he ran at 
full speed over the hills, and down the steep ravines, and along 
the borders of the precipices. They were soon outstripped by 
the antelopes, which, on gaining the other extremity of the circle, 
were driven back and pursued by the fresh hunters. They 
turned and flew rather than ran in another direction ; but there, 
too, they found new enemies. In this way they were alternately 
pushed backwards and forwards, till at length, notwithstanding 
the skill of the hunters, they all escaped; and the party, after 
running for two hours, returned without having caught anything, 
and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase, the greater 
part of which was seen from the camp, formed a beautiful scene ; 
but to the hunters is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive, 
even when they are able to worry the animal down and shoot 
him, that forty or fifty hunters will sometimes be engaged for 
half a day without obtaining more than two or three antelopes.” 
That the antelope can frequently, on favorable grounds, be run 
into with the horse, is established beyond dispute. I have met 
several gentlemen who lave done it, or seen it done; and I once 
had a three years’ old male antelope which had been thus cap- 
tured. The marks of the cords with which his legs had been tied 
were still very plainly to be seen, and are even still distinct on the 
mounted specimen in my collection. To do this requires a horse 
of great bottom, or endurance, for, in any event, he must be left 
far behind for the first few miles; but the great speed of the 
antelope soon tells upon him, and when he begins to falter, if still 
pressed, and not allowed to stop and take breath, he fails very 
rapidly, and almost complete exhaustion ensues. It may be that 
the antelopes thus captured have been exceptionably slow, or 
short-winded, and that even with a majority it is not practicable 
to capture them in this manner. It is very certain, however, 
that it has sometimes been done. 
The antelope, when pursued on the plains, is inclined to run 
in a circle, and thus may be taken advantage of by the horseman 
keeping well within the circle, and as if attempting to head off 
the chase, which is sure to provoke the animal to make every 
effort to avoid this result, which brings his course more in the 
