THE HORSE. 71 



he has often noticed when crossing the open hills 

 at night that his mare would suddenly start and 

 tremble and try to make a dash for home -with 

 ears laid back and every sign of great agitation. 

 At first he was puzzled by this, for the animal 

 was generally quiet and tractable. At length he 

 found that the terrifying object was usually a 

 wandering hill -fox, which had chanced to pass 

 near enough to be perceived either by the horse's 

 eyes or nostrils. 



Foxes, of course, are not dangerous to larger 

 animals, but probably there is something in the 

 wild beast about them, absent in the dog, which 

 reminds the horses of their ancient foes. There 

 is no doubt that, when coyotes are ridden down 

 on the prairie and killed with a bull-whip or 

 revolver at close quarters, the horses enter into 

 the hunt with enthusiasm. They do their best to 

 catch the wolves, and will strike at them with 

 their hoofs if they get near enough. Darwin has 

 recorded the remarkable fact that almost the only 

 occasion upon which horses are known to scream 

 with terror, when not suffering pain, is when they 

 are attacked by wolves. Charles Kingsley, in 

 one of his charming prose idylls, very graphically 

 describes the conduct of his horse when a hunted 



