414 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 



In a southern foxchase there can be nothing more unortho- 

 doK than such an expenditure of ammunition, for the hunters 

 would have been somewhat dangerously furious, and the 

 hounds themselves ready to tear in pieces the unlucky marks- 

 man who should have dared to interpose between their heated 

 ferocity and a legitimate consummation of the chase, in " the 

 death !" The wild cat injures the dogs, though, so much, 

 that after losing a few of the most valued leaders of the 

 pack in the bloody death-struggle with this savagely formi- 

 dable creature, the huntsmen soon learn to differ from our 

 friend Dr. Bachman's opinion concerning its courage, and 

 become very cautious how they run the risk of having their 

 dogs overtake it. They easily tell, from the cry of the 

 hounds, when it is becoming exhausted, and has reached its 

 short doublings ; and, as by this time they have enjoyed the 

 excitement of a long chase, they can very well afford to listen 

 to the dictates of prudence in shooting it, as described above. 



The dogs used in a night hunt are not the full-blooded 

 hounds of the chase above. A cross of the fox or stag-hound 

 upon the fiercer, snapping, wire-haired cur, which seems to 

 be peculiarly the dog of the negro, makes a far more swift, 

 though not so long-winded or so sure a hunter ; and, from its 

 strength and activity, is considered a much better fighter 

 than the aristocratic hound, which is owned solely by the 

 master. Indeed, the half-breeds of this and various other 

 crosses are almost exclusively used for the chase and destruc- 

 tion of the carnivorous animals throughout this country — the 

 game " full-bloods," which, when heated by their long chases, 

 habitually rush in, closing instantly with their quarry, when 

 it has been brought to bay, suffer terribly when it turns out 

 to be wild cat, panther or bear ; and, if permitted to chase 

 these animals, the pack is soon exterminated by them. 



It is curious to observe the instant change in the appear- 

 ance of all dogs used in the chase, on striking the trail of 

 any one of these animals, but more especially that of the 



