THE NIGHT-HUNT IN RECESS. 83 



Suddenly the reverberations die a-^vay. Old Sambo halts. 

 When we get into ear-shot the only word we hear is, " Tree'd !" 

 This from the oracle is sufficient. We have another long 

 scramble, in which we are led by the monotonous baying of a 

 single dog. 



We have reached the place at last aU breathless. Our 

 torches have been nearly extinguished. One of the jountr 

 dogs is seated at the foot of a tree, and looking up, it bays 

 incessantly. Old Sambo pauses for awhile to survey the 

 scene. The old dogs are circling round and round, jumping 

 up against the side of every tree, smelling as high as they 

 can reach. They are not satisfied, and Sambo waits for his 

 tried oracles to solve the mystery. He regards them steadily 

 and patiently for awhile; then steps forward quickly, and 

 beats off the young dog who had " lied" at the " tree." 



The veterans now have a quiet field to themselves, and 

 after some further delay in jumping up the sides of the sur- 

 rounding trees, to find the scent, they finally open in full 

 burst upon the traU. Old Sambo exclaims curtly, as we set 

 off in the new chase, 



"Dat looks like coon! hut cats is about!" 



Now the whole pack opens again, and we are off after it 

 We aU understand the allusion to the cats — for we know that, 

 like the raccoon, this animal endeavors to baffle the dogs by 

 running some distance up a tree, and then springing off upon 

 another, and so on until it can safely descend. The young 

 dogs take it for granted that he is in the first tree, while the 

 older ones sweep circling round and round until they are 

 convinced that the animal has not escaped. They thus bafile 

 the common trick which they have learned through long ex- 

 perience, and recovering the trail of escape, renew the 

 chase. 



Under ordinary circumstances we would already have been 

 sufficiently exhausted ; but the magnetism of the scene lifts 

 our feet as if they had been shod with wings. Another 



